FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Three days after taking office, Florida’s new Republican governor suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel amid cheers over his handling of the horrific Valentine’s Day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty. Gov. Ron DeSantis named former Coral Springs police sergeant Gregory Tony to fill the post.
“Suffice it to say, the massacre might never have happened had Broward had better leadership in the sheriff’s department,” said DeSantis, who pointed not only to Israel’s handling in Parkland, but also his handling of the 2017 mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in which five people were killed. “This is a new day. It’s a chance to take a step forward.” 25 Reasons Florida Governor Gave For Suspending Broward Sheriff
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Meanwhile, Israel vowed in a separate announcement to fight for his job and run for election again in 2020.
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“This was about politics not about Parkland. Neither the governor nor any member of his staff has ever spoken to me about this tragedy,” said Israel, who blamed his stand against gun violence for the action. “For now, it’s on to court.”
After being forced to delay his announcement for more than 90 minutes due to mechanical problems with his plane, DeSantis appeared with parents and family members of victims from the tragedy.
Five key members of the sheriff’s office handed in their resignations or retirements shortly before the governor spoke. Some of the separation forms blamed the governor’s action, according to copies reviewed by Patch.
“My daughter would have lived if somebody could have just given her one more second,” a father of one of the victims told reporters.
“I never did anything political before my daughter was murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,” said Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the tragedy. “Our community and our kids will be much safer now that Sheriff Israel is out of office.”
Tony becomes Broward’s first black sheriff and is also a former college football player with Florida State University in Florida.
“I have served with many of these men and women during my law enforcement career, and they are not self-serving,” said Tony. “I am here to serve.”
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission unanimously approved a 446-page report last week on the school shooting that is critical of the Broward County sheriff’s deputies who failed to confront the shooter and of Israel, whose office did not at the time have a policy requiring them to rush the three-story freshman building where the shooting happened.
“Once I took that oath and put my hand on the bible, I knew that oath compelled me to make this decision,” said DeSantis, who questioned why no one at the FBI has been fired.
Israel has insisted that he has done nothing to warrant removal. He recently made public new guidance that requires Broward Sheriff’s deputies to “eliminate the threat” before all else when they arrive at the scene of an active shooter.
The governor’s announcement came outside the sheriff’s office Friday. Israel addressed reporters a short time later at a nearby church.
“Let me be clear. I wholeheartedly reject the statements in the governor’s executive order as lacking both legal merit and a valid factual basis,” Israel insisted in his remarks. “There was no wrongdoing on my part.”
Tony had most recently served as president of Blue Spear Solutions, which is a privately owned business focused on providing clients training and awareness related to active shooter mass casualty incidents.
Debbie Hixon, the widow of Parkland’s slain athletic director, Chris Hixon, said her husband was one of the adults who didn’t hesitate to run into the building as students were being killed.
“I look forward to a sheriff who trains his staff members and his law enforcement to do just that, to run in and to protect the way that they promised they would do,” she said. “Thank you Gov. DeSantis for taking action to be sure that the sheriff that runs this county trains his officers the way they should be.”
Sheriff Scott is out of a job for the time being. Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images for Habitat for Humanity of Broward.