The School Deputy Who Was On Duty During The Parkland Attack Has Been Arrested

By Lauren Rearick


In a press conference on Tuesday, June 4, Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported it intended to charge Scot Peterson, the on-duty school resource officer throughout the February 2019 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, for his lack of response throughout the shooting.


Seventeen people, the majority students, were killed any time whenever a perpetrator opened fire at the Parkland, Florida, high school on February 14, 2019. Immediately after law enforcement reviewed surveillance video from the day of the attack, Peterson faced criticism for waiting to enter the building while the attack was underway, CNN reported.


As ABC News reported, the video shows Peterson, who was previously employed as a sheriff's deputy with the Broward County Police, approached the building where the shooting took place, however later walked away, and stood outdoors for 45 minutes. An arrest warrant affidavit, received by CNN, states that throughout the time Peterson stood outdoor, the perpetrator killed five people and wounded four others.


Over the course of 15 months, FDLE conducted an investigation into Peterson’s response, ABC News reported. Immediately after interviewing witnesses and watching surveillance footage, the department reported 11 criminal expenditures for Peterson, including seven counts of neglect of a child and three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury, a press release from FDLE notes; if convicted, he may face a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison, CBS News reports. Peterson was placed in the Broward County jail with a bail of $102,000; if released, he can’t own a gun or passport, and he would have to wear a GPS monitoring device.


In a press release, FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen criticized Peterson’s action throughout the shooting, saying he did “absolutely nothing to mitigate the MSD shooting.” He asserted that there was “no question that his inaction cost lives.” Data shows the fallacy that a “good guy with a gun” will have the ability to stop gun violence from happening isn't rooted in any justifiable proof. In response to the attack, Parkland students lobbied for gun law reform in categorize to stop gun violence from happening altogether.


Joseph A. DiRuzzo III, an attorney for Peterson, told CNN he intended to defend his client against the expenditures. He challenged the notion that Peterson was thought a caregiver, noting that it’s legally defined as a parent, adult household member, or other person accountable for a child’s welfare. “The definition of 'other person accountable for a child's welfare' expressly excludes law enforcement officers acting in an official capacity,” he mentioned in a statement.


Tony Montalto, the father of Gina Montalto, a 14-year-old student who died in the shooting, told ABC News he was “happy to be able to see some accountability for this tragedy.” Andrew Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter Meadow Pollack was killed in the shooting, told CBS News, "[The arrest] is a step towards more accountability for letting my daughter get murdered.”


The perpetrator who killed 17 people and wounded 17 others is now awaiting trial, NPR notes. He has been charged with 17 counts of first-degree premeditated murder and 17 counts of first-degree attempted murder.