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Profile
One of the organizations that organize and sponsor these trainings is the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). JINSA is a think tank that advocates for US-Israeli security cooperation, increased domestic military spending, and military aid to Israel, and has board members with close ties to US defense contractors. JINSA launched its Law Enforcement Exchange Program (LEEP) shortly after 9/11, and since 2002 has run annual trips to Israel for US federal, state, and local law enforcement. Over 11,000 additional American law enforcement officials have attended LEEP conferences nationwide, which bring in Israeli security officials as experts.
The Sheriff’s Department of Hillsborough County, Florida, is among the departments that have sent delegates to Israel. José Docobo served as Chief Deputy of Hillsborough County between 2004 and 2018. Chief Deputy Docobo attended a training in Israel with JINSA as a delegate of the LEEP program in 2005. Docobo is cited several times in multiple books by an author named James J. F. Forest on the issue of counter-terrorism/counter-insurgency. He serves as a member of the State of Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force, the Federal Joint Terrorism Task Force and on the Advisory Committee to the National Council on Readiness and Preparedness. He has published several articles on the role of local police departments and law enforcement in homeland security.
Four Hillsborough officers were suspended after dropping a quadriplegic man from his wheelchair.
The department was also served a FOIA request from the ACLU regarding Stingray cell-phone tracking devices or “cell site simulators” and “IMSI catchers.” Stingrays are named after the leading model of the Harris Corporation, a company based in Melbourne, Florida. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement spent $3 million to obtain the Stingray technology. The ACLU issued a response to the redaction and withholding of FOIA requests by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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