Lauderhill Vice Mayor Richard Campbell arrested on domestic violence charge
Key Points(5)
- Lauderhill Vice Mayor Richard Campbell, a Jamaican-American physical therapist and former educator, was arrested Monday on domestic violence and witness tampering charges, according to Broward County jail records.
- The Broward Sheriff’s Office listed the charges against Campbell as “simple battery domestic” and “tampering with or harassing a witness, victim or informant.” Lauderhill Police Department spokesman Lt.
- Antonio Gonzalez confirmed Campbell’s arrest and the nature of the charges but declined to provide additional details.
- Campbell, 70, identified the woman involved in the case as his ex-girlfriend in an interview with WPLG-Ch.
- 10 following his arrest.
Lauderhill Vice Mayor Richard Campbell, a Jamaican-American physical therapist and former educator, was arrested Monday on domestic violence and witness tampering charges, according to Broward County jail records.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office listed the charges against Campbell as “simple battery domestic” and “tampering with or harassing a witness, victim or informant.”
Lauderhill Police Department spokesman Lt. Antonio Gonzalez confirmed Campbell’s arrest and the nature of the charges but declined to provide additional details.
Campbell, 70, identified the woman involved in the case as his ex-girlfriend in an interview with WPLG-Ch. 10 following his arrest.
“It’s a relationship that for months she should have left the house,” Campbell told the station. “Friends, family, we couldn’t get her to do so.”
Campbell denied wrongdoing and said he was confident he would be vindicated in court.
“You can look at my history. I’ve never been accused. My history is public,” Campbell told WPLG. “I’ve been around for 35 years, and I’ve never come across anything similar to this.”
He also described the allegations as a smear campaign “meant to disrupt the election.”
“I’m not worried, I’m confident,” he said.
Campbell is seeking reelection to the Lauderhill City Commission on Nov. 3. He was most recently elected to a two-year term in 2024 and previously served on the commission from 2018 to 2020.
Monday night’s scheduled City Commission meeting went ahead without Campbell.
During the meeting, Lauderhill Mayor Denise Grant led commissioners in prayer for the vice mayor, referring to him as “our colleague and our friend.”
“As we are sitting here on this dais, one of our colleagues is not here, we ask for your protection, Lord God, that you would protect him in this time, that you would give him what he needs to have peace that surpasses all understanding,” Grant said in part.
“Whatever the circumstances, Lord, that you would give him the insight and the wisdom to be able to maneuver this and to navigate through it, Lord, and we pray that he will have the support that he needs at this hour.”
Grant earlier told WPLG that she had no comment on Campbell’s arrest.
Campbell said he plans to defend himself against the allegations in Broward County court.
“It will play out in court,” he told WPLG. “The public will be aware of the results of it. I’m here, I have nowhere to go.”
Originally from Jamaica, Campbell previously worked as a Spanish and physical education teacher in Jamaica and as a social worker in New York and Florida. He is a physical therapist and CEO of RICHAB Physical Therapy Inc. and is also the founder of the Caribbean-American Soccer Association.
