Incumbent Ric Bradshaw is the projected winner of the Democratic primary for Palm Beach Sheriff.
Bradshaw defeated Alex Freeman, a retired major from the Riviera Beach Police Department who lost to Bradshaw 4 years ago.
The current sheriff, who oversees the eighth largest sheriff’s department in the country, is seeking his fifth four-year term — that’s 16 years of management experience and political influence.
The sheriff’s office has implemented a number of police reforms that include a mental health field operation team put in place to de-escalate family disputes in the community, a ban on chokeholds, racial bias training for new recruits, and a reduction of shooting incidents by his deputies.
But his deputies in the county still do not wear body cameras. And the sheriff's office faced huge criticism last year over accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's lenient work-release privileges through the office’s work-release program. He eventually ended the program.
Bradshaw, who touts decades worth of law enforcement experience, will face Republican challenger, Lauro Diaz in the Nov. 3 general election. Diaz is a retired captain with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and touts his 34 years of law enforcement experience.
