# Sheriff officer resigns after Florida Shooting **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373 "2018-02-23T00:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/41 "2018-02-23T15:47:21Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > I saw one very short interview with the couple and the father said basically he has no regrets and wouldn’t have done anything differently with hindsight. what the hell? Probably the healthiest attitude to have. You can’t take it upon yourself, you’d go mad. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/42 "2018-02-23T15:58:56Z")
I do feel sorry for Scot Peterson, the sheriff’s deputy who was assigned to the school. First, I’m sure he regrets his inaction, and is probably in mental agony over that. But he and his family are also probably the target of death threats and angry comments from others as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/43 "2018-02-23T16:21:52Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > … > There is really no way to know how you are going to react to this until it happens. And it isn’t likely to happen to any individual police officer. > > You can’t depend on human beings to always respond in a predictable fashion - even with training. Sorry to sound overly harsh, but you are basically saying that he failed in perhaps the most critical, yet anticipatable job situation he faced. Maybe there should be some way to retroactively retrieve the salary he has received in the past, if we can presume he was unqualified but just fortunate he wasn’t needed? I get tired of constantly hearing cops and vets whine about how distressed they are about encountering predictable aspects of their jobs. Wish there were better ways to identify and disqualify folk who seem poorly suited for the demanding jobs they voluntarily seek. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/44 "2018-02-23T16:39:28Z")
If it wasn’t his job to go in and take his chances, then what exactly was his job? When I was in school, we had no armed guards and no metal detectors. The very idea would have been ludicrous. Now schools are supposed to have both, but what is their purpose if the guard is expected to wait for backup and just hide in the meantime. I mean if he is not willing to put his life on the line, then he is there under false pretenses. I am not trying to be an internet hero; it was not a job I would have taken under any circumstances. Suppose someone started shooting at the president and a secret service guy ducked? Would you excuse that? Hell no, he takes on the job knowing he is expected to take one for the president. And I think he will. This guy was pathetic. Not that I expect anyone to risk their lives, but if you can’t stand the hear get out of the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/45 "2018-02-23T17:01:14Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > …There is one and only one way that he can begin to redeem himself, and that is by proving his remorse by feeding himself his gun. uh-huh > [@](#): > > I get tired of constantly hearing cops and vets whine about how distressed they are about encountering predictable aspects of their jobs You’ve clearly never been in danger. Besides, I’m not certain Mr. Peterson has been whining about how dangerous the job was, or that we know exactly what was going on in his head. Maybe you could direct me to his statement? Or the video of him cowering somewhere (don’t bother looking, it’s not going to be released because his department needs him to take this fall). And of course he has guards at his house. I have to assume you, and your insufferably moronic comment about his obligation to shoot himself, are not the most retarded and violent spewers of bile he has had to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/46 "2018-02-23T17:06:14Z")
I’m betting nobody named “Peterson” is ever going to name their kid “Scot” or “Scott” ever again. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/47 "2018-02-23T17:23:27Z")
If you resign due to not doing your job and allowing 17 people to die, you should forfeit all pension and future benefits. This guy has already screwed society enough. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/48 "2018-02-23T17:29:57Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > I don’t see the problem with him resigning, if I was a cop with a gun who stayed at the back while kids were getting murdered I’d resign too. > > I don’t think anybody is saying he should be charged with anything or blaming him for what happened, but I’d consider it a simple fact that he acted like a coward. > > Kids were getting shot like animals, **he could have helped them** , he didn’t. He is a coward. Not only “could have”, “should have”. It’s what he was being paid to do, after all. Like I said above, a cop’s job is to serve and protect the public, not himself. I don’t really want to pay anyone to protect themselves. I do it for free every fucking day; why should they get paid my money to protect their own damned selves? > [@UCBearcats](#): > > If you resign due to not doing your job and allowing 17 people to die, you should forfeit all pension and future benefits. This guy has already screwed society enough. I think that sounds fair. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/49 "2018-02-23T17:30:08Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Sorry to sound overly harsh, but you are basically saying that he failed in perhaps the most critical, yet anticipatable job situation he faced. Maybe there should be some way to retroactively retrieve the salary he has received in the past, if we can presume he was unqualified but just fortunate he wasn’t needed? > > I get tired of constantly hearing cops and vets whine about how distressed they are about encountering predictable aspects of their jobs. Wish there were better ways to identify and disqualify folk who seem poorly suited for the demanding jobs they voluntarily seek. Yep, he did. He won’t be the first, and he won’t be the last person to do so. I’m not excusing him, but I am saying that human behavior is not the system I want to be dependent on when an active shooter walks into my kid’s school - and there is no way to predict how you are going to react - even if you chose the job and train for it (although choosing it and training for it is probably a better indicator that you’ll react appropriately than - oh, choosing to be a teacher and taking a gun class over the weekend). One of the reasons that an office will have so many first responders on a floor in case someone has a heart attack is that some people - trained in CPR and first aid - are just going to freeze and go blank. You play the odds and have several people trained per floor. And when you get trained, you get told “point to someone and have them call 911” - because there will be a lot of people standing around forgetting how to use a phone. Now, an ER nurse who sees it every day isn’t going to freeze and go blank - but she might on her first rotation through the ER. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/50 "2018-02-23T17:31:25Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’m betting nobody named “Peterson” is ever going to name their kid “Scot” or “Scott” ever again. I think anyone who cares about that sort of thing was already avoiding it: [Scott Peterson - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Peterson) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/51 "2018-02-23T17:34:27Z")
> [@B-Rad](#): > > uh-huhYou’ve clearly never been in danger I didn’t choose _as my life-long career_ putting myself in danger. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/52 "2018-02-23T17:47:37Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > There is really no way to know how you are going to react to this until it happens. I never see the point in comments like this, seems rather inane. Even if I agreed that people don’t know how they would react, so what? If something happens and you freeze like a little bitch or hide out the back like a little bitch, well, guess what that makes you? The exact moment that you confirmed you were a little bitch doesn’t really matter when it comes to current assessment of your character. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/53 "2018-02-23T18:48:31Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > If it wasn’t his job to go in and take his chances, then what exactly was his job? When I was in school, we had no armed guards and no metal detectors. The very idea would have been ludicrous. Now schools are supposed to have both, but what is their purpose if the guard is expected to wait for backup and just hide in the meantime. I mean if he is not willing to put his life on the line, then he is there under false pretenses. I am not trying to be an internet hero; it was not a job I would have taken under any circumstances. He absolutely should have acted. Having said that I think you have a misunderstanding of the job. The School Resource Officer is not a guard. If done right he is the liaison between the school and the police department. He would spend most of his day dealing with issues with students. Hopefully being able to mediate issues or stop problems before it gets to the point that charges are filed or there has to be official police action. From what I read he was doing that job for years and was quite good at it. For actual security you would need more than one guy covering a campus with 14 buildings and 3,000 students. Even though the above is what his primary day to day duties would be he would also be required to respond to any critical incidents at the school. If he was at the point where he could no longer handle that aspect he should have been gone long ago. Oh and I’m pretty sure most schools do not have metal detectors. I’ve never been in one that did. We have a SRO in our high school. The actual security guards are unarmed. In my state there is a provision for what is called a Class III Special Officer. It’s a position specifically made for retired officers to work as armed security in schools to include yearly qualifications. They don’t get paid as well as regular police and don’t get benefits. Not something I would do but I know a few you do it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/54 "2018-02-23T18:52:42Z")
> [@B-Rad](#): > > uh-huhYou’ve clearly never been in danger. Besides, I’m not certain Mr. Peterson has been whining about how dangerous the job was, or that we know exactly what was going on in his head. Maybe you could direct me to his statement? Or the video of him cowering somewhere (don’t bother looking, it’s not going to be released because his department needs him to take this fall). > > And of course he has guards at his house. I have to assume you, and your insufferably moronic comment about his obligation to shoot himself, are not the most retarded and violent spewers of bile he has had to deal with. Remember what forum this is in. Dial it back. I would like to be able to keep this out of the Pit. While it’s in MPSIMS keep things within the rules. That’s for everyone else too. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/55 "2018-02-23T18:54:41Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > All it takes is a good guy with a gun. Right. I would submit this particular individual was NOT a good guy. If he had been doing his job then he would be a good guy. He stayed outside while Jr ROTC students died getting their classmates out safely. THEY are the good guys. [Oh, and he thinks he did a “good job.”](https://nypost.com/2018/02/22/deputy-who-didnt-stop-florida-shooting-thinks-he-did-a-good-job/?utm_source=twitter_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/56 "2018-02-23T19:02:47Z")
Base pay - $80k for being officer friendly at a high school. Expected salary 75% of that. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/57 "2018-02-23T19:12:07Z")
Does he get benefits too? A hero dies once. A coward dies a thousand times. He may have been a good cop before, but the one time the school needed him he failed. I’m reminded of Captain Sully. He kept his head and saved all the passengers because he was trained on what to do. So either Peterson was never trained, or he was and it went smack out of his head at crunch time. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/58 "2018-02-23T19:17:05Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Base pay - $80k for being officer friendly at a high school. Expected salary 75% of that. :rolleyes: If _The Sun_ is correct, [he made $101,000 in 2016](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5654579/scot-peterson-florida-shooting-protecting-children-nikolas-cruz/) for being Paul Blart. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/59 "2018-02-23T19:30:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > He absolutely should have acted. > > Having said that I think you have a misunderstanding of the job. The School Resource Officer is not a guard. If done right he is the liaison between the school and the police department. He would spend most of his day dealing with issues with students. Hopefully being able to mediate issues or stop problems before it gets to the point that charges are filed or there has to be official police action. From what I read he was doing that job for years and was quite good at it. For actual security you would need more than one guy covering a campus with 14 buildings and 3,000 students… I got to deal with our school resource officer a few times when my kids were in school. Its mostly locker checks for weed - in one case my daughter’s car got hit in a hit and run - there were witnesses - and the officer was following up with me. Another time I brought in her ADHD meds (controlled substances) and managed to drop the bottle and loose them before I got them to the school nurse. They were found, but I had to pick them up and sign a statement with the resource officer. A little breaking up fights with teenagers and stolen phones, purses and watches. Ours is not armed She isn’t armed because the danger of a kid getting her gun and being stupid is higher than someone walking in with a gun and being stupid. Its also a handgun - not terribly useful against an AR-15. They also do not want the school to feel like a prison or the kids to feel intimidated. Which is why shes a “resource officer” - someone the kids are supposed to be able to go to if someone tries to sell them heroin. We have had three serious incidents in high school - we had a sketchy guy hanging around campus hitting on young girls - the girls were warned, the teachers hung out outside, and he moved on. We had a kid bring a gun to school - but it was a stupid “hey, look at this cool gun” thing. It was loaded, he didn’t intend to use it, just show it to his friends (he was expelled for stupidity), we had a kid get stabbed at a high school basketball game - it wasn’t our student, we weren’t hosting, but it happened at the school we were playing at right after the game. The last one the resource officer wouldn’t have even been present for. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/60 "2018-02-23T19:31:53Z")
Handy scapegoat isn’t he? What a absolute dream situation for Trump and associated gun rights activists. All the blame will be piled on this guy’s head and zero introspection will be used in trying to tackle the real root causes, zero consideration of why it was even necessary to have an armed officer on the grounds of a school in the first place. No, let’s double down. What it really needed is more fallible, frightened, conflicted people with weapons…yeah, they’ll be useful in a pressure situation so that’s going to work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373.md?page=4)