FGCU softball players ready for NCAA Tournament debutExpert weighs in on ‘justified’ police shooting of Christopher Jordan
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball players ready for NCAA Tournament debut FGCU softball players are ready to play in their first NCAA Tournament game against No. 4 Florida.
FORT MYERS Expert weighs in on ‘justified’ police shooting of Christopher Jordan We spoke with Dr. David Thomas – a forensic studies professor from FGCU and a former officer – who supports the idea of officer-involved shooting investigations going to a grand jury.
West Palm Beach 360-degree storm documentation: A closer look at Hurricane Ian’s aftermath At the Governor’s Conference exhibit hall, Dylan Faraone, Regional Director of Mosaic, showcased his work using a 360-degree camera mounted on his car to document the aftermath of major storms, including Hurricane Ian’s impact on southwest Florida.
GAINESVILLE FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville for NCAA Tournament FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville, where she fell in love with the sport again playing for Santa Fe College.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
CAPE CORAL Suspect in custody after a North Fort Myers family loses everything in a fire Their investigation led them to the area of Hancock Bridge Parkway in Cape Coral. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a suspect from the Bogart Drive incident is in custody.
FORT MYERS Deadly motorcycle crash shuts down roads on Fowler and Winkler Ave. Fort Myers Police Department has confirmed that a motorcyclist has died in a crash on Fowler and Winkler Avenue on Thursday.
Sarasota How well does a diverging diamond really work? The Sarasota diverging diamond is located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. It was put in to alleviate heavy traffic.
FORT MYERS RSW experiencing terminal expansion delay Lee County commissioners gave us an update on the RSW terminal expansion project, which is long overdue. Now we know why.
IMMOKALEE National Weather Service surveys storm damage in Immokalee The National Weather Service in Miami concluded after a survey the damage wasn’t from a tornado. It was from a downburst of straight-line wind between 60 – 70 mph.
SANIBEL Sanibel considering e-bike changes Biking is almost as common as driving on Sanibel, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee wants to keep that trend going.
CAPE CORAL Family of victim sues Lee County School District, claiming it failed to protect student Family sued Lee County School District for failing to keep their student safe.
CAPE CORAL Former Cape Coral teacher who sent inappropriate pictures to student reaches plea deal Reynolds’ plea agreement includes 12 years in prison followed by an additional 96 months of probation.
BONITA SPRINGS 12 vehicle crash shuts down all lanes of I-75 near MM 116 Bonita Springs firefighters are working the scene. Tow trucks are helping to get the affected vehicles off the road.
IMMOKALEE Strong storms cause wind damage in Immokalee, power outages reported Powerful storms leading to flood advisories and severe thunderstorm warnings have been impacting Southwest Florida for most of Thursday.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball players ready for NCAA Tournament debut FGCU softball players are ready to play in their first NCAA Tournament game against No. 4 Florida.
FORT MYERS Expert weighs in on ‘justified’ police shooting of Christopher Jordan We spoke with Dr. David Thomas – a forensic studies professor from FGCU and a former officer – who supports the idea of officer-involved shooting investigations going to a grand jury.
West Palm Beach 360-degree storm documentation: A closer look at Hurricane Ian’s aftermath At the Governor’s Conference exhibit hall, Dylan Faraone, Regional Director of Mosaic, showcased his work using a 360-degree camera mounted on his car to document the aftermath of major storms, including Hurricane Ian’s impact on southwest Florida.
GAINESVILLE FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville for NCAA Tournament FGCU catcher Neely Peterson returns to Gainesville, where she fell in love with the sport again playing for Santa Fe College.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
CAPE CORAL Suspect in custody after a North Fort Myers family loses everything in a fire Their investigation led them to the area of Hancock Bridge Parkway in Cape Coral. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a suspect from the Bogart Drive incident is in custody.
FORT MYERS Deadly motorcycle crash shuts down roads on Fowler and Winkler Ave. Fort Myers Police Department has confirmed that a motorcyclist has died in a crash on Fowler and Winkler Avenue on Thursday.
Sarasota How well does a diverging diamond really work? The Sarasota diverging diamond is located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway. It was put in to alleviate heavy traffic.
FORT MYERS RSW experiencing terminal expansion delay Lee County commissioners gave us an update on the RSW terminal expansion project, which is long overdue. Now we know why.
IMMOKALEE National Weather Service surveys storm damage in Immokalee The National Weather Service in Miami concluded after a survey the damage wasn’t from a tornado. It was from a downburst of straight-line wind between 60 – 70 mph.
SANIBEL Sanibel considering e-bike changes Biking is almost as common as driving on Sanibel, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee wants to keep that trend going.
CAPE CORAL Family of victim sues Lee County School District, claiming it failed to protect student Family sued Lee County School District for failing to keep their student safe.
CAPE CORAL Former Cape Coral teacher who sent inappropriate pictures to student reaches plea deal Reynolds’ plea agreement includes 12 years in prison followed by an additional 96 months of probation.
BONITA SPRINGS 12 vehicle crash shuts down all lanes of I-75 near MM 116 Bonita Springs firefighters are working the scene. Tow trucks are helping to get the affected vehicles off the road.
IMMOKALEE Strong storms cause wind damage in Immokalee, power outages reported Powerful storms leading to flood advisories and severe thunderstorm warnings have been impacting Southwest Florida for most of Thursday.
Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School School Resource Officer Scot Peterson looks in the direction of prosecutors during his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Broward County prosecutors charged Peterson, a former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy, with criminal charges for failing to enter the 1200 Building at the school and confront the shooter as he perpetuated the Valentine’s Day 2018 Massacre that left 17 dead and 17 injured. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool) A former Florida sheriff’s deputy didn’t follow his extensive training on how to stop an active shooter when he didn’t confront the killer who murdered 17 people at a Parkland high school, a former training commander testified Thursday. Former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson had undergone training both in a video simulator and with live actors several times before the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward County Lt. Col. Sam Samaroo testified. He said Peterson was taught that even if he was alone, he would need to confront the shooter without waiting for backup. Samaroo worked at the agency’s training unit from 2013 to 2018 and was ultimately made its commander. He said deputies are taught that active shooters, if confronted, will kill or barricade themselves, surrender, or engage authorities in a gunfight, giving civilians time to flee or take shelter. That’s why deputies must go toward the gunshots immediately and “force an outcome,” he said. “The more time the shooter has, the more victims he can kill,” Samaroo added. “Our goal is to stop the killing by any possible means. Time is our enemy.” Peterson, the school’s on-campus deputy, insists he did not know where the shots were coming from because of echoes, which is why he didn’t enter the three-story classroom building where former student Nikolas Cruz carried out his six-minute attack. Peterson, after approaching the building’s doors about a minute after the shooting began, backed away and took cover next to a neighboring building. He stayed in place for 40 minutes, long after the shooting stopped. Samaroo said not knowing the shooter’s precise location was no excuse for Peterson to remain stationary; he said the deputy would have picked up clues to the shooter’s location if he had moved. “You go into hunting mode,” Samaroo said. “The smell (of gunpowder). You will see (bullet) casings, trails of blood. You might see people fleeing in a particular direction. Those are all things that play into our senses.” Under cross-examination by Peterson’s attorney, Samaroo conceded that in training scenarios, the deputies know in which building the fake shooter is located and they are never confronted with multiple possibilities or any outside echoes. He also agreed that the sheriff’s office’s written policy in 2018 said deputies “may” enter a building during an active shooting. That policy has since been changed to “shall.” What Peterson, 60, heard and saw during the shooting is the key issue in the trial. He is charged with child neglect for failing to confront Cruz before the gunman reached the classroom building’s third floor, where six of the victims died. Peterson is not charged in connection with the deaths of 11 people killed on the first floor before he reached the building. If Peterson is convicted of the most serious charge of felony child neglect, he could be sentenced to nearly 100 years in prison and lose his $104,000 annual pension. He had spent nearly three decades working at schools, including nine years at Stoneman Douglas. He retired shortly after the shooting and was then fired retroactively. Prosecutors have spent the trial’s first week calling to the witness stand students, teachers and law enforcement officers who have testified about the horror they experienced and how they knew where Cruz was. Testifying Thursday for the defense, Deputy Michael Kratz said when he arrived at the school about two minutes after the gunfire began, he thought the shots were coming from the football field next to where he had parked — about 100 yards from the actual building. He grabbed his rifle and took cover behind his car, scanning for the shooter as the shots kept coming. “It was loud. It sounded like 30 or 40 feet (10 to 12 meters) away,” Kratz said. He added that he couldn’t see the shooter but thought the shooter could see him. One of Peterson’s defenses is that the sheriff’s radio system crashed during the shooting because it was overloaded, limiting his knowledge of what arriving deputies saw. Retired Lt. Michael DeVita, who then oversaw the Parkland district, testified that he wrote several memos before the shooting complaining about radio coverage near the school, but the problem was never fixed. For Peterson to be convicted of child neglect, prosecutors must first show he was legally a caregiver to the juvenile students, defined by Florida law as “a parent, adult household member or other person responsible for a child’s welfare.” If jurors find Peterson was a caregiver, they must determine whether he made a “reasonable effort” to protect the children or failed to provide necessary care. Peterson is the first U.S. law enforcement officer ever charged for an alleged failure to act during a school shooting. Similarly, Texas authorities are investigating officers in the town of Uvalde who didn’t confront the shooter who killed 19 elementary students and two teachers last year. None have been charged, however. Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty and last year received a life sentence, avoiding a death sentence when his jury could not unanimously agree he deserved execution.