Former Parkland school resource officer acquitted on all charges

Scot Peterson, a former school resource officer who was stationed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., during the 2018 mass shooting, was found not guilty Thursday on all charges related to his actions that day.

The jury reached the verdict on all 11 counts that Peterson was facing after deliberating for about 19 hours across four days. Peterson had received widespread criticism over not confronting the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, during the six-minute rampage that killed 17 and injured more than a dozen others. 

Peterson was charged with child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury. He could have faced years in prison and lost his pension if he was found guilty. 

He openly wept as the not-guilty verdict was read out and hugged his family and friends after the court adjourned. 

Prosecutors had called students, teachers and law enforcement officials to testify over the course of two weeks about their experience and observations that day.

Some said they knew the shots were coming from the three-story 1200 classroom building, and a supervisor testified that Peterson did not follow protocols for an active shooter situation. 

Peterson’s attorney argued that his client was not sure where the shots were being fired because of echoes of the gunfire. Several deputies, students and teachers testified that they did not think the shots were being fired from the 1200 building. 

The attorney also noted that the sheriff’s radio system failed and limited what Peterson heard from other officers who were arriving on the scene. 

Security video showed Peterson left his office about 100 yards from the 1200 building about half a minute after the shooting began and arrived at the building with two unarmed civilian security guards a minute later. 

Peterson arrived at the east doorway to the hallway on the first floor while Cruz was at the opposite end of the hallway, armed with an AR-15-style rifle. 

Peterson took cover in the alcove of a neighboring building with his gun drawn and stayed there for 40 minutes, even after the shooting ended. 

Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 34 consecutive life sentences in November. 

Peterson worked at schools for almost three decades before the shooting, including nine years at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. He retired shortly after the shooting but was fired retroactively.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.