Scott Israel being sworn-in in as Broward County Sheriff.
By: Sharon Aron Baron
There’s a new Sheriff in town as Scott Israel became Broward County’s 16th Sheriff after a long, hard fight in two different elections.
Israel’s supporters who were in great spirits for the event held at the Faith Center in Sunrise to a packed crowd of 3,000.
BSO brought out their equipment and many of their personnel. Seen were the mounted and motorcycle unit along with the SWAT Team, Hazmat trucks, Fire Rescue as well as various other vehicles including the BSO Corvette, helicopter and airboat were on also on display.
After being sworn in by Judge Ilona Holmes, Isreal made a passionate speech saying that business won’t be as usual. In the weeks after his election, much of the old command staff under Al Lamberti was gone and Israel promised the audience that he would put an end to the “good old boys mentality.”
Our cultural change begins today by me demanding, not asking, not requesting, but me demanding that our leaders never rule by fear or intimidation.” – Scott Israel
Elected in November, Israel will lead the 5,500 employees of the Sheriff’s office along with a budget of over 600 million. Besides providing services for the Ft Lauderdale-Hollywood Int’l Airport, Port Everglades and the Broward County Courthouse, BSO provides law enforcement for the following cities:
Central Broward, Cooper City, Dania Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Park, West Park, Pompano Beach, Southwest Ranches, Tamarac, Weston and unincorporated West Broward.
Israel has spent the last 30 years in law enforcement where he started with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department where he spent part of that time as Captain and a SWAT team Commander. After he retired, he became the Police Chief of North Bay Village.