FDLE investigating Pembroke Pines Commissioner Jay Schwartz

CBS News

5 hours ago

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."