'What if?'

Parkland Cop Branded a ‘Coward’ by Trump Speaks Out: ‘It’s Haunting’

“I lost 17,” says school officer Scot Peterson.

Scot Peterson, the school resource officer who failed to enter the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, during the deadly shooting in February that killed 17 people, has spoken out about how he’s “haunted” by his inaction. Speaking to The Washington Post, the man who was branded a “coward” by Donald Trump in the wake of the shooting said he's plagued by thoughts about what he could have done differently during the massacre. “It’s haunting,” said Peterson. “I’ve cut that day up a thousand ways with a million different what-if scenarios, but the bottom line is I was there to protect, and I lost 17.” However, the deputy believes he’s been treated unfairly by the press, which has accused him of failing to do anything during the shooting. “How can they keep saying I did nothing?” he said. “I’m getting on the radio to call in the shooting. I’m locking down the school. I’m clearing kids out of the courtyard. They have the video and the call logs.” But he admits he’s haunted by his failure to enter the building, saying: “I just didn’t know. Why didn’t I know to go in?”