scott israel
Incompetent former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

This is what happens when a law enforcement agency’s multiple failures to handle a situation according to well-developed, standard protocols results in the deaths of innocent students and teachers.

From the AP:

Florida’s largest sheriff’s office has lost its law enforcement accreditation after criticism over its handling of fatal shootings at a high school and airport.

The Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation voted 13-0 last week not to renew the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s accreditation. Commission members include law enforcement and other local officials from across Florida.

They cited the agency’s handling of last year’s Parkland shooting and a 2017 shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as reasons for the decision.

Sheriff Gregory Tony says it’s disheartening for the agency’s 5,400 employees to lose their accreditation for the previous administration’s mistakes. BSO’s former sheriff, Scott Israel, was suspended by the governor earlier this year.

CFA Executive Director Lori Mizell says 166 agencies have the voluntary certification. An agency can keep operating without accreditation. Mizell says having accreditation means an agency meets more than 250 professional standards.

51 COMMENTS

  1. If an agency can keep operating without the accreditation, what does removing it do other than take away a “merit badge?”

    • State and federal law enforcement funding will be lost. They will have to operate on county funds alone which will be a tough feat to say the least.

        • I think a lot more $peeding tickets will be given out to make up for the shortfall….

        • I would have to ask the same question that another person ask. What’s the point of being accredited if there is nothing to lose other than being accredited? Seems a lot like saying good job now here’s your wizzo button.

        • NOS, holding yourself to a higher standard, whether a governmental entity or a business, is a goal in and of itself. Look at the whole accreditation website, do a little bit of digging and you may eventually understand. (exasperated sigh)

          • I looked through the website and saw nothing to lose but accreditation itself. There is a bunch crap government agencies and businesses alike that could care less about public opinion, customer or otherwise. Again if there is nothing to lose other than accreditation than I see little lost unless it is important to the agency or business. It’s like having personal integrity. I’ve known a number of knuckleheads that could care less about integrity or what other people think of their lack of integrity. Same with morals and ethics for that matter. If there’s no caring than nothing is lost. Maybe in this case with the new sheriff that will change. Time will tell.

  2. Well, sounds like somebody needs to get to work on proving compliance with 250 rules, and apply for accreditation.

  3. They should only if we could. Close them up and start all over.
    That would be my wish for the coming year.
    A whole new sheriffs dept.
    Im sure there are some really good cops in Broward. But they don’t hold a candle to Palm Beachs guys.

    • Well, at least the office of Sheriff is under constitutional jurisdiction and the local community can vote him/her out.

      A municipal city’s Chief of Police is appointed by the local mayor. No direct accountability to the people.

      A state’s Highway Patrol’s Commissioner is appointed by the governor. No direct accountability to the people.

      • IMHO, all municipal police departments should be dissolved, replaced with a county sheriff’s department. That way, all law enforcement county-wide will be led by an elected sheriff. No more four-star clowns who are appointed by the mayor or city manager.

  4. So, all this really means is that other law enforcement agencies in Florida have given a literal thumbs down and stern look of disapproval to Broward County Sheriff.

    What would be really nice AND JUST is if there were actual accountability.

    We need laws for prosecuting such spectacular ineptitude. I like the concept of something like “gross malfeasance”.

    • True.

      But the political types have insured there is no true accountability. What do they call it….qualified immunity?

      When LEO are held accountable; loss of license/livelihood, prosecution, incarceration, then maybe we’ll see some real changes.

      But I’m not holding my breath.

      And I say this as a brother to 3 LEOs.
      Most are doing the right thing. But gross negligence/dereliction of duty/out right abuse of power needs to be dealt with according to the same standard as applied to the average citizen other professional.

  5. Losing accreditation provides everyone in the department the opportunity to participate in restoring the department to excellence. It may be an embarressment in the short term, but a well-planned, well-publicized program that lauds achievement of frequent milestones will make everyone proud.

    When my Dad took the reigns as Police Commissioner in our small town, the department was underfunded, under-staffed, and morale was sub-terranean. As equipment was upgraded, and training improved, and salaries improved, morale improved.

    The Broward Sherriffs have a great opportunity in front of them. With the right plan, good execution, and the right publicity the entire County will be proud of them

    • Well that’s an optimistic outlook to say the least. Let’s hope you’re right and they make the best out of this situation.

  6. Turn in their modern semi auto pistols and issue them each an old school service revolver with one round in their shirt pockets. And a whistle.

    This was a command failure, first and foremost. But the top brass did not handle every detail of the interactions with the shooter before he became a shooter. There were plenty of folks that went along to get along and a lot of them are still there.

    Let’s not forget that the ‘ coward of broward’ was not a top ranking member of the department.

    • Wasn’t there a purple haired dyke who dropped the ball along with the Sheriff? Oh, and the school security head (armed) was also cowering (armed) outside during the shooting…except he still works at the school to my knowledge.

      • BTW
        The fact that she was seriously lacking experience was not important. She was hired BECAUSE she was a white gay female. Bad affirmative action hires can also be gay and white as well as black and straight.

  7. “An agency can keep operating without accreditation. Mizell says having accreditation means an agency meets more than 250 professional standards.”

    In other words, it is an meaningless gesture. Like “thoughts and prayers” for defenseless victims who were deprived of their ability to defend themselves.

  8. Went to Coconut Creek Elem. back in the day. Broward Sheriffs sucked then. They always seemed like a little mafia wanna be org, or so said my dad. Good on them. And it was Coconut Creek Cops who went in Parkland.

    In Ohio I call the Sheriff seems its the other way here. Run into a lot of “cops” who don’t even know we are open carry in Ohio. Sheriffs do. Sheriffs also check ask if a roommate is on the lease if not get your stuff and get off the property. The cops ask if they get mail if so then they say you have to go to court to evict. While both are legal means the Sheriffs say their way get the parties away from each other NOW. Live in a township we have Sheriff Deputies not police. They also will shoot the S**t talking about shooting and guns.

    • Wow.
      Coconut Creek didn’t put too much emphasis on coherent sentence structure, huh?

      More of a stream-of-consciousness education philosophy?

        • I did not know I was being graded on my writing. But I also do not give “bleeps” about your bleeding from your eyes about my sentence structure. In this day of twitter word count totals and millennial’s ability to concentrate on any one thing for more than a second, I am surprised anyone can read anymore.

        • Whatever the “welfare” in their state is, probably. OK, JK… It’s very likely.

        • It’s a lot easier to read if you write it right. Don’t make people read your confusing text 3 times to understand it. It’s not nit-picking. It’s common courtesy. (Exemptions are made for those typing while drunk.)

    • When I was a wee tot, I lived in Miramar Fla. We were Protestants living next door to a Roman Catholic family and every one else around was Jewish. Before I could even walk, my mother enrolled me in a Seminole school. Mostly what I learned was how to swim – they insisted we start early before I forgot I was born knowing how to. Riding horses was also part of the regimen. When I turned three, I was enrolled in a Jewish school (The Temple of Israel), which was the only other school around (I still went to the reservation in the afternoons). I learned Hebrew letters, English, math, spinning the dredel – it was quite a curriculum for a 3yo. It was strange, I guess, being the only blond in the school, and I was teased about Santa Clause being decapitated by telephone wires last year so no xmas for you, gentile. Which was fine, I said, because my parents gave me channakuh gifts as well anyway. At xmas, the local fire department would drive through the streets with Santa on the top of the ladder truck throwing candy, and only my next door neighbor and myself were even allowed outside. I shared my candy anyway, we were all friends, and we swapped gold foil wrapped chocolate coins. Is the peaceful picture painted?
      48 years ago today, at 3 years old, I was arrested by Miramar PD for lighting firecrackers, which were illegal in Florida at the time. You might think it was dangerous for a 3yo to be playing with matches and fireworks, but I was precocious and cautious and had been taught proper firework handling by my father. I was also far too afraid of the firecrackers to dare make a mistake, not to mention far more responsible and competent at three than modern millenials are at 30.
      In 1972, the Miami Dolphins went undefeated and won the superbowl. On that day, I was again arrested for shooting bottle rockets. Not kidding. My dad had recently been arrested for smuggling bottle rockets from Georgia to Fla, upon which he simply went and got some more, hid them better and took a different route.
      We kinda gave up on fireworks for a while after that, and I would have to wait until the proper age of five to get my first shotgun – a 20g side-by-side that had the LOP shortened already for my mom. Still got it.
      The dinosaur I rode to school didn’t make it though, so don’t ask. It’s still too painful a memory.

  9. I thought for a minute this meant state officials were gonna crawl up Broward’s ass & blow the lid on this whole fixing the crime stats kickback deal the sheriff had with the school superintendent…but then I see that that the accreditation isn’t necessary for the local police to operate. So basically, someone got an email.

  10. They got the new gun laws and such already so wrist slapping the BCSO is cheap theatre at best. Maybe they should have slammed them first before blaming guns.

  11. The airport BSO deputies are the major league rubber gun squad in the area. Incompetent is too nice of a word to describe them.

  12. In that case most sheriff’s should not be accredited especially in a lot of small departments like where I live the sheriff is a lier that only got in because of his name him and a lot of his deputies could not pass a physical if they had to something should be done to require all law enforcement should be physical fit

  13. WE THE PEOPLE…
    in order to form a more perfect union:

    ESTABLISH JUSTICE

    it is the first and foremost responsibility and duty of government which constitutes the very basis for the societal contract that weve voluntarily entered into with them and is the very instrument that grants them the power to govern and tax us

    currently the situation is taxation without protection

    if they continue in their pattern of choosing to be patently and willfully and woefully derelict in their duty we shall no longer be morally ethically or socially bound to be a party to this contract

    we shall then choose to exercise our option and that is to throw them off as the needs require in the manner in which the situation dictates and find new government

    and that my friends is what the 2nd amendment is all about

    its not about hunting or target shooting as some of our domestic enemies in government would have people believe

    our solemn right and our sacred duty to revolution is enshrined there

    and that right wasnt given to us by the founders or any of the documents they wrote and signed

    it was given to us by Our Creator

    “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy”

    JOHN ADAMS

    • i never signed anything.

      what is this social contract everyone is bound to?

      it’s all brainwashing and conditioning to obey your masters as they rape you until death.

      RESIST

  14. I feel that if you have a yellow streak down your back you shouldn’t have a badge and a gun.

  15. Everyone overlooks the Federal (Obama) policy that led up to this shooting in the first place. “No student could be charged with a felony crime while on school grounds”. Cruz should have been in jail twice before this even happened.

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