Broward County Sheriff's Office | |
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Abbreviation | BSO |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1915[1] |
Employees | 5,400 [2] |
Annual budget | $730 million [3] |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Florida, U.S. |
Legal jurisdiction | Unincorporated areas of Broward County, Florida, and 15 local municipalities through contract services. [1] |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | 2601 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
Agency executive |
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Website | |
www |
Agency overview | |
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Fire chief | Timothy Keefe |
The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is a public safety organization With 5,400 employees, [2] it is the largest sheriff's office in the state of Florida. Sheriff Gregory Tony heads the agency.
BSO was one of the United States' largest fully-accredited sheriff's offices before losing accreditation (by unanimous vote) in 2019. [4] Uniquely, the BSO also operates the county fire department and emergency medical services, the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue (BSFR).
The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is responsible for law enforcement and civil protection in Broward County. The BSO also oversees the fire department and emergency medical services for Broward County.[ citation needed ]
The BSO's Department of Law Enforcement covers areas including the Broward County Courthouse, the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, areas of the Everglades and the county's waterways, unincorporated Broward, and 13 cities and towns that contracted for BSO law enforcement services. [5]
It also administers the Marine and Dive Rescue Unit, Motorcycle Unit, and Crime Lab. [5] BSO also provides 9-1-1 intake, but the county's agreement with it to provide that service expired at the end of 2022. [5] [6]
The BSO was founded in 1915. [7] [8] [9] In 2003, the BSO took control of Broward County Fire Rescue, Port Everglades Fire Rescue, and the Ft. Lauderdale/ Hollywood International Airport Fire Rescue departments. [10]
Following a deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018, the Broward County Sheriff's Office was criticized by some for its response. Some of the criticism was directed at Sheriff Scott Israel for the Broward County Sheriff's Office not addressing warnings about the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, despite Cruz's lengthy record of threatening behavior from the age of nine.
The sheriff's department had received 19 calls over the span of a decade relating to Cruz (some when Cruz was as young as nine years old; they ranged from a call to the police reporting that Cruz was cursing, to a call saying he had shot a chicken with a BB gun). [11] In response to some of the calls, deputies met with Cruz's mother. [12]
Stoneman Douglas High School conducted a "threat assessment" on Cruz after the counselor's report, and the Florida Department of Children and Families ultimately concluded that Cruz was not a threat because he was living with his mother, attending school, and seeing a counselor. [13] [14]
The FBI, for its part, admitted that it had received a tip (saying the caller suspected Cruz would shoot up a school) that its protocols required the FBI to further investigate, but that the FBI had failed to do so. [15]
Broward County Sheriff's Office Deputies were criticized for staying outside the school, and not immediately confronting the gunman. [16] [17] [18] During the shooting, an armed sheriff's deputy was outside of the school, but did not enter. [19] Afterward Israel criticized the deputy, saying that he should have "went in, addressed the killer, killed the killer". [19]
It was later discovered that there may have been at least two other deputies, who arrived later, who also did not enter the building. [20] Coral Springs police officers who arrived at the scene were surprised to find that the deputies still had not entered the building. [21] A Florida sheriff on a reviewing panel said that several of the Broward deputies on the scene failed to take command, and seemed disengaged or were distracted or failed to act at all, driving back and forth outside the school during the shooting. Disciplinary action was taken against various deputies. [22]
This was followed by resignations of several police officers who had responded to the scene, and Israel's suspension 11 months later by new Governor Ron DeSantis. [18] A commission appointed by then-Governor Rick Scott to investigate the shooting condemned the police inaction, and urged school districts across the state to adopt greater measures of security. [17] [18] [23]
Scott Israel received a vote of no-confidence linked to the mishandling of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the first such vote in the Department's history. [24] The Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association voted 534–94 against Israel, with union President Jeff Bell vowing to ask Governor Rick Scott to consider removing Israel and praising the "great courage" of members who voted "under threat of retaliation and reprisal." [25] [24] Scott took no action.
Israel described the no confidence vote as a "political stunt" intended to help the union in salary bargaining with the department, at that time underway. [26] Bell denied this. [27] The largest union of sheriff's office employees, the Federation of Public Employees, which does not represent any sworn law enforcement employees, gave Israel a vote of confidence. [25]
On January 11, 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, three days after his inauguration, announced that he had signed an executive order suspending Sheriff Scott Israel because of his department's handling of the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. DeSantis appointed former Coral Springs Police Sergeant Gregory Tony as sheriff to replace Israel. [28] [ failed verification ]
On January 11, 2019, days after Florida Governor DeSantis took office, he appointed Gregory Tony the Sheriff of Broward County. [29] [30] [31]
Tony ran to be elected to a full term in the 2020 Democratic primary, which practically guarantees election in democratic Broward. Israel, Al Pollock, Willie Jones, Andrew Maurice Smalling, and Santiago Vazquez also competed in the election. While the Sun-Sentinel , Broward County's leading newspaper, endorsed Israel, Tony narrowly prevailed – winning 37% of the vote to Israel's 35%. [32] [33] Tony defeated Wayne Clark in the general election with 63% of the vote.
Tony made police reform the central issue of his campaign. [34] In his first campaign advertisement he stated that he "suspended and fired some deputies accused of excessive force. He fired Christopher Krickovich after the department Professional Standards Committee recommended he be exonerated, and he replaced all the members of the Committee except for Jeff Bell." He fired "at least five deputies" for misconduct. [35]
He also fired deputies Kevin Fanti and Jorge Sobrino. [36] Tony fired deputies Brian Miller, Edward Eason, and Joshua Stambaugh for neglect of duty during the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. [36]
On April 3, 2020, Broward deputy Shannon Bennett, 39, died from COVID-19 which he contracted in the line of duty during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. [37] As of April 5, more than a dozen Sheriff's Office employees had tested positive. [38] On April 7, Deputy Union president Jeff Bell published a column in the Sun Sentinel , accusing Tony of poor leadership and specifically not providing deputies with sufficient personal protective equipment and Tony's failure to respond to their memos about the situation, a charge Tony denied in a news conference held the same day.
Tony referred to Bell as a "rogue employee", who, although a deputy, works full time for the union and "hasn't worn a uniform in years". Tony described Bell's actions as "dishonorable" because of his attempt, in Tony's words, to use Bennett's death "to politicize and capitalize on a moment when we lost one of our own". [38]
On April 10, Tony suspended Jeff Bell indefinitely with pay, "saying he made false statements, has corrupt practices, has exhibited conduct that is unbecoming and has not used proper discretion", and started an Internal Affairs case. [39] Tony then terminated the union president in January 2022. [40] [41] [37] [42]
On April 15 there were 77 positive coronavirus cases reported in the department. [39]
On April 20, the Deputies union released the results of a 693–93 vote of no confidence in Tony, and the Lieutenants union, also citing the lack of personal protective equipment, a vote of 33–5. [43]
On June 3, 2020, the union wrote governor DeSantis to formally request that Tony be removed. [13] [44] The governor did not take any action. [45]
Broward County Sheriff's Office works in partnership with Women in Distress (WID) to prevent domestic violence. [46] WID is a nationally accredited, state-certified, full service domestic violence center in Broward County that provides victims of domestic violence with safe shelter, crisis intervention and resources, and to educate the community in order to Stop Abuse For Everyone (SAFE) through intervention, education and advocacy. [47]
The Broward County Sheriff's Office was featured prominently in the first season of COPS in 1989. They were the first department to be featured on the show when the show first premiered. [48]
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Operational area | |
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Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
County | ![]() |
Agency overview [49] | |
Established | 2003 |
Employees | 700+ |
Staffing | Career |
Fire chief | Timothy Keefe |
Deputy Chief | Harris Bouchillon |
EMS level | ALS |
IAFF | 3333 |
Facilities and equipment | |
Battalions | 8 |
Stations | 22 |
Engines | 19 |
Quints | 5 |
Squads | 1 |
Rescues | 1 |
Ambulances | 30 |
Tenders | 2 |
HAZMAT | 1 |
Airport crash | 4 |
Fireboats | 1 |
Rescue boats | 1 |
Light and air | 1 |
Aerial Ladder Platforms | 4 |
Website | |
Official website |
In 1978, Broward County Commission created the Broward County Fire Department. This was done by merging various fire districts. The process was fully merged by 1981.
In 1973 Broward County EMS began providing ALS paramedic service from the parking lot of Plantation General Hospital.
In the early 1990s, Broward County Fire Department merged with Broward County EMS to create Broward County Fire Rescue. Firefighters began to be trained as paramedics, and EMS began training as firefighters. This increased the total trained firefighter/paramedics providing an optimal service to Broward County citizens.
Broward County Fire Rescue also started to create various Special Operations branches.
In 2003, Broward Sheriff's office gained control of Broward County Fire Rescue, Port Everglades Fire Rescue, and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport Fire Rescue through a contract with the Broward County Commission. These departments merged into Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue. The Sheriff's Office also gained the contracts for fire rescue services in the cities of Lauderdale Lakes and Cooper City. [10]
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue created and maintains several Special Operations Units.
Station No. | Location | Engine Company | Quint Company or Platform Company | Rescue Unit (EMS) | Other Units |
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1 | Dania Beach | Quint 1 | Rescue 1 Rescue 201 | ||
4 | Deerfield Beach | Engine 4 | Rescue 4 | ||
6 | Port Everglades | Engine 6 Engine 206 | Rescue 6 | Chemical 6 Fireboat 6 Battalion 6 | |
7 | Hallandale Beach | Engine 7 | Quint 7 | Rescue 7 | Battalion 7 |
10 | Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport | Engine 10 | Rescue 10 | Battalion 10 Truck 410 Truck 810 Truck 910 | |
14 | Fort Lauderdale | Engine 14 | Rescue 14 | ||
17 | Dania Beach | Quint 17 | Rescue 17 | Battalion 17 HazMat 17 | |
21 | Weston/Unincorporated West Broward | Quint 21 | Rescue 21 | Battalion 21 Tender 21 | |
23 | Broadview Park | Engine 23 | Tender 23 | ||
27 | Pembroke Park/West Park | Engine 27 | Rescue 27 Rescue 227 | ||
28 | Cooper City | Engine 28 | Platform 28 | Rescue 28 Rescue 228 | |
32 | Fort Lauderdale | Engine 32 | Platform 32 | Rescue 32 Rescue 232 | Squad 32 TRT 32 |
37 | Lauderdale Lakes | Engine 37 | Rescue 37 Rescue 237 | Battalion 37 | |
51 | Deerfield Beach | Rescue 51 | |||
55 | Weston/Unincorporated West Broward | Engine 55 | Rescue 55 Rescue 255 | Battalion 55 | |
60 | Hallandale Beach | Engine 60 | Rescue 60 | ||
66 | Deerfield Beach | Engine 66 | Rescue 66 | ||
67 | Weston/Unincorporated West Broward | Engine 67 | Rescue 67 | ||
75 | Deerfield Beach | Engine 75 | Rescue 75 | ||
81 | Weston/Unincorporated West Broward | Engine 81 | Platform 81 | Rescue 81 | |
85 | Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport | Air Rescue 85 | |||
90 | Hallandale Beach | Rescue 90 | |||
93 | Dania Beach | Quint 93 | Rescue 93 | ||
102 | Deerfield Beach | Engine 102 | Platform 102 | Rescue 102 | Battalion 102 |
106 | Weston/Unincorporated West Broward | Engine 106 | Rescue 106 | Air Boat 106 Brush 106 | |
111 | Deerfield Beach | Rescue 111[ citation needed ] |
Broward County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with 1,944,375 residents as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Lauderdale, which had a population of 182,760 as of 2020.
Coral Springs is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Fort Lauderdale. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area in South Florida, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census.
Parkland is a suburban city, 42 miles (68 km) northwest of Miami, in northern Broward County, Florida, US. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people in 2020.
The Sun Sentinel is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, and covers Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties and state-wide news, as well. It is the 4th largest-circulation newspaper in Florida. Paul Pham has held the position of general manager since November 2020, and Julie Anderson has held the position of editor-in-chief since February 2018.
Broward County Public Schools is a public school district serving Broward County, Florida, and is the sixth largest public school system in the nation. During the 2023–2024 school year, Broward County Public Schools served 251,106 students enrolled in 326 schools and education centers district-wide. The district is headquartered in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It is the sole school district in the county.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is a public high school in Parkland, Florida, United States. It was established in 1990 and is part of the Broward County Public Schools district. It is named after the writer Marjory Stoneman Douglas and is the only public high school in Parkland, serving almost all of the limits of that city as well as a section of Coral Springs.
The International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) is a North American police union, and is chartered as a national union that represents law enforcement and support personnel with the AFL–CIO.
Kenneth C. Jenne II is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate and a former sheriff of Broward County, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale. He resigned as sheriff in September 2007, after having pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud. On November 16, 2007, he was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.
Jared Evan Moskowitz is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 23rd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Moskowitz served on the Broward County Commission from 2021 to 2022 and as director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management from 2019 to 2021. Before his appointment to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, he served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the Coral Springs-Parkland area in northern Broward County from 2012 to 2019.
Al Lamberti is a former sheriff of Broward County, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale in southeastern Florida.
Gregory Scott Tony is an American law enforcement officer and serving since 2019 as the 17th Sheriff of Broward County, Florida.
On January 6, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, United States, near the baggage claim in Terminal 2. Five people were killed while six others were injured in the shooting. About 36 people sustained injuries in the ensuing panic. Esteban Santiago-Ruiz, who flew in to the airport from Alaska and committed the shooting with a Walther PPS 9mm semi-automatic pistol, was taken into custody by a Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) deputy within 85 seconds after he started shooting. The shooting from start to finish lasted 70–80 seconds. Santiago was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and pleaded guilty to avoid possible execution. On August 17, 2018, Santiago was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences plus 120 years in prison.
The Parkland high school shooting was a mass shooting that occurred on February 14, 2018, when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami metropolitan area city of Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at the school, fled the scene on foot by blending in with other students and was arrested without incident approximately one hour and twenty minutes later in nearby Coral Springs. Police and prosecutors investigated "a pattern of disciplinary issues and unnerving behavior".
Scott Israel is an American law enforcement officer in Florida, and the former Broward County Sheriff.
Scot Peterson is an American former sheriff's deputy who was involved in the events of the 2018 high school shooting incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Broward suburban town of Parkland, Florida. At the time of the shooting, he was a Broward County Sheriff's Office deputy sheriff.
Dean J. Trantalis is an American politician and mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Before his election as mayor, Trantalis served as a city commissioner for Fort Lauderdale from 2009 to 2017.
Andrew Scott Pollack is an American author, school safety activist, and entrepreneur whose daughter Meadow was one of the 17 murdered victims in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018.
Ryan Blaine Petty is an American school safety activist. His 14-year-old daughter Alaina Petty was murdered in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on February 14, 2018. Petty is credited with helping to pass the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act" Florida Senate Bill 7026 just three weeks after his daughter Alaina was murdered. At the federal level, Petty worked with Senators Orrin Hatch, Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson to pass the STOP School Violence Act and the Fix NICS Act of 2017. He has met frequently with former Florida governor Rick Scott, and many federal lawmakers.
Hunter Pollack is an American school safety activist and political advisor whose younger sister, Meadow, was murdered in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. He is the son of Shara Kaplan and Andrew Pollack, and is a part of the nonprofit organization Americans for Children's Lives and School Safety. Hunter is Jewish.
Nikolas Jacob Cruz is an American mass murderer who perpetrated the Parkland high school shooting, where he shot and killed 17 people while wounding 17 others on February 14, 2018. In 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his involvement in the deaths and injuries caused during the shooting, which is the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.
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