Florida: The first trial of a law enforcement officer for actions during an on-campus shooting in US history came to an end on Thursday when a Florida sheriff's deputy was cleared of charges of felony child neglect and other offences related to his inaction during the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

While the fathers of the two students who were killed on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School stared straight ahead and quickly left the courtroom, former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson sobbed as the verdicts were read. Over the course of four days, the jury deliberated for 19 hours.

Peterson, his family, and friends rushed into a group hug after the court session ended while cheering, crying, and whooping. Peterson's private eye Kevin Bolling pursued Chris Killoran, the lead prosecutor, and said something. Turning around, Killoran gave him a stern "Way to be a good winner" and slapped him on the shoulder. The defence team then pushed Killoran outside the courtroom.

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I reclaimed my life. As he left the courtroom, Peterson embraced his wife, Lydia Rodriguez, and his attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, saying, "We've got our life back. He has maintained that if he had known where the shots were coming from, he would have confronted shooter Nikolas Cruz. "It's been such an emotional roller coaster for so long."

He added that victims should never be forgotten.
Only one person—that monster (Cruz)—was at fault, according to Peterson. Nobody from law enforcement was present at the scene, and everyone did the best they could given the knowledge they had.

Peterson expressed his desire to meet with Parkland parents and spouses, some of whom have publicly referred to him as "the coward of Broward." He desires to inform them of "the truth," that he exerted every effort.

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"I would adore speaking with them. I have no issues, he declared. "I'm over there."
However, Tom Hoyer and Tony Montalto, two fathers who were present for the verdict, had no desire to speak with Peterson. First-floor fatalities included Hoyer's 15-year-old son Luke and Montalto's 14-year-old daughter Gina. 

Due to the fact that they passed away before he arrived at the building, Peterson was not charged in relation to their deaths. The men think Peterson knew where Cruz was, but he prioritised his safety over the safety of the students and staff.

“No. No. When Montalto and Peterson met, Montalto remarked, "Bring me my daughter back. All of us would give anything to have our children back. The spouses of those who have passed away also want them back. And why do we need to talk to this failure if that's not going to happen? He didn't act morally appropriately. He sprinted off.

Hoyer remarked that he didn't believe Peterson would be honest with them.
Peterson, Stoneman Douglas' campus deputy, was accused of failing to stop shooter Cruz during his six-minute rampage inside the three-story, 1200 classroom building, which resulted in 17 fatalities.

He was accused of being responsible for the six people killed and four people injured on the third floor who were shot more than a minute after he entered the structure. Peterson was not charged in relation to the 11 people who died and the 13 people who were injured on the first floor prior to his arrival. The second floor didn't see any shootings.

The prosecution's novel legal argument against Peterson was that, as the school's designated constable, he had a legal obligation to act as a "carer" for the students, which was a prerequisite for him to be found guilty of child neglect. A carer, according to Florida law, is "a parent, adult household member, or other person responsible for a child's welfare." If the jury determined Peterson was a carer, they would also have had to decide that he did not take the necessary care or make a "reasonable effort" to protect the kids.

Although a sentence even close to that length would have been extremely unlikely given the circumstances and his spotless record, he might have received nearly a century in prison. Additionally, he might have lost his $104,000 yearly pension.

During their two-week presentation, the prosecution called witnesses who described the horror they had witnessed and how they discovered Cruz was in the 1200 building. These witnesses included students, teachers and law enforcement officials. The training manager who testified that Peterson did not follow the proper procedures for dealing with an active shooter was also called by the prosecution.

Peterson's lawyer, Eiglarsh, called several deputies who arrived during the shooting as well as students and teachers who testified they did not believe the shots were coming from the 1200 building during his two-day presentation. Peterson skipped the testimony.

Eiglarsh also emphasised how the attack's failure of the sheriff's radio system limited Peterson's ability to hear arriving deputies.
He referred to the decision as "a victory for every law enforcement officer in this country" and dubbed the prosecution "political."

The actions of honourable, decent police officers should not be questioned by prosecutors, Eiglarsh remarked. But elected Democrat and state attorney for Broward, Harold F. Pryor, stood by the choice to charge Peterson.

When we entrust our children to armed school resource officers and the schools they guard, Pryor said in a statement, "as parents, we have an expectation that they will do their jobs. They are under contract to be carers to our children. "They have unique responsibilities and roles that go above and beyond those of a police officer. I respond to those who have attempted to politicise this by saying: "Expecting someone to perform their job is not political."

If the jury decides Peterson acted properly, Montalto advised them to hire him for their kids' schools.

Security footage reveals that 36 seconds after Cruz's attack started, Peterson left his office and jumped into a cart with two unarmed civilian security guards about 100 yards (92 metres) away from the 1200 building. They arrived at the structure after a minute.

Peterson exited the cart close to the first-floor hallway's east door. Cruz was firing his semiautomatic AR-15 rifle from the other end of the hallway.

Peterson did not open the door because he was not donning a bulletproof vest. Instead, he took cover 75 feet (23 metres) away in a nearby building's alcove while keeping his gun drawn. Long after the shooting was over and additional police officers had stormed the structure, he remained there for 40 minutes.

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Peterson worked in education for almost three decades, including nine years at Stoneman Douglas. Shortly after the shooting, he retired, and was subsequently retroactively fired.

Cruz's jury was divided on whether or not to execute him. The former Stoneman Douglas, 24,