Who is Scot Peterson? Parkland school officer who fled shooting acquitted of charges

Scot Peterson, the former Parkland, Florida, resource officer was accused of failing to do his duty to stop the shooter. The shooting claimed the lives of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. He has been acquitted of all charges on Thursday.

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After an internal investigation indicated Peterson withdrew while students were being attacked, he was charged in 2019 with multiple counts of child negligence.

Who is Scot Peterson?

Scot Peterson is 60 years old. He was charged with multiple counts of child neglect in 2019 after he allegedly fled the shooting.

Peterson, a seasoned 30-year member of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, was accused by the prosecution of lying when he claimed not to have heard any gunshots. Kristen Gomes, an associate state attorney with the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, highlighted throughout the closing statements that Peterson did not actively look for and confront the shooter.

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Gomes in the court said, “When the defendant ran, he left behind an unrestricted killer who spent the next four minutes and 15 seconds wandering the halls at his leisure. Because when Scot Peterson ran, he left them in a building with a predator unchecked” reported ABC.

However, Peterson’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, claimed during the closing statements that his client was being unfairly singled out as a “sacrificial lamb.” Peterson, along with a number of other kids and teachers, according to Eiglarsh, struggled to pinpoint the location of the gunshots.

Eiglarsh said, “This whole hearing-based prosecution is flawed and offensive.”

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Peterson might have received a maximum sentence of 95 years in state prison if found guilty of all charges. Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the incident, and a former high school student, pled guilty to 17 charges of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder last year. He was given a life term in prison.