Broward cops union endorses veteran BSO commander over sitting sheriff and his predecessor

May 12--Broward County's largest police union -- embroiled in a bruising battle with the sitting sheriff and not a fan of his ousted predecessor -- on Tuesday instead endorsed a retired top commander with 40 years of experience in the race for Broward sheriff's Office.

The key endorsement was somewhat surprising, bypassing the race's front-runners, current Sheriff Gregory Tony, whose campaign is reeling from a string of controversies, and former Sheriff Scott Israel, who was removed from his post by by Florida's governor in the wake of the department's hesitant response to the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting.

The Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association, which represents about half of the department's 2,800 sworn deputies, threw its considerable weight behind Al Pollock, a former Marine and BSO veteran with training in everything from domestic violence to narcotics and public corruption. Pollack, whose worked his way up the ranks with minimal controversy over the decades, also once oversaw a department budget of almost $300 million.

Pollock, who retired in 2017 with the rank of colonel, is probably the third biggest name in the crowded field of 12 candidates, in which the two leading candidates already engaged in an increasingly bitter campaign.

"The union and the membership believe Alvin Pollock's life experience, and his rise through the ranks of BSO from road patrol deputy to colonel give him the expansive and comprehensive knowledge of the county and the sheriff's office that make him the single most qualified candidate to run the agency starting day one," the union said in a press release.

Deputies gave Pollock 57 percent of the online vote, more than four times the number of votes than the next closest candidate, the union said.

Pollock, who called the current leadership "cancerous," said he has plenty of issues with the past two sheriffs, but would prefer to focus on the future.

"I'm going to restore working together with the employees and restoring faith and trust and getting everyone's confidence back," he said. "We're going to work on police community programs to protect kids, the elderly and animals."

The primary election for the top law enforcement post in the county is in August. The general election is in November, part of the local under card in the presidential race.

Other candidates in the Democratic primary include Tony and Israel; former Miami-Dade and Fort Lauderdale police officer Willie Jones; and former military and BSO veteran Santiago Vazquez Jr. The Republican side boasts four candidates, including military veteran and Broward attorney H. Wayne Clark and investigator and bounty hunter Joseph Goldner. Also vying to win the Republic primary are attorney Eugene Steele and Raymond L. Hicks, a former BSO deputy with a troubled past, who was once involunatarily committed for mental evaluation after a jarring video.

But by far the biggest names in the congested field are Tony and Israel, two men forever linked to the deadliest mass shooting in Florida high school history and two campaigns that have already engaged in a bruising attacks on each other. They're also by far the leading fundraisers in the field.

As of the end of April, Tony had received $155,551 in contributions and a political action committee endorsing him had raised another $956,230, according to Broward County election and state records. Those same records show Israel had raised $137,230, while a political action committee supporting him had $265,725. Pollock, according to the Broward County elections department has raised $68,280, mostly through small donations from cops and local businesses.

Contributions to campaign accounts are capped at $1,000. There is no limit to how much money can be donated to a PAC. Tony, Israel and Pollock have so far significantly out-raised anyone else in the Democratic or Republican fields.

Israel, elected as sheriff in 2016, was removed less than a week into Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis's swearing in, in early January 2019. He quickly appointed Tony, 41, a former Coral Springs cop who had moved back to Florida after opening up a company in South Carolina that focused on police training and active shooting incidents.

The governor replaced Israel after a state panel criticized the the response of Broward Sheriff's Office deputies to the Valentine's Day 2018 shooting at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, when 17 people were killled and another 17 were injured. Israel has since filed a lawsuit to retain his job and swore almost from the day he was removed that he planned to run again for the position.

Tony, who with little experience was put in command of almost 5,600 personnel in law enforcement, corrections and fire rescue, had almost no honeymoon period. Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association President Jeff Bell harshly criticized the sheriff for a series of firings and suspensions of deputies who were caught on cellphone video using questionable force during arrests. Bell argued they were removed without due process.

The battle between the two peaked last month when Bell criticized Tony for not accepting masks the union had provided and invoked the name of deputy who had died of COVID-19 in the same letter. The sheriff, furious, pummeled Bell for politicizing Deputy Shannon Bennett's death and suspended the union president, saying it was part of an old internal affairs investigation. Bell has since filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming his civil rights were violated. The union later passed a vote of no-confidence for the sheriff.

Even as that was going on, Tony was taking fire for a series of articles that came out that highlighted a teenager the sheriff shot and killed in Philadelphia when he was only 14 years old. Tony never disclosed it to Coral Springs police or to DeSantis during his appointment. He argued that there was no need because he was found not guilty of any wrongdoing as a juvenile. At about the same time a British tabloid reported that the sheriff and his wife had attended a South Florida swinger's club and printed racy photos.

Tony and his campaign said the recent articles were nothing but a smear campaign promoted by Israel's camp. Israel's campaign has denied the accusation, as has the sheriff's deputy union that threw its endorsement to Pollock on Tuesday.

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