![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Broward-County-Sheriff-Scott-Israel-e1519428344129.jpg\")
<\/a>Sheriff Scott Israel (Photo by Aaron Davidson\/Getty Images for Habitat for Humanity of Broward)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
Broward County Sheriff Has History Of Controversy<\/h1>\n
Peter Hasson
\nThe Daily Caller<\/p>\n
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- Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel faces criticism for his department\u2019s repeated failures to stop Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Israel has been accused of using his department for political purposes<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Israel faced criticism after a PAC supporting his campaign accepted donations from a felon with ties to organized crime<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, currently under fire for his department\u2019s repeated failures to stop Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz, is no stranger to controversy.<\/p>\n
Israel was criticized in 2014 after a political action committee supporting his re-election campaign for sheriff accepted thousands of dollars in donations\u00a0from a convicted felon<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The donor,\u00a0Yoram Izhak, was indicted for allegedly being part of an organized crime ring known as the \u201cCuban Mafia\u201d that \u201cwas allegedly involved in cocaine trafficking, arson, gambling and murder,\u201d according to Local10.<\/p>\n
The sheriff has also faced corruption accusations: department employees routinely attended campaign events while on the clock for their taxpayer-funded positions, a\u00a0Local10 investigation found in 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Sun-Sentinal investigation the same year found that the sheriff had routinelyhanded out taxpayer-funded jobs to political supporters<\/a>. The sheriff\u2019s response at the time: \u201clions don\u2019t care about the opinions of sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel is now facing sharp criticism for his department\u2019s repeated failures to stop Stoneman Douglas school shooter Nikolas Cruz. The sheriff\u2019s office was warned repeatedly that Cruz was a school shooter in the making, by both his relatives and those close to him, but failed to act to prevent the shooting.<\/p>\n
Cruz\u2019s guardian\u00a0told police<\/a>\u00a0that the Cruz had \u201cbought tons of ammo,\u201d \u201cused a gun against (people) before\u201d and \u201cput the gun to others\u2019 heads in the past.\u201d\u00a0(RELATED:\u00a0The Government Repeatedly Failed To Stop The Parkland Shooter)\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Then, when Cruz opened fire at Stoneman Douglas high school last week, Israel\u2019s sheriff\u2019s deputies stood by as the shooter mowed down defenseless victims.<\/p>\n
One of Israel\u2019s sheriff\u2019s deputies, Scot Peterson, stood outside the building and refused to confront the shooter, Israel admitted on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Three other Broward County deputies reportedly waited outside while the shooting was going on,\u00a0according to a report on Friday<\/a>. Israel did not disclose that fact to the public.<\/p>\n
- Israel has been accused of using his department for political purposes<\/strong><\/li>\n