Parkland Father's Anger As Ex-Deputy Who Didn't Confront Gunman Acquitted

The father of a student killed in the Parkland high school shooting has reacted in dismay after the former sheriff's deputy who failed to confront the gunman was acquitted of all charges, telling Newsweek his actions were "unbelievable."

Tony Montalto, who lost his daughter Gina, 14, in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, said that "it's hard to have faith in the legal system" following both the acquittal and the gunman's sentencing, where the jury stopped short of handing out the death penalty. He was one of a number of family members of victims to voice their anger.

Scot Peterson, former deputy for the Broward County Sheriff's Office who was the lone armed resource officer assigned to the school when 17 people were fatally shot February 14, 2018, was found not guilty of seven counts of felony child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury. Peterson wept in court on Thursday as the jury read his acquittal in the same courtroom where the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, was sentenced to life in prison in the fall.

Peterson told reporters outside of the courtroom that he "got my life back" and said that no one should forget the victims of the shooting.

"Only person to blame was that monster," Peterson said, referring to Cruz. "It wasn't any of the law enforcement ... Everybody did the best they could, we did the best we could with the information we had. And God knows we wish we had more."

Prosecutors had argued in court that the former deputy had failed to confront Cruz during his six-minute attack, and Peterson's actions have previously been characterized by both law enforcement and Parkland families as cowardly.

"[Peterson's] acquittal of the charges does not absolve him of failing to protect the students and teachers on campus," Montalto said during a phone call with Newsweek.

"You know, there's a lot of things that we expect from our school resource officers," he added. "But the basic thing, the basic technical skill is the ability to stop the threat."

Montalto serves as president of the organization Stand With Parkland, which advocates for practical public safety reform and responsible firearms ownership. The leadership team of the national group includes parents and family members who lost their children and spouses during the 2018 shooting.

"In spite of what happened in Parkland, [Stand With Parkland] still believes that school resource officers are a valuable piece of the puzzle that keeps our students and teachers safe," Montalto said.

"Quite frankly, we just need to demand that they are able to perform the basic act of protecting the students and teachers, should the worst thing happen," he added.

While speaking to reporters outside the courtroom on Thursday, Montalto's interview was briefly interrupted by cheering coming from Peterson's defense team down the hallway. Montalto told Newsweek later in the evening that while the former deputy may be "happy" about the jury's decision, "wait until you're out of the earshot of the people who lost their children."

"My daughter in particular made it to the hospital," Montalto continued. "Peterson issuing orders to stay away contributed to her death, without a doubt in my mind. And he didn't help when she was brought out of that building, or any of the other people. It's unbelievable."

Prosecutors had specifically brought child neglect and culpable negligence charges against Peterson in the deaths and injuries of 10 people who were on the third floor of the classroom building where the shooting occurred. According to security footage, Peterson arrived outside of the classroom building roughly two minutes after the shooting began and, upon arrival, retreated to a nearby building for the remainder of the shooting. The armed officer also took cover in the neighboring building for over 40 minutes after the shooting had ended.

Peterson, who did not testify during his trial, previously said that he could not pinpoint the shooter's location because of the echoes of the gunshots, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Fred Guttenberg, a gun-control advocate who lost his daughter, Jaime, in the Parkland massacre, also reacted to Peterson's acquittal in a Twitter thread Thursday, writing that instead of "celebrating" his exoneration, "[Peterson] should have spoken of lives lost."

"While Peterson and his attorney Mark Eiglarsh celebrate him getting his life back, they must always remember that my daughter was murdered because he didn't even try to prevent it," Guttenberg wrote. "My daughter is dead because Scott Peterson failed to give her the additional single second that she needed entering the stairwell on the 3rd floor."

Samuel Schwartz, who lost his cousin, Alex, during the massacre, wrote on Twitter that Peterson was "an example of a 'good guy with a gun,'" referring to a common argument made by gun-rights advocates who argue that mass shootings in schools should be met with increased security measures.

"So now stop f***ing telling me that putting more cops in school is the answer to ending mass shootings," Schwartz wrote. "Scot Peterson didn't save my cousin or his friends, and the 376 cops in Uvalde sure as hell didn't save those kids."

Peterson's trial marked the first time that a law enforcement officer in U.S. history faced charges for their conduct during a school shooting. Police who responded to the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, have faced similar criticisms to those directed at Peterson. At Robb, hundreds of law enforcement officers waited over an hour to confront 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who shot and killed 21 people on May 24, 2022.