Disgraced former Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scot Peterson is finally being held accountable for failing to act during the Parkland high school shooting that left 17 people dead and 17 others wounded last year.
Peterson, 56, was arrested Tuesday in connection with the controversial law enforcement (lack of) response to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The former school security officer is charged with seven counts of child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence, and one count of perjury as a result of a 15-month investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
Officials determined that Peterson and Sgt. Brian Miller, “neglected their duties,” and both were terminated on Tuesday.
Peterson was taken into custody after an administrative discipline hearing and has been booked into the Broward County jail on a $102,000 bond. Under the terms of his release, Peterson will be required to wear a GPS monitor, must surrender his passport, and will be banned from possessing any firearms. If convicted on all counts, Peterson could face more than 96 years in prison.
Peterson’s arrest warrant reveals disturbing details.
According to the arrest warrant, “Deputy Scot Peterson, while acting as a caregiver, willfully neglected [REDACTED] by failing to immediately take action, as he was trained and is required of a caregiver, to stop the active shooter, Nikolas Cruz. In failing to, or refusing to, address Nikolas Cruz’s actions, exhibited a reckless indifference to or grossly careless disregard for others.”
You can read the full arrest warrant below. Beginning on page 4, Peterson’s training is described. On page 5, there is a list of 18 training sessions he attended that “pertained to school safety and how to respond to an active shooter incident.”
Scot Peterson- Warrant .pdf by on Scribd
The investigation uncovered just how cowardly Peterson was that day.
“The FDLE investigation shows former Deputy Peterson did absolutely nothing to mitigate the MSD shooting that killed 17 children, teachers and staff and injured 17 others,” FDLE commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a statement. “There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives.”
“The investigation showed Peterson refused to investigate where the gunshots were coming from, retreated during the gunfire as victims were being shot, did not move from his hiding place for 48 minutes, and directed other law enforcement who arrived on the scene to remain 500 feet away from the building,” FDLE spokeswoman Jessica Cary said in an emailed statement to the Orlando Sentinel.
In January, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended the Broward County sheriff, Scott Israel, citing neglect of duty and “incompetence.” Israel was replaced with Gregory Tony, a former sergeant with the Coral Springs Police Department. Tony oversaw the investigation of seven deputies at the department.
“I was pleased the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office conducted a thorough investigation that yielded the arrest of Scot Peterson,” Sheriff Tony said. “All the facts related to Mr. Peterson’s failure to act during the MSD massacre clearly warranted both termination of employment and criminal charges. It’s never too late for accountability and justice.”
Some experts are surprised Peterson was charged.
The criminal charges were “an unusual instance of law enforcement officers being held criminally liable for failing to protect the public”, reports The New York Times:
“This is the first time I have seen somebody so charged like this,” said Clinton R. Van Zandt, a former profiler with the F.B.I. and an expert on mass shootings. “I think that every police officer, sheriff and F.B.I. agent understands that you have to go to the threat and stop it and that we are no longer going to wait for SWAT or set up perimeters.”
Van Zandt said prosecutors appeared to be sending a message to the community that “we hear you are disappointed, and we will let the criminal justice system determine whether he made significant mistakes, whether perhaps he was a coward or not, or whether he acted properly with the information that he had.”
But, he contended, “it is going to be a challenge for prosecutors if the deputy stays with his story that his training did not teach him that, and that the circumstances did not dictate to him that his actions should have been to go in rather than facilitate the rescue of kids coming out and direct responding police officers coming in. In essence, he was directing traffic.” (source)
As stated earlier, according to page 5 of the arrest warrant, Peterson was in fact trained on how to handle active shooter situations.
Peterson probably could have saved lives if he tried to stop Cruz.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reviewed reports, timelines, audio, and video recordings and found a number of circumstances that influenced the outcome that day. They came to a chilling conclusion:
Every second counted. If Peterson had charged into the 1200 building and bounded up three flights of stairs within a minute, he might have headed off the shooter and cut short his deadly rampage.
Families of the victims commented on Peterson’s arrest.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was shot in the spinal cord as she fled for her life, said of the charges:
“My daughter was one of the last to be shot. My daughter absolutely could have been saved by him and she wasn’t.
Certainly not disappointed and not surprised. He needs to rot. He has continued to abuse the families by continuing to lie about how he failed my child and 16 others. He deserves to rot. He is responsible in large part for why my daughter is gone and I have no sympathy for him, I’m glad he’s been arrested.
Had she had one more second she would have been saved. She was turning into the stairwell. I hope they make his life as miserable as possible.” (source)
Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, died in the attack, said he welcomed Peterson’s arrest:
“It’s about accountability, and there’s to be more in Broward County,” said Mr. Pollack, who previously filed a wrongful-death suit against Mr. Peterson. “We knew all along that this guy did something very terrible. He let my daughter die, and a lot of other victims in the school — teachers and children — and he didn’t do his job.” (source)
Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter, Alyssa, 14, also died that day, said:
“He needs to go to jail and he needs to serve a lifetime in prison for not going in that day and taking down the threat that led to the death of our loved ones. It was his duty to go into that building and to engage the threat, and he froze and he did nothing.” (source)
What do you think?
Do you think Peterson will actually serve time? What do you think schools should do to prevent tragedies like this from occurring? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
About the Author
Dagny Taggart is the pseudonym of an experienced journalist who needs to maintain anonymity to keep her job in the public eye. Dagny is non-partisan and aims to expose the half-truths, misrepresentations, and blatant lies of the MSM.
A sad situation and so typical of today’s Brave society we live in. When it comes to action, people are quick to place blame on anyone but themselves. It’s obvious this defendant should have chosen LE as a career. Either you have what it takes or you don’t. Sometimes you just don’t know whether you have it until you are placed in a situation that test your metal. Self preservation is strong and it’s easy to hesitate and become immobilized. It’s not easy, but you do what has to be done. Sometimes even the bravest fall short. There are many out there who say “well if I was there, I would have done this or that’s”. Big talk is easy when you’re not actually being tested”. I was in LE for over 33 years raising through the ranks. You try to weed out those you know who are not cut out for LE, but sometimes you have no indication. Filing on this man for failing to act as LE is a waste of time. I have no doubt he is punishing himself more than anything society would do to him. You armchair heroes are just that. Today’s society in general are weak and easy to blame others just to make themselves feel better. Not easy being a cop these days. Liberal socialist democrats make sure of that. Just my thoughts, if you disagree with what I said, too bad! Grow up and quit relying on others to change your diaper. Or get back down to your momma’s basement and play your little video game.
Good job dismissing anyone else with a differing opinion.
This will be interesting. Courts have ruled that the police have no individual duty to protect anyone. This will “feel good” for a while and likely ruin Peterson’s life, but it won’t change the law or the policies.
If teachers in the school were armed, this could have been stopped in a heartbeat.
We have to remember that these shootings occur because there is a faction (globalists) who don’t want the population armed. They will continue to take our rights away slowly but constantly until we are helpless.
How can you take guns away by saying the police Will protect you? I am aware of the many court cases that say that the police have no duty to protect us, not even from murder. This is a political move to eliminate the perception that we are responsible for ourselves and should be armed. I do not think this coward will spend a day in prison. Remember the higher courts have already ruled in his favor. The courts and federal law says it is okay for cops to lie even under oath.
The politicians want us to think they are on our side.
Kinda split on this one.
No one knows exactly how anyone will react in a situation such as this.
On the other hand, people who are trained are expected to,
“Train as you fight! Fight as you train!”
Hence why it is . . . drilled . . . into us military types, to the point it becomes second nature, requiring little or no thought to react.
This officer was trained as the records show.
However, I wonder what exactly does that training look like?
A 5 hour power point presentation with no practical application afterwards?
As I understand it, FL recently passed a law allowing teachers, who volunteer, to carry in the class room. But it requires like 133 hours of training ,
“must include:oEighty hours of firearms instruction based on the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission’s Law Enforcement Academy training model, which must include at least 10 percent but no more than 20 percent more rounds fired than associated with academy training. Program participants must achieve an 85 percent pass rate on the firearms training.
oSixteen hours of instruction in precision pistol.oEight hours of discretionary shooting instruction using state-of-the-art simulator exercises.oEight hours of instruction in active shooter or assailant scenarios.
oEight hours of instruction in defensive tactics.
oTwelve hours of instruction in legal issues
.Pass a psychological evaluation administered by a psychologist licensed under ch.490, F.S., and designated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and submit the results of the evaluation to the sheriff’s office. The FDLE may provide the sheriff’s office with mental health and substance abuse data for compliance with this requirement.
Submit to and pass an initial drug test and subsequent random drug tests in accordance with the requirements of s.112.0455, F.S., and the sheriff’s office.
Successfully complete ongoing training, weapon inspection, and firearm qualification on at least an annual basis.
Successfully complete at least 12 hours of a certified nationally recognized diversity training program.14”
Source: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/7030/Analyses/2019s07030.is.PDF
Did that officer receive that kind of training, evaluation?
Understood that one does not know how one would respond in a crisis situation; but, he did have a duty to at least investigate and help get kids out of harms way, if not engage the perp.
I doubt Peterson will be convicted. Juries do not like to convict cops.
Arming teachers is the best way to safeguard schools. Only a small percentage would need t be armed. Give them special training and financial incentives.
I’m afraid it sets a precedent and we could see many more like it in the future, thus keeping people from wanting to be first responders .
There was something about this incident that didn’t seem right from the beginning. The only thing that I think these charges against Peterson might bring out is if there was any other corruption involved in the handling of this tragic shooting. If there was, then examining the entire thing should bring about changes. Much like Columbine changed the way school shootings are handled.
You may be on the right track there. Something did not smell right about this incident, and it should be fully investigated, but by whom? We can’t trust the FBI. Is this guy just a sacrificial lamb to stop any further review?
Guns are intended to kill people (or animals). No, I am not anti-gun. But ease of access to firearms in the USA results in more people killing a larger number of people. Yes, here in Canada we have gun-related problems too. But only 1/10 the population of the USA, a less-militaristic mindset (altho we serve with distinction when called upon by our allies), and guns are not as readily available here either legally or illegally.
So, guns have been killing people for centuries. When a soldier or law enforcement officer begins their career training they have to make the decision to not only put their life on the line but to be willing & able to take the life of another human being. Subject officer obviously had not made that commitment when called upon to perform his duty. Every year he went thru the motions, training, & collecting a paycheque. But his heart wasnt really in the profession. Unfortunately 17 people paid for that with their lives.
I hope this causes every soldier & policing officer to pause and think of the responsibility that they took on when they opted to wear the badge. If they are unwilling to shoot to kill, they shud take the badge off and hand it to their commanding officer with the words “I just can’t do it. I resign.”
At first, I was all for Peterson being charged. He was at the very least negligent. (And a coward) After reading and hearing a whole lot on this today, it makes me wonder why he is being made into the patsy. What about the ‘almighty’ alphabet department that had the shooter on their radar and failed to follow through? I think there may just be more to the story than we ate hearing. And I am not a ‘conspiracy theorist’. Previous posters raise some very valid points. What exactly did his training consist of? What sort of experience did he have prior to becoming a school resource officer? And as so rightly mentioned, what sort of precedence does this set?
He didn’t fail to act. He was doing his job. Wasn’t it the police SWAT teams that carried out the attack (simulated or otherwise) on the school? He would have been out of line for interfering in the operation.
That’s just wrong.
What is the saying?
“Evil i what happen’s when people fail to act?”
“Evil is what happen’s when people fail to act?”
Sorry, missed the “s” key.
I havent read the article yet, but I could have sworn that Scott Peterson was already in prison for killing his wife…. (not the Scot married to Lacy)…and thought that the Sheriff was named Israel or something like that….
This is a deputy, not the sheriff, with the same name but different spelling. 🙂
Don’t people recognize all of the strange anomalies around the supposed shooting at Parkland school? The whole thing looks as phony as a $3 bill – and the charges against this Deputy, I would suggest, are just further propaganda, at the Deputy’s expense, to shore up the sagging narrative.
Dagny, the little blurb introducing you says “Dagny is non-partisan and aims to expose the half-truths, misrepresentations, and blatant lies of the MSM.” For me to believe that you are truly non-partisan, I would need to see you denounce Randism in the strongest possible terms. I don’t believe that anyone truly impartial would pick a nom de plume from one of Ayn Rand’s volumes of hate.