The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting — on Valentine’s Day, 2018 — prompted what seemed to me a shameful use as pawns of naive high school students by media and political figures. Caught in the hoopla of a legislative chess game, I believe the tragedy itself got largely lost in the shuffle.
But surely not to those who experienced it.
Such was apparently true for Parkland, Florida teen Kyle Kashuv, who tweeted a video Tuesday of his confrontation of Deputy Scot Peterson. Survivor Kyle didn’t much appreciate, clearly, the then-33-year-old “Broward Coward’s” decision to dash his duties and remain outside the school while innocent people were being murdered (see much more about the mindset of the shooter here).
I am, of course, unable to place myself in Scot’s shoes, but — if I may add something personal — I was just recently one of several victims in an armed robbery. And to think back upon it, it’s difficult to imagine — had the ordeal gone much, much worse for all of us — the police remaining outside as we were gunned down.
Though Scot has publicly apologized for his inaction, he remained silent when pressed by Kyle:
“Can you explain to me why you let 17 people die at school? … That was your job. … Why did you let those kids die? It’s disgusting. It’s despicable. And I hope that lives with you for the rest of your life.”
Despite his expressed regret following the massacre, Scot has also asserted he had no legal obligation to intervene. A judge disagreed.
In fact, a member of the Florida House of Representatives has proposed a bill that would eliminate the former deputy’s $8,771 monthly pension.
Naturally, in the aftermath of Parkland, not everyone focused their blame on Scot — theories were floated about by everyone from The Guardian, to Hollywood, to Oliver North. Judge their veracity for yourself.
As for Kyle Kashuv, he’ll judge an officer who was, in his view, derelict of duty to a deadly degree.
“You had a chance to save those kids. You were the one with the job who was supposed to do it, and you didn’t,” Kyle insisted. “I don’t know how you live with yourself every day, man. … Fourteen of my classmates, never coming back. Because you didn’t act.”
Watch the tweeted clip below, as well as the video revealing more about Kyle’s experience.
-Alex
Relevant RedState links in this article: here, here, here, and here.
See 3 more pieces from me: Tom Selleck, Chelsea Clinton, and the racism of you.
Find all my RedState work here.
And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below. For iPhone instructions, see the bottom of this page.
Deputy Scot Peterson hid outside while 17 of my classmates and teachers were massacred at Stoneman Douglas.
Today I confronted him, face to face, for his crimes.
Watch this coward for yourself. pic.twitter.com/d5WQuohXfL
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) February 27, 2019
If you have an iPhone and want to comment, select the box with the upward arrow at the bottom of your screen; swipe left and choose “Request Desktop Site.” If it fails to automatically refresh, manually reload the page. Scroll down to the red horizontal bar that says “Show Comments.”
The post WATCH: Parkland Survivor Confronts ‘Broward Coward’ Deputy – ‘You Let 17 People Die … Despicable.’ appeared first on RedState.
