In 1915 Broward County was formed out of portions of Dade and Palm Beach counties. Naturally, all of the normal governmental offices had to be filled, including the county's chief law enforcement officer -- the Sheriff. That position was filled by a Pompano resident.

The following is excerpted from William P. Cahill's "The First Sheriffs of Broward County Florida: 1915 - 1933" in the Broward Legacy (Vol. 24, no. 2):

Soon after the creation of Broward County in 1915, a primary election was held to select officers for the new county. This was, in effect, the official election because the Governor of Florida had promised to appoint to office the men selected in the primary. In that contest, the winner of the race for Sheriff was a local businessman, A. W. Turner, who soon began a long a colorful career as Broward's first Sheriff. In a four-way contest, Mr. Turner received 295 votes, more than the combined total of all three of his opponents.
...........
In October 1915, Allen Waterman Turner was sworn in as the Sheriff of Broward County, Florida. Turner was a native Floridian, born in Nassau County, near Jacksonville, in 1865. He had come to the Broward area in 1905,at which time he was supplying lumber to the Florida East Coast Railway. He reportedly was so impressed with the fertility of the soil in this region that in 1907 he settled in Pompano as a farmer and road contractor. Turner was very popular in the community, and thus it was not surprising that he won election as Broward's Sheriff, the first of his four electoral victories for that office.

Turner served as Sheriff until 1922. At that time he was removed from office by Florida Governor Cary A. Hardee for "nonfeasance in office" -- in the Governor's opinion, not being tough enough on local scam artists.