Two More Deputies Fired For Not Confronting Parkland, Fla., School Shooter
Updated at 4:49 p.m. ET
The sheriff in Broward County, Fla., announced the firing of two more deputies Wednesday because of their actions during last year’s school shooting in Parkland. An investigation found that neither deputy tried to locate and confront the shooter. Seventeen students and faculty of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were killed.
Shortly after Sheriff Gregory Tony announced the firings, his office released a report on an Internal Affairs investigation into the law enforcement response to the shooting on Feb. 14, 2018. The report details the actions by the two sheriff’s deputies that led to their terminations.
When Broward County deputy Josh Stambaugh arrived at the school, he heard gunshots, put on a bulletproof vest and took cover behind his patrol car. After five minutes, he got in his vehicle and drove to a highway overlooking the school, taking him away from the police response.
Deputy Edward Eason also heard gunshots when he arrived. Instead of going toward them, he went in the other direction, to a nearby middle school where he remained.
Tony says of the two men’s actions, “In essence, it was a neglect of duty.”
Two other deputies, school resource officer Scot Peterson and Sgt. Brian Miller, were previously fired for their roles in the botched response to the shooting.
Peterson was charged this year with 11 criminal counts, including child neglect, culpable negligence and perjury.
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