Broward Deputies vote ‘no confidence’ in Sheriff Scott Israel

Last week I pointed out this vote was coming. Today, a union representing Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies announced the results of their “no confidence” vote in Sheriff Scott Israel. Those results were overwhelming, with 85% saying they had “no confidence” in the Sheriff. From the Sun-Sentinel:

A deputies’ union said Thursday afternoon that it has “no confidence” in Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. The union revealed the results of a vote, which indicated 534 out of 628 who voted said they had no confidence in the sheriff.

Jeff Bell, the president of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, said the union’s “members have displayed great courage to come out and vote under threat of retaliation and reprisal from the sheriff.”…

Bell added, “Amazing leadership starts from the top, and there is no amazing leadership here. We are a ship out at sea with no power — adrift.”

Sheriff Israel dismissed the results of the vote hours before they were revealed, suggesting deputies were merely upset that he had denied them a 6.5% raise:

While many deputies were upset over the Sheriff’s handling of the Parkland shooting, CNN’s Rosa Flores reports the last straw for some was his appearance on CNN in which he praised his own “amazing leadership.” Here’s her report:

Video: @CNN‘s @JakeTapper and @RosaFlores cover the #BreakingNews out of Broward County that the police deputies have voted overwhelmingly (85%) in favor of "no confidence" concerning Scott Israel’s leadership #Parkland pic.twitter.com/uk7mOqEdQy

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 26, 2018

Governor Rick Scott says he is waiting on the results of a Florida Law Enforcement investigation which he ordered back in February. Under Florida law, Gov. Scott does not have the ability to remove Sheriff Israel from office, but he can suspend him and refer the case to the state Senate which does have authority to remove him. A local news report last month claimed Israel had already vowed to run for office again in 2020 even if he is removed from office now.