Parkland Commission Recommends Allowing Teachers To Carry Guns
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Following a series of emotional hearings that began in April, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a 446-page report on the horrific school shooting that concluded former Broward Deputy Scot Peterson was "derelict in his duty" by not confronting the Parkland shooter and recommended a controversial proposal to allow teachers who volunteer and undergo special training to carry guns into the classroom.
The Valentine's Day shooting has reshaped education in America and placed a heightened focus on school safety as the memories of the 17 slain Stoneman Douglas Students and faculty members continue to haunt school administrators, law enforcement agencies and elected officials across the nation.
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"There's a great need for more accountability," declared Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chairs the commission, at a Wednesday news conference. "There is not enough of a sense of urgency. There is not enough of a sense of needing to move the needle and get this done and accountability when you have people who are bringing information forward."
He said some children in the Florida school died because they couldn't squeeze into safe areas of their classrooms. Teachers had been permitted to arrange their furniture in a manner which they felt was most conducive to a learning environment.
"There are kids who died at Stoneman Douglas High School ... because they couldn't get into the hard corner — or the safe area — of their classroom," the sheriff asserted. "It's important that we teach our kids, but you can't teach dead kids."
Parent Max Schacter, who was one of two fathers of slain students who served on the committee, told Local 10 News in Miami that he supported the overall findings.
"I think that this report is a very, very good product," Schacter said. "There are some issues that I still want to go into more detail."
The sheriff also said two students had reported "troubling, concerning behavior" by the accused gunman. "They brought it to Jeff Morford, who is one of the assistant principals down there. Morford denies that these kids brought it to him. I don't think Morford is telling the truth," insisted the sheriff. "I think that there's enough evidence to establish that. Morford says it didn't happen."
Gualtieri said the school should have had a policy in place to require administrators to document "serious allegations of animal killings and other behavior" that raise red flags.
"You don't end up in a situation when you got two kids and a mother who says they brought information forward that was ignored, and he does the 'oh not me,'" explained the sheriff.
The massive report was ordered by outgoing Florida Gov. Rick Scott and begins with a personal story and photograph of each of the victims who were taken in the six-minute massacre by an emotionally troubled gunman armed with a legally obtained AR-15 rifle.
The gunman arrived on the sprawling South Florida campus in an Uber and walked into the school unchallenged through an unlocked door. He was never confronted by law enforcement during the entire rampage though Peterson remained outside for much of the time in full uniform and carrying his firearm.
The comprehensive report was sent to Scott, incoming governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature. It details what members believe happened before, during and after the shooting attack that also left another 17 wounded.
The report is critical of the Broward County sheriff’s deputies who failed to confront the shooter and of Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, whose office did not at the time have a policy requiring them to rush the three-story freshman building where the shooting happened. Israel’s critics hope the report will result in DeSantis suspending Israel shortly after the new governor takes office Tuesday.
Israel has said that he has done nothing to warrant removal. Last week he made public new guidance that requires Broward Sheriff's deputies to "eliminate the threat" before all else when they arrive at the scene of an active shooter.
The report details failures in the county school district’s security program that members believe allowed a former student known to have serious emotional and behavioral problems, to enter campus while carrying the assault rifle in a bag.
Even since the shooting, not all Florida school districts and campuses have been taking security seriously, the report says, noting that several districts have been slow to complete mandated reviews of their safety plans and procedures.
“Safety and security accountability is lacking in schools, and that accountability is paramount for effective change if we expect a different result in the future than what occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas,” the report says.
Among the panel’s chief findings and recommendations:
State law should be changed to allow teachers who pass an intense training program and background check to carry concealed weapons on campus. Chairman Gualtieri argued last month for the change, saying teachers are often the ones who have the best chance to stop a school shooting quickly. Under a law passed after the shooting, districts can elect to arm non-classroom employees such as principals, other administrators, custodians and librarians who undergo training. The only teachers allowed to arm themselves are current or former police officers, active military members or Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructors. Thirteen of the state’s 67 districts arm non-teaching employees, mostly in rural parts of the state. The state teachers union and PTA oppose the proposal to arm teachers. They argue that adding more armed people will make campuses more dangerous and say teachers should not also be acting as armed guards.
Peterson, the long-time school resource officer assigned to Stoneman Douglas, “was derelict in his duty” by not entering the freshman building and confronting Cruz. Video shows Peterson drawing his gun and taking cover outside the building. He retired shortly after the shooting and has denied wrongdoing. The report also criticizes other deputies who failed to enter the building during the shooting, but praises officers from the Coral Springs Police Department who quickly ran inside.
The report says Israel is partly to blame by eliminating a requirement that his deputies confront active shooters, in direct contrast with current law enforcement practices. Israel told the commission he did not want his deputies engaging in suicide missions. He has since changed announced the policy change to require deputies to confront shooters.
Neither Stoneman Douglas nor the Broward School District had clear procedures for locking down classrooms during a shooting, which led to a three-minute delay in classrooms being shut and “left students and staff vulnerable to being shot.”
The commission includes law enforcement, education and mental health professionals from around the state, a legislator and the fathers of two slain students.
Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter, Alyssa, was among those killed in the tragedy said previously that she was pleased by Israel's policy change though it won't help her family.
"I'm happy to see now that they are trying to do something about it, but it's a little too late," said Alhadeff, who recently won a seat on the Broward School Board. "My daughter is dead because of it."
The accused gunman has pleaded not guilty to the shooting, but his lawyers say he would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Image courtesy Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission
