Peterson is accused of breaking a law that specifically applies to caregivers. His lawyer says there is not a 'single case in the history of our criminal justice system where a school resource officer was charged under this statute'
A deputy working at a Parkland high school who took cover outside while a gunman stormed opened fire, killing 14 students and three staff, will have to prove he wasn't criminally negligent, a judge ruled Thursday.
Scot Peterson, 58, was arrested in June 2019 on multiple counts of child neglect for allegedly failing to protect students as Nikolas Cruz walked through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and opened fire a year earlier.
Peterson, who was armed at the time of the shooting, was a school resource officer who was responsible for the safety and crime prevention in the school.
During a Wednesday court appearance, his lawyer urged the judge to dismiss the charges filed against him.
'I didn't do anything there to try to hurt any child there on the scene,' Peterson told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Wednesday in a Broward County courthouse hallway, fighting back tears.
'I did the best that I could with the information. I did the best ... I'll never forget that day. You know, not only kids died, I have friends that died. And never for a second would I sit there and allow anyone to die, knowing that animal was up in that building! Never!'
Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School deputy officer faces multiple charges of child endangerment for failing to stop a shooter who killed 17 people and injured 17 others
Prosecutors have said that Peterson failed to come to the rescue as Cruz made his way through the school's hallways. Rather than rushing to protect students and staff, he instead took cover outside as gunshots rang out, they said.
The law that Peterson is accused of breaking specifically applies to caregivers, but defence attorneys said in court Wednesday that a law enforcement officer doesn't fit the legal definition of a caregiver.
Prosecutors are arguing that school resources officers are inherently different from other law enforcement officers and should be considered caregivers.
Peterson's lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, says there is not a 'single case in the history of our criminal justice system where a school resource officer was charged under this statute'.
Eiglarsh, who read several Florida laws defining who is considered to be a caregiver during Wednesday's hearing, said there is one statute broad enough to include the former officer and another that specifically excluded him.
But Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein said that it will be up to the jury to decide whether a school resource officer should be considered a caregiver. Previous Florida cases have found that a babysitter, landlord- and even a kidnapper- met the statute definition of a caregiver, Fein added.
Peterson, then a Broward County sheriff's deputy, radioed for help but did not try to stop the gunman from storming the school
Seventeen people were slain and 17 others wounded in the February 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida (Pictured: Students being evacuated from the school building on Feb. 14, 2018)
Despite many red flags by school councilors, the mother of suspected Parkland school shooter allowed him to buy a gun
Before the Valentine's Day massacre, the suspected gunmen was the target of dozens of 911 calls and at least two FBI tips. School and mental health counselors raised their own red flag about the teen's behavior, but his mother would often intervene, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission chairman Bob Gualtieri previously said.
Gualtieri, who is also Pinellas County Sheriff, called the suspected shooter's mother an 'enabler' who failed to help manage his behavioral problems.
'His mother was an enabler, and his mother contributed to this significantly,' told the commission in July 2018. 'To the point where at one time when they said that he wanted to buy a gun and the counselors from the school said he shouldn't have a gun, his mother said 'I don't care. If he wants a gun, he can have a gun.'
His mother died of pneumonia about three months before the rampage.
Before the bloodbath, the suspected killer bragged about becoming 'the next school shooter,' according to videos released by prosecutors in May 2018.
Before allegedly opening fire, prosecutors said Cruz filmed himself bragging about the notoriety the massacre would bring him
'My name is Nik, and I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018,' Cruz said in the cell phone videos. 'My goal is at least 20 people.'
One of the videos appeared to be made on the day of the massacre, and featured Cruz bragging about becoming famous.
'When you see me on the news you'll know who I am,' said the smiling 19-year-old. 'You're all going to die. Pew pew pew. Yeah, can't wait.'
Later that afternoon, a gunman walked into the school with rifle case in hand, and within four minutes, indiscriminately killed or injured all of his victims. The gunshed stopped when the killer dropped his weapon about 3 p.m., and walked out of the school, mixing in with other fleeing students. We was arrested by police about 40 minutes later.
Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted in the Valentine's Day 2018 massacre. His lawyers have said he would plead guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence, but prosecutors are insisting that his fate be decided by a jury trial.
