PBSO was prepared to handle this unprecedent challenge. In Mangonia Park, Dougan helped the DEA with a series of drug busts, and the agency praised him for his pronounced surveillance skill. Dougan later improvised a sting to collar a local fugitive, leading a Palm Beach County detective to enthuse about his creativity: This is a Deputy thinking outside the BOX., But Dougan faced controversies on the force too. Dougan mastered the dark art of fake news, crafting official-looking websites with names like DCWeekly.com and DCPost.org for his made-up stories. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw - Sheriff - Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Alex Freeman, who distanced himself from his father, took on Bradshaw in the Democratic Party primary four years ago and got smoked. Dougan moved back to Palm Beach County with a burning sense of injustice. The contrast with his opponent is stark. Dougan says he was disgusted with the behavior, but feared the reprisals hed face if he made a stink. Bradshaw is also speaking out, for the first time, about the controversy surrounding late businessman and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's time in jail. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw - Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office State law already creates a process for this where deputies have a review board they go in front of. Dougan claims his involvement mostly ended at that point, but that he sometimes logged into the server and saw the whistle-blower and his friends uploading additional files. The outcome incensed Dougan. Journalistic and Ethical Standards His first job in law enforcement was on a small-town police force in Mangonia Park, Florida, where he distinguished himself by writing more traffic tickets than the other 11 officers combined. Diaz, who was unchallenged for the Republican nomination, said that Bradshaw is a better politician than a sheriff. I always figured it was just on there.. Ric Bradshaw 'feels good' and 'is going to run' for sheriff in 2024. What am I going to do? After a few months, he sent an anonymous tip about Raban to an attorney defending one of the cops arrestees, and then tried to get a TV news reporter interesting in the Facebook posts. We provide them with the best equipment, the best training, the best technology, which translates into the best service for the public, he said. Had a guy run from me, he wrote in one post. Using his web skills, he began erecting revenge websites like WindhamTalk.com, which claimed to have the real scoop on corruption in the town of Windham and featured a prominent photo of Nelson with the caption Liar at the top. Just sit back and watch psychological mindfuck unfold when you mess with !. Sputnik News ran a lengthy piece on him highlighting his daring escape to Moscow. CA: Do Not Sell My Info They can maybe try to say I encouraged it, but Im not worried about that. Dougan also claimed hed sold the PBSOtalk website to a Russian businessman (he changed his domain registration first, to make it look good) and that he no longer had control over what was posted there. Though the sheriffs office had no role in the sentencing, multiple news reports have shown that Epstein was treated more like a guest than an inmate. Rule one: Keep the domain names short and official-looking; nobody trusts a website with a long, silly address. JW Marriott Tampa Water Street When he talks about his leadership and who has kept Palm Beach County safe for the past 16 years, I question that, Freeman said. Versions of the Rich conspiracy story have been spread by Russias social media foot soldiers at the Internet Research Agency, and by the likes of Julian Assange, Infowars radio host Alex Jones and indicted piracy baron Kim Dotcom. Sheriff Bradshaw On Newly Partisan Race & Jeffrey Epstein's Work I am running for re-election to ensure the Sheriffs Office maintains this level of excellence and continues the critical safety programs needed in the fight against gangs, opioid overdose reduction, Homeland Security, mental health challenges, community policing, and advancement in technology. The building is home to professional service. As he puts it, I should not be the largest mental health provider in the county. Hes talking about the county jail, which the sheriffs office runs. Is there anything about yourself that we didnt ask about that would embarrass you if an opponent found out? Little was known about BadVolf. Privacy Policy Finally, on Dec. 29, 2008, Dougan resigned from the force, firing off a flurry of pseudonymous emails to department brass on his way out, with screenshots of the Facebook posts and a photo of Raban in his punishment cap. Bradshaw is seeking his fifth term in the Aug. 18 Democratic. Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who faced blistering criticism for granting Jeffrey Epstein liberal work-release privileges while the sex offender was serving time in the county stockade, has . Ron DeSantis has ordered an investigation into Epsteins treatment, including whether the sheriff broke his own rules to give a convicted sex offender work-release. Id just had a little girl, my daughter, he recalls. Even without the Seth Rich tale, Russias state-controlled media outlets have already gotten mileage out of Dougan, whos portrayed as an honest ex-cop caught in a corrupt system, who had to flee to Russia to escape persecution by American authorities. When Dougan arrived in Belle Glade in mid-2008, it had lots of brewing issues. (PBSOtalk was hosted there for about six weeks in 2012.). This time Dougan was sure Bradshaw was going down. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw challenged by Alex Freeman in If this is what you call experience, then no thanks, he said. Jul 14, 2020 at 2:01 pm. Southeast Regional Domestic Security Task Force, Chair, Florida Sheriffs Task Force for Region 7, Chair, FBIs Joint Terrorist Task Force, Executive Board Member, Law Enforcement Planning Council of Palm Beach County, Member, Have you ever been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime? So he came up with another plan. Its fair to say he was a whistle-blower who used firsthand knowledge, inside sources and public records laws to expose violence and scandal inside the department. Given what we now know, this is a poor response. Dougan set up SheriffBradshaw.com to rail against Bradshaw, and PBSOtalk.com, to serve as an open web forum where Dougan and anyone else would be free to air the departments dirty laundry. The Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office is comprised of 4,200 employees and approximately 5,000 volunteers. Hes so much involved in this gutter talk, he cant figure it out.. No, Dougan says quickly. Over weeks of subsequent correspondence with BadVolf, it became clear that he, at least, was the real deal, the reporter wrote. It was the largest settlement ever reached by PBSO. A reporter from Gawker interviewed BadVolf over online chats, suspecting at first that he was actually talking to Dougan, but eventually falling for the hoax as thoroughly as Lewis fell for Jessica. What I dont have is 50 years of experience in reckless spending and arrogant behavior, such as providing special treatment to convicted pedophile sex offenders, like [Jeffrey] Epstein, or like losing important evidence in critical cases, or abandoning the troops to move to a high-priced executive office building to lead from the rear instead of the front, all on the backs of the taxpayers and their hard-earned money., Diaz added that Bradshaws leadership is based on political influence more than experience. If so, which ones? In 2012, Dougan revealed that Bradshaw had spent nearly $1,000 of taxpayer money taking campaign donors to lunch, a revelation that earned Bradshaw a rebuke from a state ethics commission. The biggest one weighs 200 pounds, he says. Bradshaw advanced to the general election after defeating retired Riviera Beach Police Major Alex Freeman in the Democratic primary. Freeman, who is Black, is making a direct play for voters questioning law enforcement these days. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw rents luxury office space Asked why the DNC emails were never published on DC Leaks, he seemed genuinely taken aback. While the district continues to recruit and fill vacancies within its own police force, the pending agreement with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw would provide 20 deputies and two sergeants at a cost of $100 per hour and $136 per hour . On the other hand, what can be done to improve relations between PBSOs command staff and road-patrol deputies? Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner has said he will push for sales tax money to be used to pay for body cameras. Sheriff Bradshaw was first elected to office in the first year that the race was non-partisan, 2004. WPTV- West Palm Beach Scripps. His excellent inter-personal and communication skills demonstrate competence as a leader who gets things done, yet maintains a balance between assertiveness and diplomacy while always remembering that his first and foremost duty is to keep citizens safe. Bradshaw, who was first elected in 2004, is being challenged by Alex Freeman in Tuesday's. By the end of his campaign, Dougan had released roughly 14,000 protected address records from at least 20 different Florida counties. It included current and retired federal agents, prosecutors, local cops and judges. Internal Affairs opened an investigation. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy was forced to open fire on a knife-wielding man who charged at him, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says. He won temporary political asylum in February 2017, and last December the Russian government made his status permanentan honor not even granted to Edward Snowden. No other candidate running has run an agency or has the qualifications I have to serve. Weve proven it because we have reduced crime 25 percent, were on the cutting edge of technology, and were going to get body cameras here shortly. It was a former deputy named John Mark Dougan. The late sex trafficker served only 13 months of his ridiculously light, 18-month sentence in the Palm Beach County Jail on work release. Woodside was fired for using a police PC to watch a movie while on duty, and another deputy was terminated for lying on a police report and surfing Facebook on department time. And in 2006 he pepper-sprayed an off-duty deputy in the face, a move a judge later called gratuitous and which cost the county a $275,000 civil judgment. Dougans cockiness faded after the FBI search. Im just lucky that I have a place to go, and Im really grateful for that. The perpetrator claimed to be stealing the data from county networks from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. An attorney representing victims has said Epstein engaged in improper sexual conduct while he was in the program. He began making arrangements for his escape immediately. But now that the recordings were public by way of his BadVolf persona, he could use them freely. In October 2009 he was fired from the Windham police force for sexual harassment. 'Constitutional Sheriff' Wayne Ivey says he's a patriot. Others see Dougan claims that he registered the DCleaks.com domain name through the Malaysian company Shinjiru Technology in Kuala Lumpur, where DC Leaks was also hosted. Politically speaking, it is the equivalent of trying to climb Mount Everest without rope. 2023 Florida Sheriffs Association // Privacy and Refund Policy, "The people of Palm Beach County, and the Sheriff's Office make a great team, which is why Palm Beach County is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. For these he turned not to property records, but to a similar vulnerability in the states voter registration rolls. There really was a DC Leaks. And if so, what changes could be made to ensure that police are sent to where theyre truly needed? But Dougan hadnt yet updated Chapter 32, which offered an altogether different account of the trip. Try calling the PBSO and you get an endless recorded greeting that mentions his name probably a dozen times. Bradshaw said its strictly been a cost issue. Throughout everything, Dougan hasnt forgotten his old enemies. In mid-2005 he moved up to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office, a department with 4,000 employees covering a territory the size of Delaware. Bradshaw is facing hard questions about his conduct with respect to registered sex offender and alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after his previous conviction. The hacker turned out to be Anthony Rodriguez, a social media specialist in PBSOs media relations office. They were letting these guys get away with murder, and they were fucking over the citizens they were getting paid to protect.. Crime Technology A former Marine gunner, Dougan wanted to do real police work, make arrests, solve crimes and help people. Other targets featured on DC Leaks included Colin Powell, State Department and White House employees, some Clinton campaign staff and volunteers, and a recently retired four-star general. Lewis told Jessica all about his career. During a recent town hall event to tackle the subject, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw was asked how bad the situation is locally. (This is wrong. We arrest somebody that lives in the county that we live in, we want to keep it private. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office just issued the following statement: "On May 3, 2022, Sheriff Bradshaw, under advice from his doctors, elected to go forward with a heart procedure . He circled back with Lewis and asked for every scrap of information Lewis had on Jessica and her family. Is this true of PBSOs contract with its road-patrol and detention deputies? Do you want the person with the most experience, has done the job and has proven himself over 16 years as the sheriff and has executive experience in actually running major law enforcement organizations? Thats when he started exacting his own brand of justice. Shootings have declined significantly. If he really wanted body cameras which are not failsafe, but can protect deputies and suspects the department would have them. Reports of the treatment drew national scorn. Photo: Getty Images. At a Friday afternoon news conference, Sheriff Bradshaw said this tragedy could have been avoided if someone had stepped forward and notified police about his strange behavior. He has near-universal name recognition, and he regularly raises gobs of campaign money. Hes also mentioned in former CIA officer Bob Baers 2002 autobiography See No Evil. Its like when your friend robs a bank and you're sitting at home. Dougans Facebook timeline contains a curious artifact from his first trip. . Its been part of the the far-right canon since Vince Fosters suicide in 1993. It was just awful.. Leaks from George Soros Open Society Foundation were also displayed prominently at the websites launch, with some of the documents reportedly altered to create the appearance the foundation was secretly financing Russian opposition candidates. (Ditto above). We Cannot Allow the Left to Destroy Palm Beach County, Zero Evidence of Threats to Palm Beach County School Board, Four Florida State Reps Didnt Vote on Abortion Bill Dont Let Them Get Away With It, Even a Federal Judge Thinks Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer is a Liar, Palm Beach County Bob Weinroths Bid for School Board Seat off to Shaky Start, Jolt Media, Inc. | PO Box 810967, Boca Raton, FL 33481. DeSantis' move comes as Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has come under increasing scrutiny for his decision in 2008 to give Epstein, . He kept going, slathering layers of disinformation over his citizen journalism. Sheriff Bradshaw allowed Jeffrey Epstein to be on work-release for 12-hour days, six days a week. His new tale is set in a world where the official story about Russian election interference is a cover-up and a lie. Like the version he ultimately published, the draft opens with a tease about a Washington, D.C., meeting with a whistle-blower. He commented, in explicit terms, about the sexual attractiveness of the women he encountered on the job, the lawsuit alleged. www.pbso.org, County Seat: West Palm Beach I am your sheriff, he said. His tale ends with a big reveal that wont surprise anyone familiar with the deep lore built up around Russiagate on the alt-right. More recently, news reports linked Freeman to the firing of a Riviera Beach city manager in an attempt to become chief. Former PBSO Deputy Michael Gauger wants to challenge Sheriff Ric Bradshaw Bradshaw, Ric L. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw is a career law enforcement professional responsible for leading the largest law enforcement agency in Palm Beach County. What is your opinion of the early release of nonviolent offenders due to concerns about the virus? I can assure you that those victims and their families and many of us in Palm Beach County dont believe and feel he kept Palm Beach County safe., Listening to the wild accusations of Mr. Freeman wallowing around in the gutter doesnt do us any good, Bradshaw said. If Bradshaw remains for the full four-year-term through 2024, he will earn the title of longest-serving sheriff in the county. To be clear, there exists no evidence that Rich was secretly a Donald Trump supporter, a leaker of any kind, or a hacker with the skill to steal the private emails of seven senior DNC staffers. Dougans journey to Moscow and international intrigue began in Belle Glade, Florida, a five-square-mile agricultural town in a part of Palm Beach County not featured on postcards, where the golf courses give way to sugarcane fields and the median income flattens like roadkill. Another was scorched with accusations linking him to a white supremacist group, reported from a fake news site so convincing that the legitimate press picked up the false story. Some very wealthy, powerful people. Ric Bradshaw 'feels good' and 'is going to run' for sheriff in 2024. Dougan stands by his story about registering the domain through the Malaysian hosting firm Shinjuro. But Dougan was an unusual cop. He arrived at the inescapable conclusion that the entire American system was broken, from street cops like Raban to the FBI to the judges overseeing it all. If that was the plan, it worked. Freeman, 51, is pinning his hope on the moment. Sheriff Bradshaw, Lauro Diaz Face Off In The General Election, Judge Jaimie Goodman Faces A Challenge From Adam Myron, Minto Partners With Sheriffs Foundation On Off-Road Vehicle For Westlake, New PBSO Captain And PBCFR District Chief In Wellington, RPBs Tuttle Royale Project Continues To Take Shape, Fighting Northlake Annexation Tops ITIDs Agenda. On January 4, 2005, Sheriff Bradshaw was sworn in as Sheriff of Palm Beach County. Rule two: Set up an RSS aggregator to continuously pull and post stories from authentic news outlets. Dougan and Bradshaw exchanged blows for years. Bradshaw got an early $5,000 from the Police Benevolent Association, so he also has the powerful unions backing. Nothing happened. At best, this is irresponsible behavior.. A recent case from Baltimore illustrates the potential benefits of mental health teams. Knife-wielding man shot by Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy - Yahoo News Now I see a sheriff leader in American government trying to be dictator like Stalin.. He says he walked into the Miami FBIs satellite office in West Palm Beach carrying the recordings on a thumb drive, and demanded the bureau investigate Bradshaws office for hacking him. A lawsuit filed by Officer Danielle Nelson describes months of bad behavior toward female officers, ranging from inappropriate comments to repeated unwanted touching and misogynistic slurs. Its easy to envision Dougan bluffing his way into a meeting with an important Russian and then leaking it to a friendly gossip site, if only to make his enemies wonder. PDF Case: 16-10876 Date Filed: 01/10/2018 Page: 1 of 39 - United States Courts Palm Beach County Sheriffs office follows the latest policies and procedures for hiring practices. Lewis was certain that Dougan was visiting Russia to partner with that countrys cybercriminals. One person on the list told The Daily Beast hed been laying low after working as a contractor for the CIA. Sheriff Richard Wille, who was first elected in 1976 and retired . Ric Bradshaw wins fifth term as Palm Beach County sheriff Democratic incumbent first elected in 2004 Ric Bradshaw has won a fifth term as Palm Beach County sheriff, defeating Republican. (The Daily Beast turned up no evidence of a link between Borodin and Flyman.). Diaz said he wants to serve all people, not just a few, and treat everyone equally, with respect, professionalism, integrity, compassion and courage in order to achieve a stronger and safer Palm Beach County. Does that mean that in a couple of years Dougan might start treating Putin to the same tactics he used on Sheriff Bradshaw? Hed just gotten his kids off to school when he noticed a suspicious pickup truck with tinted windows idling in front of his house. Thats precisely what Dougan did, for every confidential address in the county. (TRACEY) Editor's note: Sheriff Bradshaw completed . His vote total was nearly twice what his three primary opponents got combined. He rose through the ranks of the West Palm Beach Police Department and in 1996 was appointed Chief of Police. Total of 49 years in law enforcement; West Palm Beach Police Department: road patrol officer; detective sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major; assistant chief of police, chief of police,1996; elected Sheriff of Palm Beach County, 2004; reelected 2008, 2012 and 2016, and 2020. Sports agent Marc Roberts, a Miami nightclub owner and developer, and his family have poured $16,000 into Bradshaws campaign. Barbera's statement said Bradshaw has. "He's on. This doesnt sound like much money, but it turns out to be approximately $4.5 million of taxpayers money at a time when many people in our county have lost jobs due to the pandemic, Diaz said. DC Leaks published a completely different assembly of leaks, consisting primarily of a grab bag of emails and documents sourced from a GRU-linked phishing campaign earlier that year. The records of Jeffrey Epstein's grand jury remain sealed for the time The previous high for a settlement amount came in 2017, when Bradshaw settled over the shooting death of Seth Adams for $2.5 million. As told in his book, and elaborated on in interviews with The Daily Beast, Dougan went straight to Shinjiru in April 2016. The agents had a search warrant to seize all his electronics and any and all records, data or materials pertaining to the computer networks of 24 different Florida county governments and confidential property records within these counties.. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw is a career law enforcement professional responsible for leading the largest law enforcement agency in Palm Beach County. Staff writer Chris Persaud and researcher Melanie Mena contributed to this story. Dougan claims that Nelson made everything up to retaliate for complaints he made about her performance, and that Windham officials only fired him because theyd learned about his Belle Glade whistle-blowing. Settling in Moscow was hard at first, Dougan says, and he struggled to make ends meet. Rising Sheriff's Office salaries pose budget challenge But he still did work for Sheriff Bradshaw. Sheriff Bradshaw, Lauro Diaz Face Off In The General Election Oh I bet, Jessica trilled. PBC Jolt Exclusive: Sheriff Ric Bradshaw to run for Reelection Sheriff Bradshaw has a successful track record of forty-nine (49) years in law enforcement. Lewis dazzled her with all the clever methods he was employing against Dougan, explaining that hed once hacked the analytics of PBSOtalk to see who was visiting the site. (The voting records leaks appear not to have included abuse victims, who have a higher level of protection under a state-run program.). Creepy.. A month after Donahue filed papers with the election office, Bradshaws department hit him with document falsification charges based on Lewiss evidence. They want the most experienced person to run the largest, most technologically advanced agency in the county. Fuck them. In a majority-Democratic county, Bradshaw is a Democrat who enjoys support from key Republicans. I was pissed off, says Dougan. By his account, hed met a Russian woman through Facebook, and theyd struck up an online romance that Dougan wanted to make real. In Palm Beach County there were about 4,000 homeowners availing themselves of Floridas address confidentiality laws. He sued Windam for wrongful discharge, and the town settled for less than $10,000 in go-away money. Sylvester Stallone Set For 'Cliffhanger' Reboot From Director Ric Roman The final report nine months later evinced little interest in the hacking boasts by Lewis and Rodriguez, but found that Lewis had broken department regulations by divulging PBSO business to Jessica.. All rights reserved. Dougan says hes now on a track to citizenship. Jessica didnt exist. In the months and years that followed, Dougans website became a consistent source of insider dirt: a leaked affidavit about a former SWAT commander accused of stealing painkillers from a dying deputy; purchase orders showing the office spent nearly $80,000 on barbecue grills; a photo of officers posing with a topless woman on a Palm Beach golf course. The details are under seal, but an arrest warrant was issued, and Dougan is now officially a fugitive. When Dougan traveled abroad, Lewis was able to electronically monitor his quarry from the comfort of Palm Beach County, even seeing the photos Dougan snapped before they appeared on Facebook. Please outline your work history for the past 15 years. Once theyd patted him down and confiscated his cell phone, they told Dougan he was free to go. On one occasion he was written up for insubordination. We hope that four more years will bring even more progress. Similarly, when Bradshaw ran four years ago, the office faced a wave of lawsuits from deputy-involved shootings. While law enforcement agencies across the country have employed body cameras, PBSO deputies still dont have them. Four years later, Freeman was named Victims Rights Officer of the Year by Palm Beach County Victim Services. I would love to run into him in a dark alley, said Lewis. Dougan places the story in the weeks surrounding his 2016 FBI raid. He has served as sheriff for 16 years. Would you support the creation of a civilian review board to review complaints about deputies? Issues: Argues that his experience in leading a large law enforcement organization is one of the reasons he should be reelected. A deputy shot Adams after a struggle outside the family business in Loxahatchee Groves in 2012. Dougan spammed out an election-day email under the name of a prominent county commissioner slamming Bradshaw for immoral and criminal activities. Bradshaws second-in-command filed suit against Dougan for defamation, dragging him through years of litigation before the case was voluntarily dismissed by both parties. How do you see the differences facing voters in this race? While Bradshaw has not officially announced his candidacy, he told me today, I feel good, and Im going to run.. On the other hand, a lot was known about the owner of the website where the data appeared. They were published on Julian Assanges WikiLeaks beginning July 22, 2016. The audio dump went off like a bombshell in Palm Beach County.
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