A former school resource officer was acquitted on all counts Thursday after being accused of failing to act during the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Scot Peterson, 60, wept in court as the 11 not-guilty verdicts were read.
The then-campus deputy had been charged with neglecting to confront shooter Nikolas Cruz during his six-minute attack on one of the school’s buildings on February 14, 2018, resulting in the tragic loss of 17 lives. State prosecutors argued Peterson ignored his training and did nothing as victims were gunned down, while his attorney said Peterson couldn’t tell where the gunshots were coming from.
“I’ve got my life back,” Peterson said while exiting the courtroom. “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for so long,” he continued.
“The only person to blame was that monster,” Peterson said of the shooter. “It wasn’t any law enforcement, nobody on that scene, from BSO, Coral Springs. Everybody did the best they could. We did the best we could with the information we had, and God knows we wish we had more at that point.”
Peterson also said that he hopes to sit down with the Parkland families someday to tell them “the truth” and convey he did everything he could.
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