Gregory Tony
17th Sheriff of Broward County
Assumed office
January 11, 2019
Appointed byRon DeSantis
Preceded byScott Israel
Personal details
BornPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseHolly Tony[1]
Residence(s)Broward County, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater
OccupationLaw enforcement officer

Gregory Scott Tony[2] (born 1978) is an American law enforcement officer and serving since 2019 as the 17th Sheriff of Broward County, Florida.

Tony was initially appointed sheriff in 2019 by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, to fill a vacancy. In November 2020, Tony won election to the office of sheriff, which he had previously held by appointment.

Early life and education

Tony was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five children of Gloria Tony and William Scott.[3] He attended Olney High School in Philadelphia, graduating in 1997.[4]

Tony moved to Tallahassee, Florida, and attended Tallahassee Community College.[4] He then attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he played football under Bobby Bowden. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminology in 2002.[4] He later obtained a master's degree in criminal justice from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[5][6][7]

Early career (2005-18)

He was first employed as a police officer by the suburban Coral Springs Police Department from 2005, when he was 26 years old, to 2016, ultimately becoming a sergeant.[8][9][3][10] Tony's resume indicates that for years he has also served as an adjunct professor.[6][7]

Tony started an active shooter training company, Blue Spear Solutions, with his wife in 2015.[11] From 2016 through 2017, Tony worked as Director of Community Development at North American Rescue, a South Carolina company that sold bleeding-control kits and stations.[11]

Sheriff of Broward County (2019–present)

Appointment

While running for Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis made a campaign promise to replace Broward Sheriff Scott Israel.[12] Press reported that Tony was one of three possibilities for the position, along with former sheriff Al Lamberti and county judge John Fry.[13]

According to the Sun Sentinel, newly elected governor DeSantis's vetting of Tony was "rushed."[12][14] The governor's office requested that a background check be performed on Tony one day before DeSantis appointed Tony to the position.[15]

On January 11, 2019, days after Florida governor DeSantis took office, DeSantis suspended the prior sheriff for allegedly mishandling the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting and the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. DeSantis at the same time appointed Tony the Sheriff of Broward County, Florida.[16][17][18] DeSantis appointed Tony largely on the recommendation of a parent of a Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victim, who had met and worked out with Tony in a gym.[19][20] The Miami Herald called Tony "an unlikely choice."[21]

Union vote of no confidence, and call for Tony's removal

In April 2020, four days after a 39-year-old Broward Sheriff's Office deputy died from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, and after 20 other deputies tested positive for the virus, President Jeff Bell of the Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association – a 1,400-member branch of the International Union of Police Associations – criticized Tony over the lack of personal protective equipment for the officers, and Tony's failure to respond to their memos about the situation.[22][23][24] Tony said Bell's actions were "dishonorable."[22] Three days later, Tony suspended the union president without pay, and placed him under administrative investigation. Tony then terminated the union president in January 2022.[25][23][22][26]

The union announced a vote of no-confidence by its officers in Tony.[24] On June 3, 2020, the union wrote governor DeSantis to formally request that Tony be removed.[27][28] The governor did not take any action.[29]

2020 election

Tony first ran against Scott Israel (whom he defeated with 37% of the vote, to 35% for Israel) and several lesser-known candidates in the August 2020 Broward County Democratic primary election.[30] As of May, Tony had raised $1.1 million, to $0.1 million raised by Israel.[31] In the November general election, Tony then won against Republican H. Wayne Clark and independent Charles "Chuck" Whatley, with 63% of the vote in the overwhelmingly Democratic county.[32][33]

Discovery of 1993 killing by Tony

During the 2020 election campaign, the Florida Bulldog reported that Tony had shot and killed his neighbor when he was 14 years old and living in Philadelphia.[4][34] Tony was arrested for murder and weapons offenses and initially charged and ordered to stand trial as an adult and held without bail pending a preliminary hearing.[16][35][36][37][38] The case was then transferred to juvenile court.[39] There, he was found not guilty after he maintained that the shooting was in self-defense; the family of the deceased disputed that assertion, witnesses who said they had seen the killing and that the deceased had not been armed nor was it a case of self defense were not called.[4][40] The court records relating to the killing are sealed.[4][41]

Tony did not disclose the killing when he applied for law enforcement jobs.[36] When asked about the shooting, Tony denied he had been arrested, asserting that he simply went to the police station to provide a statement and was allowed to leave with his father.[42][43]

DeSantis did not know about Tony's killing prior to appointing Tony, and it did not come up in a background check of Tony during vetting.[44][43] When DeSantis found out about Tony's killing in May 2020, he distanced himself from Tony, but said that the shooting had not come up in the background check because it was self-defense and would not have made a difference. DeSantis added that he would leave the matter for Broward voters to decide.[45]

Investigations of Tony

Due to a complaint about whether Gregory made misstatements about his past on law enforcement documents, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) began an investigation in May 2020.[46] In January 2022, they released a report that alleged that Tony failed to report the killing and his arrest and lied about his traffic violations, his driver license suspension, his drug use, and a charge against him for passing a bad check.[47][16] Tony declined to be interviewed for the report.[47][48][16] FDLE said that Tony could not be charged criminally because the relevant statute of limitations had expired and referred its report to the Florida Ethics Commission for its consideration.[49][47][16][50]

In June 2022, another FDLE investigation found that Tony had in February 2019 provided false information on an application for a driver's license.[51] The FDLE found that Tony committed "false affidavit perjury", a third degree felony, but the Fort Myers state attorney's office did not pursue charges because the driver's license office clerk could not remember the incident with certainty.[52][53]

A three-member Florida Criminal Justice Standards & Training Commission panel recommended that a disciplinary process be initiated, and that Tony be barred from being a law enforcement officer in Florida.[51][54] In July 2022, Tony filed a request for an administrative hearing to dispute his police license being revoked.[54]

In early September 2022, the Florida Commission on Ethics, at a hearing arising from the FDLE referral, found probable cause that Tony misused his public position when he provided false information or did not disclose information which benefited him in getting his jobs.[55][56] As a result of the ethics commission's statement, Tony was added by Broward state prosecutors to its list of law enforcement officials who could be perceived as having credibility issues that might render their testimony in a trial less than credible.[57] In December 2022, the Florida Commission on Ethics, at a hearing arising from a separate citizen complaint, again found probable cause to believe that Tony misused his public position during the appointment process for the Broward County Sheriff position.[55]

References

  1. ↑ Skyler Swisher (November 4, 2019). "Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony officially files to run for election". Sun Sentinel.
  2. ↑ Lisa J. Huriash, Susannah Bryan, Rafael Olmeda, and Skyler Swisher (May 5, 2020). "Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony wouldn't have been hired as a cop if he revealed he killed a man, former boss says". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved August 19, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 Rafael Olmeda, Brittany Wallman and Eileen Kelley (May 8, 2020). "From rough past to top cop, here's what we know — and don't know — about Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony". South Florida Sun Sentinel.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Christensen, Dan (May 2, 2020). "Sheriff Gregory Tony has a secret: As a teenager, he shot and killed a man". Florida Bulldog.
  5. ↑ Burke, Peter. "Who is new Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony?", WPLG (11 Jan 2019): "Tony received his undergraduate degree in criminology from FSU and earned a master's degree in criminal justice from Nova Southeastern University".
  6. 1 2 "'I'm Here To Serve': New Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony On New Position". CBS News. January 11, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Sheriff Gregory Tony" Broward County Sheriff's Office. 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  8. ↑ Terry Spencer (January 27, 2022). "Florida sheriff fires deputy union head after COVID-19 fight". The Seattle Times.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Joe (September 18, 2022). "Winner and Loser of the Week in Florida politics — Week of 9.11.22". Florida Politics.
  10. ↑ "Florida governor considering punishment for Broward sheriff". MyNorthwest. February 1, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Broward sheriff used to work for company that sold emergency kits to his agency". Sun Sentinel. May 12, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Swisher, Skyler (June 8, 2020). "Newly released records shed light on Gov. Ron DeSantis'hurried vetting' of Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony". Sun Sentinel.
  13. ↑ Burke, Peter (January 11, 2019). "With DeSantis' announcement looming, this could be Israel's last day as sheriff". WPLG.
  14. ↑ Christensen, Dan (May 6, 2022). "What to do about Broward Sheriff, scalding FDLE report? No decision yet from DeSantis". Florida Bulldog.
  15. ↑ "State confirms wider investigation into Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony". Tribune Content Agency. November 24, 2020.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Prazan, Phil; Hamacher, Brian (September 14, 2022). "Ethics Commission Finds Broward Sheriff Tony Gave False Info, Misused Position". NBC Miami.
  17. ↑ "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Gregory Tony Sheriff of Broward County". flgov.com. January 11, 2019.
  18. ↑ "State of Florida Office of the Governor Executive Order 19–14" (PDF). flgov.com. January 11, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  19. ↑ Christensen, Dan (May 11, 2020). "BSO spent big on bleed control kits from sheriff's ex-company". Florida Bulldog.
  20. ↑ Pipitone, Tony (May 20, 2020). "Broward Sheriff Facing More Controversy Over Drug Use Question on Job Application; Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, who failed to reveal his arrest on murder charges as a juvenile when he applied for his only Florida law enforcement job, also misrepresented his use of the hallucinogen LSD on that application". NBC Miami.
  21. ↑ "Local," The Miami Herald, February 13, 2019.
  22. 1 2 3 "BSO Union President Who Clashed With Sheriff Fired After Investigation". NBC Miami. January 27, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Cohen, Howard (April 4, 2020). "BSO deputy dies of COVID-19. 'And we're probably going to lose another'". Miami Herald.
  24. 1 2 Anwer, David Selig, Terrell Forney, Saira (April 20, 2020). "Deputies vote no confidence in Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony". WPLG. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ Solomon, Janine Stanwood, Michelle (April 10, 2020). "Sheriff suspends union president accusing him of politicizing coronavirus". WPLG.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ Christensen, Dan (February 11, 2022). "BSO deputy Thurston fired; brass countermands 3-day suspension". Florida Bulldog.
  27. ↑ Lolo, Sabrina (June 4, 2020). "BSO Deputies Association asks DeSantis to remove Sheriff Tony from office". WPEC.
  28. ↑ Selig, David (June 4, 2020). "Broward deputies union asks Gov. DeSantis to remove Sheriff Gregory Tony". WPLG (local10.com).
  29. ↑ Swisher, Skyler (June 4, 2020). "Governor's office passes on union's request to oust Sheriff Gregory Tony". Sun Sentinel.
  30. ↑ "Summary Results – Election Night Reporting". Joe Scott; Broward Supervisor of Elections.
  31. ↑ Nicol, Ryan (May 13, 2020). "Gregory Tony adds more than $100K in April, remains atop BSO field in fundraising". Florida Politics.
  32. ↑ Eileen Kelley (November 3, 2020). "Gregory Tony wins brutally fought race for Broward sheriff". Sun Sentinel.
  33. ↑ Man, Anthony (January 17, 2020). "The clash between sheriff's candidates Scott Israel and Gregory Tony". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  34. ↑ Boryga, Andrew (May 3, 2020). "Report: Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony involved in fatal shooting when he was 14". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  35. ↑ David Smiley and Charles Rabin (May 5, 2020). "Broward sheriff defends '93 shooting he kept secret". Tampa Bay Times.
  36. 1 2 "FDLE Investigation Finds Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony Lied Multiple Times On Official Documents". CBS News. February 4, 2022.
  37. ↑ Russell, Don (May 5, 1993). ""Joke" turned sour for 2 pals in North Phila". Philadelphia Daily News. p. 5.
  38. ↑ Gibbons, Thomas Jr. (May 5, 1993). "Suspect, 14, surrenders in killing of friend". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 18. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  39. ↑ Christensen, Dan (May 6, 2020). "Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony under oath: I had no case sealed". Florida Bulldog.
  40. ↑ Lyons, David (September 17, 2022). "Witness statements raise questions about Broward sheriff's self-defense claim in 1993 deadly shooting". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  41. ↑ Christensen, Dan (April 8, 2021). "FBI probes Broward Sheriff Tony for bid rigging in bleeding control kits deal". Florida Bulldog.
  42. ↑ Willard Shepard (May 4, 2020). "Broward Sheriff Gives Details on Fatal Shooting When He was 14". NBC 6 South Florida. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  43. 1 2 Bryan, Susannah; Man, Anthony; Wallman, Brittany (May 3, 2020). "Broward sheriff's race rocked by decades-old incident: When Gregory Tony was 14, he killed a man". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  44. ↑ Dean, Mensah; Brennan, Chris (May 6, 2020). "Fla. sheriff under scrutiny for not disclosing that he killed a man 27 years ago in Philadelphia". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  45. ↑ Swisher, Skyler and Man, Anthony (May 4, 2020). "'I didn't even know the guy.' Gov. Ron DeSantis distances himself from Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, whom he appointed'", South Florida Sun Sentinel
  46. ↑ Huriash, Lisa J. (May 8, 2020). "State starts investigating Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony's paperwork". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  47. 1 2 3 Terry Spencer (February 1, 2022). "Florida governor considering punishment for Broward sheriff". AP News.
  48. ↑ Batchelor, Amanda (February 1, 2022). "Investigators: Broward sheriff lied about past; no criminal charges". WPLG.
  49. ↑ Terry Spencer (February 1, 2022). "Florida Governor Considering Punishment for Broward Sheriff,", U.S. News & World Report.
  50. ↑ Lisa J. Huriash (February 1, 2022). "Gov. DeSantis on Sheriff Gregory Tony: 'We're going to review everything' now that state found he concealed his past on forms". Sun Sentinel.
  51. 1 2 "Criminal justice panel moves forward disciplinary process for Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony". CBS News. June 21, 2022.
  52. ↑ Wallman, Brittany (January 31, 2022). "State finds Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony lied about his murder arrest and much more. But he won't be prosecuted". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  53. ↑ Rabin, Charles (January 31, 2022). "FDLE probe finds Broward Sheriff Tony lied about past on forms. But state won't prosecute". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  54. 1 2 Christensen, Dan (August 18, 2022). "Tony fights Criminal Justice Standards move to revoke police license". Florida Bulldog.
  55. 1 2 Huriash, Lisa J. (December 7, 2022). "Sheriff Gregory Tony faces more scrutiny from ethics panel over lies, omissions on forms". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  56. ↑ Cetoute, Devoune (September 15, 2022). "Broward Sheriff Tony lied on job forms, state board alleges. He could be removed from office". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  57. ↑ Huriash, Lisa (September 20, 2022). "Sheriff Gregory Tony added to prosecutors' list of cops with potential credibility issues". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
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