Sheriff’s Deputy Who Failed to Act During Parkland Shooting Acquitted on All Charges

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School School Resource Officer Scot Peterson reacts as he is found not guilty on all charges at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on June 29, 2023. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool

A former Florida sheriff’s deputy, charged with felony child neglect and additional counts for failing to act during the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school, has been acquitted of all charges.

Scot Peterson, a 60-year-old school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, wept when the verdicts were read on Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.