Broward Sheriff's Deputy Called Detainee "Stupid Jew," Lawsuit Claims

A Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) deputy has been accused of going on an anti-Semitic tirade against a Jewish detainee earlier this year.

In a federal lawsuit filed on August 31 in Fort Lauderdale, Jeffery Schwartz accuses BSO officer Precious Florence of violating his First Amendment rights while detaining him over a road rage incident in January. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Florence "berated and insulted" Schwartz's religious faith by calling him a "stupid Jew" and referring to his kabbalah bracelet — a thin red string worn as a Jewish custom to ward off misfortune — as a "stupid Jewish string" before destroying it.

"Defendant Florence's action of ordering, removing, and destroying Plaintiff Schwartz's kabbalah bracelet was undertaken due to Defendant Florence's animus for Judaism, its practitioners, and those who are ethnically Jewish," claims the suit (attached at the bottom of this story).

The lawsuit demands a trial by jury, as well as a "formal written apology" from Florence.

Florence, a veteran officer hired in 2007, works in the BSO's Cooper City district, sheriff's office spokesperson Veda Coleman-Wright confirmed to New Times.

The BSO declined to comment on the case. "We commonly make it a practice not to comment on pending litigation," Coleman-Wright wrote in an email.

An attorney wasn't immediately listed for Florence, whom New Times was unable to reach for comment.

On January 27, the BSO detained Schwartz over a road rage incident that involved a former police officer, according to the lawsuit, which also claims he was not advised of his rights or permitted to contact an attorney.

After being brought to a BSO holding cell, the lawsuit claims, Schwartz was chained to a bench, where Florence snipped off his bracelet, calling it a "stupid Jewish string," and told him he would be charged with a third-degree felony if he didn't agree to speak with the former police officer involved in the incident.

"Schwartz wears his kabbalah bracelet as a sign of his sincerely held faith of decades, cultural inclusion, and respect for tradition," the lawsuit reads. "Schwartz's kabbalah bracelet is integral to his religious identity. He believes that this practice connotes piety and spirituality, and dictates how he is perceived by the world."

The lawsuit claims Florence and other officers continued "berating, mocking, [and] insulting" Schwartz, including telling him he "looks like a crackhead."

Typically made from a thin scarlet or crimson string, the red bracelets have long been believed to protect against bad luck, including the infamous "evil eye." The bracelets hold a similar significance in Hinduism and other cultures.