The acquittal spared Scot Peterson a 97-year prison sentence.
Floridian a jury acquitted the former deputy sheriff by Scot Peterson of the charges against him on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Peterson was charged with several counts of gross and mild child neglect and child abandonment, as well as perjury. Peterson was seen lingering outside the school building around the time 17 people were killed and several injured in the February 2018 school shooting in Parkland.
The shooting began when a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, then 19 years old Nikolas Cruz, opened fire. Cruz had been expelled from the school a year earlier for “disciplinary reasons”.
Peterson’s actions in the shooting situation were once revealed in the police’s internal investigation. He resigned from his position after a mass shooting.
Peterson, 60, broke down in tears after hearing the jury’s decision. According to Reuters, Peterson wept with relief as the charges were dropped point by point. The acquittal saved Peterson from a prison sentence of no less than 97 years.
Peterson told reporters waiting at the courthouse that he offered all his sympathy to the parents of the students killed in the shooting.
“If they want to and if they really need to know the truth about what happened, I’m there for them,” a tearful Peterson said.
Peterson’s the case has been extraordinary, as he is one of the few US police officers to be charged with misconduct or dereliction of duty. According to Reuters, the decision may be a precedent.
At one time, Peterson did not testify in the main hearing of the case, which lasted two and a half weeks.
Gunman Nikolas Cruz was convicted last October to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the time, the jury decided there was no reason to sentence Cruz to death.
Cruz pleaded guilty in court in October 2021 to the shootings. He apologized to his victims at the time.
of the United States the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade happened in May of last year, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers and wounded 17 others in Uvalde, Texas.
The Texas tragedy sparked widespread frustration with America’s lax gun policy.
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