More than eight years have passed since a gunman murdered 17 people and injured 17 more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Now families who lost loved ones that day are finally getting their day in court in their battle for “accountability” against the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Read more Lindsey Graham returns home one last time for his funeral in South Carolina
The families say BSO has been needlessly delaying the case. The lawsuit claims BSO’s failures surrounding the massacre were numerous, and not just limited to the notorious inaction of the school resource officer, former Deputy Scot Peterson.
“It was all the other eight deputies that showed up and never went in the building, so we just want our day in court, we want a trial, we want to show the jury everything that the Broward Sheriff’s Office failed to do that day,” said Max Schachter, whose son, Alex, was among those killed that day.
Schachter is among the families suing BSO for damages, but unlike the FBI and Broward County Public Schools, BSO has not settled litigation brought by Parkland victims. Now the appeals court has denied the agency’s latest motion and a trial date has been set for next March.
“They wanted to have immunity, they didn’t think they should be held responsible at all, and obviously, that goes against everything Sheriff Greg Tony has already said. He’s already come out publicly and said that they had blood on their hands, that they had made mistakes and already assumed culpability,” Schachter said.
Read more Florida’s new ‘Margaritaville’ license plate wins design award
Sheriff Tony was not the sheriff in 2018 when the tragedy occurred. Two years ago, at the dedication of the new BSO training facility, he made a promise to Parkland parents Manuel and Patricia Oliver.
“I’m looking you in your eye and telling you if there’s something I can do to move this and be done with it, you’ll have it,” Tony said. “And they’re very frustrated with the fact that closing this case out or the last chapter for them is tied up in a legal proceeding that as a sheriff I can’t control.”
“Exactly, he wasn’t the sheriff at the time; he already came out and said that they failed, so why delay, delay, delay? I don’t understand it, and it has exacerbated the pain that all of the families suffer with every day, and just give us our day in court, and now we finally have it,” Schachter said.
BSO had no comment about the appeals court ruling, but six months ago, the agency released a statement saying, “It is understandable that the families of the victims of this senseless tragedy are frustrated at the pace of the litigation. The grounds for the filed motions and appeals are well-founded in Florida law and are not for the purpose of delay. BSO’s filings streamline the issues raised by plaintiffs and had BSO waited to assert these defenses and immunities at trial, the delay would be compounded.”
Read more Telemundo 51 Miami, Marlins announce first-time partnership for Spanish-language game broadcasts