Deerfield Beach pauses on switching from Broward Sheriff''s Office after heated public safety debate

Mayor Drozky convened the Deerfield Beach City Commission on Jan. 6, 2026, to hear a 12-page feasibility summary on whether the city should end its 35-year contract with the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) and establish municipal police and fire departments. The feasibility presenter, Stockton Reeves of the Center for Public Safety Inc., said his executive summary showed potential long-term savings and described a path toward independent services, but emphasized the report was a feasibility analysis, not a transition plan.

The sheriff, appearing in person, urged a cautious, data-driven approach and sharply criticized the executive summary as incomplete. He called the memo "an advocacy memorandum" and said it omitted key operational, training and medical oversight elements; he repeatedly warned that gaps in planning could put lives at risk. The sheriff offered to fund a comprehensive transition or salary study and to extend the current contract for up to two years while the city conducts a full analysis.

Why it matters: The question before commissioners is both technical and fiscal. Supporters of staying with BSO told the commission that county resources,…