Former deputy acquitted of failing to protect Parkland students in shooting.
Former Sheriff’s Deputy Acquitted in Parkland Shooting Case
A Florida jury on Thursday acquitted Scot Peterson, a former sheriff’s deputy accused of failing to protect students during the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Peterson, the school resource officer on duty when a gunman entered a building on Feb. 14, 2018, and opened fire, had been charged with 11 counts of child neglect, culpable negligence, and perjury.
With his head on the table, Peterson sobbed with relief as the judge read aloud the “not guilty” verdict to each count. The jury’s decision spared him a potential prison sentence of 97 years.
After the verdict, Peterson expressed his willingness to speak with the parents of the students who lost their lives in the shooting, stating, “If they need to really know the truth of what occurred… I’ll be there for them,” while choking back tears.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office, which brought the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Peterson, armed at the time, never entered the building during the shooting, as confirmed by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and surveillance video.
This case is highly unusual, as few law enforcement officers have ever been prosecuted for failing to take action or provide care. The outcome of this trial could set a legal precedent and potentially discourage prosecutors from charging similar officials with negligence in the aftermath of other shootings.
Peterson did not testify during the two-and-a-half-week trial.
In October, a jury spared Nikolas Cruz, the gunman in the Parkland shooting, from the death penalty, instead sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
May marked the one-year anniversary of the deadliest U.S. school shooting in nearly a decade, where a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 children, two teachers, and injured 17 others.
In that case, police waited over an hour to confront the shooter, prompting widespread criticism. A report by the Texas Department of Public Safety revealed that a Uvalde police officer could have shot the gunman before he entered the school but hesitated while awaiting permission from a supervisor.
(Reporting by Julia Harte)
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