Nicholas G. Navarro (November 11, 1929 – September 28, 2011) was a Cuban-American businessman, born in Jaruco, Cuba, in 1929. He served as sheriff of

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

, from 1985 to 1993. He won election for sheriff in 1984. During Navarro's tenure the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) approximately doubled, to 3,000 personnel, and its budget increased from $75 million to $200 million. Contracts were added for the BSO to provide law enforcement services to three Broward cities— Dania Beach, Tamarac, and

Deerfield Beach Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859. It is a principal ...

. Navarro was defeated in the 1993 election.

''COPS''

In 1989, Navarro allowed

Fox Television The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations and ...

crews to

ride along A ride-along is an arrangement for a civilian to spend a shift in the passenger seat of an emergency vehicle, observing the work day of a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic. Ride-alongs are offered by many police departments around the wor ...

with BSO deputies for several months, taping the material which would become the inaugural season of the television show '' COPS''.

2 Live Crew controversy

In 1989, Florida Governor

Bob Martinez Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor o ...

ordered state prosecutors to determine whether

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

-area

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luke Campbell, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and ...

's album '' As Nasty As They Wanna Be'' violated Florida obscenity laws. Navarro proceeded to arrest local record store owners for selling the album and members of the rap group after a concert. All arrested parties were eventually acquitted. The judge who heard the case reprimanded the sheriff for "the unconstitutional act of prior restraint" because his detectives warned record store owners that they might be arrested if they sold the rap album, even though it had not yet been found legally obscene. On ''

Banned in the USA ''Banned in the U.S.A.'' is the fourth album by the 2 Live Crew. It was originally credited as Luke's solo album. The album included the hits " Do the Bart" and the title track. It was also the very first release to bear the RIAA-standard Pare ...

'', their follow-up album,

included a song entitled "Fuck Martinez", which also includes multiple repetitions of the phrase "Fuck Navarro". The group found two other men with the same names, and had them sign releases, as they thought that this action would make it impossible for Martinez, or Navarro, to sue them. The publicity generated by the case brought brisk sales of ''As Nasty As They Wanna Be'', and contributed to Navarro's defeat in the next election.

Post elected-office

In 1993, Navarro founded Navarro Security Group Ltd, a private security service company. On September 28, 2011, he died from complications of cancer, aged 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Nick 1929 births 2011 deaths People from Jaruco American people of Cuban descent Florida Republicans Florida sheriffs People from Broward County, Florida Deaths from cancer in Florida Obscenity law