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Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 7, 2023 22:47:30 GMT -5
‘Coward of Broward’ Trial Underway in FloridaOpening arguments began today (June 7, 2023) in the trial of former deputy Scot R. Peterson, the infamous “Coward of Broward,” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A jury consisting of four women and two men will determine his fate.
Peterson is facing 11 charges, which include child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury, relating to the 10 individuals who were shot – six of whom were killed – on the third floor of the 1200 Building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He is not facing charges for those injured and/or killed by shooter Nikolas Cruz on the first floor.
The perjury charge arises from Peterson’s claim that he did not enter the school during the six-minute massacre because he thought the shots were coming from outside the building. He is accused of lying to law enforcement officers concerning the number of gunshots he heard, and child neglect for taking cover while the children he was sworn to protect were shot. Instead of confronting Cruz during the slaughter, surveillance video showed Peterson hiding with his gun drawn.
On Monday, Peterson, who has been free on bail and living in North Carolina, told reporters he was looking forward to the trial and expressed confidence the evidence presented by his legal team will demonstrate he did everything possible to assist the victims during the February 14, 2018, shooting. “I want the truth to come out and if it is going to be through a trial, so be it. I’m eager,” he said. “Not only the people in Florida, the country, most importantly the families, they need to know the truth about what happened, because unfortunately it has never been told.”
Prosecutors, however, insist Peterson’s actions reveal he knew there was gunfire inside the building and could have prevented the shooting of at least some of those individuals on the third floor had he confronted Cruz.
When the first shots rang out, Peterson failed to approach the building, and Brandon Huff, a high school senior, reported seeing the deputy standing behind a stairwell wall with his gun drawn. “He’s wearing a bulletproof vest ... while school security guards, coaches, pretty much, were running in shielding kids,” Huff said.
Footage from school surveillance cameras confirmed Huff’s narrative. In an edited 27-minute video of the day’s events, Peterson, in his deputy’s uniform, is seen standing between two buildings talking to another individual. He then appears to speak into a radio handset on his shoulder and walks out of camera range. A few minutes later, he reappears.
When he arrived at the 1200 Building – the location of the massacre – he moved 75 feet to a “position of increased personal safety” near the 700 and 800 Buildings, where he remained for in excess of 45 minutes. During this time, five students and one teacher were killed.
Peterson positioned himself where he could see the western entry of the building, and barked into his radio, “I think we have shots fired, possible shots fired, 1200 Building!” (Later, Peterson lied, claiming he thought the shots were coming from outside.)
Because of his alleged cowardice, Peterson has been dubbed the Coward of Broward by the parents of some of the student victims shot by Cruz.
The trial is expected to last until August, and if convicted on all charges, Peterson could be sentenced to almost 100 years in prison and forfeit his $104,000 annual pension.
While Peterson’s actions, or lack thereof, suggest cowardice, many blame Sheriff Scott Israel – who was suspended by Governor Ron DeSantis over the Parkland shooting – for failing to properly train his officers, focusing instead on diversity and political correctness. Israel ran for sheriff again in 2020 but was defeated. Sources: Tara Jakeway, WPBF, June 7, 2023; Katie McLaughlin, CourtTV, June 7, 2023; Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, June 7, 2023, and Nicole Chavez, CNN, June 4, 2019.
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Post by jane on Jun 8, 2023 0:47:11 GMT -5
After the airport shooting in 2017, Scott Israel knew his men (and women) weren't trained to respond to active shootings, but he did nothing about it. He didn't even require his deputies to attend active shooter training, but he required them to attend diversity training. He's the one who should be on trial for cowardice.
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Post by pat on Jun 8, 2023 10:51:42 GMT -5
After the airport shooting in 2017, Scott Israel knew his men (and women) weren't trained to respond to active shootings, but he did nothing about it. He didn't even require his deputies to attend active shooter training, but he required them to attend diversity training. He's the one who should be on trial for cowardice. |
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 8, 2023 15:12:11 GMT -5
On January 11, 2019, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody issued the following statement concerning the suspension of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel:
There is ample support in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission Report to remove Sheriff Scott Israel. This includes:
• A lack of training in responding to active shooter situations, even after the Ft. Lauderdale Airport shooting;
• A lack of attention to resources, which caused the BSO radio system to fail at a critical point;
• A failure to quickly establish a command post and take control of coordinating the tactical response;
• A lack of coordination with other responding agencies; and
• The failure of multiple officers who encountered the assailant before this incident, but failed to follow up on his clear mental health issues and violent tendencies.
It is time for new leadership to implement the Commission’s recommendations and I fully support Governor DeSantis’s decision to suspend Sheriff Israel.
Broward County deputies had been called to the Cruz home on numerous occasions, and if Israel had been doing his job instead of spending the majority of his time promoting “diversity” and gun control, he would have checked into the situation.
Although Israel claimed there had been only 23 calls concerning Nikolas Cruz and his brother, records revealed that between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017, the sheriff’s office had received a total of 45 calls, 39 of which were received within the immediately preceding six year-period.
Israel did not take office until 2013, so he cannot be held responsible for what happened prior to that time, however, in 2016, Joelle Guarino, a neighbor, called the sheriff’s office about an Instagram post in which Nikolas Cruz said he “planned to shoot up the school,” but Israel took no action. He should have at least checked to see if Cruz owned any firearms, something that would have taken no more than a few minutes, but he ignored the situation.
On November 1, 2017, the day Lynda Cruz died, her cousin called the sheriff’s office and reported that Nikolas possessed rifles and begged officers to “recover these weapons.” Again, Israel did nothing.
Another call, this one from an individual in Massachusetts, was received by the sheriff’s office on November 30, 2017, warning that Cruz was “collecting guns and knives” and “could be a school shooter in the making.” On this occasion, the deputy handling the call referred the caller to the the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office because Cruz was staying with a family friend in Palm Beach County at that time. Nonetheless, he returned to Broward County shortly thereafter, but there was no followup.
Had Israel taken action, the Parkland shooting could have been prevented.
Following his removal from office, Israel worked as a traffic officer in Opa-locka until May 2022, when he was hired as police chief. A few days ago, he resigned, ostensibly to spend more time with his family. When someone uses the “family” excuse, it’s usually because he or she has been given a choice of either resigning or being fired, and there are rumors this was the choice given Israel.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 30, 2023 1:39:26 GMT -5
Former Parkland Resource Officer Acquitted
A six-member jury in Fort Lauderdale has found Scot Peterson, the so-called “Coward of Broward,” not guilty on all counts. He was facing a total of 11 charges, which included child neglect and culpable negligence relating to the 10 individuals on the third floor of the 1200 Building shot by Nikolas Cruz, plus a single count of perjury for allegedly lying to law enforcement officers concerning the location of the shots he heard. If convicted, Peterson was facing a prison sentence and loss of his $104,000 annual pension.
The unprecedented case was difficult for prosecutors, who found it necessary to define the term “caregiver” and convince jurors Peterson was a caregiver who failed to make a “reasonable effort” to protect the children for whom he was responsible.
“He stands there with the knowledge of a 28-year deputy assigned to protecting children, knowing that the number one goal in that moment is move towards the sounds of gunfire,” Assistant State Attorney Kristen Gomes told the jury. “Choose to go in or choose to run? Scot Peterson chose to run. 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.”
Peterson’s lawyers, however, claimed their client was a scapegoat for the gross failures of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and various public officials. “He was sacrificed,” Mark Eiglarsh asserted. “He was thrown under the bus. ... He was damned no matter what. He couldn’t win. Facts don’t matter when your sacrificed.”
Many court observers and members of the community agreed with the defense, recalling Sheriff Scott Israel’s concentration on diversity and political correctness instead of officer training. (In January 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis, noting Israel’s gross incompetence during the Parkland shooting, removed him from office.)
State Attorney Harold F. Pryor disagreed. “To those who have tried to make this political, I say: It is not political to expect someone to do their job,” he said in a lengthy statement. “Especially when it’s the vital job of being a school resource officer – an armed law enforcement officer with special duties and responsibilities to the children and staff members they are contracted to protect.”
Several parents of the slain students expressed disappointment in the verdict. “Peterson was at the door of the building, heard shots and retreated to cover, remaining there for 48 minutes while the killer continued his rampage,” Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed that day, told a reporter. “Peterson remained behind that cover even after other members of law enforcement had entered the building and were treating casualties. He will have to live with his failures for the rest of his life.”
Hunter Pollack, whose sister Meadow was killed on Valentine’s Day of 2018, admitted he was disappointed but not surprised by the verdict. “We learned from the Cruz verdict that this verdict could go either way,” he explained. “But although there wasn’t justice in the courtroom today, the public will forever remember Scot Peterson as the coward who hid outside the 1200 Building behind the concrete pillar, as the students he had a duty to protect were being murdered.”
Peterson, needless to say, was elated by the verdict.
Sources: Gerard Albert and Alyssa Ramos, WLRN, June 29, 2023; Adam Sabes, Fox News, June 29, 2023, and local residents.
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Post by jane on Jun 30, 2023 3:39:04 GMT -5
I'm glad he was acquitted because he was a scapegoat. Scott Israel is the one who should have been on trial. I've heard that Israel was doing the same thing in Opa-locka that he did in Broward County -- promoting diversity instead of protecting the community.
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Post by pat on Jun 30, 2023 13:04:10 GMT -5
I'm glad he was acquitted because he was a scapegoat. Scott Israel is the one who should have been on trial. I've heard that Israel was doing the same thing in Opa-locka that he did in Broward County -- promoting diversity instead of protecting the community. |
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