Deputy Scot Peterson

[TheFriscoKid]

I've tried to see all sides of the failure of Scot Peterson to enter the high school on Valentines day. Playing the devil's advocate for a while brings up at least some points worth considering on what really comprises a "good guy with a gun".

First, I would say tactical/strategical.

To defend against any high powered weapon body armor under and including 3A is insufficient. Hard plates and helmets are a minimum. The deputy - to the best of my knowledge - was not equipped.

As well, an equivalent weapon is needed to engage. We often joke about those that bring a knife to a gun fight but bringing a 9mm to a .223 fight is almost as futile.

Next we have psychological.

In hindsight, maybe a 54 year old making at least $80k a year and can soon retire with 75% of those wages and benefits isn't the ideal 'nothing to lose' candidate for the front line of deadly incident.

In the same breath - physical condition.

None of the biathalon skiers in the Olympics have bodies like Peterson's. It takes great fitness to move rapidly, find concealment and cover (with the heavy gear and arms outlined above) and then to be effective and accurate in shooting. The deputy would have been considerably out of breath after running 30 yards and up one flight of stairs.

Numbers.

While it might be known in real time this was a single shooter incident, in the fog of war there is often real confusion and doubt. Columbine had two armed shooters. The incident in Beslan a few years ago featured 'several dozen' armed attackers. 1 on 1 doesn't give the defender or the students the odds they deserve.

My initial thought about Scot Peterson was that he failed those kids and failed his duty. He should have been at least in place to take advantage of a clip reload. You wait for your opportunity and then take your shot.

He should have at least been trained enough and capable of that. Maybe he never had it, maybe he reached his breaking point, who knows? But we do know this, several other 1st responders (Broward County) hesitated/failed that day also and are now on leave and review.

This is further complicated because police were watching surveillance video that was 20 minutes delayed and believed the shooting was still live for some time after it had stopped. Bad intel never helps.

https://www.policeone.com/active-shoote ... -shooting/

All of the above combined lends one to see this more as a systemic error.

Sheriff Israel and anyone that saw Peterson should have sussed him out to be a kind of 'good hearted schlub'. Maybe good at high fiving the kids in the hallway and knowing where the donuts were in the teachers lounge but NOT the guy to have the tools, skills, psychology and conditioning to effectively counter an armed attack with a high powered rifle.

Like someone else wrote here "he wasn't a good guy with a gun, he was just a guy with a gun".

If school guards are going to be effective they need all of the essential elements stacked in their favor: the right tools, the right skills, the right psychology, and the right conditioning along with the numbers to proceed without hesitation against 1 or more attackers.

[rotor]

Maybe he was just a coward. Maybe his only obligation was to go home at the end of his shift and be with his family. Now he is retired probably receiving 75% of his salary. Very sad way to go especially since he had been an award winner at his job. I would guess he is a high suicide risk.

[bblhd672]

If you refuse to enter the fight you have no idea what you are up against. He and the other 3 Broward Coward Sheriff Deputies decided their lives were more important than the students inside the school. Either that, or their boss the Broward Coward Sheriff ordered his deputies not to actively engage shooters in that situation.

[Chaparral]

Yes, it is looking like more than one cowardly deputy. The sherrif and his training staff need to be fired, as well as all deputies involved. Since Columbine, it has been clear that responding LE should immediately engage a school shooter. A service pistol and use of cover would be enough to drive a stupid kid into a defensive mode and slow, if not stop, the attack. The response was shameful.

[TheFriscoKid]

I would guess he is a high suicide risk.

I too thought he would be the 18th victim until I read that he felt he did a "good job" that day.

His analysis of his performance sickens me almost as much as his failure.

Only thing worse than a coward is a delusional coward.

https://nypost.com/2018/02/22/deputy-wh ... -good-job/

The parents of the dead and injured children will be paying for his retirement.

"schlub" is a good term. ( talentless, unattractive, boorish person, clumsy, or oafish)

[boxermoose]

To serve and protect?

[TheFriscoKid]

The sherrif and his training staff need to be fired, as well as all deputies involved.

Agreed strongly!!! The sheriff is equally to blame for all of the shortcomings noted above.

[TheFriscoKid]

To serve and protect?

Yep. To serve himself another donut and to protect his retirement.

[Pawpaw]

If you refuse to enter the fight you have no idea what you are up against. He and the other 3 Broward Coward Sheriff Deputies decided their lives were more important than the students inside the school. Either that, or their boss the Broward Coward Sheriff ordered his deputies not to actively engage shooters in that situation.

From what I've read, when the city police arrived, they went right in and were pretty mad that the deputies hadn't even followed them in. The deputies were still sitting outside behind their cars.

[dlh]

We can debate the "woulda, coulda, shouldas"s until the "cows come home" as we say in Texas.

These are my comments:

Remember Garland--a city police officer used his service handgun to take out two charging Jihadis armed with AK47 rifles... So much for disparate fire-power.

Lessons were learned at Columbine: you go in--you do not wait outside and "form a defensive perimeter."

These deputies obviously needed more training--I fault the sheriff for that.

[tool4daman]

I’ve been reading a thread on the Florida concealed carry forum on this issue as well. According to what I read there, at least a couple sheriffs deputies went in with the city police. But definitely there were four sheriffs Deputies, including Scott Peterson, who stayed out.

That does make me wonder what they been trained to do in the situations. That would not be an excuse of them for their failure to act in this. Only Indicating a possible training failure.

[Charles L. Cotton]

He was a despicable coward who traded the lives of 17 people for his own. I don't care about his armor or armament he should have gone in and either killed the murderer or died trying. The fact that he is now claiming he did a good job because he called for help and gave the murder's location makes his cowardice even worse. Apparently the help that came also stayed outside; I guess Peterson needed consoling. Reports indicated that city police offers are the ones that went in as soon as they arrived. They too are disgusted at the cowardice exhibited by the deputy(ies).

I realize that some people naturally run to the sound of gunfire while others run away. The former are not fool-hearty and the latter are not cowards. That's just the way they are wired. If you put on the badge you better darn well be the kind of person that runs toward the gunfire. Peterson and three other deputies apparently were not and the body count was higher as a result of their cowardice.

You can double the size of your post trying to "analyze" Peterson's conduct and it won't justify his failure to act. His response should have been to instinctively run to save lives with no time for "reflection" as you attempt. I guess his response was instinctive for him; stay outside and listen to innocent kids and teachers die. Every hour he spent walking the campus wearing his uniform, badge and gun, he wasn't a peace officer, he was a fraud. People believed he would protect them to the best of his ability should the need ever arise, but he deceived everyone. He was nothing more than movie prop. His last day on the job was also his most important day on the job and he failed miserably.

May Jesus forgive me for feeling the way I do about Peterson and the other sorry excuses for men.
Chas.

[TheFriscoKid]

These are my comments:

Remember Garland--a city police officer used his service handgun to take out two charging Jihadis armed with AK47 rifles... So much for disparate fire-power.

You're incorrect. The initial reports mistakenly identified Officer Gregory Stevens as killing the two gunmen. The post mortem showed that the lethal shots were all done by 4 SWAT team members.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.2218538

" Two gunman shot dead after opening fire outside a controversial Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas earlier this month were killed by SWAT team members and not a single traffic officer as initially reported, police said Monday.

The correction by Garland Police Chief Mitch Bates follows officials initially lauding a single Garland police officer for eliminating Elton Simpson, 31, and Nadir Soofi, 34, after police say they stormed the Curtis Culwell Center armed with assault rifles.

Bates, speaking at a press conference, said that traffic officer did shoot and wound the suspects but that it was four members of the SWAT Tactical Response Team that killed the armed duo during the May 3 attack."

[tool4daman]

I forgot to mention, in that thread on the Florida forum is a link showing the Broward County Sheriff being interviewed a few years ago where he stated he supports gun control. He was also a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton during the presidential election. There are rumblings asking for his resignation.

http://www.floridaconcealedcarry.com/[abbreviated profanity deleted] ... un-liberal