Opening statements were set to begin Wednesday in the trial of the ex-school resource officer who failed to confront the gunman who murdered 17 people and injured 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Fired Broward County sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson, 60, faces seven counts of felony child neglect for the four students killed and three injured while he remained outside the classroom building during the Valentine’s Day mass shooting more than five years ago.
He also faces three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence for the teacher and adult student killed and teacher injured during the same timeframe. Taken together, prosecutors contend Peterson, who was armed with a handgun, could have prevented six murders and four injuries on the third floor of the building that day.
He is not facing charges related to the 24 victims shot before he arrived on scene.
Peterson faces an additional count of misdemeanor perjury for allegedly lying to investigators under oath about his actions and understanding that day.
Jury selection for the 10-member panel, which includes four alternates, began last week and concluded Tuesday. Peterson was in the courtroom throughout the process.
The National Association of School Resource Officers said it is not aware of any other criminal prosecution of a law enforcement officer in the U.S. for failing to act during a school shooting. Officials in Texas are still investigating the police response to the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, but no charges have been filed.
Prosecutors say Peterson was ‘caregiver’ with duty to protect children
Prosecutors say Peterson was aware shots were coming from inside the building and “knowingly and willingly” failed to act, instead retreating to “a position of increased personal safety” about 75 feet from the scene of the shooting, according to court filings.
They say Peterson, as a “caregiver,” failed to make a reasonable effort to protect the children from abuse, neglect or exploitation. He didn’t investigate the source of the gunshots, engage any of the students fleeing the building, move toward the sound of gunfire or seek out the shooter, prosecutors say.
Defense attorney says Peterson didn’t know where shooter was
In the wake of the shooting, Peterson told investigators he thought the shooting was coming from outside. In a statement Tuesday, defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh said his client “did all he could to save lives” during the massacre.
“The public has been fed a false narrative about Scot Peterson,” Eiglarsh said. “We have overwhelming evidence proving that my client didn’t know precisely where the shooter was during the attack and also, of the numerous actions that my client took during the attack to save lives.”
In earlier filings, defense attorneys argued Peterson does not fall under the statutory definition of “caregiver.” They also argued Peterson’s actions did not “substantially nor foreseeably” cause the victims’ injuries, and that Peterson would have been killed should he have attempted to confront the gunman.
What happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School?
A 19-year-old former student opened fire with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. He shot 34 people, 17 fatally. The victims included 14 students and three staff members. The gunman pleaded guilty to the killings and was sentenced to life in prison without parole late last year.
Peterson was arrested in June of 2019, following a 15-month investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which found Peterson “did absolutely nothing to mitigate” the shooting. The investigation found the gunman discharged his weapon approximately 140 times, 75 of which he fired after Peterson arrived.
Peterson had been a school resource officer since 1991 and had received numerous trainings on school safety and active shooters, according to court filings.
He could face up to approximately 96 years in prison if convicted on all counts and sentenced to the maximum on each, served consecutively, sentencing guidelines suggest. If convicted on the felony counts, Peterson would lose his pension.
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