The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced Tuesday afternoon that officials arrested former Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson and charged him with “seven counts of neglect of a child, three counts of culpable negligence, and one count of perjury.”
Peterson has faced criticism for not entering Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018 during a shooting that killed 17 and injured 17 others.
*This is breaking news. I will update as needed.
The FDLE and the Broward State Attorney’s Office spent 15 months investigating the shooting, which included interviewing 184 witnesses and viewing hours of video. They devoted over 800 hours to the investigation.
From WPTV:
“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,” said Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen. “There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives.”BSO said following its own internal investigation, Sheriff Gregory Tony determined that Peterson and another law enforcement officer, Sergeant Brian Miller, neglected their duties during the school shooting.They were both terminated and can no longer serve as deputies with the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Peterson’s arrest warrant stated:
“Deputy Scot Peterson, while acting as a caregiver, willfully neglected; [REDACTED] by failing to immediately take action, as he was trained and as is required of a caregiver, to stop the active shooter, Nikolas Cruz.”The warrant went onto say Peterson “in failing to, or refusing to, address Nikolas Cruz’ actions, exhibited a reckless indifference to or grossly careless disregard for others.”
The FDLE stated that not only did Peterson not investigate the shooting, but he also “retreated while victims were being shot inside the school.”
He then “directed other law enforcement who arrived on scene to remain 500 feet away from the building.”
Peterson resigned and retired shortly after the shooting. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office officially fired Peterson upon release of the investigation its own investigation. The office also fired Peterson’s supervisor Sergeant Brian Miller.
Authorities set Peterson’s bond at $102,000. If convicted on all the charges, he can face up to 97 years in state prison.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said that “[I]t’s never too late for accountability and justice.” Tony promised “to address deficiencies and improving the Broward Sheriff’s Office.”
Scot Peterson- Warrant .pdf by on Scribd
[Featured image via YouTube]
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