Removal of Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne from Office

We the undersigned, urge the Governor of the State of Florida, Jeb Bush, to remove or suspend Broward County Sheriff, Ken Jenne, from office while the Broward County State Attorney's Office investigations and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigations into Sheriff Jenne's outside businesses activities and his agency's crime downgrading and false exceptional clearances is on going.

Sheriff Jenne publicly acknowledged on his agencys website in March 2005 that the crime numbers manipulation at the Broward County Sheriffs Office was systemic, but that he has now fixed the problem.

While it is true the crime numbers are down and closer to national averages that is only because of the constant press coverage this story has received beginning in 2004. In his public statements, Sheriff Jenne failed to mention that he knew there was a problem with his agencys exceptional clearances as early as 1999. He also failed to mention that he had several reminders since 1999 of not only problems with exceptional clearances, but also with crime downgrading. All of these things are attested to by publicly available depositions taken by the Broward County State Attorneys Office of several Broward Sheriffs Office employees (these depositions can be downloaded at www.endbsocorruption.org).

Prior to his recent acknowledgment that the problem was systemic, Sheriff Jenne put forth several spins in an attempt to redirect attention from his own culpability. Initially, he tried claiming the problem was not systemic, but was the result of a couple of bad apples. The crime numbers did not support that story and the press did not buy it. Then, as alleged in depositions, the Sheriffs spin doctors concocted plans to blame Broward County State Attorney, Mike Satz, and publicly smear a Miami Herald journalist claiming she had a vendetta against police officers.

In willful violation of Florida Statute 112.532 4b and their own written standard operating procedures, Sheriff Jennes agency suspended two deputies without pay after they truthfully answered questions related to false exceptional clearances and implicated Broward Sheriffs Office training. Several months after their suspensions, these deputies were fired by Sheriff Jenne. The drama suffered by those two deputies is in stark contrast to the golden parachute buyout of four retiring upper management employees: Colonel Tomas Carney, Lt. Colonel Tom Brennan, Major John Feltgen and Major Tony Fantigrassi. It is also in stark contrast to 29 detectives and deputies who were transferred instead of being fired. Sheriff Jenne has sent a message to his employees. If you talk you will be fired. If you keep quiet, you will keep your job.

Sheriff Jenne must be removed or suspended from office. With Sheriff Jenne gone, the threat of retaliation goes. Perhaps, then, more Broward Sheriffs Office employees will come forward and tell the truth.