As the eighth anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre approaches, the anguish of the victims' families continues to be compounded by a legal battle they feel has dragged on far too long. Yesterday, parents gathered to express their dissatisfaction with the pace of litigation concerning the Broward Sheriff’s Office's (BSO) response to the tragedy that took the lives of 17 individuals and wounded 17 more on February 14, 2018. According to WSVN, Manuel Oliver, who lost his son Joaquin, stated, "I carry the legacy of my son with dignity. That pain makes me do other things."
Despite previous settlements reached by the Broward County School Board and the FBI, the families feel that BSO has not fully acknowledged its role in the incident. “They are choosing delay over accountability; they’re torturing the families,” Max Schachter, who lost his son Alex in the massacre, told NBC Miami. This sentiment was echoed by Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter Jaime, "We want them to have to accept liability and responsibility for what they did, every other failed entity has done that years ago already, they have been delaying this and delaying this and delaying this and candidly, as a bunch of families, we have finally reached our breaking point, we’ve had enough."
The families accuse BSO of utilizing a strategy of endless legal motions to stall the proceedings. The lawsuit alleges that BSO did not take sufficient preventive measures despite multiple warnings about the shooter and accuses deputies of responding negligently as the mass shooting unfolded. "It’s been eight years, I’m asking the county commission and BSO, have some mercy on us, let this trial proceed, quit playing games to delay the trial," implored Tom Hoyer, father of victim Luke, in an emotionally charged plea for closure, as noted by NBC Miami.
BSO's past responses appear to reflect some degree of accountability, with Sheriff Greg Tony admitting publicly that the agency is responsible, which Max Schachter cited as evidence of acknowledged culpability. Nevertheless, once out of the public eye, actions seem to diverge from these admissions. "Sheriff Greg Tony has publicly admitted that his agency is responsible, that they are guilty, and they have blood on their hands, but when the cameras are gone, their actions tell a different story. Behind the scenes, they refuse to accept responsibility," Schachter added, according to NBC Miami.
In response to the criticism, BSO released a statement stating that their legal strategy was not aimed at causing delay. "It is understandable that the families of the victims of this senseless tragedy are frustrated at the pace of the litigation. The grounds for the filed motions and appeals are well founded in Florida law, and are not for the purposes of delay. BSO’s filings streamline the issues raised by Plaintiffs and had BSO waited to assert these defenses and immunities at trial, the delay would be compounded," the statement read, as obtained by WSVN.
