FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Gregory Tony was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to serve as Broward County sheriff after Scott Israel was suspended Friday.
Tony, 40, of Boca Raton, spent almost a dozen years with the Coral Springs Police Department, rising to the rank of sergeant before resigning in 2016.
The registered Democrat serves as president of Blue Spear Solutions, which specializes in active-shooter training, according to its website. His wife, Holly, a registered nurse for Broward Health North, serves as vice president.
Prior to working for the Coral Springs Police Department, Tony was employed by the Florida Department of Corrections and Florida Highway Patrol.
"I have served you once before, often times in the dark, away from the public light, simply doing my job to enforce the laws of this great state," Tony said.
A native of Philadelphia, Tony came to the Sunshine State to attend Florida State University, where he played football under legendary head coach Bobby Bowden. He played in five games for the Seminoles during the 2000-01 seasons.
"They ain't the Florida State that you just saw this (past) year," DeSantis joked. "They were a juggernaut back then."
Tony received his undergraduate degree in criminology from FSU and earned a master's degree in criminal justice from Nova Southeastern University.
He becomes the first black sheriff in Broward County history.
"Greg Tony's appointment is not the end, nor even the beginning of the end, but perhaps it will be the end of the beginning of the efforts for accountability and for reform," DeSantis said.