Scot Peterson

Appeals Court Decision Upholds Lawsuit Against Resource Officer in Parkland School Shooting

The three judge panel refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of Meadow Pollack, one of the 17 people killed in the shooting inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

An appeals court decision could clear the away for a lawsuit to move forward against the former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy assigned to the site of the deadly Parkland school shooting in 2018.

The three judge panel refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of Meadow Pollack, one of the 17 people killed in the shooting inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, against the school’s former resource officer Scot Peterson.

Lawyers for Peterson, who has been charged with his role that includes video showing him running outside one of the school’s buildings as alleged shooter Nikolas Cruz opened fire, argued that the lawsuit filed by Andrew Pollack and Shara Kaplan should be dismissed because of a law aimed to shield government employees from personal liability.

The panel upheld the previous ruling from a Broward judge citing that the law has an exemption for when employees “act in bad faith or with malicious purpose.”

Peterson retired shortly after the shooting and was charged over a year later with child neglect, culpable negligence, and perjury for his actions during the shooting.

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