Florida Supreme Court allows release of Parkland school shooting surveillance

The Florida Supreme Court Wednesday allowed the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to release additional surveillance video from the February school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

The footage of the exterior of the school shows law enforcement officers rushing into the school, guns drawn as they direct fleeing students and staff. Parts of the video are blurred to protect the identities of the people in it. 

The release is in response to a civil lawsuit from media outlets, according to CNN, which was among the outlets to ask for the video.

County and state officials, including the Broward School Board and the Broward State Attorney’s Office,  argued that the video’s release would harm the school system’s security plan, but an appellate court disagreed.

The state’s Supreme Court on Wednesday said there would be no additional rehearings, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, paving the way for the footage’s release.

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is currently investigating the law enforcement response in the Parkland shooting.

The police response to the shooting was subjected to extra scrutiny after some surveillance video was released in March that showed Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson not entering the school while the shooting was taking place. Peterson defended himself but resigned after the incident. 

The shooting on February 14 left 17 people dead and sparked the national movement March For Our Lives.