# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/141 "2018-02-26T20:17:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Not really, I didn’t see a response that suggested absence of a gun would have prevented the attack. this was a premeditated attack against random people with the intent to rack up numbers of dead people. a car is just as convenient. I can easily take a gun into a school, church, nightclub, or upper floor of a (casino) hotel, or any other building & use it. If I manage to get my car into one of those buildings, it’s probably not so useful for anything more & fairly tough to move around &/or hide it. (Alan Alda’s solid gold Ferrari in Tower Heist being the exception, but then again, that was a movie). A car will only work so well against a soft target crowd outside. Parades & other large crowd gatherings now routinely have trash trucks, or even better, dump trucks filled with sand (for a few extra tons of immovibility) to prevent an unauthorized vehicle from getting into said crowd & injuring anyone. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/142 "2018-02-26T20:31:07Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Not really, I didn’t see a response that suggested absence of a gun would have prevented the attack. this was a premeditated attack against random people with the intent to rack up numbers of dead people. a car is just as convenient. I responded here to not continue the hijack: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20813770#post20813770](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20813770#post20813770) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/143 "2018-02-27T00:35:14Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I can easily take a gun into a school, church, nightclub, or upper floor of a (casino) hotel, or any other building & use it. If I manage to get my car into one of those buildings, it’s probably not so useful for anything more & fairly tough to move around &/or hide it. (Alan Alda’s solid gold Ferrari in Tower Heist being the exception, but then again, that was a movie). A car will only work so well against a soft target crowd outside. Parades & other large crowd gatherings now routinely have trash trucks, or even better, dump trucks filled with sand (for a few extra tons of immovibility) to prevent an unauthorized vehicle from getting into said crowd & injuring anyone. Well where I live we don’t have transporters so we have to walk to the buildings. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/144 "2018-02-27T05:27:12Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I believe that the general public has a misconception regarding the firearms and tactical training the average cop gets. Basic academy training with firearms consists, mostly, of safe handling of a weapon and marksmanship. In other words, how to not shoot yourself or any one else by accident followed by how to hit a static paper target. Where I live and work (as a trainer) firearms training is mandated twice a year. Officers must pass day and “low light” qualification courses. Passing requires no great skills and these courses of fire have little or nothing to do with combat shooting. Before I retired there was an increase in “force on force” training using marking cartridges (essentially, paintballs or similar). In my opinion this is the best type of training, by far. I’ve seen guys/gals who I believed were excellent cops lose control, lock up, fall down after being shot in the leg, swear up and down that they didn’t do what we just recorded them doing and all kinds of other crazy things. All this knowing that the worst that would happen was a sting from being hit or maybe a drop or two of blood. The thing is, this training is time and manpower intensive and not cheap, depending on the type of weapons being used. When budgets are tight, training is often the first thing on the chopping block. Generally speaking, force on force training has definitely declined over the last ten years or so. > > All cops are, hopefully, getting active shooter training. For the most part, this consists of moving around in various formations and talking about what they should do if it ever happens to them. Attacking a shooter who is more and more likely to have a rifle is contrary to the vast majority of training (maintain distance, stay behind cover, wait for back up with more firepower etc.) that cops get. The idea that cops, even SWAT guys, are a step or three below Delta or SEALs is laughable. I don’t know whether the mindset of running into an ongoing shooting can be trained into someone or not. Personally, I think you either have that as part of your personality or you don’t and you will never know until it actually happens. I do know that the training the vast majority of officers get today will never do it. The idea that cops are highly trained to handle these kinds of situations is a sad joke. Maybe in some progressive departments but not as a rule. We get firearms training at least 3 times per year. Once a year we do the state required [Qualification Standard](https://wilenet.org/html/leosa/wis-course-approved.pdf). The 75 feet distance on the last segment is a bit ridiculous for a handgun and a lot of trainers and chiefs balked at it but the state wouldn’t budge. Once per year we train AR-15’s and shotgun qualification. Once per year we put the first two trainings together and train active shooter scenarios which involves either simunition ammo or frangible bullets. All of these are good training to have and as the years go on the more this stuff should become second nature. But as you may know very, very, very few police shootings involve active shooters. Most are so called “routine” contacts that go to shit and the target is on average 15 feet or less away. So while active shooter and combat shooting are extremely important they should be in addition to the “paper target” and barricade shooting, not instead of. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/145 "2018-02-27T09:33:53Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Internet tough guys galore. > > Nobody with 1/2 a brain can fault someone for not entering an unfamiliar building with possibly multiple shooters. > > If he was #10 on a 10 man SWAT team and he refused to enter I would maybe raise an eyebrow. > > (…) > [@outlierrn](#): > > Umm, that was his assigned duty station, he should be familiar with the building. Sorry, Let me try again: > [@](#): > > \*Internet tough guys galore. > > Nobody with 1/2 a brain can fault someone for not entering a u̶n̶f̶a̶m̶i̶l̶i̶a̶r̶ building with possibly multiple shooters. > > If he was #10 on a 10 man SWAT team and he refused to enter I would maybe raise an eyebrow. > \* I see what you mean: that word really is the crux of my post. removing it completely invalidates my point. Good catch!😕 ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/146 "2018-02-27T15:07:41Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > well sometimes yes. > > There was a shooting in a church recently which was stopped by a guy who ran out to his truck, got his AR15, came back in and shot the killer. Did you have an article on that? I heard of one recently where the shooter was disarmed by men without guns, but then one of them was shot by the cops when they showed up. > [@Magiver](#): > > Well where I live we don’t have transporters so we have to walk to the buildings. So, you are backing away from your claim that people will drive cars through school walls? ---
**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 27, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/147 "2018-02-27T15:20:47Z")
He’s probably referring to the [church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_Springs_church_shooting). ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/148 "2018-02-27T16:00:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > He’s probably referring to the [church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_Springs_church_shooting). I don’t think so, in that case, the shooter had already left the building, and then was chased down the road by the guy with a gun. He is claiming that someone saw the shooting, left the building to go get his gun while people were being shot, then, after he was armed, he went back into the church and shot the killer. I hadn’t heard that story. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/149 "2018-02-27T17:01:01Z")
That must have been what happened at Bowling Green. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/150 "2018-02-27T21:04:13Z")
IMO if he was an armed officer assigned to the building and he didn’t try to engage an active shooter, what was the point of him even being armed? I feel sorry for the guy but that was pure cowardice/negligence, people were counting on him and he failed. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/151 "2018-02-28T01:29:21Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, you are backing away from your claim that people will drive cars through school walls? You just can’t be this dense. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/152 "2018-02-28T13:15:58Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > You just can’t be this dense. I second the invitation to the other thread, because I’d like to hear your explanation, too. To back you up, here’s a [story](http://news3lv.com/news/local/suspect-arrest-at-williams-elementary) of a woman, at an elementary school, who killed zero. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/153 "2018-02-28T17:12:52Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > You just can’t be this dense. So, I’ll take that as a no, you do think that cars crashing through walls is the weapon of choice. You must live in a constant state of terror. What was your comment about not having a teleporter have to do with anything then? ---
**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:** [June 16, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/154 "2018-06-16T17:45:12Z")
So Coward Cop is also [a Skeevy McPervpants](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-medina-sexual-harassment-20180614-story.html). ---
**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:** [June 16, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/155 "2018-06-16T18:23:16Z")
That article is about Andrew Medina, a security monitor at the school, while the OP is about Scot Peterson, a “resource officer” at the school. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/156 "2018-06-16T18:31:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So Coward Cop is also [a Skeevy McPervpants](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-medina-sexual-harassment-20180614-story.html). Get your facts (and people) straight. Medina was a coach at the school, not the resource officer, Scot Peterson. The WaPo had a pretty good article that gave Peterson’s narrative of events, and I find it pretty credible. I’ve always been skeptical that the situation confronting Peterson was a straightforward as people believe. I don’t think Peterson was overcome with fear that day; I think he was confused. Yes, he still effed up badly, but there’s a difference in botching a response because of confusion and botching it out of fear. Nobody knows how they’re going to respond in such extraordinary circumstances. > **[‘It was my job, and I didn’t find him’: Stoneman Douglas resource officer...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/it-was-my-job-and-i-didnt-find-him-stoneman-douglas-resource-officer-remains-haunted-by-massacre/2018/06/04/796f1c16-679d-11e8-9e38-24e693b38637_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f626c53b31d7)** > > Scot Peterson was one of the most decorated deputies in Parkland, Fla. — until a gunman opened fire at school and he stayed outside. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/157 "2019-06-04T22:50:41Z")
Update: [coward cop facing the music](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/us/parkland-scot-peterson.html). ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/158 "2019-06-05T03:42:13Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Update: [coward cop facing the music](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/us/parkland-scot-peterson.html). I have serious concerns about using the criminal law in this way. Is the standard that the officer must always go charging through the front door with no information and getting a bullet in the head? That helps nobody. This “for the children” stuff, IMHO, has gone too far when someone is facing years in prison for a split second decision that any of us might have made. I remain ready to be convinced otherwise, but this sets a very dangerous precedent. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/159 "2019-06-05T04:00:49Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I have serious concerns about using the criminal law in this way. Is the standard that the officer must always go charging through the front door with no information and getting a bullet in the head? That helps nobody. > > This “for the children” stuff, IMHO, has gone too far when someone is facing years in prison for a split second decision that any of us might have made. I remain ready to be convinced otherwise, but this sets a very dangerous precedent. It’s not exactly standard. After Columbine the feeling about tactics changed. For the most part it became “one may, two must.” Personally I wouldn’t wait for backup but it can be argued you can be more effective with two officers. But that’s tactics not the law. I don’t know the basis for the perjury charge but the others seem to be a big reach to me and seem to go against previous case law. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373/160 "2019-06-05T04:00:55Z")
I think the problem was that he repeated the decision for lots more seconds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheriff-officer-resigns-after-florida-shooting/809373.md?page=9)