He also faced three charges of culpable negligence and one count of perjury. Instead of going into the building, Peterson took cover at a different building for nearly 48 minutes and told deputies to stay away from the building.Ī state commission investigating the Sheriff’s Office was critical of his response, saying he was “derelict in his duty.” The State Attorney’s Office took it a step further and filed seven, second-degree negligence charges against Peterson, who resigned just weeks after the massacre. Perhaps the most notable of the deputies who failed to respond was Scot Peterson, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school resource officer since 2009 who was at the school on the day of the shooting. Richard Seward retired eight months after the massacre and died not long afterward, of an aggressive form of cancer. Three other deputies, Arthur Perry, Michael Kratz and Brian Goolsby transferred out of the Parkland district and remain employed by the Sheriff’s Office today. The three fired deputies are among eight deputies who heard the explosion of gunfire but failed to rush into the school. “Deadlines are set for specific reasons and the Sheriff’s Office must adhere to those same guidelines as we demand from the citizens of Broward County,” Bell said. Miller and Deputy Stambaugh were terminated improperly. In September, an arbitrator ruled Stambaugh also should be reinstated with back pay, citing the same reason as the other arbitrator.īell said the judge’s “decision today solidifies that Sgt. An arbitrator a year ago concluded that the Broward County Sheriff’s Office violated Miller’s due process rights when Tony terminated him two days past a deadline that a state law allows for punishing law enforcement officers once an investigation is completed. And Eason said he stayed on the school’s periphery, unsure of where the gunshots were coming from, but bodycam video showed him saying he heard shots fired and pointing toward the school. Stambaugh, after arriving to the school, drove to a nearby highway and looked on through field glasses. Sergeant Miller stood outside the school as shots rang out. Miller, Stambaugh and Eason represented part of the failed police response on the day when a teenage gunman murdered 17 staff and students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. So in just back pay and overtime, the decision on the two deputies represents some $580,000 just in back pay and likely accrued overtime if the deputies are reinstated in June, two years after they were terminated. Stambaugh earned $152,857 in base and overtime pay in 2018 and Miller earned $137,249. The ruling, especially if the third deputy is successful, could reach upward of $1 million in pay and benefits. The sheriff’s office would not say Thursday if it intends to appeal the decision at a higher level. “Nevertheless, will continue to fight to uphold discipline when deputies commit misconduct on the job.” The Sheriff’s Office said it believes that the arbitration process is inherently flawed, preventing law enforcement agencies from holding law enforcement officers accountable for misconduct. “The union’s claimed ‘victory’ fails to acknowledge that the union fought desperately to prevent the arbitrator from hearing the facts that justified the termination of these deputies, and that this ‘victory’ was the result of a procedural technicality, which the Sheriff’s Office maintains was wrongly decided.” 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when Miller and Stambaugh failed to do their jobs, and it is belief that the deputies do not deserve their jobs back. “We don’t get to bring back the children who were murdered on a technicality,” Pollack said.ĭespite Thursday’s ruling, the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s general counsel maintains the deputies shouldn’t get their jobs back. He said he wants parents to know that the fired deputies could possibly be called to an emergency: “ this is who you got coming.” If people really cared, that is what they would do.” “Every mayor in every city should say we don’t want these deputies in our town responding to a 911 situation. “It is painful for me to once again see there is no accountability.”Īndy Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, was killed in the attack, said he hopes the decision is a call-to-action for city and county leaders. “Alyssa and 16 others are no longer here because of the failures and inactions by many, including Miller and Stambaugh,” said Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter, Alyssa, was killed in the massacre. Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter, Alyssa, was killed in the massacreīell said he fully understands the ruling will not sit well with Parkland families and survivors.
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