What Did Deputies Do During Parkland Shooting? Officials Fight To Keep Footage Secret

[appalachiablue]

Source: Miami Herald

MIAMI - The public should not see security camera footage that may shed light on what law enforcement officers did during the deadly Parkland school shooting, attorneys for the Broward County School Board and Broward State Attorney's Office argued in state court Tuesday.

Releasing the footage could jeopardize the "integrity" of the video surveillance system at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, putting students at risk, a school board attorney told a three-judge panel at the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach. A lawyer representing the Broward state attorney said the footage constituted "criminal investigative information" that should not be disclosed under Florida's broad public records law.

Some Broward Sheriff's Office deputies are said to have taken cover during the Feb. 14 attack by former student Nikolas Cruz that killed 17 people. The exterior camera footage - sought by nearly a dozen media outlets, including The Miami Herald - may show what actions deputies took during and shortly after a six-minute shooting spree that left students and staff bleeding to death from grievous wounds.

"The footage is the only objective evidence of what occurred and when," said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, which joined the media in suing for the footage. "The whole purpose of our open government laws is oversight and accountability. Access to the video footage allows us to hold those accountable who may not have done their jobs."...more..

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-did-deputies-do-during-parkland-shooting-officials-fight-to-keep-footage-secret/ar-AAzTYzJ

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...But Dana Elroy, an attorney representing the media, said the public's right to know how law enforcement responded - and to potentially prevent future tragedies - outweighed those concerns. She also pointed out that Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie said earlier this spring that the school district planned to "upgrade" cameras and surveillance by June 2018, meaning a new system should be in place that would render potential vulnerabilities in the old system irrelevant..."News delayed is news denied," McElroy told the court.



- Students evacuated during shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14, 2018.

[ansible]

1. Must've been particularly damning when their chief even threw the cop under the bus for it

[appalachiablue]

2. Definitely something, but if ever publically known is ?

An awful tragedy like all the others..it has to end.

[MarcA]

3. If they did nothing wrong they have nothing to hide

Just like the citizens and little people are told all the time.
On the other hand, don't want to show if they screwed up.

[brush]

4. The problem is they "did nothing". They took cover and that's it...

which is why they don't want to release the video.

[marble falls]

5. They were "sheltering in place."

[FakeNoose]

6. It's probably evidence for the trial

I'm not sure they would release this video if they know it will be needed for the trial.
Yes the public does have a right to see it and it should be released eventually.
But it's not a good move to release it before the jury has been selected, I wouldn't think.

[appalachiablue]

7. Point made in the article too; I read somewhere the trial could take 1-2 yrs.

A lot can happen in that time. There could be other reasons beyond ones in the article for holding back the tape, dunno.

"One Coral Springs officer said he saw a BSO deputy sheltering behind a tree even though the deputy said he believed the shooter was on the building's third floor, according to an incident report filed after the massacre. Another officer said he saw BSO deputies "taking positions" behind their cars when the shooter was still at large and students inside the building were begging 911 operators for help."