FS 112.313 (8)<\/a>], prohibits the disclosure of such inside information for personal benefit.<\/p>\n\u201cA current or former public officer, employee of an agency, or local government attorney may not disclose or use information not available to members of the general public and gained by reason of his or her official position, except for information relating exclusively to governmental practices, for his or her personal gain or benefit,\u201d the code says.<\/p>\n
Penalties for a violation can include impeachment, removal from office and a civil penalty of up to $10,000.<\/p>\n
BSO\u2019s internal databases are not accessible by the public. Last week Florida Bulldog requested access to two of BSO\u2019s internal databases, its Records Management System and PeopleSoft which manages BSO\u2019s Human Resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are internal databases solely for the use of Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office employees,\u201d BSO spokesman Carey Codd responded.<\/p>\n
In his dissertation, Tony declared the purpose of his study was to \u201cidentify Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office (BSO) deputies\u2019 frequency of opting to Baker Act individuals suffering a mental health crisis versus making a physical arrest.\u201d (The Baker Act is Florida\u2019s mental health law. It allows the voluntarily or involuntarily detention for up to 72 hours of individuals if they pose a danger to themselves or others.)<\/p>\n
Tony said he used four \u201cprimary\u201d BSO databases to \u201cattain all essential data\u201d he needed to \u201cassess the nature of actions\u201d taken by patrol deputies \u201cwhen dealing with persons suffering a mental health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
He identified those databases as BSO\u2019s Records Management system (RMS), Calls For Service (CFS), PeopleSoft, and Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD). Elsewhere, Tony writes that he also used BSO\u2019s PowerDMS platform, which he described as the agency\u2019s \u201cprimary software system utilized to track training and certification records for all employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll data points and figures in this study were collected from BSO in accordance with Florida public records laws, rules, and regulations. The use of traditional instruments such as structured interviews, surveys, or focus groups were not applicable to this study,\u201d Tony wrote.<\/p>\n
In explaining his methodology, the sheriff acknowledged the work of unnamed BSO officers, members of what he called his \u201cstudy team\u201d who assisted him in examining six years of BSO statistics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe study utilized BSO\u2019s internal data collection systems to retroactively review calls for service between 2017 and 2023,\u201d Tony wrote. \u201cA designated officer with authorized security clearance downloaded an anonymized dataset from across sections of internal BSO databases. The designated officer removed any identifying information and replaced it with a unique ID to capture multiple calls responded to by the same officer. The study team did not have access to information that links the unique ID back to any identifying information of the officer.\u201d<\/p>\n
TONY\u2019S NOT TALKING<\/p>\n
As sheriff, Tony has supreme authority at BSO. He can hire and fire personnel at will. But such authority invariably creates the appearance, though not necessarily the fact, that the employees who did research for their boss\u2019s thesis did so out of either a fear of retaliation if they did not cooperate or the possibility of a reward if they went along. The sheriff\u2019s dissertation doesn\u2019t say if his \u201cstudy team\u201d did their research during their regular shifts or after hours, or say if they earned extra for that research and if so who paid?<\/p>\n
BSO\u2019s databases were employed to \u201cselect\u201d the \u201cparticipant population\u201d for Tony\u2019s study: 1,500 BSO deputies. <\/p>\n
PeopleSoft, described by Tony as \u201cBSO\u2019s human resources enterprise resource planning system,\u201d used \u201cdeputies\u2019 gender, race, ethnicity, age, years of service, crisis intervention team (CIT) certification date and the type of call for service (mentally ill or suicide)\u201d to \u201cassess if any patterns exist within a particular segment of the participant population.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday and Tuesday, Florida Bulldog asked Sheriff Tony via email if he ever notified those unwitting 1,500 deputies that he had used their \u201canonymized\u201d personal information in his educational monograph. Further, we asked how many BSO employees were on his \u201cstudy team,\u201d and their rank. Tony did not respond.<\/p>\n
In his dissertation, the sheriff made it clear he was aware that his public position afforded him special access to \u201csensitive\u201d law enforcement data. And to the Nova Southeastern professors who reviewed his work he posited it as a unique plus that made his work stand out, without mentioning that Florida law forbids public officers like him from having such insider access.<\/p>\n
\u201cResearchers seeking to examine the effectiveness of CIT training are often limited in gaining access to police departments\u2019 or sheriffs\u2019 offices\u2019 internal data related to training or CFS (calls for service),\u201d Tony wrote on page 54. \u201cConsequently, they must attempt to gain information and study participants from numerous regional law enforcement agencies who are willing to contribute or share sensitive data. This study utilized BSO as the single source participating agency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheriff Tony acknowledged \u201cthe men and women of the Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office\u201d for their \u201ccooperation, support and assistance in collecting data for this research,\u201d but provided no information about the nature and extent of their work on his dissertation. <\/p>\n
He thanked none of them by name.<\/p>\n
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![\"broward\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-28-at-5.40.41-PM.png\")
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony in his Nova Southeastern University cap and gown before receiving his PhD in criminal justice in June 2024.<\/p>\n![\"broward\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/570049824_1437715965030844_6209081661785378813_n.jpg\")
Shower stalls at BSO\u2019s training center.<\/p>\n