Please, Sun Sentinel, rescind shameful endorsement of Scott Israel for Broward sheriff | Hunter Pollack

I wasn’t planning on sending you this letter, but after watching my mom cry tears of pain when she saw your endorsement of Scott Israel, I felt obligated to. I just can’t fathom the pain the 16 other victims’ families felt when you released your shameful endorsement. But given that you wrote that you anticipated your endorsement would engender such feelings, I’ll stick to the facts of the case that you seem to have forgotten.

In your editorial, you left out important facts that gave the reader the impression that Scott Israel had very little culpability in the failed law enforcement response at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. You wrote that “Israel could not have prevented the tragedy.” That’s not really true. Prior to the Parkland shooting, the Broward Sheriff’s Office had intervened with Nikolas Cruz 40 times and nothing came of it until his rampage. As you and your reporters know, BSO deputies felt that their hands were tied when it came to juvenile arrests because of Israel’s policy.

You also argued that “Israel could not have known that Deputy Scot Peterson would prove to be a coward.” Peterson only received one hour of active shooter training over the last three years that he was at the school. BSO was responsible for enforcing such training and evaluating his performance regularly. The MSD report says Peterson’s 28 years on the force contributed to his inadequate response because he’d not been exposed to many high-risk, high-stress situations.

Your statement “For BSO’s response was his responsibility, but not his fault. There is a difference.” No there isn’t. Eight deputies hid behind walls and cars while shots were ringing out. Scott Israel lied in his commission testimony when he said there was no reason to believe they knew about an active shooter. Deputy Peterson said it on the radio and deputies heard the gun shots as proven on body-cam footage. BSO deputies didn’t remember the last time they had active shooter training, compared to Coral Springs officers who go through active shooter training every year. It proved to have a major impact. Coral Springs officers had no difficulty identifying the proper response to an active shooter. They entered the 1200 building before BSO.

The radio issues were catastrophic. Deputies were using hand signals to communicate. The fact that BSO policy stated deputies “may” enter instead of “shall” could be the reason why deputies didn’t go into the building to save my sister. When Sheriff Israel testified to the MSD Commission that he wanted to give his officers discretion and not send them on a suicide mission, Sheriff Grady Judd said, “Words matter and according to your policy, he (Peterson) didn’t have to go in.”

You wrote that you saw hopeful signs in your interview with Scott Israel. Well, consider this. He had over two years to prepare for it. When you say that the Senate’s removal turned into a partisan trophy, why didn’t you mention that three Democratic senators voted for his removal?

This fight is bigger than honoring my sister Meadow, who was a victim of Scott Israel’s deadly incompetence and neglect of duty. It is about protecting the residents of Broward County. You said in your 2018 editorial: “A community of our size is going to face another tragedy. It’s just a matter of where and when. And if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. Given Sheriff Israel’s failure to learn from history and the failure of his command during our community’s most horrific events - we now stand with those who believe he should be removed and replaced.”

Scott Israel still has not accepted personal responsibility for his and BSO’s shortcomings that day. If a leader can’t humble themselves and admit their mistakes, are they really a leader? If he is elected again, as you said, we are doomed to repeat our tragic history. Please do the right thing and rescind your endorsement of Scott Israel for Sheriff.

Hunter Pollack is the brother of Meadow Pollack, who was among the 17 people killed in the February 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

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