Broward Sheriff Dr. Gregory Tony gets sworn in for second term in office

Sheriff Dr. Gregory Tony, the 17th sheriff of Broward County, is being sworn in for his second term in office after winning re-election in November.

Tony, a Democrat, was appointed sheriff in 2019 by Gov. Ron DeSantis after predecessor Scott Israel's alleged mishandling of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in February 2018, a decision that was upheld by the Florida Senate.

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office website, the sheriff began his law enforcement career in 2005 with the Coral Springs Police Department. Throughout his career, he served on the SWAT team for five years and rose to the rank of sergeant. He also worked in narcotics investigations, burglary apprehension, street intelligence and field force.

"With a passion for service and all too aware of the numerous active shooter incidents occurring throughout the country and around the world, Sheriff Dr. Tony left the Coral Springs Police Department in 2016 to start Blue Spear Solutions. The security firm specializes in providing both the public and private sectors with active shooter and mass casualty training and providing them with threat assessments. Thousands of people across the globe are using the training platform," his biography reads.

Then, he joined BSO as sheriff in 2019. The website says he is prioritizing progressive community-oriented policing initiatives combined with increased training and intelligence-led policing.  

The Broward Sheriff's Office is the largest in Florida, with 5,800 employees, including more than 2,700 certified deputies and more than 700 fire rescue professionals. The department has an annual operating budget of nearly $1 billion.

BSO provides full-time law enforcement services in 14 Broward cities and towns and in all of its unincorporated areas, serving more than one-third of the county.

Tony's time as sheriff has not been without controversy.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report issued in 2022 said Tony repeatedly lied on his police applications, including failing to disclose that he fatally shot another teenager during a fight when he was 14. Tony was later found to have acted in self-defense and acquitted, but the applications required the disclosure of all arrests no matter the court decision.

The FDLE said Tony could not be criminally charged because the false statements happened so long ago the statute of limitations had expired.

The investigation found that in 2003, Tony answered truthfully that he had once used LSD as a teenager when he applied for a job with the Tallahassee Police Department, his first law enforcement application. After that admission caused his rejection, investigators found that on subsequent police applications Tony answered “no” when asked if he had ever used or handled hallucinogenic drugs.

Investigators say Tony also repeatedly lied on police and Florida driver’s license applications by answering “no” when asked if his license was ever suspended. Pennsylvania had suspended his license in 1996 for failing to pay traffic tickets. That last happened in 2019 when he applied for a new license shortly after he became sheriff.

In April of this year, FDLE recommended suspending Tony's law enforcement certification for six months over allegations of lying on the driver's license applications.

In May, an administrative law judge said Tony should receive a written reprimand, be required to complete ethics training and be placed on an 18-month “probationary status.”

The judge's order will go to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission for a final decision.

Tony, for his part, has focused on the initiatives he's implemented during his tenure as sheriff.

They include "a state-of-the-art Real Time Crime Center and Threat Management Division allowing for enhanced school safety, the building of a new Research, Development, and Training Center, created strict policies and practices to ensure transparency and accountability, established varying degrees of community policing models throughout our county," according to his campaign website.