Former Sheriff Scott Israel is going back to work — monitoring red-light runners

Eileen Kelley, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·3 min read

After running the largest law enforcement agency in South Florida — and losing the job after the Parkland school shooting — former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel is going back to work.

He’ll be reviewing the footage of red light cameras in Davie.

The 64-year-old Israel will earn $65,000 a year, the same as his predecessor, said Davie Police Chief Stephen Kinsey. He’ll review the footage from five cameras and appear in court if someone challenges the ticket.

The job, replacing a person who retired, was posted for just two days in early May. Three people applied. Israel was the only one interviewed.

It’s a 40 hour-a-week job with no overtime. Israel’s title will be traffic infraction enforcement officer, said Phillip Holste, the assistant town administrator.

Davie currently has five red light cameras. According to the Florida Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 6,570 tickets were issued through Davie’s red light camera program between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020, the last fiscal year.

Just a little more than half of the tickets were paid. Three cases were dismissed, and 34 were still being contested.

Kinsey and Israel go back years. They worked together at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and Israel hand-picked Kinsey to be his undersheriff when he was elected sheriff in Broward County in 2012.

Then tragedy struck on Feb, 14, 2018, when a former student roamed the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an assault rifle, killing 17 people and seriously wounding another 17. Sheriff’s deputies raced to the scene, but some took cover instead of confronting and trying to stop the killer.

Eleven months later, then newly elected Gov. Ron DeSantis made good on his campaign promise and suspended Israel. Kinsey and four other members of Israel’s command staff offered their resignations afterward.

Kinsey in September was named Davie’s chief of police. Kinsey told the South Florida Sun Sentinel this week that Israel would not be employed by the Police Department but rather the town of Davie.

Israel tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Florida Senate to restore him as sheriff after a special master said his suspension should be lifted. The Senate declined to do so and officially removed him from office. Israel then tried to appeal to voters when he ran to get his seat back last November. Voters sent him a resounding no in the Democratic primary.

Israel has been drawing a pension from Fort Lauderdale since 2004. He currently receives $5,651 in monthly benefits, said a worker at the Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Pension Fund.

Israel did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Here are the locations of the cameras Israel will be responsible for overseeing:

  • Northbound on 441 at Griffin Road.

  • Southbound on 441 at Griffin Road.

  • Northbound on 441 at Orange Drive.

  • Northbound on University Drive at Nova Drive.

  • Eastbound on Stirling Road at Davie Road.

Eileen Kelley can be reached at 772-925-9193 or ekelley@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @reporterkell.