Gov seeks answers on failure to confront killer, rips armed-teacher idea
FLORIDA’S TOP law enforcement agency is investigating how authorities responded to the deadly school shooting, the state’s governor said Sunday, as he also spoke out against President Trump’s widely criticized plan to arm teachers.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement amid scrutiny of the Broward County sheriff’s office after a deputy assigned to the Parkland school didn’t rush in as accused shooter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people with an AR-15.
“There must be an independent investigation and that is why I asked the FDLE commissioner to immediately start this Scott said in a statement.
The sheriff’s deputy, Scot Peterson, resigned last week after it was revealed he stood outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with his gun drawn instead of entering the building as the carnage unfolded.
Reports also emerged, citing Coral Springs police sources, that local cops discovered three additional deputies outside while Cruz, 19, unleashed horror.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel (photo inset) said his office is investigating the reports, but only one deputy was on the campus during the Valentine’s Day killing spree.
Israel said his office will “fully cooperate with FDLE, as we believe process,” in full transparency and accountability. This independent, outside review will ensure public confidence in the findings.”
State Rep. Bill Hager has asked the governor to use special rules that allow him to remove Israel from his elected office. Israel, however, insisted earlier Sunday that he’s not going anywhere.
“Of course I won’t resign,” the second-term sheriff said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The sheriff has also fought off criticism that his office didn’t look into a call that Cruz could possibly shoot up a school. The officer who took that call has been placed on modified duty while authorities figure out what happened. Meanwhile, the governor said on “Fox News Sunday” that he opposes the idea of giving teachers guns, which Trump has been pushing since the massacre. “I disagree with him,” he said. “I believe you’ve got to focus on people that are welltrained law enforcement that are trained to do this.” Scott has put out his own safety package, which proposes $450 million for school security, including posting law enforcement officers at every school. Trump says shooters would be deterred if they knew some qualified teachers were packing, but his proposal has sparked a backlash from teachers, students, education officials and the law enforcement community.
“I want our teachers to teach. And I want our law enforcement officers to be able to protect the students,” Scott said.
The Florida governor has also proposed raising the legal age to buy any gun to 21 and banning the sale of bump stocks, which allow guns to fire as if they were automatic. Additionally, his plan includes a “red flag law” that would allow families or authorities to go to court to get guns taken away from someone they think is a threat.
But Scott doesn’t support a ban on assault rifles. “I think what you have to do is ban specific people from having weapons,” he said.