Sheriff Scott Israel is getting a lot of heat.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

I'm trying to look at the situation through a non partisan lens.

Does he deserve it ?

It seems he's a convenient scapegoat.

[spanone]

1. it's a great deflection from congress and the nra

[uponit7771]

7. +1, just heard Ryan give this same deflection in a presser

[spanone]

9. i heard that bullshit too.

[uponit7771]

11. Someone should've responded with "what could the law enforcement legally do to Cruz" and

... let Ryan dribble on because the answer is NOTHING

There was nothing they could've done other than lock Cruz up for a couple of days max.

Then Cruz waits a month and shoots up the place still

[B2G]

12. Nothing? LE experts disagree.

"Shooter could have faced charges before massacre — had cops done their job, experts say"

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article201887629.html#storylink=cpy

[uponit7771]

19. I mentioned they could've arrested him for a couple of days that's it. They couldn't confiscate his

... guns

[B2G]

20. How do you figure that?

If you're arrested and charged with a crime, you lose those rights depending on the conviction.

You're assuming a great deal here.

[Lee-Lee]

33. Yes they could

An arrest for any of the charges you see listed in the linked article above would probabky ket his loose on bail, terms of bail always include not possessing firearms.

Then a conviction would result in probably just probabtion for a first offense, but on probation even for misdemeanor charges you can’t possess firearms and are subject to random warrantless searches to ensure compliance.

[anneboleyn]

18. Yes, deflection. Trump also wants Russia out of the news.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

2. Since he said he was fortunate to have Rodger stone

On his side.

I'm skeptical of anything at that point.

[B2G]

3. IMO, yes.

Multiple tragic failures by his department.

[brush]

4. It was a multi-agency screw up on Cruz. They all dropped the ball, including the FBI.

[yallerdawg]

5. He symbolizes what isn't working to keep us safe.

Everything 'the right' tells us will keep us safe repeatedly fails.

The one proven solution recognized worldwide - ban these guns - won't be necessary if every other solution works perfectly.

It's so weird that our efforts to create a perfectly safe society revolve around selling as many guns as possible.

Meanwhile, we die.

[uponit7771]

6. Yes, Israel is being used as a scapegoat seeing there was NOTHING the sheriff could've done to stop

... him legally other than lock him up for a couple of days.

[B2G]

8. She's talking about Israel, not Petersen. nt

[uponit7771]

10. Thx, edited

[Lee-Lee]

32. Thats absolutely not true. There were things that could have been done

Among the charges he could have faced for his various things that brought him to LE attention:

Assault for school fights
Aggravated stalking for his specific threats to other students made online.
Improper exhibition of firearms- a unique Florida law his threatening social media posts were a violation of.
Written threats to do bodily injury- a felony

And much more. They also had a whole department of people in the agency whose job included monitoring the social media of people who pose a risk and they never submitted his name to them.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article201887629.html

[uponit7771]

39. And as posted all of those would've locked him up for a short time vs ...

... taking away his access to weapons of war.

[Lee-Lee]

41. No. A condition of both bail before trial and probation after

Would absolutely be that he can’t be in possession of firearms, and he would have to either dispose of them in a manner certified by the court or have them seized by the police until the court rules they can be returned.

An arrest on any of those things, just one, would have been enough to get his ability to own firearms legally restricted and them taken away. A conviction would have at worst gotten that restricted for 1-3 years of probation, if they got a felony conviction for lifeZ

[bluestarone]

36. Right on He's definitly a scapegoat!! Just think what HE COULD HAVE DONE IF

Congress would have done THERE job!!!!!!!!!!! The fucking gun should have and still should be BANNED!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Thekaspervote]

13. This is nra Russia bot shit pushing.... dont fall for it AGAIN!!!!

[B2G]

14. Oh god. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

40. Russia is definitely trying to make political hay out of the shooting.

But that has nothing to do with whether or not the criticism of Sheriff Israel is warranted.

[MineralMan]

15. Time to turn down the thermostat?

It's awkward to sweat when people can see you.

[johnpowdy]

16. Yes he does. If our argument is that the police will keep us safe....

and they don't. What does that mean for us? He failed and his deputies failed. That doesn't mean guns are to blame as well.

[EffieBlack]

17. It's a diversion

That too many Democrats are falling for.

[Oneironaut]

21. The Issue is Guns

They’re waving shiny objects in front of the media, and it’s working.

[B2G]

22. It's actually multiple things.

Have you no curiosity as to what drives this type of behavior in the first place?

[johnpowdy]

23. Put a gun in most people's hands and they will commit violence with it

Most citizens cannot be trusted with guns. Only trained people like the police and government should be allowed to own guns.

An exception is for hunters or farmers who may have a registered shotgun

[B2G]

24. Well that right there is complete bullshit.

But you're entitled to your opinion, however misguided it may be.

[LanternWaste]

26. Ironic you should post that.

Ironic you should post that. Hope those marathons are less concerning...

[B2G]

28. Ignore. You've grown very tiresome. nt

[LanternWaste]

29. Civility... it actually works!

Civility... it actually works!

("however misguided it may be..." )

Word on the street is that the Battle of Marathon was a very bloody ordeal, indeed. Sounds concerning, no?

[Oneironaut]

25. Thats a false dilemma that is being parroted in the media as well, no offense.

It is possible to be concerned about our nation’s mental health / what causes school shooters and also acknowledge that mentally ill people have extremely easy access to guns.

We can talk about both. However, the militant NRA crowd is trying to muddy the waters with distractions so that we stop talking about guns.

[B2G]

27. Uh, that's exactly what I said. nt

[Oneironaut]

30. You asked if I cared about the other causes of school shootings

The answer is of course, yes. Is there a point here?

[Lee-Lee]

31. Yes he absolutely does. On many levels

Read this article for starters:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article201887629.html

His department missed multiple chances. Yes, there were a number of times when he could have done far more than they did.

They missed chances to have him charged and put into the criminal justice system.

They missed chances to have him submitted to the people they have on staff whose job it is to monitor the social media of people who make posts indicating they are a risk.

They missed chances to have him charged with aggravated stalking for threats to his peers online- a charge that would have required loss of firearms for bail and after a conviction as terms of probation.

They at every possible chance chose to do the bare minimum they could. And that seems to have been a deliberate strategy not just with him but all kids there as a strategy to reduce the number of kids they sent to the justice system to look better.

On top of all that, his people failed to act properly and move to the shooter and confront them when they responded. That failure of training is on him too.

[Flaleftist]

34. They need a scapegoat

to distract from easy access to military style weapons and poor mental health care.

[FarCenter]

35. Didn't enforce the law within the school; didn't train or command officers to enter immediately;

didn't react to warnings about Cruz prior, and covering up the inadequacies now.

[nocalflea]

37. He deserves the heat.

His department failed. He immediately scapegoated one officer, which was unprofessional and suspicious. And he has some unsavory connections and a controversial history.

He deserves scrutiny and the community deserves answers.

[Sunsky]

38. He is being scapegoated

and Democrats are falling for the republicans dirty tricks again. When he challenged DaNRa to her face, I told my husband to be prepared for the calls for him to resign.

Soon after, the attacks started on two fronts- 1) Democrats tying him to Stone by bringing up an old Sun Sentinel article. The same Sun Sentinel that endorsed Israel in 2016. Broward county is a democratic stronghold, he doesn't need outside help to win once he has a D behind his name. Lamberti needed Stone's help to win in 2008 and when Stone didn't help Lamberti, he lost.
2) The republicans calling for him to resign because somehow it's his fault that the officers didn't enter the building or didn't follow up on calls etc.
Yes there needs to be an investigation and there need to be changes but this is a he neither him nor Wray should resign over this.

I know that Israel switched parties from R to D but, his work has spoken for itself. I'm happy with Israel as our sheriff. He has been very involved in our community. He stands up for the homeless unlike the Ft. Lauderdale Pd. He's for body cam on officers. He supported issuing a fine for small-time pot possession instead of a criminal arrest. He was very outspoken about his issue with the Stand your ground law, after Trayvon Martin's murder and he supports common sense gun laws. I'm sure Stone opposes these positions. Scott Israel stands up for what he believes in, even if it may be politically problematic.
At first, I was skeptical about him but he won me over and I was very happy vote for his re-election in 2016.
tRick Scott should not get to choose who is the head of BSO.