Editor’s note. This article has an accompanied video, which simply must be seen to be believed.
(Evangelical Dark Web) Broward County Florida is a national embarrassment. Once renown for hanging chads, Broward County’s law enforcement became a national disgrace for refusing to put down a school shooter which a jury pool in Broward County would refuse the death penalty to in further disgrace. The latest travesty of justice in Broward County Florida is a story of how a church excommunicated its disgraced elders who would then weaponize the Sheriffs office against the church. The Broward County Sheriffs Office would take a clear stand against the church by enforcing the ownership of the excommunicated elders.
Background
The Church at Deerfield Beach is a small 1689 Reformed Baptist Church. In June 2022, Pastor Jeremy Tatom was hired by The Church at Deerfield Beach. As part of his employment by the church, he and his family were given a residence on the church. Through a series of events, three of the church’s elders either voluntarily resigned or were removed from membership by a vote of the congregation for biblical reasons. One elder, Tom Lund, voluntarily resigned from the church in mid-August 2022 and another elder, Jack Lowther, left the church in mid-October 2022 and was officially removed from membership in mid-November 2022.
In late 2022, the former elders of the church filed a lawsuit against Pastor Tatum and church bookkeeper and long-time member, Molly Redmen, in violation of the church by-laws which insist upon Christian arbitration. In the lawsuit, the defrocked elders sue as The Church at Deerfield Beach. However, the lawsuit in which they claim to have fired Jeremy Tatum was dismissed with prejudice in late January 2023. The court ruled that the former elders did not make a persuasive argument that overcame ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.
Police Involvement
On February 1, Tom Lund would attempt to gain access to the church property. According to police bodycam footage, Lund was informed that police would not involve themselves in a civil matter that lacked a criminal element.
On February 28, Capt. Hofstein of the Broward Sheriff Office overturned the status quo and demanded that Pastor Tatom, and by extension the church congregation, share access of the church property with former member Lund who had not attended any services or had any access to the property in over 6 months. Capt. Hofstein showed up to the church property on February 28th with his second-in-command, Executive Officer Lt. Murillo-Quigley, as well as with Lt. Palamara and another deputy plus former church member, Tom Lund. He dictate terms of operation to the church.
Following this incident, the Tatoms were assured by the Internal Affairs division that there was an investigation into Hofstein’s actions. At their advice, the church changed the locks.
On March 15, Lund returned to the property to trespass with the assistance of a locksmith, and the Tatums called the non-emergency police number to have him removed. The police, when they do show up take no action against Lund. Upon appealing to the Major and the Sheriff, the actions of Capt. Hofstein continued.
On March 31, Tom Lund again uses police to gain access to the church property in a 911 call in which he claims that he needs police assistance to not get shot.
On April 2, both Lund and Lowther show up at the church and request police assistance so that they can break into the church.
On April 9, Resurrection Sunday, both Lund and Lowther return again to gain access to the church, this time to no avail, until Lund returns later that afternoon with another man who breaks a glass door to gain access to the church, while police are in the parking lot enforcing Hofstein’s orders.
With no recourse to be had with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, The Church at Deerfield Beach has appealed to Governor Ron DeSantis multiple times petitioning him to launch a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s treatment of The Church at Deerfield Beach.
Additionally, they’ve launched a social media campaign to raise awareness over this ongoing injustice. Their video compilation on YouTube garnered over 5600 views.
It is a fraudulent sham to swallow the fiction that the Broward Sheriff’s Office will legitimately investigate its own abusive police state tactics, especially when it is Sheriff Tony himself and his command that has allowed these abusive police state tactics to continue. Florida Department of Law Enforcement can do an independent investigation if ordered to do so by the Governor. But, the Governor has ignored 4 requests since April 6th. The Church at Deerfield Beach and its Pastor have unsuccessfully tried to work within the system so that the abusive police state behavior of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, that continues with Sheriff Tony and his command, stops. It even has included advising the Governor. But, to no avail. It is important to at least shine a light on this abusive police state behavior, and how the Broward Sheriff’s Office with the knowledge of its Sheriff and command allows such abusive police state behavior, and how the Governor will not even order an independent investigation of that abusive police state behavior.
Tom Connick Attorney for The Church at Deerfield Beach
The audacity for police to intervene on both a civil and ecclesiastical matter remains a gross abuse of power by the civil magistrate.
Editor’s Note. This article was written by Ray Fava and published at the Evangelical Dark Web. Republished by Protestia in full with permission.
Also, The Broward County Sheriff’s Facebook page is here, their email is socialmedia@sheriff.org, and their phone number is 1 954-831-8901. We would encourage all our readers to share this or EDW’s article far and wide, and to contact these folks and let them know what you think of their actions, in a kind and polite way.
