A former Broward sheriff's deputy is being tried on charges he failed to confront the gunman who murdered 14 students and three staff members at a Parkland high school five years ago.
Former Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson remained outside a three-story classroom building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the gunman's six-minute attack on Feb. 14, 2018.
Opening statements were delivered the morning of June 7 and testimony began in the afternoon. Closings were delivered on June 26.
A jury of four women and two men will decide the case.
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SCOT PETERSON TRIAL
Peterson, 60, is charged with seven counts of felony child neglect for four students killed and three wounded on the 1200 building's third floor. Peterson arrived at the building with his gun drawn 73 seconds before the gunman reached that floor, but instead of entering, he backed away as gunfire sounded. He has said he didn't know where the shots were coming from.
Peterson is also charged with three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence for the adults shot on the third floor, including a teacher and an adult student who died. He also faces a perjury charge for allegedly lying to investigators. He could get nearly a century in prison if convicted on the child neglect counts and lose his $104,000 annual pension.
Prosecutors did not charge Peterson in connection with the 11 killed and 13 wounded on the first floor before he arrived at the building. No one was shot on the second floor.
According to the National Association of School Resource Officers, which represents campus police, Peterson is the first U.S. law enforcement officer tried for allegedly failing to act during a school shooting. Texas authorities are investigating the officers who didn't confront the Uvalde gunman who killed 19 elementary students and two teachers last year, but none have been charged.
Peterson has insisted he would have confronted the gunman but thought the shots came from a sniper, perhaps firing from nearby trees. A deputy for 32 years, he had been at Stoneman Douglas for nine years after 19 years at other schools.
“I want the truth to come out, and if it is going to be through a trial, so be it,” Peterson said before the trial. “Not only the people in Florida, the country, most importantly the families, they need to know the truth about what happened, because unfortunately it has never been told.”
Peterson retired shortly after the shooting and then was fired retroactively.
