FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy Scot Peterson, who has been charged with child neglect, among other charges associated to his response during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, has posted bond and left the Broward County Jail.
As he walked out of jail, Thursday, at around 3 p.m., he didn’t answer questions from reporters as he walked down the stairs into a waiting car.
Peterson appeared before a judge earlier in the day and had his original $102,000 bond reduced to $39,000.
His case was reassigned to Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who is also presiding over the case of confessed Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter Nikolas Cruz.
Peterson was charged with 11 counts, including seven felony offenses, three misdemeanor offenses and one count of perjury.
Charges also include child neglect and culpable negligence.
Prosecutors said Peterson falls under the category of a “caretaker.”
Attorney Joseph DiRuzzo, who represents Peterson, said the charges are a stretch.
“They’re over-reaching that these definitions don’t apply to my client, and they have no case,” he said.
He is accused of failing to investigate the source of gunshots, fleeing approximately 75 feet from the building and remaining there.
Peterson claims he thought at the time the gunfire was firecrackers.
According to DiRuzzo, his arrest came as a surprise to the disgraced former deputy who was in town for a hearing.
“Unbeknownst to us, as soon as the hearing we had was completed, they proceeded to take him into custody instead of allowing him the courtesy to self surrender and not have to be booked into jail,” DiRuzzo said.
Peterson is said to receive around $9,000 per month because of his retirement pension.
He was granted access to return to his home in North Carolina to get his passport without a GPS monitor. The monitor was an original condition in his arrest.
However, Peterson is not allowed to own a firearm while he is out on bond and is not allowed to be employed around minors.
He was ordered to turn in his passport within 48 hours of the court hearing. Once his passport is turned in to the Broward Clerk of Courts, he will be granted access to head home.
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