Scot Peterson, who didn’t act to stop Parkland massacre, is acquitted
A South Florida jury acquitted Scot Peterson of child-neglect and culpable negligence charges on Thursday, more than five years after the former Parkland, Florida, school resource officer was branded a “coward” for not doing enough to stop the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people and injured 17 others while he stood at a safe distance.
Six jurors deliberated more than 19 hours over four days at the Broward County Courthouse after closing arguments ended Monday in the trial of Peterson, the first U.S. law enforcement officer tried in connection with a school shooting. Peterson, 60, was accused of failing to confront the Parkland gunman for roughly 45 minutes as the then-deadliest high school shooting in American history unfolded on Feb. 14, 2018. Peterson, whom some victims’ families and former colleagues dubbed “the Coward of Broward,” was charged with seven counts of felony child neglect and three of culpable negligence – all of which came from the 10 people who were wounded or killed during the attack on the third floor of the high school’s 1200 building.
Peterson, who could have faced a prison sentence of nearly 100 years for each count of child neglect, cried as the judge read not guilty to each count.
Peterson did not testify during the trial, which lasted almost two weeks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, less than 30 miles from the site of the 2018 attack. His attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, built a defense focused on the testimony of deputies, teachers and students who said in court that they did not know where the shots were coming from. Peterson has long insisted there was nothing else he could have done to prevent the shooting, contending that the lack of information, the failure of the sheriff’s radio system and the echo of gunfire made it impossible to determine where the shooting was coming from.
The state’s “entire case hinges upon this erroneous belief that he knew that there were kids in that 1200 building being shot by this monster,” Eiglarsh said during closing arguments Monday. “And that wasn’t proven because it didn’t happen.”
Prosecutors brought up other law enforcement officers, teachers and students who said they knew where Nikolas Cruz was shooting and were baffled that Peterson did not know. Another witness called by state attorneys was Broward County Detective John Curcio, who led the investigation into the massacre. Curcio testified that Peterson did not follow the protocols in place for confronting a gunman during a mass shooting, saying Peterson’s goal amid the chaos was “to stop (Cruz) from killing people.”
“In that moment, while he stood at those doors, every student and every teacher on the third floor was still alive. In that moment, choose to go in, or choose to run. And Scot Peterson chose to run,” assistant state attorney Kristen Gomes said this week. “He left behind an unrestricted killer to spend the next four minutes and 15 seconds wandering the halls at his leisure.”
She added, “He was the only hope for those victims.”
Peterson’s case has taken on new scrutiny in the year since 21 people, including 19 children, were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Parents and legal experts say that in both cases there are questions surrounding whether and how to hold officers accountable for inaction after a shooting. Parents of victims in Texas have urged prosecutors to hold accountable officers who waited 77 minutes to confront the gunman. None have been charged.
Peterson’s acquittal was announced more than eight months after Cruz was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison. Cruz fired 139 rounds during his 6-minute, 22-second rampage. The October 2022 sentence left many victims’ families feeling betrayed by the justice system.
The school’s resource officer for nearly a decade, Peterson didn’t set foot inside the building where the shooting was happening, despite being the first armed officer at the scene. While Cruz was shooting, Peterson and another officer walked away from the 1200 building and established a position 75 feet away at the 700 building. Peterson “remains at this position for the duration of the incident and only transmits information via his radio,” according to an investigation from the sheriff’s office.
In an interview over email before the trial, Peterson argued that “the pronounced echo that I and countless others experienced under the most stressful moment of my life made it impossible to determine the precise location of the shooter.”
The response by the Broward Sheriff’s Office sparked an outcry, the resignations of several officers and the ouster of the sheriff. Much of the criticism was directed toward Peterson, whom the sheriff’s office fired before he was charged.
“I reflect on that shooting every single day, many times per day,” Peterson told The Washington Post. “How can you not when a monster shot 34 people?”
He added, “I’ve been living a nightmare that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
Experts have said that finding Peterson guilty was always going to be a challenge for a jury because of the charges brought against him. Throughout the trial, prosecutors aimed to prove that he was working that day in the capacity of a caregiver, which was difficult because the term usually does not refer to a law enforcement officer. The wording in the state law, which identifies a caregiver as being “a parent, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare,” underscored the challenges in criminally prosecuting officers for missteps in a crisis.
During Tuesday’s deliberations, the jury asked multiple questions to the judge and requested “to view any and all” evidence and visual aids presented in the trial. Circuit Judge Martin Fein denied the motion, saying the jurors had all of the evidence needed for a verdict. After nearly 191/2 hours of deliberation, the jury reached its decision.
Before Peterson’s trial, Eiglarsh told The Post that Peterson was “not a caregiver.” He reiterated those sentiments while waiting for a verdict over four days, saying that a conviction would amount to “a miscarriage of justice.” But Parkland parents whose sons and daughters emphasized that their truth is that Peterson should have done more.
“He had a duty to act,” Lori Alhadeff – a member of the Broward County School Board whose 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was among the victims – told the Post in April. “He was supposed to be ‘the good guy with the gun.’ It was his job to go into that building. And he froze.”