The second deputy fired after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School should get his job back, an arbitrator has ruled.
A Broward County Sheriff's deputy who was fired for leaving Florida's Parkland school massacre should be reinstated with back pay, an arbitrator has ruled. Deputy Josh Stambaugh becomes the second deputy in recent months to get their job back after arbitration rulings over the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Stambaugh was reportedly fired last year for taking cover behind his vehicle and then driving away as Nikolas Cruz allegedly stalked the campus with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.
The sheriff's department called the ruling a bad decision, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Four months ago, arbitrators ruled Sgt. Brian Miller should be reinstated. Both decisions were based on technicalities.
The rulings could be costly to taxpayers. But men should receive back pay, lost wages for off-duty details as well as overtime they would have accrued, the arbitrators said.
"The arbitrator ruled on a procedural issue that BSO allegedly took too long to conduct the investigation, instead of addressing Joshua Stambaugh’s failures and holding him accountable for his lack of response during the massacre. The Broward Sheriff’s Office will explore all legal options to address this erroneous decision," the sheriff's department's attorney said.
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