FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Broward’s sheriff could lose his police certification, officials said Tuesday.
A panel, part of the state Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, conducted a Probable Cause Determination hearing on Tuesday for 80 cases, including that of Sheriff Gregory Tony.
“The three-member Commission panel determined there is probable cause for continuing,” said Dana Kelly, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The commission is part of the FDLE.
That means the full committee will review Tony’s case in August to decide if he loses his law enforcement certification.
If he loses his certification, he loses the ability to act as a law enforcement officer in Florida. It has no bearing on Tony retaining the role of Broward sheriff, however, since a civilian can hold the elected position.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
State officials said Tuesday they could not immediately provide a copy of the complaint. But the committee’s agenda listed the violations that happened were “on or between” Feb. 1, 2019 and March 15, 2002.
In January 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Tony to the sheriff’s job, just days into the new governor’s term. A background check raised no red flags about Tony, a Coral Springs police veteran.
Tony landed his first job as a police officer in 2005 with the Coral Springs Police Department when he was 26. He worked there through September 2016.
Tony never disclosed on forms that he had shot and killed an 18-year-old man when he was a teenager living in a rough neighborhood in Philadelphia, the secret hidden from the Coral Springs police background investigator, and the governor.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that Tony made repeated falsehoods on applications, but prosecutors determined they could not pursue charges because too much time had gone by.
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