The Broward County Sheriff Department announced on Mar. 20 that they’re suspending a deputy sheriff for sleeping while on duty that day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The deputy, identified as Dep. Moises Carotti, was found to be sleeping in his patrol car on Mar. 20 just after 5 pm local time by a student, who alerted another deputy; Carotti was subsequently replaced with another officer. He was assigned to cover the building that the gunman had entered on Feb. 14.
While Carotti was sleeping, the Feb. 14 gunman’s brother was arrested for trespassing. Three Majory Stoneman Douglas students were also arrested on Mar. 20, two for bringing knivies and another for issuing a threat on social media.
Carotti will receive pay during his suspension and will be investigated by the department for his conduct.
The Carotti announcement is the latest black eye on Broward County Sheriff Department. Recently released video and audio evidence showed that disgraced former Deputy Scot Peterson was well aware on Feb. 14 that there was shooting ongoing inside a school building, yet he simply stayed outside and told other officers to stand down. In doing so, Peterson clearly violated the department’s procedures.
The department as a whole also visited the gunman 45 times prior to the shooting but did nothing, which is looking like it was due to an Obama administration policy.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is the second highest paid sheriff in Florida, as Israel is making $186,631 in the 2017/18 fiscal year.
