Parkland school resource officer decried as coward gets princely pension of $8,702 a month

[Mockingbird]

Quote

 

(CNN)The former school resource officer criticized for his response to the Parkland school massacre is receiving more than $8,700 a month in state pension, Florida Department of Management Services spokeswoman Nina Ashley said Wednesday. 

 

There are no charges or circumstances that would affect Scot Peterson's pension, according to a March 28 department letter requesting local officials submit information pertaining to Peterson's retirement benefits. However, two investigations into the police response to the February 14 shooting remain ongoing. 

 

In the days after the massacre that left 17 students and staff members dead, Peterson came under fire for what some described as inaction once bullets began to fly through the hallways of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 

Senior Brandon Huff claimed he saw Peterson standing outside behind a stairwell wall, gun drawn "just pointing it at the building" as shots erupted from inside the school.

 

"He's wearing a bulletproof vest ... while school security guards, coaches pretty much, were running in shielding kids," he said.

 

[...]

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/16/us/parkland-resource-officer-parkland-shooting-pension-scot-peterson/index.html

[DocM]

Quote

 

Senior Brandon Huff claimed he saw Peterson standing outside behind a stairwell wall, ..."He's wearing a bulletproof vest ... while school security guards, coaches pretty much, were running in shielding kids," he said.

 

Seriously, my blood boils when I think of this worthless POS. 

 

This has been discussed in local groups which included civilians and cops and NO ONE can understand his inaction.

 

It.Just.Doesn't.Compute.

 

Edited May 16, 2018 by DocM

[Buttus]

the one time he really had to do his job, and he didn't....

[macrosslover]

11 minutes ago, DocM said:

Seriously, my blood boils when I think of this POS. 

 

This has been discussed in groups which included local civilians and cops and NO ONE can understand his inaction.

 

It.Just.Doesn't.Compute.

 

It's easy to understand his inaction, not condone it though.  He froze.  At the moment he was probably like I can retire, I have my kids, grandkids, whatever...I have my whole life ahead of me with my kids, I can't do it.  I know what he did was selfish, but he clearly felt he had more to live for than those kids.

[+Warwagon MVC]

Everyone thinks "I'll run in and take the bad guy down" .. until you u are actually in that situation. Now granted he was a cop and this was his job, but at the end of the day, he's only human. He froze. I'm not saying it's not horrible he didn't stop the shooter to prevent the deaths of 17 students but just looking at it realistically. Though whether or not he should get retirement, that's a different argument.

[Nogib]

Can I get $8,700 a month for also not putting my life on the line?

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

let me play Devil's Advocate here - how much pension should he get, then? none? should he be punished for his inaction and take a percentage hit to his pension? if so, what's adequate?

 

$8700/mo is a LOT of money, but we dont know the economic situation of that area. that pension would be "just ok" for somewhere like NYC or LA, right? pensions are largely set on length of service too. how many years did he have on the force?

 

the implication of this thread is to suggest he shouldnt get anything b/c he didnt react to the shooting. that he should be punished and get nothing. That's just not the way the real world works. it's kinda like when a CEO drives a company into the ground and gets a $20mil parachute when they leave. a lot of companies have unions set up that will guarantee pensions, based on length of service, no matter the outcome of the employee. you could potentially have infractions on record and still get your full pension.

[Mockingbird]

failed to defend and protect, yet get a nice big pension

[DocM]

16 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

let me play Devil's Advocate here - how much pension should he get, then? none? should he be punished for his inaction and take a percentage hit to his pension? if so, what's adequate?

>

 

Cops have lost their pensions before, and if he's charged with nonfeasance and/or dereliction and convicted so should he. 

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

Just now, DocM said:

 

Cops have lost their pensions before, and if he's charged with nonfeasance and/or dereliction and convicted so should he. 

i havent followed anything on this topic, so bare w/ me. has he been charged w/ anything? is there an active investigation into his conduct?

[Jim K Global Moderator]

26 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

i havent followed anything on this topic, so bare w/ me. has he been charged w/ anything? is there an active investigation into his conduct?

No charges yet though still being investigated (as is the whole shooting) ....

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In a March letter to Satz and Israel, Erin Rock, the secretary of the Florida Department of Management Services, wrote that there were neither charges nor circumstances that "would authorize the division to withhold pension benefits from Peterson."

 

Peterson remains the subject of a Broward Sheriff's Office internal affairs investigation, which Israel requested the week after the shooting. Gov. Rick Scott has also requested a state investigation into the law enforcement response to the shooting.

This deputy would need to be found guilty of something (or similar..like gross negligence) before his pension is taken. You can't just holler "coward" and take it away....

 

Easy for arm chair police officers to grab their pitchforks and judge ... but I'd rather wait for the investigation to conclude.

[Mockingbird]

1 hour ago, Buttus said:

the one time he really had to do his job, and he didn't....

He had one job and he failed

[Mockingbird]

Does anyone remembers when National Rifle Association chief executive Wayne LaPierre said, “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” ?

 

The good guy with a gun waited outside while the bad guy with a gun killed 17 people.

 

[techbeck]

Funny how the focus is on the local PD. The FBI really screwed the pooch as well. 

 

The officer could be a really good guy as well. Just froze up and couldn't shine when it was needed. This is going to haunt him forever.  Just a bad situation all around. 

[DocM]

2 hours ago, techbeck said:

Funny how the focus is on the local PD. The FBI really screwed the pooch as well. 

 

The officer could be a really good guy as well. Just froze up and couldn't shine when it was needed. This is going to haunt him forever.  Just a bad situation all around. 

FBI and the school board have a lot of 'splainin' to do, 

 

The FBI for ignoring multiple warnings, and

 

The School Board for not reporting Cruz to the Juvinile Court after dozens of incidents and his not showing up for an intervention program after a 2013 violent incident.

 

Then there's the not so candid County Sheriff....

 

Sounds like the next round of local elections may be interesting....

[DocM]

4 hours ago, Jason S. said:

i havent followed anything on this topic, so bare w/ me. has he been charged w/ anything? is there an active investigation into his conduct?

 

Not yet, and yes - there are two investigations into the entire police response. Not sure about Florida law, but cops up here in Michigan  have certainly paid the piper for incident screwups. 

 

Quote

There are no charges or circumstances that would affect Scot Peterson's pension, according to a March 28 department letter requesting local officials submit information pertaining to Peterson's retirement benefits.

 

However, two investigations into the police response to the February 14 shooting remain ongoing.