Attorneys For Suspended Broward Sheriff Scott Israel Say Gov. Ron DeSantis "Exceeded" Authority
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – For nearly an hour, attorneys for suspended Broward Sheriff Scott Israel and Governor Ron DeSantis sparred over whether the Governor has the legal authority to remove Israel from office.
Attorneys for Israel said the Governor has a limited ability to make such a move and failed to specifically cite any statutory function that Israel failed to fulfill.
"The executive order cites to not a single obligation, mandatory duty on the part of the sheriff that was neglected," attorney Ben Kuehne told Judge David Haimes.
But attorneys for DeSantis, who appeared by telephone, argued that Israel showed neglect of his duty and incompetence by not properly training his deputies, changing an active shooter policy that gave deputies discretion on whether to confront a shooter and oversaw deputies who either failed to engage the confessed shooter or deal with him appropriately during prior encounters.
"Follow up should have happened and didn't and those two deputies were disciplined for failure to follow up," said DeSantis attorney Nick Primrose.
Outside of court, Israel maintained that he was removed from office unfairly.
"I was elected by the citizens of Broward County, overwhelmingly," he told reporters. "I would never betray my oath of office. I would never betray my badge."
DeSantis' order also cites Israel for problems with leadership and response to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport shooting that left several people dead in 2017.
Israel says neither he nor his deputies should be blamed for those shootings.
"These were the acts of two evil, evil monstrous people and not the responsibility of the Sheriff or anyone else," he said.
Israel's attorneys argued that the Governor's suspension of Israel sets a dangerous precedent.
"This is a very slippery slope. We do not want our elected officials to be summarily removed from office when there's been a democratic process," said Israel's attorney Stuart Kaplan.
"If the Governor can do this, every elected official in the state of Florida must bow down to the Governor and that is not our democratic system," Kuehne said.
The judge did not rule directly from the bench. He indicated that he would rule "shortly."
Israel is also fighting his suspension before the Florida Senate and expects to have a hearing there during this legislative term.
No matter what happens during these official challenges, Israel has said he'll run for re-election in 2020.
