Amidst ongoing protests regarding police brutality, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony (D) has released an advertisement titled “Accountable: I Fired the Bad Cops,” which is part of an initial six-figure ad buy that will air on local TV stations.
In the television ad, Sheriff Tony’s life is recounted, detailing how he’s conquered adversity and how his leadership in standing up for equal justice and against police brutality has been significant when past leadership has refused to do the same.
Specifically, Tony explains that he fired two deputies for using excessive force. Last year, an officer in Tamarac was terminated after he slammed a 15-year-old’s face into the pavement. In addition, there was another officer who was caught on surveillance video delivering body and head blows to a 19-year-old who was waiting to be booked in a Fort Lauderdale jail.
“I’ve come a long way from the streets of a neighborhood called ‘the Badlands,’” says Tony, adding that he’s “come this far, but I know we have further to go.”
Commenting on the work that Sheriff Tony has done as Broward Sheriff, Jerrick Grant, Tony’s campaign manager, explained that “Sheriff Tony beat the odds to come from a poor, dangerous neighborhood to lead and reform one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country.”
Grant added that “now, Sheriff Tony has made it his greatest priority to make this office better serve our community by taking on police brutality – firing bad cops, and instituting new de-escalation, racial equity, and bias training, along with diversifying the command staff and providing better equipment.”
In reference to the advertisement, Grant noted that “this spot highlights Sheriff Tony’s life story of perseverance and how he continues to reform the department from the failed leadership of his predecessor.”
In the ad, Sheriff Tony reaffirms that the growing tension between Americans and cops “starts with who’s in charge.”
He admits, “it starts with me.”
