What to Know
- A small protest was held Saturday, calling for BSO's Sheriff Scott Israel to resign.
- The protest came after news came out that three officers, in addition to the school resource officer, did not go into the school.
- #ResignSheriffScottIsrael was the top trending hashtag on Twitter in the United States on Friday night.
Law enforcement confirmed to NBC that three Broward Sheriff’s Deputies, in addition to school resource officer Scot Peterson, waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, rather than rush in as the killer was gunning down students.
The man at the helm of BSO, Sheriff Scott Israel, is now the target of much outrage over revelations that his agency may have dropped the ball in responding to the tragic shooting.
More than a dozen protesters are now calling for Israel’s resignation. Their signs and messages come with new questions as to how Broward Sheriff’s deputies responded to the attack at Stoneman Douglas High.
“He’s the boss. He’s where the buck stops. He has to take responsibility,” said Bob Maier, a protester.
BSO detectives say they are investigating the claim from the Coral Springs Police Department that some deputies did not go into the school when they should have and that this is not a fact.
Representative Bill Hager of Boca Raton spoke out on Twitter and shared a letter, calling the breakdown in communication "catastrophic" and asked Gov. Rick Scott to remove the Sheriff for neglect of duty and incompetence.
Israel then shared a rebuttal, calling Hager's letter reckless and riddled with factual errors.
The President of the Broward Sheriff's Office Deputies Association says he has no information at this time to substantiate any of the new claims.
"That's a freedom of expression for the residents of Broward County. The union's position right now on that is neutral," said Jeff Bell.
Local
Two law enforcement sources told NBC News that three other BSO deputies remained outside when they could have gone inside the freshman building. What remains unconfirmed is the reason.
This is in addition to Scot Peterson, the armed school resource officer who remained outside and never tried to stop the shooter.
“I think he should be responsible for what his officers do,” said one protester.
According to new reports citing police sources, Coral Springs police were upset to find that three other BSO deputies, in addition to Peterson, had also not entered the freshman building and were outside, guns drawn, behind cruisers, when Coral Springs police officers arrived.
In a statement released Friday, Coral Springs police said the department has a “tremendous working relationship” with BSO and that “as already reported, any actions or inactions that negatively affected the response will be investigated thoroughly.”
“They went into raging bullets to save these kids, and you know what, why didn’t the BSO? They’re the bigger department, we’re a little department in the middle of Coral Springs. Why didn’t BSO go in?” said a protester.
#ResignSheriffScottIsrael was the number one trending topic on Twitter in America on Friday night.
“My husband is a police officer. And cops are near and dear to my heart, this is not about cops and this is not about Trump or anything like that,” said Trish Ferri, a protester.
