Coral Springs Police Were Reportedly Upset Broward County Deputies Did Not Enter School
Many police officers were surprised to find that not only the armed school resource officer but 3 other Broward County sheriff’s deputies were outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the shooting crisis and hadn’t entered, sources tell CNN https://t.co/GkAm8yujCZ pic.twitter.com/GQ5yxAPwth
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) February 23, 2018
A new report today on the police response to the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School provides some more detail on the response from local law enforcement.
As CNN’s Jake Tapper reported on air this afternoon, “It was not just Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Peterson who did not go into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday during the shooting crisis and in the aftermath of the massacre that killed 17 students and teachers. Sources tell me that Coral Springs police officers who arrived on the scene were surprised to find three other Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies also outside the school. They had not entered the school.”
Some Coral Springs police were stunned and upset that the four original Broward County Sheriff’s deputies who were first on the scene did not appear to join them as they entered the school, Coral Springs sources tell CNN. It’s unclear whether the shooter was still in the building when they arrived.
What these Coral Springs officers observed — though not their feelings about it — will be released in a report, likely next week. Sources cautioned that tapes are currently being reviewed and official accounts could ultimately differ from recollections of officers on the scene.
The resentment among Coral Springs officials toward Broward County officials about what they perceived to be a dereliction of duty may have reached a boiling point at a vigil the night of February 15, where, in front of dozens of others, Coral Springs City Manager Mike Goodrum confronted Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. A source familiar with the conversation tells CNN that Goodrum was upset that the Broward deputies had remained outside the school while kids inside could have been bleeding out, among other reasons.
Earlier today Tapper shared an email from the Coral Springs Police Chief with some detail about why it was sent out:
Coral Springs Police Chief Anthony Pustizzi sent out this email to his staff on Feb 16 because, per source, some officers under his command were upset that Broward Sheriff’s Office wasn’t acknowledging that Coral Springs Police were first to charge into MSD High School: pic.twitter.com/G3DcbB3lwB
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 23, 2018
[image via screengrab]
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