Broward Deputy Defends Actions in Parkland Shooting: ‘How Can They Keep Saying I Did Nothing?’

Disgraced Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson defended his decision to not engage gunman Nikolas Cruz during February’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in a Monday interview.

Peterson, a former school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, told the Washington Post in an interview published Monday that he initially thought the sound of bullets were fireworks set off by “a few kids acting like idiots” and that the events that unfolded that day happened “so fast.”

“How can they keep saying I did nothing?” the disgraced deputy recalled telling his girlfriend one morning after the shooting. “I’m getting on the radio to call in the shooting. I’m locking down the school. I’m clearing kids out of the courtyard. They have the video and the call logs. The evidence is sitting right there.”

The former deputy also said that despite his inaction, he would enter Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School “in a heartbeat” if he was present during an active shooter situation.

Peterson had been widely criticized for choosing not to engage with Cruz. President Trump even called Peterson “a coward” for his inaction during the Parkland shooting.

Peterson later resigned for failing to confront Cruz. After Peterson resigned, he began collecting an $8,700 a month taxpayer-funded pension.