A Florida jury has found former Parkland school resource officer Scot Peterson not guilty on all counts.
Peterson faced seven counts of felony child neglect and was the first law enforcement officer in the U.S. to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged inaction during an active school shooting. He was also charged with three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence in relation to the adults shot in the building. Additionally, he was charged with perjury for allegedly lying to detectives.
Peterson would have faced prison time and a loss of his $104,000 annual pension if convicted of the child neglect charges.
As the verdict was announced, Peterson could be seen breaking down in tears inside the courtroom.
During the trial, students, a sheriff's deputy and teachers testified and were asked where they thought the initial shots were coming from during the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fourteen students and three staff members died during the shooting committed by Nikolas Cruz.
Kristen Gomes, an assistant state attorney for Broward County, said during closing arguments on Monday, "Every student and every teacher on the third floor was still alive."
PARKLAND VICTIM FAMILY MEMBERS CONFRONT NIKOLAS CRUZ IN EMOTIONAL SENTENCING HEARING: 'BURN IN HELL'
"And Scot Peterson chose to run," Gomes said.
Peterson's attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said in response that his client couldn't determine where the shots were coming from, adding that it was unclear whether several shooters were present. He said that Peterson responded by issuing a school-wide "code red."
"We’re here because of that monster," Eiglarsh said. "He did it," pointing to a picture of Cruz.
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