Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Should Palm Beach County create a Citizen Review Board to monitor Sheriff Bradshaw and PBSO?

I don't have the answer to that question. However, the PBC County Commission will be discussing it. I wouldn't be presumptuous to tell the commission how to proceed but. . .as someone who has actually seen a 'Citizen' Review Board in action I do have an opinion.

Any review board that is established to monitor PBSO will have zero legitimacy if there is even the possibility an Anarchist/PBSO-hater like someone such as Peter Tsolkas can have a seat at the table. Tsolkas once gained control of a "Community Relations Board" here in Lake Worth and it was not a good experience. That 'Community' board to establish trust in the community had the opposite effect—it divided the City like no other board had ever done before or the City has ever seen since. It was a disaster.

A board, any board to review law enforcement, has to have strict rules on who has a seat and who does not. The number one rule should be impartiality. In the end the only way found to get the Anarchist off the Lake Worth review board was to disband the board entirely. And that's exactly what was done.

Secondly, the City of Lake Worth wouldn't be where it is today without PBSO. There's no need to rehash past history once again except to make this point: The Lake Worth PD lost control and PBSO came into the City and cleaned up the mess. Of that truth there is no doubt. And everyone, except for an Anarchist or two, has to agree with that.

So please: Proceed carefully and take note of what happened in Lake Worth. A 'Citizen' Review Board might sound like a really good idea right now but it can go off the rails and become an embarrassment for everyone. It happened in Lake Worth and it can happen at the county level too if it isn't done correctly and the public lacks the confidence a board will maintain public order and the safety of lives and property.
An Anarchist from Lake Worth at a rally for Corey Jones in Palm Beach Gardens. Is this someone who should have a seat on a board reviewing PBSO?