Parkland Resource Officer on Duty During School Shooting Arrested

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced Tuesday that the school resource officer present during last year's school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was arrested in Broward County and will face several charges for doing "absolutely nothing" to mitigate last year's active shooting that killed 17 people, and wounded 17 more.

Former Broward Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson, 56, was arrested and charged with seven counts of neglect of a child and three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said.

Peterson was the school resource officer at MSD High School during the active shooting last year. Investigators spoke with 184 witnesses and reviewed hours of video surveillance of the incident over the last 15-months. Peterson's inaction during a critical moment, cost lives, Swearingen said.

"The FDLE investigation shows former Deputy Peterson did absolutely nothing to mitigate the MSD shooting that killed 17 children, teachers and staff and injured 17 others," said Swearingen. “There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives.

Investigators alleged that Peterson refused to enter the school and investigate the source of the gunshots and even directed other law enforcement personnel to stay 500 feet away from the building. Peterson defended his actions at the time in an interview with The Washington Post saying he believed the gunshots had been fireworks set-off by "a few kids acting like idiots."

“How can they keep saying I did nothing?” Peterseon said he told his girlfriend the morning after the shooting. “I’m getting on the radio to call in the shooting. I’m locking down the school. I’m clearing kids out of the courtyard. They have the video and the call logs. The evidence is sitting right there.”

Peterson retired shortly after the shooting after a decades-long career in law enforcement.

"I was pleased the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office conducted a thorough investigation that yielded the arrest of Scot Peterson. All the facts related to Mr. Peterson’s failure to act during the MSD massacre clearly warranted both termination of employment and criminal charges. It’s never too late for accountability and justice," Sheriff Gregory Tony said.

Peterson was taken into custody at the Broward County Sheriff's Office's headquarters and booked into the Broward County Main Jail. The Broward State Attorney's Office 17th Judicial Court will handle prosecution of the case.

Photo: Getty Images