Inept Broward Co. Captain Was Part of Diversity Pick, Sheriff Says
The local law enforcement response to the Parkland, Florida high school shooting that cost 17 people their lives has been heavily criticized. Many law enforcement officers have been pointed out for their glaring missteps.
For example, Fox News reported in March that Capt. Jan Jordan of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), who was the commanding officer at the high school during the shooting, allegedly ordered emergency responders to “stage” outside the high school instead of rushing in to neutralize the threat.
Multiple law enforcement sources told Fox News that these commands went against all training.
Now, a revelation has shown that Jordan had been previously recommended for promotion based on a diversity quota.
Andrew Pollack, the father of student Meadow Pollack who was tragically killed in the mass shooting, is pointing to Sheriff Scott Israel’s admittance that he recommended officers for promotion based on creating diversity in upper positions.
Captain Jan Jordan froze during the Parkland shooting. Officers said she was in over her head.
Now Sheriff Israel admits Captain Jordan was recommended based on “diversity” NOT qualifications.
Her lack of leadership led to kids dying, all because they wanted diversity! pic.twitter.com/oEB93ABF8E
— Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) November 29, 2018
“She had asked for some diversity, appropriately so, I gave her three names,” Israel said about a supervisor’s request for recommendations for officers to promote.
“One of the names I gave her was Captain Jordan,” Israel said He went on to say that he was not part of the selection board that reviewed his recommendations for hiring.
Before being criticized for the handling of the Parkland shooting, Sheriff Israel had already been accused of making strategic sheriff’s office hires in order to lay a base of support for his 2016 reelection.
A statement from the sheriff’s office also shows Israel boasting about his inclusiveness.
Calling BSO “more inclusive than ever before,” Israel wrote that “BSO also proudly employs many strong, dedicated women throughout the agency in sworn and non-sworn positions alike.”
“They play a vital role in all aspects, and their presence at times brings a different and welcome perspective to public safety.”
Employing women and people who belong to minority groups is a good thing. But hiring them based on their “diversifying” effect isn’t just insulting to them, it’s also harmful.
In police work especially, employees need to be hired and promoted based on merit, not gender or race.
Besides that, employees should be able to trust that they were promoted because they were prepared for the job, instead of being thrust into a position that isn’t right for them because their supervisors are looking for diversity.
The nature of police work demands top of the line physical, mental, and moral competence. These qualifications cannot be sacrificed to make a police force or its leadership look cultivated.
Promoting people simply based on their “diverse” status so you can get inclusivity points and fill a quota is a horrendous idea in police work, and may lead to such devastating results as seen in the Parkland shooting.
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