FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Former Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scot Peterson, who was acquitted of all charges for failing to act during the deadly Parkland school shooting, appeared in court Wednesday as he sought for a judge to order BSO to pay for his legal fees acquired during his criminal case.
According to Peterson, he filed an application within 30 days, as required by Florida law, to have BSO pay those fees.
Peterson said an attorney who was not hired by him, but who knew his criminal attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, engaged in back and forth conversations with BSO to negotiate the payment, but BSO ultimately refused to pay up, claiming they did not have to because he had violated BSO policy, despite his acquittal.
Peterson requested an evidentiary hearing to be set, saying he could prove that he did not violate any policies.
“BSO should pay my fees,” he said. “On February 14th, 2018, during that horrific shooting, I did absolutely nothing wrong. Everything I did was based on my real time intelligence during that shooting. I did not violate a single policy of the Broward Sheriffs Office. An attorney for BSO, meanwhile, told Circuit Judge Martin Fein that while the application was received within 30 days, he never received an itemized invoice for the legal fees, which is also required during that timeframe. He also maintained that Peterson was subject to a disciplinary hearing that would have resulted in his termination, although the former deputy resigned before he could be fired.
Peterson was acquitted June 29, 2023, of felony child neglect and other charges.
Peterson had been charged with failing to confront shooter Nikolas Cruz during his six-minute attack on Feb. 14, 2018, inside the three-story 1200 building that left 17 dead.
His charges were in connection to the six killed and four wounded on the third floor, who were shot more than a minute after he approached the building. Prosecutors did not charge Peterson in connection with the 11 killed and 13 wounded on the first floor before he arrived. No one was shot on the second floor.
Eiglarsh, Peterson’s attorney during his criminal trial, told Local 10 News that his client is representing himself in this latest case.
Fein ultimately told Peterson that he would have to pursue the matter in civil court.