Leaders must ensure that those they deploy are ready to do their duty. The scapegoating of Deputy Scot Peterson by Broward County prosecutors and Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel proves that hasn’t happened in Florida.
On Feb. 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. He then murdered 17 innocents before being arrested. But this week, Peterson, who had been assigned to the school, was charged with offenses in relation to his failure to intercept Cruz.
The deputy should answer on those charges. But criminal charges? And will he be the only one to face them?
Clearly, Peterson was the wrong officer for the job. The video of the shooting incident shows an obviously overweight officer waddling around the school in a state of apparent confusion and paralyzing fear. But considering his age, 54, at the time of the shooting and his obvious lack of physical fitness, Peterson should have been regarded unfit for the special duty of protecting Broward’s children.
Yes, then-Sheriff Scott Israel’s supervisors should have made him aware of Peterson’s unreadiness. But the sheriff is ultimately responsible for fostering an effective command environment. So far, the sheriff has been suspended by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, which is good, but it seems unjust to pile all the blame on the unfit public servant who was set up to fail.
As Jim Reese, former Delta Force Lieutenant Colonel and CEO of Tiger Swan risk management put it to me, “It’s easy to point the finger at the tactical level of dereliction of duty. But what about the strategic level of dereliction of duty? There is also a dereliction of duty if we don’t deploy the right officers for the critical task of protecting our children.” Reese observes that “it is a critical strategic leadership task to ensure that officers are assessed and selected to have the ability to be the one man or woman quick reaction force.”
He is right.
Peterson didn’t have the training or mental readiness to do what was necessary that awful day. Now, he’s a useful scapegoat. Referring to the deputy’s hesitation, Israel said that “There can be no excuse for [Peterson’s] complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives …”
But there is one excuse. Israel himself, and the Broward County board of commissioners, failed to train and supervise him properly.
