A former sheriff’s deputy was found not guilty of failing to protect students when a gunman opened fire at a Florida high school in 2018.
Scott Peterson stayed outside during the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, near Miami.
Mr. Peterson, a school resource officer, was found not guilty of 11 charges, including criminal mischief, child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury.
The attack, among the deadliest at a US school, left 17 dead and 17 injured.
Peterson, 60, covered his head in his hands and began to sob as the sentences were read in Fort Lauderdale court.
After the verdict, Mr. Peterson told reporters that he would like to speak to the parents of the slain students.
“If they have to really find out the truth about what happened … I will be there for them,” he said.
But Tony Montalto, whose daughter Gina was one of the students killed, said he continued to blame Mr. Peterson for not trying to stop the shooting.
“His inaction added to the shock, the devastation of the students and teachers at this school,” Mr. Montalto told reporters. “We don’t understand how this jury looked at the evidence presented and found him not guilty.”
“All I can say to the jury members is, ‘I think your school should hire him to protect your kids,'” he said.
The jury heard evidence that when the attack took place on February 14, 2018, Mr Peterson, who was armed but not wearing a bulletproof vest, remained in an alcove next to the school building for 30 or 40 minutes until the shooting stopped .
An investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that he “did absolutely nothing to mitigate” the shooting. Critics, including then-President Donald Trump, called him a coward.
Mr. Peterson is believed to be the first American officer charged with failing to respond to a school shooting, according to the National Association of School Resource Officers. He could have been sentenced to up to 97 years in prison if convicted.
There is no law requiring a police officer to place himself in the line of fire or risk his life during a shooting, so prosecutors chose to charge him with felony child neglect. The case hinged on whether Mr Peterson had a legal duty to try to stop the killer.
But the defense focused on Mr Peterson’s long career, said he was confused about where the shots were coming from and argued he could not be considered a “caregiver” under a law normally used to prosecute parents or providers of daycares when children are injured while in their care.
In a statement, the Broward County State’s Attorney’s Office reiterated its contention that Mr. Peterson could have done more to save the victims.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, prosecutors in this case sought to hold an armed school resource officer accountable for failing to do his job,” the prosecutor’s office said.
“As parents, we expect armed school officials — who are contracted to look after our children — to do their job when we entrust our children to them and the schools they protect.”
But Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, said it was “ridiculous” to try to legally identify Mr. Peterson as the caregiver of hundreds of students.
Mr Jarvis said the case had the potential to set a precedent for whether law enforcement – or even civilian school staff – would face prosecution for failing to confront a gunman.
“The government’s case was always a long shot at best, and clearly the jury saw that Peterson was simply a scapegoat,” Mr. Jarvis said.
Mr. Peterson’s trial came after police officers in Uvalde, Texas, also faced criticism for failing to confront a killer.
A Texas Department of Public Safety report found that an Uvalde police officer could have stopped the attack on Robb Elementary School by shooting the shooter before he entered, but hesitated while waiting for permission from a superintendent.
More than an hour later, a team of US Border Patrol agents stormed the school, by which time the gunman had killed 19 children and two teachers and wounded 17 others.