When I took office, I made it a priority to restore public trust and strengthen the relationships between law enforcement and the communities we serve. To be successful as a public safety agency, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability.
Over the past year, we have made great progress. We have increased training, adopted a more proactive community policing practice, instituted neighborhood support teams, diversified our command staff and improved our recruitment of new public safety professionals. These changes are the first of many in my continued efforts to enhance our service and strengthen community partnerships and public trust.
Another key to building public trust is policing ourselves in a professional and accountable manner. During my first year as sheriff, I participated in the disciplinary system and found that too often, the findings of the internal review process simply did not reflect the standards we must live up to as public safety professionals. As a result, I rejected the recommendations of the Professional Standards Committee and terminated four deputies for use of excessive force.
Building upon this experience, I have begun to make the necessary changes at the Broward Sheriff’s Office to improve our internal investigations process. The improvements include the appointment of new members to the Professional Standards Committee and the formation of a new Use of Force Review Board, which will be tasked with reviewing use of force for consistency with BSO training and policy and making recommendations as to whether further investigation or training is needed.
These changes promote a more accountable and timely re-view of questionable use of force that guarantees due process for deputies, while making sure that the process is clear and shows accountability to the public. The Use of Force Review Board will allow for a quicker evaluation and referral of those cases deemed in need of further review by Internal Affairs.
With these changes, I am sending a clear message to my deputies that egregious use of force will not be tolerated under my leadership. Make no mistake; when my deputies do the right thing, I will always support them and have their backs. As an organization, we are committed to excellence and will demonstrate professional public safety practices the public and good policing require.
These programs I instituted and the changes I am making inside BSO’s disciplinary process are met with the intention to hold ourselves more accountable but also serve as part of my dedicated effort to bringing BSO closer to the communities we serve.
Service Equals Reward
Sheriff Gregory Tony
