Critics: Lauderdale police chief's wife coddled in shooting

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The arrest of the Fort Lauderdale police chief's wife has turned into a legal debate about fairness and nepotism -- with strong words on both sides.

From police stations to the county courthouse, everybody was talking about the arrest of the Fort Lauderdale police chief's wife on Thursday -- everyone except Chief Frank Adderley and wife Eleanor.

Howard Finkelstein, Broward's public defender, insisted that Eleanor Adderley is getting preferential treatment from prosecutors and Plantation police, who opted not to charge her with attempted murder after she opened fire on her husband in their home.

She is charged instead with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing into a dwelling.

Defense attorney John P. Contini, a friend of the Adderleys, was just as adamant that she did not receive favorable treatment -- and that the two felonies could ultimately end up as misdemeanors.

Miami Herald