Florida's top law enforcement agency is diverting waves of additional resources toward Gov. Ron DeSantis — for both his protection and his priorities.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville on May 1.Matt Dixon
It’s exceedingly rare for the former Florida Department of Law Enforcement commissioner and the former governor to speak publicly in a way that contradicts the current agency leadership, underscoring the growing nature of the political clash in Florida.
Scott, who at times has had tension with DeSantis, told NBC News that during his eight years as governor, he never had issues with the details that protected him. “Regardless of the number of resources allocated to [protective services], under my tenure, protesters were never allowed to make it onstage with the governor,” said Rick Swearingen, who served as FDLE commissioner from 2014 until his retirement in mid-2022. “Perhaps leadership and management of resources is just as important as the number of resources.”
Swearingen announced his retirement just weeks after DeSantis signed legislation allowing the governor and a majority of the Florida Cabinet to appoint a new FDLE commissioner. At the time, it meant that DeSantis and the three-person Florida Cabinet could appoint a new FDLE head without the vote of the then-only Democrat, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.State records show that spending on protecting the governor and his family has fluctuated over the years but has steadily increased.
“Our response to certain things on the protective ops side was that you need to centralize your protective services,” he said. “I’m not comfortable saying it was just underfunded. FDLE was being asked to do more and more.”
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