Radio dispatches show Broward County Sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson was aware during last month's shooting in Parkland, Florida that shots were being fired inside the high school, but he remained outside and told other officers to do the same.
Peterson has said publicly that he thought the gunfire was coming from outside, but in newly released audio, he can be heard saying that the shots came from inside, the Miami Herald reports. Peterson served as the resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School but was suspended after his failure to respond to the February shooting. He has since retired.
Peterson radioed to other officers that the shots were coming from the school’s 1200 building, but he remained outside and told officers to stay 500 feet away. The policy of the Broward Sheriff's Office calls for officers to engage and eliminate an active shooter threat.
"Be advised we have possible, could be firecrackers. I think we have shots fired, possible shots fired—1200 building," Peterson said soon after shots started.
"We also heard it’s by, inside the 1200," Peterson said two minutes later.
Peterson’s lawyer has defended him by saying he followed police protocol for an active shooter who is firing outdoors.
"BSO trains its officers that in the event of outdoor gunfire one is to seek cover and assess the situation in order to communicate what one observes with other law enforcement," Peterson's attorney said.
However, the resource officer's words on the police radio indicate that he had determined the shots were coming from inside the 1200 building and still stayed outside. The gunman reportedly dropped his firearm minutes later and left the building, but Peterson and other officers had still not entered.
Law enforcement has come under scrutiny, not just for Peterson’s inaction, but also for investigators’ not following up on repeated warnings about alleged shooter Nikolas Cruz. Acquaintances of Cruz had told Broward County police he was a danger, and the FBI also failed to act on reported information.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has called for gun control in response to the shooting, and he has defended his own leadership as "amazing."
The school shooting, which is the most deadly in state history, prompted Florida lawmakers to pass a new bill that strengthens school safety in addition to raising the minimum age requirement to buy a gun. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) said he expects Gov. Rick Scott (R.) to sign the bill into law Friday.