Broward Sherriff's New Diversity Council to Address LGBT Issues

Fort Lauderdale -- Dr. Henry W. Mack, PhD. has named the members of the newly-formed Council for Diversity and Equal Opportunity (CDEO), an independent body whose aim is to assist BSO in dealing with internal and external issues affecting equal opportunity and representation of all Broward County citizens in law enforcement.

“My commitment to the safety of the citizens of Broward County has always been clear,” Sheriff Lamberti said. “But I want to be sure our processes and procedures ensure fairness and equality in all dealings with BSO. Broward is the most diverse county in Florida, and BSO must be trained and prepared to support and defend the cultural diversity of our citizens.”

The new Council has wide latitude in its mission, including but not limited to:

· Reviewing Equal Opportunity policies and procedures of BSO and Fire Rescue and identifying trends; reviewing the Minority/Women’s Business Enterprise utilization of BSO and Fire Rescue as well as the MBE/WBE certification process; reviewing hiring practices of BSO and Fire Rescue; determining why candidates prefer to work for other law enforcement agencies; and reviewing the existing organization chart to determine reasonable diversity at executive and upper levels of both organizations.

· Assessing the Diversity in the composition of the hate crimes and other tactical units of BSO; establishing a fixed liaison with the BSO Hate Crimes Task Force headed by Cmdr. Rick Wierzbicki; determining the extent to which cultural characteristics are considered in tactical decisions and rules of engagement; and identifying cultural trends which affect the mission of BSO.

· Assessing the Effectiveness of diversity training in the respective academies of BSO and Fire Rescue; assessing continuous diversity training in both agencies as a matter of practice and determining the need for contracted diversity training by outside professional providers; determining the diversity considerations used in promotions in both agencies.

· Performing a Comparative Analysis of the diversity polices and procedures of other comparable agencies with those of BSO and Fire Rescue.

· Serving as an Investigative Resource to BSO and Fire Rescue when requested and appropriate.

The Council for Diversity and Equal Opportunity is chaired by Dr. Henry W. Mack, a renowned civil rights fighter for over 60 years. Mack was among the first African Americans integrated into regular Army units when the military services were integrated by President Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981, and he retired from the US Army after 20 years in the grade of Major. Mack has continued to serve South Florida through numerous community activities, including as Chairman of Broward County Public Safety Coordinating Council; Chairman of Broward County Schools Audit Committee for 10 years; Chairman, Emeritus, and Board of Directors of 211-First Call For Help of Broward County, Inc.; Past Chairman and Member of Dade County Public Schools, Audit Committee for 25 years; and Past Member, Board of Directors of Miami Children’s Hospital. He was one of the founders of Miami Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Council members include:

· Dr. Henry W. Mack, Chair
· Jocelyn Carter-Miller, Vice Chair; President, TechEd Ventures, Lauderhill
· Jessica G. Roy, MSW, Secretary; C2P Coordinator, Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center, Fort Lauderdale
· Stephen Gaskill, Public Information Officer; communications and political consultant, Fort Lauderdale
· Cmdr. Michael Calderin, BSO
· Roland Foulkes, Social-Cultural Anthropologist; Chair, Diversity Committee, School Board of Broward County
· Cindy Guerra, Regional Deputy Attorney General for South Florida, Fort Lauderdale
· Commissioner Al Jones, Dania Beach
· Alan J. Levy, President, Great American Farms, Fort Lauderdale
· Jose “Pepe” Lopez, Pembroke Pines
· Frank Nieves, President, Puerto Rico Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Broward County
· Major Diljit Singh Pannu, Fort Lauderdale
· Michael Emanual.Rajner, Social Worker; Community Activist and gay man living with AIDS
· Rabbi Ancel Salamon
· Urbano Santos, Community Organizer
· Dr. Joseph Valbrun, Pastor, Temple Messianique, Fort Lauderdale
· Dean Williams, BSO

CDEO initially has seven committees, including: Equal Opportunity, MBE/WBE Utilization; Hiring Practices and Procedures; Tactical Unit Assessment; Diversity Training; External Agency Analysis; Investigations; and Community Outreach and Involvement. The Council plans to meet monthly.

# # #