On Thursday, a jury acquitted a Florida sheriff’s deputy of criminal charges stemming from his inaction during the 2018 Parkland school shooting which killed 17 people.
According to WTVJ, Scot Peterson, 60, was charged with seven counts of child neglect for the four students who were killed and three wounded victims on Stoneman Douglas High School’s third floor. Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before finding Peterson — an armed school resource officer — not guilty of those charges and culpable negligence, a misdemeanor.
WTVJ reported that Peterson arrived at the school building 73 seconds before gunman Nikolas Cruz did, but retreated after hearing gunfire. Peterson claimed he could not ascertain the source of the shots.
The Miami Herald reported that security footage showed Peterson exit his office, which is 100 yards from the school building, 36 seconds after Cruz first opened fire. He was then filmed getting into a car with two unarmed security guards and arriving at the building a minute later.
Peterson was positioned near the east doorway of the building, while Cruz was firing from the opposite end of the hallway. The Miami Herald reported that Peterson — who was not wearing a bulletproof vest at the time — took cover 75 feet away with his gun drawn. He remained there for 40 minutes, well after the shooting stopped and other law enforcement had entered the building.
Though Peterson retired, he was retroactively fired for his conduct during the 2018 mass shooting.
Last year, Cruz, 24, was spared the death penalty after a jury could not unanimously conclude that aggravating factors in the case outweighed mitigating factors. He was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
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[Featured image: Scott Peterson/WTVJ video screengrab]
