Armed Marjory Stoneman Douglas school resource officer Scott Peterson immediately resigned following the revelation that he did not attempt to confront shooter Nikolas Cruz during his shooting spree at the Florida high school. Broward County Sheriff’s Office has now released surveillance footage from outside the school that shows Peterson standing outside the school while the massacre is happening. In a statement, the Sheriff’s Office added, the footage “speaks for itself.”
According to Sheriff Scott Israel, deputy Peterson was the first law enforcement officer on the scene, arriving shortly after the initial 911 call, but as the video shows, he did not enter the building in which the shooting was happening, opting instead to take up a defensive position outside:
Peterson’s lawyer, Joseph A. DiRuzzo III, said his client has been unfairly described as a “coward” for following protocol. DiRuzzo said Peterson believed the shooting was taking place outside the school and followed protocol for such an incident. That included taking up a “tactical position” outside the building and initiating a Code Red lockdown.
Peterson, DiRuzzo said, had the “presence of mind” to have school administrators go to the school’s video room and review the closed-circuit cameras to locate the shooter and then obtain a description for law enforcement.
Several other Broward County Sheriff’s Office deputies are also under investigation for not entering the building during Cruz’s rampage.
(Via USA Today)