Parkland Massacre 'Coward' Deputy Finally Faces Trial, Whopping Max Prison Sentence if Found Guilty
A former Broward County sheriff’s deputy accused of failing to take action during the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting is facing trial.
A jury heard opening arguments in the trial of Scot Peterson on Wednesday, according to USA Today.
Peterson was on duty as a school resource officer during the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting in Parkland, Florida. He never entered the building, and 17 students and staff members were killed in the massacre.
The deputy’s alleged inaction during the shooting led critics to label him the “Coward of Broward,” Fox News reported.
Peterson faces 11 criminal charges: seven counts of child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence, and one count of perjury.
Convictions across the board could earn the fired deputy a maximum of 96 years in prison.
Peterson appeared to shed tears as prosecutor Steven Klinger presented the state’s opening arguments on Wednesday.
Klinger recounted the graphic violence of the shooting in his remarks.
Former Parkland school resource officer #ScotPeterson is seen wiping away tears and shaking his head while prosecutor Steven Klinger presented the state’s opening statement on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/yptSMKuvC9
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) June 7, 2023
Prosecutors accused Peterson of retreating to “a position of increased personal safety” during the shooting in defiance of his role as a protector of the high school’s students and staff.
Peterson’s defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh pointed to his client as a scapegoat in the aftermath of the tragedy, asserting that he was unable to react because he didn’t know where the shots were coming from.
“We are here because my client was sacrificed,” Eiglarsh said in his opening arguments. “The evidence will show that he was thrown under the bus.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement accused Peterson of doing “absolutely nothing to … mitigate the MSD shooting that killed 17 children, teachers and staff and injured 17 others” in a 2019 statement after his arrest, according to another report from USA Today.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel was removed from office by the Florida Senate following the shooting, The Hill reported.
The perpetrator of the massacre, Nikolas Cruz, was sentenced to life in prison last year, narrowly avoiding the death penalty.
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