Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5190

 

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch today released Broward County Sheriff's Office training and operation materials that specifically dictate that the first one or two officers on the scene of an active shooter incident "will immediately go to confront the shooter."

The Broward County Sheriff's Office's Standard Operating Procedure and lesson plans for an active shooter incident were obtained by Judicial Watch via a Florida Sunshine Act records request.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office confirmed that armed school resource officer Deputy Scot Peterson was first on the scene of the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, but he did not enter the school to confront shooter Nikolas Cruz.

Three other deputies also arrived on the scene but did not enter, the sheriff's office said. The Broward County materials direct that if four officers are on the scene of an active shooter incident they are to form a "Quad" formation and enter the building.

The lesson plan instructs officers to immediately confront a shooter:

 

History shows when a suspect is confronted by any armed individual (police, security, concealed carry person) they either shoot it out with that person or kill themselves. Either way, the shooting of innocent bystanders must stop. Now, the first officer or two officers on scene will immediately go to confront the shooter. Military tactics work well in this situation. The two man "bounding overwatch" is our response.

Records obtained by Judicial Watch also show that Sheriff Israel is the second highest paid of Florida's 67 sheriffs at $186,631 for Fiscal Year 2017/18. The sheriff was eligible for $2,000 in supplemental pay for completion of a 20-hour training course. In 2016, Israel received a warning letter that he had not successfully completed the course and his supplemental pay was being withheld.

"These Broward County Sheriff's Office documents obtained by Judicial Watch show that the law enforcement agency failed the victims of the Parkland shooting," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Lives were lost in Parkland because the Sheriff's Office personnel were either poorly trained or failed to follow training protocols."