Jurors heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of the ex-school resource officer who did not confront the gunman who killed 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.
Peterson, who was armed with a handgun, also faces three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence for the teacher and adult student killed and the teacher injured during the same timeframe. Taken together, the gunman killed six people and injured four others on the third floor of the building that day, after Peterson arrived on scene.
Peterson is not facing charges related to the 24 victims shot before he arrived on scene. He 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 panel of six jurors and 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.
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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. 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.
“He stays in the same spot,” prosecutor Steven Klinger said in his opening statement.
Klinger painstakingly walked the jury through the day’s timeline, highlighting the gunman’s deadly path through the school and Peterson’s location. Peterson, dressed in a blue suit, sat in the courtroom as Klinger recounted the tragedy, at times resting his chin on clasped hands.
“It was an unspeakable, horrible day,” Klinger said.
Klinger noted Peterson had been a school resource officer since 1991, including nine years at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and had received numerous trainings on school safety and active shooters, which direct officers to run toward the sound of gunfire.
Defense attorney says Peterson didn’t know where shooter was
Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh argued Peterson had limited information that day and didn’t know where the shots were coming from. He arrived on the scene about two minutes into the six-and-a-half minute shooting, Eiglarsh said.
“We are here because my client was sacrificed. The evidence will show that he was thrown under the bus,” Eiglarsh said.
Eiglarsh said he intends to call 22 witnesses who also will say they couldn’t tell where the shots were coming from. He focused the jury’s attention on the gunman, placing photos of the shooter up on screens in the courtroom.
“He is the one to blame for what happened that day,” Eiglarsh said.
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.
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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