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| Scot Peterson not guilty over Parkland school shooting response | Scot Peterson not guilty over Parkland school shooting response |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Watch: Parkland school officer breaks down when acquitted | Watch: Parkland school officer breaks down when acquitted |
| Watch: Parkland school officer breaks down when acquitted | Watch: Parkland school officer breaks down when acquitted |
| A former sheriff's deputy has been found not guilty of failing to protect students when a gunman opened fire at a Florida high school in 2018. | A former sheriff's deputy has been found not guilty of failing to protect students when a gunman opened fire at a Florida high school in 2018. |
| Scot Peterson stayed outside during the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, near Miami. | Scot Peterson stayed outside during the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, near Miami. |
| Mr Peterson, the school's resource officer, was found not guilty of 11 charges including felony child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury. | Mr Peterson, the school's resource officer, was found not guilty of 11 charges including felony child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury. |
| The attack, among the deadliest at a US school, saw 17 killed and 17 injured. | The attack, among the deadliest at a US school, saw 17 killed and 17 injured. |
| Mr Peterson began sobbing as the unanimous verdicts were read out in court in Fort Lauderdale, before being embraced by his lawyer. | |
| Prosecutors had argued that Mr Peterson failed to follow his training during the attack on 14 February 2018. | Prosecutors had argued that Mr Peterson failed to follow his training during the attack on 14 February 2018. |
| But the defence focused on Mr Peterson's long career, arguing that he was confused about the location of the shots, and that he was not a "caregiver" under a law typically used to prosecute parents or day care providers when children are hurt while under their care. | But the defence focused on Mr Peterson's long career, arguing that he was confused about the location of the shots, and that he was not a "caregiver" under a law typically used to prosecute parents or day care providers when children are hurt while under their care. |
| Mr Peterson is believed to be the first US officer charged with failing to respond to a school shooting, according to the National Association of School Resource Officers. | |
| A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found he "did absolutely nothing to mitigate" the shooting. Critics, including then President Donald Trump, branded him a coward. | |
| He retired after 32 years as a deputy in the aftermath of the attack and was charged in June 2019. | |
| There is no law that requires a police officer to put themselves in the line of fire, or risk their lives during a shooting, so prosecutors chose to charge him with felony child negligence. The case hinged on whether Mr Peterson had a legal obligation to try to stop the killer. | |
| He didn't confront a school shooter. Should he be jailed? | |
| The court heard testimony that Mr Peterson stayed in an alcove adjacent to the school building for 30 or 40 minutes, until the shooting stopped. | |
| But Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, said it was a "ridiculous theory" to designate him a caregiver for hundreds of students.Mr Jarvis said the case had the potential to set precedent for whether law enforcement - or even regular school officials - will face prosecution for failing to confront a gunman.The not guilty verdict "will slam the door pretty tight on the possibility of future prosecutions like this", Mr Jarvis said. | |
| Gunman Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school, was sentenced in November to life in prison without the possibility of parole. | |
| With reporting by Kayla Epstein | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Florida school shooting | Florida school shooting |