Government Wants Our Trust, but Where’s the Accountability?: New at Reason

The foul ups by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office don’t inspire confidence.

Steven Greenhut writes:

The school shooting in Parkland, Florida, is heartbreaking but increasingly infuriating, as we endure a sea of excuses from Broward County’s law enforcement officials. The glib Sheriff Scott Israel has been ubiquitous on television, where he’s complained about a lack of police power to detain people and called for tougher gun control. But one thing is missing from his tiring shtick: any personal responsibility for his own department’s failures.

Israel’s interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper was something to behold—even for those of us who have spent careers writing about the antics of public officials. Tapper, who had pointed to the many “red flags” about the alleged killer, asked if the shootings might have been avoided if the sheriff’s department had done things differently. Israel’s answer: “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, O.J. Simpson would still be in the record books.”

What does that mean? Tapper had no idea, either, and then pressed Israel again. “We understand everything wasn’t done perfectly,” the sheriff added, in what has to be the understatement of the decade. He had boasted of his “amazing leadership” and the fabulous achievements in the sheriff’s department—and said there wasn’t anything he could do about his deputy who didn’t enter the building. He had training, after all.

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