BSO’s union has called for vote of no-confidence in sheriff. Some see a political move.
After Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony suspended the president of its deputies union on Friday, the union has launched a no-confidence vote against the sheriff.
On Tuesday, members of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association began casting ballots on the no-confidence measure. They will have until Monday to vote. The results of the vote will be announced April 20.
Union members had received a letter from the union outlining what it says were a series of missteps by Tony, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed in January 2019 after suspending the previous sheriff, Scott Israel. Israel, a Democrat, and BSO came under fire for how BSO responded to the shooting massacre on Valentine’s Day 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, which left 17 students and faculty members dead.
In the Monday letter, the union accused Tony of lying on his original job application to the Coral Springs Police Department, fabricating holding the rank of “commander” at Coral Springs and firing BSO deputies without due process.
“The union will continue to be vocal against our sheriff who seems to think posting Instagram photos of himself working out, photo ops and censoring critics on social media by deleting their comments is more important than protecting his employees,” the letter said.
The letter also suggested Tony’s suspension of union president Jeff Bell from the sheriff’s office was illegal.
On Friday, BSO suspended Bell with pay and accused him of corrupt practices, conduct unbecoming an employee, and violations of policy on truthfulness, employee statements and discretion.
The dispute, which has been brewing for months, came to a head within the last two weeks when Bell wrote a letter and subsequent column in the South Florida Sun Sentinel, decrying what he said was a failure by BSO not to secure enough personal protection equipment, or PPE, for its deputies.
A 39-year-old BSO deputy, Shannon Bennett, died from COVID-19, the first South Florida law enforcement officer to lose his life to the deadly infection caused by the novel coronavirus.
Tony, in a fiery news conference last week, detailed all the steps that BSO has taken to protect its workers, including buying, since the beginning of February, 25,263 N95 masks, 44,773 surgical masks and 4,109 sanitizers that can be refilled.
“I have to take 20 minutes of my time to rectify a gross response to this community,” the sheriff said, before listing all the items BSO has purchased for deputies. “It’s despicable.”
Bell’s attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, said Friday night that Bell’s suspension violates several laws, and added Bell was doing his job by voicing complaints heard by the union.
“This is chilling and scary,” Schwartzreich said. “No one, in particular a union president, should be suspended for voicing concerns that ... deputies don’t have the protective gear they need in this climate to keep themselves safe and the community safe.”
Over the weekend, Florida State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police President Robert Jenkins criticized Tony’s suspension of Bell, saying the FOP “rejects the actions taken by the Sheriff of Broward County in his attack on a local union president, simply for exercising his right under the United States Constitution to voice his concern over the supply of such equipment to his members.”
Many see the skirmish between Tony and the union as part of a bigger political campaign involving the upcoming Broward sheriff’s election.
Israel had fought unsuccessfully to be reinstated as Broward sheriff and is running against Tony in the August Democratic primary to try to get his former job back. The election is Tony’s first reelection bid, as he was appointed by the governor.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
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