PARKLAND, FLORIDA — Scot Peterson, the former Parkland school resource officer, was acquitted of child-neglect and culpable negligence charges related to the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Peterson, the first U.S. law enforcement officer to face trial in connection to a school shooting, was accused of failing to confront the shooter, which led to his controversial label as “the Coward of Broward”.
The trial lasted almost two weeks and the defense argued that Peterson, as well as others at the scene, could not determine the source of the shots. This acquittal raises new concerns about accountability of law enforcement inaction during shootings, especially in the aftermath of a recent massacre in Uvalde, Texas.
This verdict follows the life sentence handed to the Parkland shooter eight months prior, further fueling victims’ families’ frustration with the justice system.
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