Father Of Parkland School Shooting Victim Resigns From Massacre Commission
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SUNRISE (CBSMiami) – Juvenile offenders and how they're treated was the big topic of discussion at the Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission's second meeting held at the BB&T Center in Sunrise on Thursday.
The Commission was set up by the state to examine what went wrong in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High that claimed 17 lives on February 14th.
The commission is short one member.
Andrew Pollack who lost his daughter Meadow in the massacre has resigned from the commission.
In his resignation letter, he says he wants to concentrate on getting school board members elected who will focus on school safety.
And he wants to get to the bottom on who was responsible for the tragedy.
"I have my own investigation and lawsuit and I didn't want a conflict with the commission," he says.
Pollack and other parents have problems with Broward's school diversionary programs especially the 'Promise' program which allows kids to avoid criminal prosecution and stay in school.
Nikolas Cruz, the confessed Parkland shooter, was directed to Promise in middle school but never took part.
"Diversion programs are a good thing, not a bad thing. They need to be used properly, " said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who is leading the commission.
But April Schentrup, a Broward school principal and mother to Carmen, who was killed at Stoneman Douglas, wonders if the program worked as it should have with Cruz.
"The way it is set up, if you do not attend you are supposed to be given a citation. That was a failure in the system," she said.
Parents say there were other failures too.
The unarmed school security officer Andrew Medina, who was interviewed after the shooting, said he saw Cruz arrive on campus carrying a duffel bag but he didn't try to stop him.
The district reassigned him and another security officer.
Families of the slain students were outraged when they saw Medina's response.
"My dog has a higher IQ, to see someone walking onto campus and do nothing. He isn't the only one that has to be held accountable for not doing their job," said Pollack.
The commission will meet again Friday and cover the topics of school resource officers and mental health.