Dana Loesch called on suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to “stop his politicking” after slamming him for trying to “mask his incompetency.”
The spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association reacted to news that the Florida Sheriff was suspended by the state’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Story With Martha MacCallum” on Friday.
“Everyone pretty much agreed, including the Florida Sun-Sentinel that took a rare move in calling for his dismissal, that Scott Israel had to go. I know that Scott Israel, he’s tried to mask his incompetency previously by calling out the NRA or calling out other individuals, but you know, Martha, this is not about the NRA. This is about what this man did not do,” Loesch said.
Coral Springs police Sgt. Gregory Tony was appointed by DeSantis to replace Israel whose Broward County office responded to the Parkland shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year that left 17 people dead.
“I have no interest in dancing on Scott Israel’s political grave, but suffice it to say the massacre might never have happened had Broward had better leadership in the sheriff’s department,” DeSantis said from the Broward Sheriff’s Office headquarters on Friday, according to the Sun Sentinel.
JUST IN: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issues an executive order suspending Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. https://t.co/Xtkd78cQT6 pic.twitter.com/yx9xIpP6mL
— ABC News (@ABC) January 11, 2019
Loesch called out Israel’s lack of a clear policy and for lying.
“Having a clear policy and going after active shooters, you know the Stoneman Douglas commission when they were talking to deputies they learned from these deputies that the deputies could not remember the last time that they had active shooter training or what kind of training it was,” she said. “And furthermore, when Scott Israel had said that they had no legal means to go and arrest this murderer, actually that was a lie too.”
The embattled Israel and his agency came under heavy fire for the disastrous response to the shooting, with reports that a number of his deputies did not even enter the school amid the gunfire. The Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association months later took a vote of no confidence against Israel and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission was also critical of the Department
That 15-member commission in Florida voted in favor of arming teachers, sending their recommendations to outgoing Governor Rick Scott and incoming Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this month.
In the announced suspension on Friday, DeSantis said Israel “egregiously failed in his duties” by not maintaining “a culture of vigilance and thoroughness,” and not properly training deputies, according to the Sun Sentinel. The former sheriff spoke out against the governor’s executive order, saying he “wholeheartedly” rejected the statements.
Former Sheriff Scott Israel on suspension: “There was no wrongdoing on my part … this was about politics, not about Parkland.” pic.twitter.com/AVllMvpxbe
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) January 11, 2019
“There was no wrongdoing on my part,” he said at a press conference.
“I intend to vigorously fight this unjustified suspension both in court, and before the Florida Senate. This was about politics, not about Parkland,” he continued. “And now the National Rifle Association controls the governor’s actions. And they are now trying to control law enforcement in Broward County.”
Loesch slammed Israel for what “could have been prevented.”
“Yeah, well, I think he needs to say that to the families. Tell the families that it was unjustified, this is not about the NRA. This is about 17 lives lost, 17 lives that should not have been lost and could’ve been prevented,” she told MacCallum. “He needs to stop his politicking, he has been held accountable.”
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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