FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony held a news conference Thursday morning to announce some changes within the department.
Tony announced the selection of new members to the Professional Standards Committee, as well as that he will be implementing a Use of Force Review Board.
According to the BSO, the PSC is responsible for reviewing the findings of Internal Affairs cases and providing disciplinary recommendations to the sheriff.
The new members include attorneys and people who have worked in labor practice.
Tony said he’s also instituting a seven-member Use of Force Review Board.
Use of force has been an issue for the Broward Sheriff’s Office over the last year.
TWO HIGH-PROFILE CASES INVOLVING USE OF FORCE
The sheriff fired Deputy Christopher Krickovich after cellphone video showed the deputy slamming then 15-year-old Delucca Rolle’s head into the pavement while punching him.
The incident happened in April 2019 outside a McDonald’s in Tamarac.
There’s also the case of the deputy who was fired for punching a man who was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Deputy Jorge Sobrino, who was a three-year veteran of the BSO, had just arrested David O’Connell for allegedly shoplifting from a Walmart in Pompano Beach shortly before the incident.
Bodycam footage shows O’Connell in a hospital room waiting to be medically cleared when the deputy closed the door and punched him.
In his report, Sobrino wrote that O’Connell had attacked him.
Tony’s critics have said in the past that his decisions on these cases have been politically driven.
Tony, who was appointed to his position by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is running for election later this year.
A previously published video contained within this article erroneously referred to the sheriff as “Israel.” Local 10 News regrets the mistake.