BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) – As voters prepare to select Broward County’s next top cop, a crowded Democratic primary is taking shape with three law enforcement veterans aiming to unseat incumbent Sheriff Gregory Tony.
Al Pollock, a nearly 40-year veteran of the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), who retired as a colonel in 2017, is running on a platform focused on improving visibility and crime prevention.
“I have grandkids that are growing up in this county. I live in this county and I just don’t like what I see,” Pollock said. “I’m gonna put people back into marked units. This is what the community is asking for. This is what I hear when I go around this county. My mission is simple: Better customer service to the people that we are serving, working to let them know that I support them in their mission moving forward and we’re gonna build a team.”
Steve Geller, a veteran of the Plantation Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, emphasized the need to prioritize youth gun violence.
“We need to address that. We need to create a community initiative and start addressing that issue,” Geller stated. “Get these guns off the streets, get them out of the hands of our youth and stop these killings.”
David Howard, an Air Force veteran who spent 30 years with the West Palm Beach Police Department and built the new Pembroke Park Police Department, argues that raising pay for deputies, particularly in corrections, is essential.
“We gotta fix the pay issues in corrections,” Howard said. “They’re paid $20,000 less than everybody else and that’s ridiculous. My accomplishments in my past experience, if you will, set me apart from the others. Lack of trust between the agencies and the community is hurting both. If given the opportunity, I’d like to restore that.”
All three challengers are critical of Sheriff Tony, especially regarding issues of trust, transparency, and budget management.
“How can you tell another deputy about being truthful matters when you’re not truthful,” said Pollock.
“I think Greg Tony doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and I think that hurts the agency as a whole,” said Howard.
“If you want honesty and integrity, it starts at the head of an agency,” said Geller.
Each challenger says there is money to be found in the current BSO’s budget. They slam Sheriff Tony for cost overruns on the new training facility, which includes $500,000 for branding, including shower curtains and an ice bath, emblazoned with the sheriff’s name and department logo.
They have also questioned Tony’s integrity, pointing to his controversial past, including a teenage murder acquittal and accusations of failing to disclose the arrest when applying for law enforcement jobs.
“Broward County residents felt duped that they didn’t know his past and it just started coming out after his election that the real lies, the half-truths,” said Geller. “That can all change. I want to give the option of accountability, transparency, communication and an individual who’s not putting himself first but putting the community and deputies first.”
Each challenger said there is money to be found in the current BSO budget and slammed Sheriff Tony for cost overruns on the new training facility, which includes $500,000 for branding, including shower curtains and an ice bath emblazoned with the sheriff’s name and department logo.
The incumbent BSO Sheriff’s past has also come into the spotlight. Tony was acquitted of murder as a teenager after shooting a man in self-defend and has been accused of not disclosing the arrest when applying for law enforcement jobs.
“People in Broward felt duped, they didn’t know about his past. The lies, the half-truths,” said Gellar.
He still awaits a hearing before a state law enforcement standards panel later this month.
Sheriff Tony has been a no-show at some candidate forums but in August he did join his challengers at the Bless Broward forum.
“When I came in I gave promises, I fulfilled every single promise. Every single one,” he said.
Sheriff Tony, who did not comment for this story, defended his record during a recent candidate forum.
“When I accepted command of this office, I gave promises to this community about what I was going to do to reform, better, and make this place safe,” Tony said. “I have fulfilled every single promise that I have made. Every single one.”
The winner of the Democratic primary will face independent candidate Charles Edward Watley in the general election in November.
Early voting in Broward County starts Saturday, August 10, and will continue until Sunday, August 18. The primary is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20.
For more information on early voting locations and hours, visit the Broward County voting website.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.