FDLE investigating Pembroke Pines Commissioner Jay Schwartz
Pembroke Pines City Commissioner Jay Schwartz is under investigation for allegedly representing himself as a law enforcement officer, confronting a group of students at a local high school, and allegedly attempting to search them, CBS News Miami has learned.
The interaction between Schwartz and the students took place on the morning of May 21, near the end of the school year, at Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, where Schwartz, a pilot, is a visiting instructor teaching a class on aviation.
The alleged episode is now being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Pembroke Pines Police Chief Jose Vargas said he personally contacted FDLE to take over the investigation to avoid a potential conflict because it involved an elected city official.
"We verified the initial information and once we determined the allegation had some merit, I contacted FDLE," Vargas told CBS News Miami. "I made the decision to refer it to FDLE."
City Manager Charles Dodge said the police chief contacted him the day it happened, as well.
"When he spoke to me that this incident occurred, he told me this was going to be handled by FDLE," Dodge said. "There was no delay in reporting it. And I believe FDLE started on it right away."
In response to a request for comment, a spokesman at FDLE wrote: "FDLE does not confirm, deny, or comment on investigations or inquiries received by FDLE."
Schwartz, who has been a city commissioner since 2012, did not respond to phone calls, voicemail messages, and text messages seeking comment.
According to a source familiar with the incident, Schwartz allegedly confronted at least three students on school grounds and attempted to search them, believing they may be in possession of contraband, possibly marijuana. During the confrontation, Schwartz allegedly showed the teens a ceremonial badge he had been given as a city commissioner. Although the badge looks like an official police badge, it is not a police badge, and Schwartz has no law enforcement powers. However, at that moment, there would be no way for the students to know the badge wasn't real.
Police and city officials refuse to describe the precise details of the encounter between Schwartz and the students, and there are conflicting reports as to whether Schwartz searched the teens.
The interaction caused enough concern, however, that it was brought to the attention of the school's principal. A Pembroke Pines police officer, assigned to the school, conducted a preliminary investigation and wrote a report. CBS Miami requested a copy of the report last week from Pembroke Pines. The city attorney told CBS Miami Saturday he would review the report next week and determine if it can be released under the state's public records law.
CBS News has also learned there were video cameras on school grounds that would have captured the interaction between Schwartz and the students. It is not clear if the Pembroke Pines police officer at the school reviewed the video or if it has been sent to the FDLE.
Broward Schools response
School district officials stressed Schwartz is not a district employee but taught an aviation class at the school as part of the school's partnership with Broward College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where Schwartz is listed as an adjunct faculty member.
And because the incident occurred near the end of the school year, Schwartz was allowed to return to the school the following week to administer the class's final exam – but only with a district employee monitoring his activities with students.
"Regarding the incident at Charles Flanagan High School, the individual in question is not a Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) employee but a visiting instructor affiliated with the school's avionics program," wrote John Sullivan, Chief Communications Officer for the school district in a statement to CBS Miami. "After the incident towards the end of the school year, the individual's interaction with students was limited and supervised."
The badge
It is not uncommon for local elected officials in South Florida to carry police-style badges. The badges have no power and are designed more to boost the ego of elected officials and make them feel special.
Pembroke Pines Police Chief Vargas said over the years, the department has issued these types of badges to any commissioner that asks for them.
"Some of them request them," Vargas said. "They say `Commissioner' on them."
Schwartz has been a controversial figure in Pembroke Pines since his election to the commission in 2012.
In 2018, the Miramar Pembroke Pines Regional Chamber of Commerce accused him of threatening to blackmail a member of the chamber if he did not get his way on an item before the chamber.
"Commissioner Schwartz's actions are at least bullying, and he quite possibly has even used his position of power to coerce the Chamber, the Board of Directors, and its members," wrote the then chair of the chamber's board of directors.
In 2024, during a city commission meeting, the mayor summoned police to remove Schwartz from the dais after the mayor said he had become disruptive.
On his city website, Schwartz describes himself as a pilot, a business executive, an entrepreneur and a YouTuber.
Describing his role as an elected official, Schwartz wrote: "The responsibility and trust you have given me I take very seriously. I want to be a great public servant. Your concerns are my concerns, and I will work tirelessly through positive and bold action to bring you the leadership we deserve."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Boy, 11, shot in North Lawndale park, police say
An 11-year-old boy was shot and injured at a North Lawndale park Saturday afternoon, according to Chicago police. Police said an unknown gunman shot the boy in his lower back just before 5:30 p.m. at Franklin Park in the 1400 block of South Tripp Avenue, police said. He was transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition. Police said no suspects were in custody, and that detectives' investigation was underway.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jacksonville police arrest 18-year-old man on murder charges following double shooting
Jacksonville police arrested an 18-year-old man following an early morning, double-fatal shooting at a Southside shopping center. Larry Allen Baldwin Jr. is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and is being held without bail at the Duval County detention center, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office inmate records. He is accused of shooting 19-year-old Rubisnney Giraldo-Mina and 41-year-old Larry Allen Baldwin Sr. at about 3:20 a.m. June 21, at the shopping center in the 9500 block of Baymeadows Road near Old Baymeadows Road, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office posted on its social media. Sheriff's Office patrol officers responding to gunfire found Giraldo-Mina and the elder Baldwin with gunshot wounds on the sidewalk at the shopping center. Both died at the scene, police said. Police detained Larry Allen Baldwin Jr. at the scene. He was arrested after homicide detectives "thoroughly interviewed Baldwin Jr. and investigated at the scene of the double shooting," the Sheriff's Office posted. Neither information about the possible relationship between the three men, nor the circumstances surrounding the double shooting was available immediately. Recent Jacksonville shootings: 6 shot, 2 dead within 7 hours across Jacksonville, including outside Copeland's restaurant San Marco-area double shooting: Double shooting outside Jacksonville sports bar leaves man dead and woman wounded Larry Allen Baldwin was booked into the jail at 1:23 p.m. June 21. He is scheduled for a first appearance court hearing at 9 a.m. June 22, inmate records show. The Sheriff's Office also said it will "work closely with our partners at the State Attorney's Office to bring justice for both victims' loved ones." This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville police arrest 18-year-old following deadly double shooting
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Hours long standoff in northern Colorado ends, suspect in custody
Police in northern Colorado have taken a suspect into custody after a standoff that lasted several hours Saturday afternoon. According to the Loveland Police Department, officers closed Boise Avenue in both directions near Silverleaf Drive due to an incident near Shadow Court around 2:26 p.m. Authorities said the suspect was "contained" inside the home but asked residents to remain inside while officers and SWAT members tried to resolve the situation. Around 3 p.m., NOCO Alert issued a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents. CBS viewer CBS viewer Around 6 p.m., police provided an update that the suspect had been taken into custody. They said that rumors online were incorrect and no firearms were discharged. Although they said "tactical measures" were used. A witness told CBS Colorado that the officers were calling for the suspect to come out with their hands up, and said they broke a couple of windows in the front of the home. The police department has not released information on what led up to the standoff.
