Nick Navarro, ex-Fla. sheriff, dead at 81

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Nick Navarro, the ex-Florida sheriff known for letting a "Cops" TV crew film his deputies' arrest of rappers 2 Live Crew, has died, The Miami Herald said.

He was 81.

The newspaper said Navarro, who had been suffering from colon cancer, died Wednesday at his home with his wife, Sharon, at his side.

Navarro, who served eight years as Broward County sheriff before being ousted by voters in 1992, had allowed the "Cops" crew to film the arrest of the rap group 2 Live Crew on obscenity charges in 1990. The band was acquitted of the charges.

During his controversial tenure, he also allowed deputies to cook crack cocaine for use in drug stings and put prisoners in a tent in response to jail overcrowding.

Navarro, who was born in Cuba, took office in January 1985 and told reporters, "You guys in the press are going to get a lot of ink out of me."

The sheriff's office became known far beyond Florida after he allowed the "Cops" crew to record deputies making arrests during its first season in 1989.

During his tenure, the sheriff's office doubled its personnel to 3,000 and added three Broward County cities to its enforcement area while its budget increased from $75 million to $200 million.

Some criticized Navarro for self-promotion and courts found his random searches of passengers at county bus and railroad stations unconstitutional, the Herald said.

He ran a private security firm after leaving office.