Former BSO Sheriff Scott Israel tapped as the city of Opa-locka’s new police chief
Former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, who had been removed from office by Florida’s governor in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Parkland high school, on Friday became the new police chief in Opa-locka, a city with a history of turnover and turmoil in its police department.
Israel expressed his gratitude to the city during a noontime announcement of his appointment at Sherbondy Village Community Center, saying it was a “true honor” to serve as the police chief.
“To the men and women of the agency that I’m going to be working with, I will work very hard, very honorably, and together, with the citizens of Opa-locka, we will do great things,” Israel told a gathering of officials, police officers and news media at the community center.
For Israel, a 66-year-old career law enforcement officer who had been adrift for the past four years, the new assignment in the small, working-class Miami-Dade city signaled his ultimate comeback, as he thanked “God for this opportunity.”
Israel had been twice elected to BSO’s top job but lost a bitter battle in the 2020 election after being removed from office in early 2019 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor, who had been sharply critical of Israel during his campaign, appointed Gregory Tony, who went on to beat Israel in that race.
Israel’s ouster was based on a state-appointed panel’s finding that his lack of leadership likely contributed to deputies not initially confronting the gunman Nikolas Cruz during the Valentine’s Day 2018 rampage at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The shooting left 17 students and administrators dead and another 17 seriously hurt.
Israel had been rumored to become Opa-locka’s police chief a few years ago, but it never became a reality. This time around, it was a certainty.
Israel’s appointment was first reported by WSVN.
After reviewing a dozen candidates for the police chief’s job, Interim City Manager Darvin Williams chose the veteran South Florida law enforcement administrator to replace Opa-locka’s previously acting police chief, Michael Steel.
One law enforcement source who did not want to be identified said that Israel, despite his removal as BSO’s sheriff in the political fallout of the Parkland shooting, has had a long career of skillfully managing police departments, including a long tenure in Fort Lauderdale and a short stint in North Bay Village before running Broward’s largest law enforcement agency.
Opa-locka’s police department is a fraction of the size of BSO, which has 5,600 sworn police officers and civilian personnel.
“He could manage that [Opa-locka] department with his eyes closed playing golf,” the source told the Miami Herald. “The question is, will they let him?”
Opa-locka’s police department, not unlike the city’s government as a whole, has experienced scandal among rank-and-file officers and mismanagement in the hierarchy for years.
The central Miami-Dade city, with a predominantly Black and Hispanic population, is still under state oversight dating back more than five years as a result of an FBI investigation into public corruption. More than a half-dozen people were convicted in the probe, including a city commissioner, two top administrators and a lobbyist.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 11:43 AM.
