[FoxNews] A Florida jury has found former Parkland school resource officer Scot Peterson not guilty on all counts.
| Sadly, he responded as trained and as ordered. It should be noted that, as one of Ron DeSantis’s first acts as governor of Florida, he suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel and appointed a replacement, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office lost its accreditation. |
Peterson faced seven counts of felony child neglect and was the first law enforcement officer in the U.S. to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged inaction during an active school shooting. He was also charged with three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence in relation to the adults shot in the building. Additionally, he was charged with perjury for allegedly lying to detectives.
Peterson would have faced prison time and a loss of his $104,000 annual pension if convicted of the child neglect charges.
During the trial, students, a sheriff's deputy and teachers testified and were asked where they thought the initial shots were coming from during the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fourteen students and three staff members died during the shooting committed by Nikolas Cruz.
| ...pre-attack diagnoses of autism, anxiety, depression and significant psychological problems, described as a troubled kid obsessed with guns — the police frequently went to the family home to deal with him. Mr. Cruz was adopted at birth, then his adoptive father died when he was young, followed into the grave by his adoptive mother a few months before he ran amok. So really he was a classic school shooter. The jurors recognized this when they plumped for life in prison. Interestingly, his biological sister Danielle Woodard, a decade older, is classified as a habitual violent offender. Last we heard, she will be in prison for a very long time... |
Kristen Gomes, an assistant state attorney for Broward County, said during closing arguments on Monday, "Every student and every teacher on the third floor was still alive."
"And Scot Peterson chose to run," Gomes said.
Following Peterson's acquittal on all charges, Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor said "To those who have tried to make this political, I say: It is not political to expect someone to do their job."
"As parents, we have an expectation that armed school resource officers – who are under contract to be caregivers to our children – will do their jobs when we entrust our children to them and the schools they guard. They have a special role and responsibilities that exceed the role and responsibilities of a police officer," Pryor said.
| The job of police officers is to solve crimes and catch criminals with enough evidence that the prosecutor can make the case in court. Nowhere does it say that police officers should attack like soldiers, though many do. |
Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed in the Parkland shooting, told Fox News Digital that "Nothing in today’s verdict absolves Scot Peterson of his failures on February 14, 2018."
"Peterson was at the door of the building, heard shots and retreated to cover, remaining there for 48 minutes while the killer continued his rampage," Petty said. "Peterson remained behind that cover even after other members of law enforcement had entered the building and were treating casualties. He will have to live with his failures for the rest of his life." |