Police in Florida have just released a surveillance video that shows what Deputy Scot Peterson was doing during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
The footage begins at 2:22 PM, one minute before Nikolas Cruz killed his first victim. Deputy Peterson, who has since been labeled the “Coward of Broward County,” initially reported that he left the building because he thought the shots were coming from outside.
In the video below, Peterson can be clearly seen outside of the building with a school employee. Critics and investigators believe this footage confirms that Peterson knew the gunfire was coming from inside.
After approaching a school door with a member of the staff, Peterson speaks into his radio then drives away in a golf cart.
The full video shows Peterson, who was armed at the time, remaining in the area for 20 minutes waiting for responding officers to arrive.
“The video speaks for itself,” the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a statement reported by Fox News. “His actions were enough to warrant an internal affairs investigation, as requested by Sheriff Scott Israel on Feb. 21. After being suspended without pay, Peterson chose to resign and immediately retired rather than face possible termination.”
According to Fox, the video above was only made available after media outlets sued for their release. “The public has a right to know what happened,” said Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie on Thursday. “We should be able to learn from that and figure out what we need to change in our institutions to get better as we go forward.”