Orlando Sentinel by Dan Sweeney
March 12, 2018
Late Monday, a Broward circuit judge ordered the Broward Sheriff’s Office to turn over security camera footage from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The judge decided that the public’s right to know about law enforcement response to the shooting — the video ostensibly shows school resource officer Scot Peterson not going into the building — outweighs any damage release of the video could do to the case against Nikolas Cruz.
And, sure, maybe, in this case, that’s pretty cut and dry. But why is the Sun Sentinel getting the video now? Because lawyers for the Sun Sentinel and other media organizations took the argument to the court. (To be clear, we’re seeking video from outside the building, not what transpired inside.)
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel’s thoughts on the video have been a little inconsistent. When he announced Peterson had resigned after being suspended, Israel said, “We’re not going to disclose the video at this time, and we may never disclose the video depending on the prosecution and the criminal case.”
Then, after the lawsuit was filed, BSO attorney David Ferguson said that Israel would love to release the video “But he is duty bound to argue against their release because they are exempt.” [READ MORE]