Home » Arrested on Child Neglect Charges: Scot Peterson Biography, Wiki, Age, Family, Net Worth, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
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Arrested on Child Neglect Charges: Scot Peterson Biography, Wiki, Age, Family, Net Worth, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

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Scot Peterson Biography

Former school resource officer Scot Peterson was widely criticized after he failed to confront a shooter who opened fire and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year.

Scot Peterson Biography

The Broward Sheriff’s Office active shooter policy calls for deputies to interrupt a shooting and search for victims when there’s a ceasefire.
More than a year after the massacre, the former Broward County sheriff’s deputy now faces child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury charges.
Peterson’s attorney, Joseph A. DiRuzzo III, said the charges appear to be “a thinly veiled attempt at politically motivated retribution against Mr. Peterson.” He said Peterson cannot be prosecuted as a caregiver since he was acting as a law enforcement officer in an official capacity.
Here’s what we know about Peterson’s response to the shooting.

He was armed but never went inside the building

Scot Peterson Biography

When shots rang out at the Parkland school, Peterson didn’t run toward the gunfire.
Senior Brandon Huff claimed he saw Peterson standing outside behind a stairwell wall with his gun drawn “just pointing it at the building.”
“He’s wearing a bulletproof vest … while school security guards, coaches pretty much, we’re running in shielding kids,” he said.
Footage from the school surveillance cameras showed Peterson positioned outside of the school.
Last year, authorities released an edited 27-minute video with portions of surveillance video from that day.
The video begins with Peterson, wearing his deputy’s uniform, standing between two buildings on campus talking to another adult, then appearing to speak into a radio handset on his shoulder.

Peterson Was Charged with 7 Counts of Child Neglect

Scot Peterson Biography

The 56-year-old Peterson has been charged with seven counts of neglect of a child, three counts of culpable negligence, and one count of perjury, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement officials. Peterson was arrested in Broward County and is awaiting his next court date.


The arrest comes after a long investigation into the response by Peterson and other law enforcement officials to the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Law enforcement officials say the investigation showed that Peterson had refused to investigate the source of gunshots and that he had actively retreated while the shooting was underway. The investigation also found that Peterson had ordered other law enforcement officers to stay at least 500 feet away from the school building while the shooting was underway.

Peterson Could Face 96 Years in Prison if Convicted

Scot Peterson Biography

Peterson was arrested in Broward County on June 4 and charged with 11 felonies and misdemeanors, including 7 counts of child neglect, for failing to protect people inside of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland during the mass shooting on February 14, 2018.

He faces up to 96 and a half years in prison if he is convicted on all of the charges facing him. His bail has been set at $102,000. He’s currently in jail awaiting his next court appearance.


Several months after the shooting, Peterson wrote a letter to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission insisting that he’d done nothing wrong. He said that he acted according to his training; he also claimed that he was being turned into a scapegoat by law enforcement officials and members of the public. He wrote, “…my law enforcement actions during the horrific school shooting on February 14, 2018, were consistent with my training and based on my ‘real-time intelligence’ on the scene.” He said his actions were “…in compliance with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Active Shooter Policy.”

Peterson was nicknamed the “Coward of Broward” after the shooting, due to his failure to take action to stop the horrific massacre of innocents. President Trump also singled him out for blame after the shooting, saying, “When it came time to get in there and do something, he didn’t have the courage or something happened. But he certainly did a poor job. There’s no question about that,” Trump said. “That’s a case where somebody was outside, they’re trained, they didn’t act properly or under pressure or they were a coward. It was a real shock to the police department.”

Scot Peterson Biography

Peterson was arrested on June 4 and slapped with 11 felony and misdemeanor charges for failing to take action to stop the deadly shooting. Law enforcement officials say there is “no question” that his inaction cost people their lives.


“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,” FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a statement. “There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives.”

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