[UPDATE] Timing is everything: Ric Bradshaw announces re-election bid in early April and...

[UPDATE: Sheriff Bradshaw on To The Point with NBC5's Michael Williams on Sunday's (4/26) show. See end of the post below for link.]

. . . this story comes out soon after. Just one of those things that make you go "hmmmm". 

In November of last year was a protest against PBSO in the City of Lake Worth. What characterized that protest was the lack of accurate information about "mistreatment" of some individuals in the Guatemalan community. That protest was notable for the "P.B.S.O. Deputies Are Worthless" sign. Many people in the community of Lake Worth took great offense to that message. From a public relations perspective that sign was a disaster. 

So it makes me wonder how The Palm Beach Post judges the effectiveness of their story on Ric Bradshaw and PBSO. Is it increased circulation of their newspaper, more public awareness, encouraging demonstrations maybe, or a combination of them all? The Post states their story is not meant to erode confidence in PBSO or the deputies that patrol the streets. You can be the judge of that. 

Most people, including myself, are disturbed by shootings that involve PBSO. Who in their right mind wouldn't be? The Post cites some examples of shootings by PBSO they believe need more investigation. Maybe they do; maybe they don't. It will be up to experts to decide that. 

What's incredibly interesting are the numbers that the Post cites as problematic, along with some facts. Here are those observations on the story titled, "At PBSO, 'disturbing patterns' of questionable force". The data begins in 2000 with the death of Jamil Murray by a PBSO deputy:

• Sheriff Ric Bradshaw wasn't elected Sheriff until 2004
• Since 2000 there have been 123 shooting incidents attributed to PBSO
• Since 2000, 45 people have been killed by PBSO (37%)
• Since 2000, 38 people have been wounded (31%)
• Since 2000, 40 incidents resulted in no one being injured or killed (33%)
• Since 2000, 64% of people involved in a shooting with a PBSO deputy lived to tell about it
• And, since 2000, on average, 3 people have been killed by a PBSO deputy each year.

What I found nowhere in the Post "Special Investigation" was how these numbers stack up against other similar sized police departments. If the data is available will be glad to reference it at the end of this post. Perspective is everything.

I watched Sheriff Bradshaw today (Sunday) doing an interview on this subject. He cited a lawyer by name as being someone who stands to make a lot of money out of all this. Let's hope that's not the case. When I find the link to the show will post it here.

[Here is the link to the show featuring PBSO Sheriff Bradshaw. Fast forward to the 10:00 mark to watch what Sheriff Bradshaw has to say. What he has to say at the 19:30 mark about "Mr. Scarola" is very hard-hitting. Lawrence Mower and Katie LaGrone don't have anything new to add and why they were even on the show with Michael Williams is a mystery.]