Scot Peterson was on duty as the resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on the day of the February 2018 shooting but never entered the building while bullets were flying. He was charged with child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury -- allegations that carry a maximum prison sentence of nearly 100 years.
Peterson "did absolutely nothing to mitigate" the shooting, FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a statement. "There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives." Tony Montalto, whose daughter Gina Montalto, also 14, died in the attack, said families wanted justice to be done.
His lawyer, Joseph DiRuzzo III, said in a statement that Peterson is merely a scapegoat. He called the charges "a thinly veiled attempt at politically motivated retribution." Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican who was Florida governor at the time of the shooting, initiated the law enforcement probe and said Tuesday in a statement that he was glad the investigation was finished.After the shooting, Peterson took retirement rather than accept a suspension.
The case also spawned a state commission that issued a 458-page report detailing many errors before and during the shooting, including Broward deputies who stayed outside the school building and the policies that led to that, such as Israel's decision to change guidelines to say that deputies "may" confront an active shooter rather than "shall" do so.
Good.
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