BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – After a vote of no confidence last week for Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, the union representing deputies has now stepped up the fight against their elected boss, paying for a billboard on Interstate 95, south of Oakland Park Boulevard.
The billboard is aimed at persuading Gov. Rick Scott to suspend Israel from office in the wake of the agency's failures regarding the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association President Jeff Bell said 500,000 people will see the billboard in the next 30 days.
"This is how serious we are and this is how much change is needed within Broward County for the sake of this agency and for the sake of this county," he said. "The morale of this agency has been devastated by poor policies and the handling of Parkland."
"It's facing to the north. Tallahassee is to the north, and if the governor just pays attention to what's going on down here, he just might see that sign as well," Bell added.
The governor said he is waiting for a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation to be completed before he makes a decision on Israel.
The sheriff has said the union is in revolt only because they have not gotten a raise they wanted.
