Closing arguments have recently taken place in the trial of Scot Peterson, a former deputy sheriff in Florida.
Peterson is accused of failing to confront the shooter responsible for the Parkland high school massacre that claimed the lives of 14 students and three staff members five years ago.
Throughout the trial, both prosecutors and Peterson’s defense attorney have focused on Peterson’s actions, observations, and knowledge during the six-minute attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. Peterson, now 60 years old, faces charges of felony child neglect and other offenses for allegedly failing to confront the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, before he reached the 3rd floor of the school’s 1200 building, where six victims were killed.
However, Peterson is not being charged in relation to the deaths of the 11 individuals who were killed on the first floor before he arrived at the scene.
Notably, this trial marks the first instance of a law enforcement officer in the United States being tried in connection with a school shooting.
During the two-week presentation by the prosecution, witnesses including students, teachers, and law enforcement officers testified about their harrowing experiences and their knowledge of Cruz’s whereabouts.
Some witnesses testified during the trial that they were certain the gunshots originated from the 1200 building. Prosecutors called a training supervisor who stated that Scot Peterson did not follow proper protocols for confronting an active shooter.
In defense of Peterson, his attorney Mark Eiglarsh presented evidence over the course of two days, including testimonies from deputies who arrived at the scene and students/teachers who believed the shots were not coming from the 1200 building.
Peterson himself did not take the stand but had previously claimed that he couldn’t determine the shooter’s location due to echoes.
Eiglarsh also highlighted the failure of the sheriff’s radio system during the attack, which restricted Peterson’s awareness of information relayed by arriving deputies.
In addition to other charges, the jury will need to determine whether Peterson fulfilled the role of a “caregiver” to the juvenile students who lost their lives or were injured on the third floor, as this is a crucial element for a conviction of child neglect.
Under Florida law, “a parent, adult household member or other person responsible for a child’s welfare.” If caregivers fail to take reasonable measures to protect children or neglect their necessary care, they can be charged with felony neglect.
Video footage from the incident shows that approximately 36 seconds after Nikolas Cruz initiated the attack, Scot Peterson, who was stationed about 100 yards away from the 1200 building, exited his office and joined two unarmed civilian security guards in a golf cart. They reached the building approximately one minute later.
Upon reaching the building, Peterson disembarked near the east entrance of the first-floor hallway, while Cruz was positioned at the opposite end of the hallway, firing his AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle.
Peterson, who was not wearing a bulletproof vest, chose not to open the door and instead sought cover in the alcove of a nearby building, still holding his gun. He remained there for 40 minutes, even after the shooting had ceased and other law enforcement officers had entered the building.
If convicted, Peterson could face a potential sentence of nearly 100 years in prison, although given his clean record, it is highly unlikely that he will receive a sentence of that length. Additionally, he may lose his annual pension of $104,000. Having worked at various schools for almost three decades, including nine years at Stoneman Douglas, Peterson retired shortly after the shooting but was later terminated retroactively.
Cruz, the perpetrator of the shooting, did not receive the death penalty due to a lack of unanimous agreement among the jury. Instead, the former Stoneman Douglas student was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 24.
