Florida Senate To Vote Wednesday On Scott Israel's Reinstatement As Broward Sheriff

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - It's decision day for former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel.

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday the full Florida Senate will convene in the Senate chamber to decide if Israel should be reinstated or removed and judging by the party-line vote by the Florida Senate Rules Committee on Monday, Israel likely faces an uphill battle to be reinstated by the Florida Senate today.

There are 23 Republican senators and 17 Democratic senators and 16 of them voted along party lines, 9-7 in favor of Republicans, during a Rules Committee vote to recommend Israel's removal.

Families of the Parkland victims, like Tony Montalto whose daughter Gina was murdered, are adamant that Israel must go.

"If there's systemic failures of incompetence and negligence as we've seen here in Mr. Israel's BSO, then he needs to be removed," Montalto said Wednesday after meeting with individual senators.

Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Israel earlier this year, citing Israel's handling of the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood airport shooting and the Parkland shooting as well as criticizing the active shooter policy that Israel changed giving deputies discretion on whether to engage an active shooter.

However, the attorney appointed to oversee Israel's Senate trial this summer, former Republican State Representative Dudley Goodlette, recommended that Israel be reinstated, saying the Stoneman Douglas shooting was a culmination of individual failures.

"The recommended finding is that Governor did not meet the preponderance of the evidence," Goodlette testified Monday.

But a majority of the Florida Senate Rules Committee looked past that recommendation and voted 9-7 along party lines on Monday night to recommend to the full Senate that Israel be removed. Republicans were almost completely united in their criticism of Israel and his overseeing of deputies who responded to MSD.

"There were 8 who failed," said Republican Sen. Rob Bradley. "That's called an institutional failure."

Democrats saw it differently.

"I'm sorry but the Governor has not met his burden to remove a Constitutionally elected officer,' said Democratic Senator Gary Farmer on Monday.

Republican Senator Tom Lee, from Hillsborough, said he was troubled by what this decision could mean for other Florida Sheriffs

"I think it would set a very dangerous precedent here in Florida and I can't do that lightly," he said Monday.

CBS 4 News spoke to Lee on Tuesday. He said he remains undecided and troubled by the possible precedent.

"Embedded in this is a precedent that would allow a Governor to suspend any Sheriff for the single act of a single deputy on one given day and that just defies common sense," Lee said.

But even if Lee votes in favor of reinstating Israel, that leaves a majority of 22 Republican senators to possibly vote in favor of removal.