Florida appeals court allows lawsuits against Parkland resource officer to proceed

A Florida appeals court ruled on Thursday that lawsuits against the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer at the time of the 2018 shooting in Parkland, Fla., can go to trial.  

The 4th District Court of Appeal gave no details in its ruling that allows the civil suits against former Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson to proceed.

The ruling comes after Peterson was acquitted in 2023 of criminal charges of child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury related to the shooting, which killed 17 people and injured dozens more.

The families of the victims, who are asking for an unspecified amount from him and the police department, say he failed to confront Nikolas Cruz during his six-minute rampage.

Peterson’s lawyers have said he had no legal obligation to stop the shooter.  

“Florida law is unequivocal that whether it is by reason of a lack of legal duty, by application of statutory immunity, or both, as a governmental employee, Peterson cannot be held liable for an alleged failure to stop Cruz from committing mass murder,” Peterson’s attorneys wrote in a brief while making the case the court give him summary judgement.  

The decision to let civil lawsuits proceed was made by Judges Dorian Damoorgian, Spencer Levine and Alan Forst.

The Hill has reached out to a legal representative of the victims for comment.

Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in 2021 and was sentenced to 34 consecutive life sentences.