JUSTICE

Broward County Sheriff’s Office Loses Law-Enforcement Accreditation

The revocation comes after the department’s handling of the Parkland and Fort Lauderdale airport shootings.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office, the largest sheriff’s office in Florida, will have its law enforcement accreditation revoked after a unanimous vote by a state panel. After the BSO’s mishandling of the 2018 Parkland shooting, in which 17 people died, and 2017’s Fort Lauderdale airport shooting, in which five people died, the state has decided BSO does not meet the standards for certification. “During the rating period of the time we’re talking in question here, there were substantial periods where they were not in compliance with how they performed in the field,” Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said. “As a result we saw the catastrophic loss of life.” In addition, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel was suspended from his job for negligence, along with four deputies, including Scot Peterson, who were fired for failing to protect students at Parkland. And after the 2015 shooting of Jermaine McBean, BSO awarded two of its officers for “bravery” in shooting an unarmed man. While the new revocation won’t affect much of the office’s major operations, it is a slap in the face to the agency, which was first certified in 2001.