A sheriff suspended by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the response to the Parkland school shooting testified Wednesday that he properly trained a deputy now criminally charged in the case, but he wasn't able to give him courage.
Suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is fighting to keep his job after being removed three days after DeSantis took office last January. DeSantis accused Israel of incompetence and neglect of duty and failing to properly train his department for an active shooter situation. Seventeen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.
The case against Israel is built largely on the failure of Deputy Scot Peterson, who remained outside the school instead of entering the building as a gunman fired about 140 bullets. DeSantis' lawyer, Nicholas Primrose, focused much of his questioning on Peterson's training and Israel's decision to change the wording of a deputy's responsibilities during an active shooter situation from "shall" enter a building to "may" enter a building.
"You give them the training," Israel said. "You provide them with the polices and the procedures, but no matter what the governor's attorney says at any time, if they think that I can provide any woman or man on this Earth with courage and the desire to go inside when their conscious is telling them, 'I'm not going in there.' There's no sheriff, there's no police leader, there's no football coach or there's no general that's going to get someone to go in when the human element takes over and they say to themselves, 'I'm not going in.'"
DeSantis doesn't have the final say in whether Israel will be permanently removed from office. Israel was testifying before a "special master" appointed by Republican Senate President Bill Galvano to gather facts and make a recommendation on whether Israel should be removed from office or reinstated. The full Senate will eventually vote on Israel's fate. Israel was first elected in 2012 and reelected in 2016. He plans to run for the position again next year regardless of the outcome of the Senate proceedings.
The governor's lawyers didn't call any witnesses to back the assertion that Israel showed incompetence and negligence, instead relying on documents such as a report prepared by a commission appointed to study the shooting, a first draft report gathering information on a mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and transcripts of television interviews with Peterson and Israel.
But a lawyer for Israel pointed out that the document charging Peterson with nine criminal counts for failing to take action during the shooting states that Peterson was highly trained but failed to act on his training. The document was based on an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is overseen by DeSantis and the independently elected Cabinet.
Israel also defended his decision to change the language in the department's active shooter policy, saying officers are trained to assess a situation before entering a building.
"The purpose of the policy is to give the officer discretion not to go into a suicide mission. If your child was inside a school, you'd want an officer to go in, but you want him to go in alive to do what he was trained to do, and that's to eliminate the threat to the students," Israel said when he was questioned by his lawyer, Benedict Kuehne.
Later, when being questioned by Primrose, Israel added, "I've been a police officer 40 years and I don't know that there's a day in my life that I haven't been around police officers, and I've never met one — not one — to make a decision to go in or not go in based on 'may' or 'shall.' Police officers will make a decision based on courage — nothing more, nothing less."
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TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-AP EXPLAINS — Lawyer Keith Davidson concluded his testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial after spending about 6 1/2 hours on the witness stand over two days. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready video. Sent on May 2.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — Donald Trump said the judge in his hush money trial is conflicted and should not be hearing his case after being held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready video. Sent on May 2.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-PIZZA — After Donald Trump’s hush money trial adjourned, the former president delivered pizzas to a New York City firehouse. Newsroom Ready video. Sent on May 2.
ABORTION-POLITICS — Two years after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion signaled that the nation’s abortion landscape was about to shift dramatically, the issue is still consuming the nation’s courts, legislatures and political campaigns — and changing the course of lives. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready video. Sent on May 2.
TRUMP-RUNNING MATES — Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a donor retreat Friday in Palm Beach, Florida. Guests include Republicans considered to be prospective running mates. There is no indication if this event is open to the media. AP will cover if it is. If not, the AP will offer analysis on the event, and Trump’s potential running mates.
Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a donor retreat in Palm Beach, Florida.
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ELECTION 2024-HOUSE-CALIFORNIA — Nearly two months after the election, a recount settled the outcome in a Northern California U.S. House primary contest, breaking a mathematically improbable tie for second place but also spotlighting the lengthy stretch it took count the votes. SENT: 700 words, photos.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — The key prosecution witness has yet to take the stand in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. But jurors are already hearing from Michael Cohen as prosecutors work to directly tie Trump to payments to silence women with damaging claims about him before the 2016 election. SENT: 560 words, photos. UPCOMING: 980 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.
ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-NEW YORK — After a years-long breakup with his hometown city, Donald Trump is back in New York, this time as a criminal defendant. The felony trial has curtailed Trump’s ability to campaign across the country, but it also means he is often spending four days a week in the nation’s media capital. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-MICHIGAN-SENATE — The race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan is expected to be highly competitive with control of the upper chamber on the line. Rep. Elissa Slotkin has coalesced support on the Democratic side, while Republicans have rallied behind former Rep. Mike Rogers. SENT: 1,390 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-DECISION NOTES-INDIANA — The race for the White House tops the ballot Tuesday in Indiana’s presidential and state primaries, but voters will also have to settle more competitive contests for governor, Congress and the state legislature. SENT: 1,230 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-ABORTION-ARIZONA — Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban will soon be gone from the state’s law books, but not from the campaign trail. Even as Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a repeal of the law — one day after the state Senate passed it — Democrats running in the battleground state say they will make the Civil War-era law a centerpiece of their focus on reproductive rights. SENT: 860 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-BIDEN — President Joe Biden spent several hours in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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May 14 — Maryland presidential primary, Nebraska presidential primary and West Virginia presidential primary.
May 21 — California 20th Congressional District special election, Kentucky presidential primary, Oregon presidential primary.
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May 28 — Texas state primary runoff.
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Former President Donald Trump, seen through a camera viewfinder, speaks to members of the media at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Jeenah Moon/Pool Photo via AP)
