The former Broward County school resource officer who hid while 17 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students were shot to death in 2018 has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of neglect of a child, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced Tuesday.

I hope they throw the book at him.

I would be more inclined to feel pity for Scot Peterson, 56, were it not for the fact he maintains he did nothing wrong. It would be one thing if his inaction left him apologetic and broken with guilt, knowing that he did nothing to save the children he was tasked with protecting. In that event, I would say that his arrest was unnecessary, as it would only prolong the Parkland tragedy. But Peterson claims his cowardice is justifiable. He claims he did nothing wrong. He needs to be held accountable. We will see what the state has to say about it.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen, who claims Peterson did “absolutely nothing” to stop the Parkland massacre, said there “can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who had called on state law enforcement officials to investigate the failures of the Parkland shooting, said Tuesday that bringing charges against Peterson is the right move.

"Now it’s time for justice to be served. Had this individual done his job, lives would have been saved," the senator said. "Actions (or inaction) have consequences. We need more accountability, and that includes at the FBI, which has yet to show me a single example of how they’ve improved their processes following the failures in the lead-up to the Parkland shooting.”

What makes Peterson’s arrest unique is that it represents the rare example of a former law enforcement official being charged for something he did not do, as opposed to something he did, as Hot Air's Allahpundit notes. But I suppose there is a point where inaction becomes criminal neglect, which would explain the charges.

“Courts typically find that the police owe no specific duty of care to individual members of the public that might give rise to liability if they breach that duty. But Peterson may be an exception. He wasn’t just a cop, remember; he was the school resource officer assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. Prosecutors may be gambling that that role created a ‘caregiver’ duty for him towards the students that other officers didn’t share,” he notes.

He adds, “That would reassure patrolmen’s unions, if so, as it would mean Peterson’s case would set a relatively narrow precedent. The phrase ‘complete inaction’ used by the FDLE commissioner in the excerpt above might reassure them too. Maybe the ‘Peterson rule’ will be that inaction by police can’t lead to criminal charges unless that inaction is ‘complete.’”

Peterson’s arrest comes after Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel was suspended for disastrous leadership leading up to and following the Parkland shooting. So, kudos to Florida for taking the matter of accountability seriously.

Peterson’s bond has been set at $102,000.