TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (WSVN) - A hearing into former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel’s future is set to begin Tuesday in Tallahassee.
Israel, who was suspended from his duties by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in January, said he hopes the hearing is a fair fight.
“We just want the truth and the facts to come out,” Israel said over the phone.
Israel has remained defiant five months after he was removed from his position.
“I have issued an executive order suspending Scott Israel as the Sheriff of Broward County,” DeSantis said at a January press conference.
Israel was elected as Broward County’s sheriff in 2012. Although violent crimes, burglary and robbery rates went down, his term was marred by two mass shootings.
“They went with words like ‘negligent’ and ‘incompetence,'” Israel said. “Sixty-three years old, and I’ve never been called negligent or incompetent in my life. This is nothing more than a political promise made good.”
In 2017, five people were killed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Although deputies responded quickly and captured Esteban Santiago, the gunman, an investigation revealed poor communication and planning on that day.
A year later, 17 people were killed during the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
School resource officer Scot Peterson did not enter the building and instead waited outside the school while confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz took 17 lives.
“Devastated. Sick to my stomach. There are no words,” Israel said in a press conference after the shooting.
Max Schachter, who lost his son, Alex Schachter, in the shooting, said in January, “The MSD commission found fault with nine different deputies’ actions. Their actions, along with Scott Israel’s failed and inadequate policies, procedures and training, has made Broward County less safe.”
Then, DeSantis was voted as the state’s governor, and Israel was soon out of a job.
“The massacre might never have happened had Broward had better leadership in the sheriff’s department,” DeSantis said.
“I honored the badge, and it was my privilege to serve,” Israel said. “That’s why I’ll be running again.”
A long list of witnesses are scheduled to speak Tuesday in the state capital.
Whether or not Israel will get his job back will be up to the Florida Senate.
The hearing is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
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