Scot Peterson, the former Broward County sheriff’s deputy who failed to confront a gunman inside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 massacre, came under fire from all sides Sunday as a victim’s father labeled him a “coward,” the state’s governor said the entire state is “disgusted” by his handling of the situation and even Mr. Peterson’s former boss said the failure to act makes him “sick.”
“Peterson — he’s a coward. He stood by the door,” said Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, was among the 17 people killed by alleged gunman Nikolas Cruz. “He could saved [some of the] victims if he wasn’t some little — words can’t even describe the way I feel about him.”
Mr. Pollack made the comments during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
Moments earlier, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, called for a full investigation.
“Whoever didn’t do their job has to be held accountable,” Mr. Scott said. “There’s no one I talked to who isn’t disgusted that the local sheriff’s deputy who was there didn’t go in and kill that individual.”
Mr. Peterson resigned amid the revelations he apparently waited outside the school during the attack.
“It makes me sick to my stomach we had a deputy who didn’t act,” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday.
President Trump also last week called the deputy a “coward.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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