Commission: ‘Unrealistic' For All Schools to Have Officers in Wake of Parkland School Shooting

Two sheriffs on the commission investigating the Parkland school massacre said it is unrealistic to believe there will be armed officers or guards assigned to all state schools this fall.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission on Friday that he doesn't have enough qualified applicants for the 100 additional deputies he'd need to hire. He said it's a common problem.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri is the commission's chairman. He says school districts are struggling to pay their share of the hiring. The Florida legislature has required in response to the shooting that each public elementary, middle and high school have at least one armed guard. That could be a police officer, a trained staff member or a trained civilian.

Day two of the commission's discussion will be through the lens of whether MSD resource officer Scot Peterson could have prevented some of the 17 deaths that happened Feb. 14.

Peterson stayed out of the building where the slayings happened, saying he couldn't pinpoint the gunshots. Critics have called him a coward, saying he didn't want to confront the shooter, Nikolas Cruz.

The commission's 15 members – one less than originally named after Andrew Pollack, the father of slain student Meadow, resigned from the commission Thursday - include law enforcement officers, educators and parents of slain students.

They will report to Gov. Rick Scott by Jan. 1 their findings on what led to the attack. The commission also will make recommendations for preventing future shootings.

Meanwhile, Parkland's city manager is asking the Broward Sheriff's Office to replace the commander who led the agency's response to a mass shooting at the school.

In a statement, Bob Payton said he asked Sheriff Scott Israel to provide three recommendations to fill the position of Capt. Jan Jordan. The city would like for the replacement to hold the rank of major.

Peterson was under Jordan's command.

A news release says Parkland has hired a private firm to evaluate its contract with the sheriff's office for law enforcement services, as well as issues that include how 911 calls are handled.

The 911 system complicated the response to the shooting because calls from inside the school were routed to nearby Coral Springs, instead of the sheriff's office.

At the same time, a Broward judge is holding a hearing on an effort by attorneys Cruz to block public release of parts of what police call his confession in the Valentine's Day massacre.

The hearing concerns a motion claiming that parts of the statement "will cause significant trauma to an already beleaguered community" rocked by the shooting.