The detective said the deputy could have prevented the deaths of some of the 17 people murdered if he had charged into a building instead of taking cover.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The veteran Florida detective who led the investigation into the 2018 Parkland high school massacre wept on the witness stand Wednesday, saying the school’s assigned deputy could have prevented the deaths of some of the 17 people murdered if he had charged into a building instead of taking cover.
Peterson, the school’s assigned deputy, stayed outside the three-story 1200 building where the shootings happened, taking cover nearby. Prosecutors say he is guilty of felony child neglect for failing to protect the juvenile students killed and seriously wounded after he arrived at the building, about two minutes into the massacre.
Under cross-examination, Curcio conceded that Peterson and other Broward deputies at the school were hampered by poor communication systems. The sheriff’s office’s antiquated radio system failed when numerous deputies tried to transmit simultaneously. A 911 system sent calls from students and teachers to the neighboring Coral Springs police department, which has a separate communications system. Information from those calls was never transmitted to Peterson or other deputies in Broward County.
After approaching the building’s doors, he backed away and took cover next to a neighboring building, his handgun drawn. He stayed in place for 40 minutes, long after the shooting stopped. Eiglarsh’s presentation is set to begin later Wednesday and should take several days. It will be followed by the prosecution’s rebuttal case.
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