Broward County Sheriff Sidesteps Question When Asked If His Deputies at the Scene of the Florida Shooting Were Told to “Stand Down”
It was reported this week that not only did school resource officer Scot Peterson not enter the school when he knew the shooting was happening, but three other sheriff’s deputies also waited behind their vehicles while the shooter killed 17 people inside the school.
Tapper first asked Israel if it was “policy” for the Broward County Sheriff’s department to “set up a perimeter” before going into the school to stop the shooter. Israel had said in an interview after the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting that he learned it was important for officers to set up a “staging area” before entering the premises, but he denied that such strategy applied to the Parkland school shooting.
“An active shooter is completely different,” he asserted. “This is an active shooter, we push to the entry, to the killer, we get in and we take out the threat.”
However, Israel dodged when asked if the deputies may have received a “stand down” order that prevented them from entering the school.