Former Parkland Officer Accused of Negligence for Inaction While Students Were Under Attack

Scot Peterson was charged with child neglect after his inaction while some high school students were under attack in 2018. Yesterday, May 31, the jury selection was scheduled to begin for the trial of the former Parkland officer.

Scot Peterson, 60, was previously designated as a school resource officer to Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland. However, on February 14, 2018, a former student of the school, Nikolas Cruz, then 19, opened fire killing 14 students and 3 staff members.

According to Deliso, the Parkland officer was terminated and charged with one count of perjury, three counts of culpable negligence, and seven counts of child neglect. This was after an investigation revealed that he did no action while the students were being attacked. If convicted on all charges, Peterson will face up to 95 years in a state prison.

Nonetheless, reports say the Parkland officer had pleaded not guilty to all counts. Yesterday, May 31, a jury selection was scheduled to begin for the trial of Peterson. On the other hand, Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year after pleading guilty to 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder and 17 counts of first-degree murder.

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Internal Investigation of the Shooting

According to Andone, an internal investigation done by the Sheriff’s Office of Broward County revealed a surveillance video and police radio transmissions showing the events of the shooting. Reportedly, Cruz opened fire inside the school’s Building 12 while the Parkland officer remained outside, not doing any action to confront the gunman.

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