Armed Officer Never Went In During Parkland Shooting, Now Getting More Protection Than Schoolkids

Did you hear about this one?

(Miami Herald) Eight days after mass shooter Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward’s top cop on Thursday revealed a stunning series of failures by the sheriff’s department.

A school campus cop heard the gunfire, rushed to the building but never went inside — instead waiting outside for another four agonizing minutes as Cruz continued the slaughter.

And long before Cruz embarked on the worst school shooting in Florida history, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies had multiple warnings that the 19-year-old was a violent threat and a potential school shooter, according to records released Thursday.

In November, a tipster called BSO to say Cruz “could be a school shooter in the making” but deputies did not write up a report on that warning. It came just weeks after a relative called urging BSO to seize his weapons. Two years ago, according to a newly released timeline of interactions with Cruz’s family, a deputy investigated a report that Cruz “planned to shoot up the school” — intelligence that was forwarded to the school’s resource officer, with no apparent result.

The school’s resource officer, Scot Peterson, 54, was suspended without pay then immediately resigned and retired. Two other deputies have been placed on restricted duty while Internal Affairs investigates how they handled the two shooter warnings. (snip)

Peterson — named school resource officer of the year for Parkland in 2014 — was in another building, dealing with a student issue when the shots sounded. Armed with his sidearm, Peterson ran to the west side of Building 12 and set up in a defensive position, then did nothing for four minutes until the gunfire stopped, the sheriff said.

On Thursday, Israel said surveillance footage captured the officer’s inaction. Asked what Peterson should have done, Israel said: “Went in. Addressed the killer. Killed the killer.”

And then there’s this

(Business Leader) Deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office are guarding the home of the school resource officer who was stationed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after his family requested the protection, according to multiple news reports on Thursday.

Local Fox affiliate WSVN said it sent a reporter to the Boynton Beach, Florida, home of Broward County Sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson for an interview when the reporter was met with six deputies “standing guard outside.”

One man gets six armed law enforcement officers. An entire school gets one. Who failed to act as gunfire rang out in the school.

As far as arming teachers, here’s an idea. First, allow retired military members and police officers who have experience with guns to serve as protection officers. I bet there are plenty of granddads who would be up for it. Second, allow teachers to be armed if they choose. They’d have to go through a background check and a firearms safety course, as well as be trained in the use of the gun.

Stress to teachers that they do not even have to load the weapon if they are uncomfortable (bear with me a minute, I know what you’re thinking). Allow them to carry one of those fake pistols that look utterly realistic. Some will open carry, some will concealed carry. The point here is not to shoot someone, but to deter a wacko from coming to the school looking for an easy murder spree. This would apply to all schools, all the way up through colleges. Deterrence.

If you’re banning guns, you’re taking them away from the law abiding. Criminals will still have theirs. Let’s allow schools to have the same protection the failed officer is getting.