The sheriff’s deputy lambasted for not entering a school while a gun massacre was taking place has insisted he is not a coward and that he acted ‘appropriately.’
Scot Peterson said in a statement released through his lawyer Monday: ‘Allegations that Mr. Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue.’
Gun-toting mom and daughter shoot armed liquor store robber
The statement explained that Peterson ‘heard gunshots but believed those gunshots were originating from outside of the buildings on school campus.
‘(Broward Sheriff’s Office) trains its officers that in the event of gunfire one is took seek cover and assess the situation in order to communicate what one observes with other law enforcement.’
It added that Peterson’s behavior was ‘appropriate in the circumstances.’
He released his statement as President Trump condemned his refusal to enter Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as ‘terrible.’
The President even told the National Governors’ Association winter meeting Monday he would have run into the building unarmed.
Petersen waited outside the school for four minutes on Valentine’s Day while ex-student Nikolas Cruz, 19, murdered 14 children and three school workers inside.
He was initially shamed by Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, who singled his alleged inaction out last Thursday, saying: ‘I am devastated.
‘Sick to my stomach. He never went in.’
Before the statement was issued, Peterson was suspended on full pay, but retired – with cynics claiming he did so to avoid losing his pension and benefits.
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