Former Parkland security officer Scot Peterson charged with neglect for not entering school
A former school safety officer who worked at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when 17 people were fatally shot last year, was arrested Tuesday on multiple charges, including child neglect and perjury after he failed to confront the gunman.
Scot Peterson, who worked as a security guard at the school, was charged with seven counts of neglect of a child and three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.
The charges carry a maximum potential sentence of 96-and-a-half years in state prison, the Broward State Attorney's Office said.
Seventeen students, teachers and staff were killed in the shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, and another 17 were injured. A former student, Nikolas Cruz, is charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.
Cruz has pleaded not guilty although his public defenders said he would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Prosecutors want the death penalty.
Peterson, 56, was the only other person at the school with a gun when the shooter opened fire.
He was taken into custody in Broward County after a 15-month investigation that showed he "refused to investigate the source of the gunshots, retreated during the active shooting while victims were being shot and directed other law enforcement who arrived on scene to remain 500 feet away from the building," the state law enforcement department said.
Department Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a news release that Peterson "did absolutely nothing" to stop the shooting, and that cost people their lives.
“There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives,” Swearingen said.
The State Attorney's Office said the law enforcement department interviewed more than 180 witnesses as well as reviewed video surveillance during the investigation.
"All the facts related to Mr. Peterson’s failure to act during the MSD massacre clearly warranted both termination of employment and criminal charges. It’s never too late for accountability and justice,” Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony added.
Peterson, who was fired Tuesday from the Broward County Sheriff's Office, said during a June 2018 interview with NBC's "Today" that he did not go into the building because of miscommunication.
"I didn't get it right," he said. "But it wasn't because of some, 'Oh, I don't want to go into that building. Oh, I don't want to face somebody in there.' It wasn't like that at all."
"Those are my kids in there," he added. "I never would have sat there and let my kids get slaughtered. Never."
Peterson was booked into the Broward County Jail on a $102,000 bond. Under the terms of his bond, he must wear a GPS monitor, surrender his passport and is prohibited from possessing firearms while the case is pending.
Gloss