Fort Lauderdale’s new police chief stresses diversity, connection to community
From the time William Schultz saw how a friend’s dad interacted with people as a Michigan state trooper, he knew he wanted to go into law or law enforcement.
When college rolled around, Schultz, now 50, was prepared to go into pre-law, but a college adviser convinced him otherwise after hearing Schultz’s interests leaning more toward enforcing the law than litigating it.
“So I gave it a shot, took a few criminal justice courses during freshman year in college, and absolutely loved it,” he said. “And the passion has remained ever since. It only grew even stronger when I started actually doing it here in Fort Lauderdale.”
Schultz embarked on that journey in 2001, joining the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and working through the ranks to now becoming the city’s police chief on Monday.
Schultz is the second openly gay chief of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and says he knows he has a tough task ahead of him, including tackling violent crime, ensuring stability within the department and retaining officers.
First 100 days
A few days into the job, Schultz said he plans to have conversations with the staff in a department that’s seen instability in its top leadership in the past few years.
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The department has seen a revolving door of police chiefs since 2020, when the city demoted then-chief Rich Maglione to major amid protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. At that time, the department was criticized for using tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters. Maglione was fired after defending his officers’ actions.
In one instance, protester LaToya Ratlief from Delray Beach was hit in the head by a foam rubber bullet fired by Fort Lauderdale Police, and her eye socket was fractured.
Former Davie police chief Patrick Lynn was hired as interim police chief while the city conducted a search which led them to hiring then-retired Pittsburgh police officer Larry Scriotto in 2021. Scriotto, the city’ first openly gay chief, was fired after six months amid allegations he promoted people based on skin color. Lynn was hired as permanent police chief after Scriotto’s firing. He is retiring Dec. 15, and will help Schultz transition into the role.
“There’s been some instability at the top leadership levels of this department,” Schultz said. “It is my goal to show that that has been fixed, that has been absolutely remedied. I am going to bring that stability that we truly needed in this department. And I have that already through the relationships I have with the community.”
Crime and retention
One of the first issues Schultz wants to tackle is violent crime, which has increased in recent years. His approach would involve a specialized task force to pinpoint what the department can do regarding gun violence.
“We also need to have a bit more interaction with the communities to see how they can assist us and really make an impact on the crime that’s occurring in their specific neighborhoods,” he said.
Apart from violent crime, Schultz addressed the issue of ATVs and motorcyclists blocking city streets, namely along Federal Highway between Oakland Park Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard.
Schultz said the department has identified license plates or people. “We don’t ever pursue those individuals — as a policy, we do not do that. But we can identify them later,” he said.
And once identified, Schultz said the department can issue out-of-custody probable cause affidavit. “And that alone sends a message to these individuals and sometimes the organized groups, that that activity will not be tolerated in Fort Lauderdale,” he said. “Does it still occur? Certainly does. And a lot of times what you’ll see though, is they’re passing through our city, we will send officers immediately, as soon as we learn of it, to show the presence to show them again, we see what you’re doing. It is not welcome here.”
He also addressed the concerns about homelessness in the community, emphasizing it is not a crime and that the city has a community court that assists house-less residents.
In addition to crime, Schultz is concerned about staff retention, noting the pandemic is when some officers left the department. “I know nationwide, it was noted in departments that the pandemic really was a rough time to police,” he said. “Those who were close to retirement — some took that earlier retirement than they normally would have. That was definitely an impactful time for us for sure.”
Schultz said the department has had a few resignations and recent retirements but has not had trouble recruiting. There are about 40 vacancies in the department, including 13 newly authorized hires, which brings the total to 563 sworn officers.
“We want to make sure that officers not only are happy and enjoying their employment here, but also happy with the South Florida area and enjoying living here,” he said.
Schultz’s tenure as chief is starting while construction is underway on the department’s new headquarters along Broward Boulevard. Right now, the department is operating out of a building on Cypress Creek Road. Construction is set to be completed by summer 2025.
Community relations
For Schultz, the approach to policing is building relationships. That began in 2006, when he started the LGBTQ Liaison Unit.
“I certainly do not find it a hindrance,” he said when asked if being an openly gay police chief concerned him. “As part of a diverse group and the LGBTQ community, I think it’s actually absolutely beneficial in my understanding of diversity, whether it’s internally within the department or externally in the community.”
He touted the department’s having affinity groups for Black and Hispanic officers as a way to forge relationships not just in the department but in the communities they police as well.
“I want to take those three associations and build upon those to not only strengthen the diversity within our department but really form engaging relationships in diversity outside the department and in the community,” he said.
