Trial continues for former Parkland school resource deputy

PARKLAND, Fla. – The trial continued Tuesday for the former Parkland school resource deputy who is charged with failing to confront school shooter Nikolas Cruz as he killed six people and injured four others on the third floor of the 1200 Building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.

Scot Peterson, 60, is not charged in connection with those killed or injured on the first floor of the building as he did not reach the building until the gunman reached the third floor. No injuries or deaths occurred on the second floor.

On Tuesday, Kelvin Greenleaf -- a retired military service member who was a security specialist at MSD in 2018 -- testified.

He said he heard a call about suspicious sounds coming from the 1200 building.

“Who is standing to the right of you?” Assistant State Attorney and lead prosecutor Christopher Killoran asked.

“Deputy Peterson,” Greenleaf said.

Surveillance video shows Greenleaf and Peterson riding over to the building in a golf cart when they hear popping sounds.

“A gunshot,” Greenleaf said.

“Where did you hear it?” Killoran asked.

“In the building in front of me, 1200 Building,” Greenleaf responded.

“How did you know it was a gunshot?” Killoran asked.

“I am familiar with gunshots, but Deputy Peterson said ‘shots fired,’” Greenleaf said, adding that he believed the shots were coming from inside the building.

Greenleaf said his focus at the time was on getting staff members and students in the area away from the 1200 Building.

“I wanted those kids no where near the 1200 Building because I knew for certain those shots were coming from the 1200 Building,” he said.

Greenleaf said he heard a couple more gunshots from inside as he was standing outside the building.

“Once I heard the gunshots, I should have locked myself in,” he said.

“What did you do instead?” Killoran asked.

“Make sure those kids were safe,” he responded.

Killoran said he saw people running away from the 1200 Building after the gunshots were fired.

“During this whole time, what is Scot Peterson doing?” Killoran asked.

“Standing on the corner of the 700 building,” Greenleaf said.

“How did he appear to you?” Killoran asked.

“Different -- sweating and breathing hard,” he responded. “His facial expression didn’t look the same -- kind of blank, in a sense.”

“In your words, you said ‘I don’t think he knew what was going on,’” defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh stated.

“Correct,” Greenleaf said.

“Explain that,” Eiglarsh requested.

“When I looked at him, it was like a blank look on his face,” Greenleaf said. “I don’t think he could realize what was going on.”

During cross examination, the defense highlighted how Peterson called in a Code Red, however Elliot Thomas Bonner, a Vietnam veteran and school monitor told jurors Tuesday that he believes he was the one who called in the Code Red first.

“I said, ‘Those aren’t firecrackers, those are gunshots,’” Bonner said he stated into his school radio. “And then I said ‘Code Red.’”

“And as far as you know, you were the first to call in the Code Red?” Killoran asked.

“As far as I know,” Bonner replied.

WATCH WEDNESDAY’S 3:30PM REPORT:

Also testifying on Wednesday was Sunrise Police Lt. Craig Cardinale. He told jurors there was nothing, nothing the fear of being fired upon, not the stress of response, that could keep him from entering the 1200 building.

“I ran into another deputy by a tree and he also said ‘don’t go in’ and I said ‘F*** you,’ and kept running in,” he said.

Cardinale also told jurors that he saw Peterson pacing outside the building.

“I see someone pacing back and forth and saying, ‘oh my gosh, oh my gosh, we needed help,’” Cardinale testified. “I said ‘who are you?’ and he said ‘I’m the SRO. I said ‘what the f*** are you doing out there, you should be inside.’ He continues to say ‘oh my gosh, I can’t believe this’ and looking down.”

Assistant State Attorney Kristen Gomes asked Cardinale what would’ve happened if someone would have looked into the east side doors of the 1200 building.

“You could smell (gunpowder) and could see a couple bodies right there,” he said.

Cardinale was then asked if the smell of smoke, blood and bodies is considered real-time intelligence.

“Yes,” he replied.

Defense attorneys asked Cardinale during cross examination if he knew how close Peterson got to the doors.

“I wish he got close,” Cardinale replied.

Asked about staying out of the building due to the possibility of sniper fire, Cardinale said, “I don’t know about sniper fire, it was an active shooter.”

The defense’s position has been that Peterson didn’t know precisely where the shots were coming from or if there was more than one shooter and did the best he could with the information he had.

The judge said the state is expected to rest its case on Wednesday.

Peterson is charged with seven counts of felony child neglect for four underage students killed and three wounded on the third floor.

Peterson arrived at the building with his gun drawn 73 seconds before Cruz reached that floor, but instead of entering, he backed away as gunfire sounded. He has said he didn’t know where the shots were coming from.

Peterson is also charged with three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence for the adults shot on the third floor, including a teacher and an adult student who died. He also faces a perjury charge for allegedly lying to investigators.

Peterson could be sentenced to nearly a century in prison if convicted on the child neglect counts and lose his $104,000 annual pension.