BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
STARKE— Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith was featured in U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s first ad in the senator’s reelection campaign.
Smith led off the 30-second commercial by stating that Rubio’s opponent: Val Demings turned her back on law enforcement.
Smith was joined in the spot by Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods and Fraternal Order of Police President Steve Zona. The men said that while serving in congress, the former Orlando police chief voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time.
The law enforcement officials also claimed that while in congress, Demings called abolishing the police “thoughtful”, that violent riots were “a beautiful sight” and that she refused to condemn radicals who wanted to abolish police.
Woods and Smith concluded the ad by saying, “Maybe she used to be a cop, but in Washington, Val Demings is just another radical rubberstamp.”
The Demings campaign characterized the ad as desperate. The congresswoman said, “I spent 27 years protecting and serving Florida, fighting to make sure we are all safer. Not one day has gone by since becoming a law enforcement officer that I do not think about the men and women who continue to do this tough job, and I will continue to work to make sure they have the resources they need to survive and keep communities safe,”
Smith’s assertion in the ad that claimed Demings “called abolishing the police thoughtful,” came from a June 8, 2020, interview Demings gave to Tony Dokoupil of CBS This Morning.
In the interview, Dokoupil asked Demings about proposals to dismantle and rebuild the Minneapolis Police Department following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.
Demings responded, “I do believe that everyone has a right to look at any proposal that is put forth because there desperately needs to be change. I also believe the council is being very thoughtful in terms of looking at all of the services that police provide.”
