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Former Parkland school resource officer Scot Peterson was acquitted on all charges by a jury on Thursday (June 29). Peterson was facing nearly 100 years in prison after being charged with multiple counts of child neglect for failing to engage the shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
Peterson broke down in tears as the unanimous verdict was read.
A report conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that Peterson was the only other person with a gun on the campus but "refused to investigate the source of the gunshots, retreated during the active shooting while victims were being shot, and directed other law enforcement who arrived on scene to remain 500 feet away from the building."
Peterson retired after the shooting. After the report was released, authorities charged Peterson with seven counts of neglect of a child, three counts of culpable negligence, and one count of perjury.