Parkland survivors, families speak out after former school resource officer is arrested: 'Justice is finally being served'

Kerry Justich
·Health and Wellness Staff Writer
Updated
Parkland families are reacting to the news of Scot Peterson's arrest. (Photo: Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
Parkland families are reacting to the news of Scot Peterson's arrest. (Photo: Florida Department of Law Enforcement)

Former Florida deputy, Scot Peterson, was arrested on Tuesday following an investigation of his actions during the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which resulted in 17 deaths. Now, in the wake of the news, Parkland survivors and families are speaking out about the arrest and exclaiming that justice is being served.

According to a press release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a 15-month investigation into the actions of Peterson, who was the school resource officer at the time, has resulted in his arrest. His charges are listed as seven counts of neglect of a child and three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury. During the 2018 shooting, Peterson is said to have “retreated during the active shooting while victims were being shot and directed other law enforcement who arrive on scene to remain 500 feet away from the building.”

One Parkland survivor and school safety advocate, Kyle Kashuv, says that Peterson “let my peers die.”

One survivor, Cameron Kasky, defended himself against some pushback against his outlook on the arrest by saying, “It was more than just not going into the building.” Others have also expressed that this is just one step toward justice, while gun reform is still needed.

After the news broke, a few on Twitter pointed out the hypocritical nature of Peterson’s arrest — given that many cops who are found responsible for the death of black people go unpunished. The most recent example is the case of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot in his grandmother’s backyard.

“When white ‘cops’ do cowardly ambush killings on Black kids, they are ALWAYS rewarded and protected,” tweeted Tariq Nasheed, an American film producer. “But a white school cop allowed a bunch of white kids to be killed at Parkland High, and the cop was arrested and hit with 11 charges.”

“Such is America,” a commenter added.

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