Florida Senate Investigator Recommends Reinstatement for Suspended Broward Sheriff

A special investigator for the Florida Senate has recommended that suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel should be reinstated. Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Israel from office following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Broward SO's response to that shooting has been widely criticized.

DeSantis failed to prove the allegations of “neglect of duty” and “incompetence” he leveled against the veteran lawman, Dudley Goodlette, a lawyer and former state legislator charged with investigating the Israel case, wrote in a report released Wednesday.

While the Florida Senate still must decide Israel’s fate, the recommendation delivered a major victory in Israel’s quest to reclaim his job, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

DeSantis accused Israel of leadership failures related to the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead in Parkland and the shooting at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Jan. 6, 2017, that left five people dead.

In his review, Goodlette concluded that Israel didn’t run a perfect operation, but it would be unreasonable to expect he could control the actions of every one of his deputies.