Related
NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) – The Broward Sheriff’s Office says a delay in getting hand sanitizers to its deputies was not so custom labels can be placed on the bottles but rather, because at the time of the order, there was not a shortage of hand sanitizer in the agency.
The delay in getting deputies hand sanitizer is the latest in a feud between Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony and the deputies union, and it is part of what has led to a no confidence vote taking place this week.
The feud began with an editorial published in the SunSentinel on April 6. Union president Jeff Bell wrote about deputies not having enough safety supplies to fight the virus.
Tony held a news conference to respond a day after the editorial was published and called Bell a “rogue employee.” A couple of days after the news conference, Tony suspended Bell with pay.
“He’s not rogue. He’s doing his job,” Eric Schwartzreich, Bell’s attorney, said.
The sheriff has said no expense will be spared during the pandemic and said he is getting supplies out as fast as he can. Tens of thousands of masks and nearly 5,000 bottles of hand sanitizer have gone out, but deputies have said they do not have everything they need.
“I have yet to receive any gloves,” a deputy said. “There’s a minimal supply of hand sanitizer.”
Early on during the coronavirus pandemic, homemade sanitizer made by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue was being handed out.
Although the department said the decision to order with labels was made before there was a shortage, the union wrote in its letter to members, “BSO-branded hand sanitizers could take as long as an additional seven (7) days to get into employees’ hands in order for the custom BSO log to be affixed.”
As for Bell, he is hoping a judge can help him get his job back.
“We are filing a declaratory action in federal court, or an injunction, that should be filed this week, so he can be returned to duties,” Schwartzreich said over the phone.
The no confidence vote is currently underway, and deputies are casting their ballots online for the next several days. Results for the vote are expected next week.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.