Defense rests in trial of Scot Peterson, deputy charged with failing to confront Parkland shooter

Jurors are set to begin deliberations next week in the trial of a former Broward Sheriff's deputy accused of failing to confront the Parkland school gunman after his attorneys rested their case Friday.

Defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh announced Friday that former deputy Scot Peterson would not be taking the stand and that they would be resting their case after about two days of defense testimony.

Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein said closing arguments will be delivered Monday before the jury begins deliberations.

The charges against Peterson stem from the Feb. 14, 2018 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 14 students and three staffers dead.

Peterson, the school's assigned deputy at the time, is charged with seven counts of felony child neglect for four students who were killed and three who were wounded on the third floor of a classroom building. Peterson arrived at the building with his gun drawn 73 seconds before the gunman reached the third floor. But instead of entering, Peterson backed away as gunfire sounded.

“It’s upsetting, it was a very traumatic event in my life,” said BSO Deputy Arthur Perry as he took the stand Friday for the defense.

Perry, who was the school resource officer at nearby Park Trails Elementary School, rushed to the high school to help. He told the jury it was hard to come up with any intelligence in the immediate response as police radios jammed.

“I got on my radio, but it took several times," Perry said. "I kept trying to key on my radio. I was eventually able to announce we have a student shot to dispatch, but several times I kept getting this bong, bong, bong."

The defense is hoping Perry’s testimony conveys that chaos and confusion hindered Peterson’s actions, not an unwillingness to respond. 

The state used Perry’s words to show how Perry and other deputies took some action while they say Peterson remained in one spot for more than 40 minutes. The trial once again revealed law enforcement failures on multiple fronts.  

“We’ve got one crime scene, one incident, two different agencies running two different operations that aren’t communicating with each other and have two different sets of intelligence, it was a total failure on both agencies to be honest with you,” Perry said.

Peterson, 60, could face almost 100 years in prison and lose his $104,000 annual pension if convicted of felony child neglect, the most serious charges he faces. He is the first law enforcement agent in U.S. history ever tried for an alleged failure to act during a school shooting. He retired shortly after the shooting before being retroactively fired.

Peterson insists that because of echoes he didn't know that the gunman was firing inside the three-story 1200 building, even though he moved within 10 yards of its door before taking cover next to an adjoining structure. He has said he thought the shots were coming from outside, perhaps from the football field — more than 100 yards from the 1200 building and 200 yards from where he took cover.

Prosecutors concluded their two-week presentation Wednesday. They called to the witness stand students, teachers and law enforcement officers who have testified about the horror they experienced and how they knew where the gunman was. Some said they knew for certain that the shots were coming from the 1200 building. Prosecutors also called a training supervisor who testified that Peterson did not follow protocols for confronting an active shooter.

Defense testimony showed others, including a deputy sheriff, teachers and students, also thought the thunderous blasts were coming from elsewhere.

For Peterson to be convicted of child neglect, prosecutors must first show he was legally a caregiver to the juvenile students, defined by Florida law as “a parent, adult household member or other person responsible for a child’s welfare.”

If jurors find Peterson was a caregiver, they must determine whether he made a “reasonable effort” to protect the children or failed to provide necessary care.