MIAMI -- The former Florida deputy who stood outside instead of confronting the gunman during last year's Parkland school massacre was arrested Tuesday on 11 criminal charges related to his inaction.
Prosecutor Mike Satz said in a statement that 56-year-old Scot Peterson faces child-neglect, culpable-negligence and perjury charges that carry a combined potential maximum prison sentence of nearly 100 years.
Peterson, then a Broward County deputy, was on duty as the school resource officer during the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School but never went inside while bullets were flying. Seventeen people died and 17 others were wounded.
Peterson's bail was set at $102,000, Satz said. Once released, Peterson will be required to wear a GPS monitor and surrender his passport, and he will be prohibited from possessing a firearm, the prosecutor said.
Peterson's lawyer, Joseph DiRuzzo III, said in a statement that Peterson is merely a scapegoat. He called the charges "a thinly veiled attempt at politically motivated retribution."
The charges follow a 14-month investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to that agency.
"There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives," Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in an emailed statement.
Nikolas Cruz, 20, faces the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder charges filed in the attack. He is expected to go on trial in early 2020.
A Section on 06/05/2019