Officer Who Retreated Instead Of Helping During Parkland High School Shooting, Found Not Guilty

Officer Who Retreated Instead Of Helping During Parkland High School Shooting That Killed 17 People, Found Not Guilty

Scot Peterson was a Broward County sheriff’s deputy who worked as a resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He was charged after failing to confront the gunman who killed 17 people at the High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Well, despite those actions, he’s been found not guilty of neglect of a child and culpable negligence.

According to NBC, “he broke down in tears as the unanimous decision was read Thursday.” If found guilty, he was looking at doing nearly 97 years behind bars.

 

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Seventeen students, teachers and staff were killed in the shooting Feb. 14, 2018, and another 17 were injured.

60-year-old Peterson was the only other person with a gun when the shooter opened fire. Instead of engaging, he retreated and directed other law enforcement officers to stay 500ft away from the building.

Former student, Nikolas Cruz, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Peterson’s actions were met with harsh criticism from the victims’ families. Luckily for him, he won’t have to serve any prison time.