Florida's Sheriff Gregory Tony's case is set before state panel after judge urged reprimand
Published in News & Features
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A state commission may rule later this week in the case of Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, who has defended against accusations he violated state law by not disclosing in 2019 that his driver’s license previously was suspended.
An administrative law judge, Robert L. Kilbride, last year concluded that the sheriff’s violation happened and recommended in an order that he be placed on an 18-month “probationary status,” receive a written reprimand and be required to complete ethics training.
Tony’s case is up for consideration Thursday before the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, which plans to meet in Central Florida. The entry on the agenda is listed under an “exception to recommended order.”
Tony has defended against accusations that he withheld information to receive a Florida driver’s license repeatedly between 2007 and 2019.
The allegations from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2022 were that Tony “was untruthful in his answers” to questions when he visited a driver’s license office in Lauderdale Lakes to obtain a replacement license while he was sheriff in 2019, but Tony testified he had been attesting at the time of his application “to what’s in front of” him, such as his biographical information.
Kilbride’s ruling said Tony’s Pennsylvania driver’s license was suspended in 1998. Kilbride found that alleged violations of state law in 2007, 2013 and 2017 were “not adequately proven” but said Tony did not disclose the suspension in 2019.
The judge wrote in his ruling that Tony, as the Broward County sheriff, “is held to a high standard since his position is one of considerable authority within the community. There can be no doubt that respondent’s position as a law enforcement officer and sheriff is also one of great public trust. Respondent’s action on February 1, 2019, regrettably, has damaged that trust. A basic public expectation of those who serve the public and enforce the laws is that they must obey the law.”
The judge’s recommendation would be less of a punishment than what had been sought by state’s law enforcement, which wanted a suspension of his law enforcement certification. In April, the FDLE recommended Tony be “found guilty of failure to maintain good moral character” and receive a six-month certification suspension, followed by one year of probation, and required to complete a commission-approved ethics training.
“The position of an officer is one of great public trust and the Respondent’s calculated actions have broken that trust,” Andrew Digby, assistant general counsel for FDLE, wrote in a recommended order filed in court records for the administrative judge’s consideration. “There can be no more basic public expectation than that those who enforce the laws must themselves obey the law.”
“The offense of falsifying information on a driver license application is an act involving moral turpitude,” Digby wrote. Digby wrote that Tony, as the sheriff “is inherently held to a higher standard due to his position being one of great power within the community.”
Tony’s defense attorneys submitted a court filing suggesting the case be dismissed entirely.
Tony’s lawyers had previously argued that “one cannot conclude that the Respondent did unlawfully and knowingly make a false statement, knowingly conceal a material fact, or otherwise commit fraud in the applications …”, emphasizing the word “knowingly.”
A separate proceeding
A separate matter, before a separate judge, also has been unfolding. In that second case, at issue there is whether Tony committed ethics violations.
In 2022, the Florida Commission on Ethics said it has found probable cause to pursue a case into Tony’s lies and omissions on forms that led him to his first cop job in Coral Springs, and ultimately rise to sheriff. One ethics commission member argued if the commission didn’t take action, it would set a precedent for others to lie in applications to “do whatever you gotta do to get the position.” Another member called his behavior “despicable.”
His defense attorney has previously said Tony “looks forward to a swift finding of innocence.”
After multiple delays, that hearing could be scheduled before an administrative law judge as early as this month.
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