Scot Peterson, Former Florida Deputy, Who Stayed Outside During Parkland Shooting, Faces Criminal Charges — Was He Wrong?

Scot Peterson Florida Parkland Shooting

After getting fired, former Broward County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scot Peterson has been arrested for the role he failed to play during the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting also known as the Parkland shooting.

In February 2018, Nikolas Cruz, an expelled student, walked into the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School located in Parkland, Florida with a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire on his fellow students.

The crazed gunman left seventeen students and staff members dead and injured seventeen others.

The former Florida sheriff’s deputy, who was present during the massacre, ran for his life and hid as Cruz shot and killed the teenagers and school officials he was supposed to protect.

The cowardly act led to the arrest of Peterson, who was charged with multiple counts of child neglect, culpable negligence, and perjury.

On Tuesday, the conclusions of an internal investigation revealed that Peterson retreated and “did absolutely nothing to mitigate the MSD shooting.” The investigation also led to the firing of BSO sergeant Brian Miller.

Gregory Tony, Broward County Interim Sheriff, announced the arrest and revealed the changes put in place in a statement that read: “We cannot fulfill our commitment to always protect the security and safety of our Broward County community without doing a thorough assessment of what went wrong that day. The Broward Sheriff’s Office and our first responders are now better prepared and trained to respond to an active shooter crisis.”

The statement went on to say: “They have been terminated and will no longer be privileged to serve as law enforcement deputies for the Broward Sheriff’s Office. We have also enhanced our active shooter response protocol, increased our training staff, introduced essential equipment, established training partnerships with governmental organizations, and are building a regional training center.”

Mr. Peterson’s attorney, Joseph A. DiRuzzo, issued a statement of his own claiming his client is innocent of all charges brought against him: “We will vigorously defend against these false charges that lack a basis in fact and law. Specifically, Mr. Peterson cannot reasonably be prosecuted because he was not a ‘caregiver,’ which is defined as ‘a parent, adult household member, or another person responsible for a child’s welfare.’ ”

What are your thoughts on his handling of the deadly mass shooting?

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