New Surveillance Video Shows Armed Guard at Parkland School Waited Outside While Gunman Shot Students
New surveillance footage released shows bullets flew for four minutes as armed deputy waited outside during the Florida school shooting.
Miami: Florida authorities released security footage appearing to confirm that the deputy officer deployed at the school failed to take action during last month's school shooting massacre that left 17 people dead.
The surveillance video shows Scot Peterson, whom President Donald Trump dubbed a "coward" in the attack's aftermath, arriving at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School but standing outside rather than entering.
The images do not show the carnage that Nikolas Cruz, 19, carried out with an assault rifle. But they do expose the 54-year-old Peterson's failure to respond, authorities say. "The video speaks for itself," the Broward County Sheriff's Office said. "We welcomed the court's decision to release the video of Deputy Scot Peterson's actions on February 14," the office's statement said, saying the ex-officer's "actions were enough to warrant an internal affairs investigation."
The footage shows a man, identified by police as Peterson, at 2:23 p.m. approaching the wall of the school's Building 12 and standing there for several minutes.
On February 22 Commissioner Scott Israel disclosed that Peterson, who was assigned to monitor the campus, had not entered the building to try and thwart the massacre. Israel made clear he believed the deputy's actions were negligent, suspending him without pay. Shortly thereafter Peterson resigned.
Following Israel's comments, President Donald Trump attacked the deputy by name the next day, saying he either froze or was a "coward."
Peterson broke his silence via his lawyer nearly two weeks after the shooting. "Let there be no mistake, Mr. Peterson wishes that he could have prevented the untimely passing of the 17 victims on that day, and his heart goes out to the families of the victims," his attorney, Joseph DiRuzzo III, said in a statement.
"However, the allegations that Mr. Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue," DiRuzzo added. Peterson has maintained since the shooting that he believed the shots to have come from outside the building and tried his best to confirm the location of the attacker in the short time he had.
The footage also raises questions on President Donald Trump's proposal to arm teachers and school staff as a preventive measure against a shooter.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 16, 2018 07:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).