Parkland school shooting police officer speaks out: 'I did not get it right'
The Florida police officer accused of cowardice for failing to confront the Parkland gunman, has said he “did not get it right” but denied that it was because of fears for his safety.
In his first television interview since 17 students and teachers were shot dead at the Florida high school, triggering a nationwide, student-led campaign for greater gun control, Scot Peterson said he was “sorry”.
“I didn’t get it right,” Mr Peterson told NBC. “But it wasn’t because of some, ‘Oh, I don't want to go into that building. Oh, I don't want to face somebody in there’. It wasn’t like that at all.”
He added: “Those are my kids in there. I never would have sat there and let my kids get slaughtered. Never.”
In the aftermath of the Feburary shooting, Mr Peterson was widely criticised for having seemingly failed to stop the alleged shooter, Nicholas Cruz, even though he was the only armed officer at the school when the shooting took place. President Donald Trump denounced Mr Peterson, saying “he didn't have the courage”.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said the officer’s actions made him “sick to my stomach” and the father of one teenage victim filed a wrongful death suit against him.
Mr Peterson resigned in February and in April it was revealed he was to receive a state pension of $8,702.35 a month, a figure based on his more than 30 years of service.
Mr Peterson, who had been dubbed the ‘Coward of Broward’, said he had chosen to remain silent, but had now decided “enough’s enough”.
Mr Peterson said he responded immediately to the sound of shots being fired.
“As we approach near the building I hear two to three loud shots. I immediately stop and I'm thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, I hear shots outside’,” he said.
“I went right to my [police] radio. I screamed, Shots fired’. I then went to the school radio and I said, ‘Put the schools in lock-down’. I'm yelling at the security specialist,’Get out of here. Get out of here’. Because I thought the shots were outside and I didn’t want him standing out there.”
He added: “And immediately I went and took a position of cover over by the 700 building, because that's what we're trained [to do].”
Peterson said he never thought the gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas was targeting students and staff inside.
“It haunts me that I didn’t know,” he said. “I was trying to do the best I could with no information or intel at the time... And it was just something happening so fast.”
