Ditching Kids in Danger: An Epic Fail in Broward

THE ISSUE: Reports that Broward County deputies hid outside during the Florida school shooting.

When President Trump called Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson a coward, he was echoing Sheriff Scott Israel, who said the man had an absolute duty to enter the school and attack the shooter (“Sheriff sticks to his guns,” Feb. 26).

The deputy failed at what was likely the most critical moment in his law-enforcement career and will never have a chance to redeem himself.

Combat veterans can relate to this. Soldiers must be shot at a number of times before they can trust their reactions, if that ever happens.

Peterson may never know whether cowardliness is just part of his character. Nolan Nelson Eugene, Ore.

Sheriff Israel politicized the Parkland shooting to deflect from the failures of his department, but it didn’t work.

He is responsible for this tragedy and should resign immediately. Frank Asprea Brooklyn

Sheriff Israel has proven himself to be a strong, smart leader, with an impressive record of lowering violent crimes and burglaries.

He is a positive presence in Broward and beyond and is greatly appreciated and revered here.

The tragedy at Stoneman Douglas HS has torn us all apart, including Sheriff Israel.

Politicizing this massacre and finger-pointing misses the mark. Let’s follow the students’ lead and work together as a community to deal with assault-weapon availability and mental illness.

The students are rallying for change, and we should all stand with them. Sheriff Israel does. Jane Schafrann Deerfield Beach, Fla.

According to neighboring Coral Springs police, four Broward County sheriff ’s deputies were hiding when they arrived on the scene in Parkland. Only after they went in did the Broward deputies follow.

There must be a stunning lack of leadership at the Broward Sheriff ’s Office. Sheriff Israel was accused of corruption when he rewarded six relatives and top political supporters by giving them and their family members cushy jobs, one at nearly $90,000 a year. Daniel Nothstein Hazlet, NJ

Students tipped the FBI off to Nikolas Cruz’s disturbing behavior, and the FBI did nothing. Armed officers reportedly hid behind their cruisers while students inside the school were being murdered.

But for the media, the entire fault is with guns, owned by law-abiding citizens. William Duncan Hopatcong, NJ

I live in the UK, but I was so disgusted by the treatment of the armed guard who did not enter Douglas HS during the shooting.

Was he supposed to charge in with a handgun against a shooter with an AR-15 and commit suicide, or wait for reinforcements?

I wonder if Sheriff Israel or Trump, who called him a coward, would have charged in. I don’t think so.

Trump needs to apologize. That officer’s life has been ruined, but I think most people would have done the same in similar circumstances. William Brennan Liverpool, England

The Coral Springs police lived up to the motto “serve and protect” by running toward the Parkland massacre. The high school’s resource officer and apparently the three Broward County sheriff ’s deputies who reported;y hid are cowards.

Sheriff Israel was quick with his excuses. He pointed fingers at everyone but himself.

Examples need to be made of these officers to ensure that “to serve and protect” is not just another trite message painted on the side of a police car. Michael Velsmid Nantucket, Mass.

The complete failure of various law-enforcement agencies in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS shooting is disgraceful.

The only people who did their job that day and went beyond the call were the teaching staff. These true American heroes used their bodies to shield their beloved students.

The new slogan of the Florida law-enforcement agencies should be: “If you see something, say something, and we’ll do nothing.” William Kregler Woodside