Defense attorneys for former Parkland school resource officer Scot Peterson filed two motions that were heard in court Thursday in the criminal case against him stemming from the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Attorney Mark Eiglarsh said the motions would be used to examine whether Peterson can get a fair trial on charges of child neglect among others. Eiglarsh wants the jury to be read instructions on defining what a caregiver is as well as being given a questionnaire on media attention toward the case.
“The best definition that they’re given is caregiver means a parent, adult household member or other person responsible for the child’s welfare. Well, what does that mean? Does that include the janitor, who for the welfare of the kids cleans a bathroom, how far does that go?," he said.
A judge agreed on the questionnaire about media coverage but denied the motion regarding instructions being read defining caregiver.
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Peterson was on duty at the school when a former student arrived on campus and opened fire, killing a total of 17 people. The deputy, who resigned after an investigation, was armed at the time.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement concluded after a n investigation that Peterson, who remained outside the school during the attack, failed to investigate the source of the bullets and retreated to take cover instead of rushing towards the gunfire.
If convicted, he faces a potential maximum prison sentence of nearly 100 years. Jury selection is set for late May and the trial is expected to start the day after a jury is set.
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A civil lawsuit against Peterson filed by the parents of Meadow Pollack, one of the students killed in the tragedy, was upheld by an appeals court in 2019 after his lawyers argued it should be dismissed because of a law that shields government employees from personal liability.
The appeal court upheld the previous ruling from a Broward judge saying the law has an exemption for when employees “act in bad faith or with malicious purpose.”
During a news conference in Eiglarsh’s Fort Lauderdale office in August 2021, Peterson proclaimed his innocence.
"There is no way in hell that I would sit there and allow those kids to die with me being next to another building and sitting there, no way, and anybody who knows me would tell you, that's not Deputy Peterson," he said at the time.
