The former sheriff’s deputy who failed to act during the Parkland high school shooting in 2018 when 17 people were killed has been found not guilty of child neglect and other charges.
Scot Peterson moved away from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as children and teachers were inside with the gunman.
The ex-Broward County sheriff’s deputy was found not guilty on seven counts of child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence in connection to the deaths and injuries of 10 people on the third floor of the school where the massacre took place, The New York Times noted.
Mr Peterson was also acquitted on a perjury charge after telling police that he only heard a few gunshots and that he didn’t see any students fleeing the area.
A father of one of the victims has told the former deputy to “rot in hell” and he was branded as the “coward in Broward” after facing criticism from some fellow officers for supposedly being too scared to take action.
The gunman, Nicholas Cruz, was sentenced last year to life in prison several years after the shooting that killed 17 people and injured another 17 on 14 February 2018 – Mr Peterson was the only armed resource officer at the school on that day.
Mr Peterson, 60, became emotional on Thursday as the Broward County Judge read the verdict at the Fort Lauderdale court. A few family members of the victims were in the courtroom as the verdict was announced.
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