Parkland school cop Scot Peterson gets $8,702 a month in pension

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed May 16, 2018, 04:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Sun-Sentinel

By Stephen Hobbs
South Florida Sun Sentinel

May 16, 2018 10:00 AM

Scot Peterson, the sheriff's deputy vilified for failing to confront the Parkland school shooter, has begun receiving a state pension of $8,702.35 a month.

Peterson resigned and retired Feb. 22, a week after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he waited outside as Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people and wounded 17 others.

Peterson began to receive his pension in April, according to the Florida Department of Management Services. He can receive the payments for the rest of his life.

The 55-year-old Peterson, a Broward deputy for 32 years, was paid $101,879.03 last year -- $75,673.72 in base salary plus overtime and other compensation, according to sheriff's office records. Until the shooting, he was considered a trusted school resource officer at Stoneman Douglas, according to annual reviews of his performance.
....

Peterson, a native of Illinois, started with the sheriff's office in July 1985, after studying at Miami-Dade Community College and Florida International University.

[e-mail], 954-356-4520 or @bystephenhobbs

Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-scot-peterson-pension-20180515-story.html

---

I'm not being judgmental. He was there for 33 years, and he has evidently fulfilled all the requirements to receive a pension.

[HopeAgain]

1. He had one job...

He's going to get more in pension than the gym teacher who gave his life protecting kids got in salary.

[narnian60]

2. +100

[dalton99a]

4. No shit.

[olegramps]

8. I am curious as to how this compares with teacher's retirements. It seems very generous.

[CreekDog]

67. hey random person on the internet, it's your word which offers no expertise on the matter versus...

a pension benefit negotiated by the state and labor representatives.

i think i'll go with what they came up with before i listen to some random person on the internet who provides no evidence that they're correct.

[Yupster]

73. Each state teacher retirement system is different

Generally there's a formula such as this.

years experience times some factor (2.3 I think is on the low end) equals percent of top 5 years average pay.

So, let's say you work 35 years and your final five pays including whatever extras you can throw in those last few years like summer school, coaching, department head, yearbook sponsor average $ 80,000. That would give you a pension of 81 % of $ 80,000 or about $ 64,000 per year or $ 5,300 per month.

If you started at age 23 and retired at 58, that's not a bad lifetime pension. It's especially good for administrators who might get 81 % of $ 150,000 which could easily top $ 100,000 per year.

[Eliot Rosewater]

16. Separate issue and it is horrible the way we treat teachers as to salary and pensions.

But as liberals we cant be against pensions unless there is a reason he should not get it, if one very bad inaction on his part qualifies to wipe out a 20 or 30 yr career and the pension he earned, then so be it but that would set a pretty rough precedent to take pensions away from all kinds of working people.

[HopeAgain]

20. Tax money being misspent

I'd rather see cop's pensions brought into a reasonable range and teacher's pensions raised. This cop is in his fifties. He'll get a security or other job and make more than most professionals. If the pensions was bringing in good cops, it would be different. Let's see if good pensions will bring in good teachers.

Not all pensions are automatically right.

[Eliot Rosewater]

21. Nope, i say give the teacher the same as the cop, dont LOWER one of them.

[HopeAgain]

25. Disagree

You don't pay taxes here in Broward. I don't mind paying a fair pension, but we would be bankrupt if the other county employees got paid anything like they do. Bring everybody's pay and pension into line - up for everyone else and down for over-payed cops.

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. And neither do rich people sounds like otherwise you could afford those pensions.

You are stating rightwing talking points about unions and pensions whether you realize it or not.

[HopeAgain]

27. Bullshit

My wife works for the Broward School District and busts her ass all day while the resource officer reads the paper and plays on his phone. It's not right wing to want to see our tax money, that is governed mostly by citizen vote (millage and sales taxes) redistributed more fairly. We don't have income tax here in Florida.

[Eliot Rosewater]

28. What does ANY of that have to do with what I said? So you SHOULD HAVE income tax there

and it SHOULD BE mostly paid by corporations and people making over $150K or whatever.

THAT is how we built this society in the first place.

[HopeAgain]

30. Meanwhile my wife gets underpaid while they are overpaid?

Fuck that, I want some of the cop's money while we are still in reality.

[Eliot Rosewater]

31. So you want to reduce his pension and increase your wife's?

Only way you can do that is lower the salary of cops, have to start there.

While you are there I can promise you someone else will see what your wife's pension is and complain it is too high, then hers gets lowered.

I dont get any pension, most of us get NOTHING so why am I having to listen to you complain that yours isnt big enough and I am the one DEFENDING your pension in the FIRST god damn place?

[HopeAgain]

35. I'm sorry I will not agree

Cops in Broward County game the system (They get a pension based upon their highest pay year so they work a bunch of overtime their last years - and the forces allow them to do that) and they get all kinds of overtime whether their overtime services are needed or not (I live next to two cops and see what they do). I want to see my tax money spent responsibly and that is not right wing, it is sensible.

You are not defending a pension you are arguing for the status quo until your magical change in Florida taxes comes.

[dameatball]

79. This is actually true. A member of my family retired in his 50's from law enforcement.

He was constantly working overtime and retired with a terrific annual pension (high $60's) and free medical care for life.

Add in that he now has social security.......not bad.

HOWEVER, a pension is not something that we necessarily want to start taking away for various reasons. If it was earned under the guidelines of their employment it is theirs to keep. Otherwise there will be a bunch of greedy corporations pulling the rugs out from under people whenever it suits them. Yes, he should have acted. What other rules will follow to allow them to take a pension?

[brush]

34. Nice work if you can get it. 104k a year then add a security job...

Last edited Wed May 16, 2018, 07:45 PM - Edit history (1)

even just a part-time security job he'd be pulling in at least 125k a year.

Something seems out of whack.

[OhioLiberal2008]

45. I Agree Seems Excessive Over $100,000 A Year?

[alarimer]

70. We can be against pensions that are overly generous

Most public employee pensions are a mere pittance. Nobody deserves THEIR ENTIRE SALARY as a pension. NO ONE.

[Mosby]

78. cops like to game the pension system

Sounds like this guy did, his supers gave him OT which pushed up his base "salary".

Why are cops not on salary anyway? And why would they need to use overtime? That's a really bad use of public funds, in the private world, giving out lots of ot can get you fired.

[christx30]

74. One mistake or inaction

can kill someone (“I thought it was a gun, turns out it was a wallet. Whoops.”) or take away their freedom. They should have as much to lose as the person in front of them. It’s make them more careful. If this guy stood around while people were dying to protect others, he’s useless. Any payment to him is a waste of tax money. The family of the kid that died saving lives should get his pension. This idiot deserves to be homeless.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

55. One job is right.

Being a cop seems to be where all the job security is. The guy put in 32 years...gods knows what other shit he f'ed up. We need some serious reflection, and action.

[CreekDog]

68. No, we don't reduce employment benefits negotiated by unions and the states with your whims

sorry it don't work that way.

but your parents obviously taught you that your ideas are very special even if they aren't thought out, explained or backed up by evidence and agreed to by labor and their representatives. we have a process for setting pensions and HopeAgain doesn't get to be dictator of that process.

self esteem and all that. you got that! you go!

as for me (and based on responses, most here), i'll pass.

[VMA131Marine]

3. There is basically nowhere in the private sector that you can get a pension deal like this anymore

The monthly rate works out to $105,000/year so I wonder if this includes the value of his health insurance benefit as well. He is too young to go on Medicare.

[GulfCoast66]

11. Articles like this are too keep people angry about folks with good pensions...

And to keep the from asking why does everyone not have good pensions anymore.

Because the destruction of pensions should be where our anger and righteous indignation are aimed.

Not some poor cop who found himself in a shitty situation.

[StevieM]

15. You make some good points. Unfortunately, I am not a normal human being.

I cannot stop myself from informing you that in your subject line you wrote "too" when you meant to write "to."

[Eliot Rosewater]

17. Yep and we must not give in to that.

I support pensions like this. Unless his actions are deemed to

be bad enough to prevent him from having it, I say he should have it.

I am a very far left DEMOCRAT liberal who thinks everyone should have a guaranteed income and pension.

As lame as his actions were that day, unless they rise to a dismissal that would prevent him from getting the pension, he should get it.

AS to who should have gone inside that day, I wish you know who and is vice would have been there and gone in.

[VMA131Marine]

22. I absolutely support good pensions

The problem with the public sector pensions is that politicians have underfunded the pension funds for decades and now retiree obligations are starving out other necessary and important services in state and local budgets.

I also note that the officer's pension is about 130% of his base pay. Is that reasonable or excessive?

[Eliot Rosewater]

24. Then raise taxes dramatically on local business and people in the higher tax brackets like is done

elsewhere.

As to what his pension should be, first I dont know where you are getting the 130% figure, but if accurate then is that out of line for pensions in other countries?

I would want to know that first. Is it out of line compared to what a CEO gets with a golden parachute?



p.s. righty's work is done then and your post illustrates how, they drastically reduce taxes on the wealthy making it impossible to pay pensions

as planned

[VMA131Marine]

84. The 130% is easily calculated from the details of the story

$75,000 base pay; $105,000 pension (the monthly amount time 12) - actually, he's getting 140% of his base pay

[Abnredleg]

42. Mine will be approximately 55% of base pay

This is after 30 years credited service in local government in NC and will provide for a comfortable, but not extravagant, retirement. NC has a very well run retirement system so if his retirement is 130% of base pay then that tells me their system is on shakey financial footing.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

57. At least you got one.

Good job going to work buddy. Wish it was more. There's going to be a reckoning.

[HopeAgain]

23. Some poor cop who AVOIDED a shitty situation.

That's supposedly why they get such great benefits... because they put their lives on the line. Oh wait, this one didn't.

[Cold War Spook]

38. How do you know?

Yes this time he didn't do something stupid by going in without backup, but how do you know if he had put his life on the line or not under at other times?

[HopeAgain]

40. Didn't do his job when it was absolutely most critical

I'm takin from these actions he took at MSD that he was not one to run towards danger.

[StevieM]

43. On a slight change of subject, I like your screen name.

The Cold War was a fascinating chapter in history.

You want to hear something awful? My TV set just broke after 16 1/2 years. I don't have a set on which to watch my favorite show, which is on tonight. Do you watch the Americans? It is about two Soviet Spies living in suburban DC in the 1980s. I think it is the best show on television. I am so bummed that I am missing it tonight. Fortunately, they re-rerun the previous weeks episode the following week. So hopefully I will have a new set by next Wednesday.

[Cold War Spook]

48. I'll check it out.

For me, the best part of the Cold War was the interesting people I met in different countries.

[StevieM]

49. I am surprised that you haven't heard of it.

The show is in its 6th and final season. Tonight is episode 8 of season 6. There are only 10 episodes this season. The first 5 seasons each had 13 episodes.

It is on FX at 10 PM.

[Cold War Spook]

56. You are right.

I cannot believe I missed it entirely. Total blank. With luck it will come to Netflix.

[StevieM]

61. It is available on Amazon Prime. (eom)

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

58. We saw the LONGGGG tape on this one.

His job was to step up and defend the public EVERYDAY. The day he couldn't do it...he violated his oath. And should've resigned. No do-over's in some jobs. No sympathy for your train of thought from me army.

[Cold War Spook]

60. He did resign.

One week after the shooting.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

63. Too bad the kids didn't have a choice.

No retirement for them. Not even a chance to have a job and earn a pension.
I guess he feels he's even though...he resigned. Sounds like that's even-steven with you too eh? Spook my ass.
When you take an oath to protect and defend...that means everyday...every minute...every where...afterall, isn't that why cops justify carting their gun everywhere and whipping it out every chance they get? Shit man. I'm saddened by your logic. He was on gravy detail at the school. Thumping kids. Busting those evil pot smokers etc. He was dodging his obligation and it showed in the tape. Don't say you are there to be the guy who stops it...if you can't do it. Bc someone else would've manned up, and protected the kids...IE/etc...earned the 100k a year w a 2 yr degree. All he had to do was confront him, and he could'nt do it, AND waved off others who would've. A primary disgrace of a Peace Officer.

[GulfCoast66]

72. His pension is for a 30 year career

If we start allow pensions to be pulled after 20-30 years due to one collosial fuck you can be that pretty much every company in America would start finding all kinds of fuckups right at the end of their employees careers. You just know they would.

[harun]

71. Well said. This is Propaganda against workers.

[Throck]

5. Lawsuits aren't over.

[EarthFirst]

6. 105K a year to just quietly walk away...

He had one job: to serve and protect.

The only service in this situation was self-preservation.

[obamanut2012]

7. He earned his pension

[olegramps]

9. Do you believe that he earned it when not protecting the kids when paid to?

[zipplewrath]

10. I believe

That none of us are in a position to know in anyway what he thought he was and was not doing. His explanation isn't all that unbelievable. There is the "fog of war". Misinformation runs rampant. And sound sources, even in benign circumstances are not easily accurately identified.

[Eliot Rosewater]

18. No, he didnt, BUT if we set a precedent that ONE act can wipe out THIRTY YEARS

of work, we make a BIG mistake.

These conversations are meant to get people to be AGAINST public workers who get decent pensions, we should ALL be getting these pensions and we WANT others to get them so maybe someday WE can also!

[christx30]

75. When being confronted by the cops,

one tiny mistake can get me killed. My 42 years of life can be erased because I stepped wrong or had my hands 3 inches lower than a cop likes. Their financial risks should be that great so they are extra careful in whom they shoot.
Remember the incident where the cops were Z15 feet away from the guy, holding automatic weapons at him.”hold your hands up. HIGHER! If you do anything else, we will shoot you. If you’re going to fall forward, you fall on your face.”
He’s there, begging for his life, and they order him to crawl forward. He reaches back at one point, probably to adjust his pants (no gun was found on him), and they gun him down.
This man’s small mistake ended his life. Shouldn’t a massive mistake, like letting 17 children die, cost the cop anything?

[Eliot Rosewater]

76. The issue is bigger than this one cop, you see.

I will repeat what I said elsewhere, if it were up to me I would fire every cop in America and rehire them requiring they go thru massive schooling for harm reduction techniques, passive techniques, etc. Some would get rehired, many wouldnt.

I would want cops NOT to be armed with guns, but I cant take their guns away until we enforce the 2nd amendment and remove most guns to well regulated militias.

[tinrobot]

44. He entered into a contract that provided a pension based upon years of service.

He put in thirty years before the shooting happened, those years should not be negated. He should get the pension, regardless of his job performance on one specific day.

[obamanut2012]

53. He worked for decades and earned his penskion

I frigging LIVE HERE AND KNOW ONE OF TEH DEAD AND SEVERAL SURVIVORS, AND HAVE COLLEAGUES WHO HAD KIDS THERE THAT DAY, so back the hell off.

He earned his pension. Only wingnuts would want to illegally take away someone's EARNED PENSION because of this. Dock his damn pay for that day then.

This place has gotten ridiculous.

[CreekDog]

66. how many shooters with AR-15's have you confronted, ALONE?

just let us know then proceed with your argument.

[not fooled]

12. Aside from elements of his conduct during the shooting

stories like this serve an ulterior motive: to rile up resentful voters who no longer have decent retirements. Of course, law enforcement will be the last tranche that the puke austerists go after. Teachers, civil servants etc. are in the crosshairs first.

[MarcA]

33. Yes, this will get anti-pension actions going on many fronts

But many who do usually give LEOs a pass.

[gay texan]

13. 9 Grand a month?

Holy s***! I don't think I'll ever see that much money in a month in my entire life!

[ansible]

14. Neither will I, the pension system is broken as hell

I wonder how sustainable this will be in the long run. $8k a month isn't even that unusual, other cities have even higher pensions.

[Eliot Rosewater]

19. It is broken but NOT for the reason you are saying, it is broken because we dont ALL

have generous pensions like that when we should.

[not fooled]

37. Hear, hear

that should be the response every time anyone gripes about someone else's decent retirement, healthcare, etc.: don't resent them, ask why we don't ALL have the same. In fact, we used to, to a greater degree.

raygun and the puke austerists have diligently worked to shovel the money away from us and into the pockets of the wealthy.

[obamanut2012]

51. this

[obamanut2012]

50. yawn

shoo

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

32. I guess I chose the wrong career path. I've never made $100,000 for any year I've worked.

And I was a lawyer. Of course, it was in South Carolina many years ago, when both the state and law firms were notoriously stingy in their salaries (except for the Supreme Court justices, who made more than their SCOTUS counterparts). I definitely don't have Michael Avenatti's personality and drive, however, I still have my hair...

[dawg day]

29. Hmm....

My pension, if I can live long enough and work long enough (69) to collect it, will be $422 a month. (Is it worth it? <G&gt

My sister was a public school teacher (in FL) for 30 years. (Different county.) Her pension is $2200 a month, and she had to wait till she was 65 to get it.

So yeah, $8K a month sounds pretty generous.

[BeyondGeography]

36. I really don't care what people get

Last edited Wed May 16, 2018, 06:44 PM - Edit history (1)

as long as they are not ungrateful, mean-spirited assholes.

[truthisfreedom]

39. 55 year old cop who obviously has been to both indoor

And outdoor gun ranges many times over his career, can’t tell the difference between bright outdoor echoes and dull indoor thuds? Is he deaf? That would be his only excuse!

[Cold War Spook]

41. What about me.

I get 100% service-connected disabled. My wife and I both get Social Security. That is $84,000 a year tax free plus 100% medical for both of us. I was never in combat and knew I never would be when I enlisted. I was diagnosed with a mental disorder while in the army. I received an honorable discharge. I could work and did for a number of years until my problems got so sever I could not work. If I had been a civilian, we would be living on half that amount.

[GulfCoast66]

46. You? You are the model for what we should all have.

I am happy you are getting enough to, I trust, live in dignity.

This pension envy is a planned right wing tactic.

[Cold War Spook]

52. I served 4 years.

AN E-7 needs to have 26 years of service before making what I get from the VA. There is something wrong with that.

[moriah]

83. Then we need to fix that, not take benefits from you.

You still risked your life for your country.

[Blue_Tires]

47. Why is this news??

[obamanut2012]

54. To rile up folks against public employees with good pensions

Anti pension propo.

[BlueTsunami2018]

59. Some people get pensions after a long careeer.

Everyone should.

Why this is “Breaking News” is puzzling.

[mn9driver]

62. I'll retire from a major airline as a pilot with 34 years.

I won’t be getting anywhere near that much. Not even remotely close. Wow.

[xor]

64. I guess that explains his actions... Didn't wanna be like Roger Murtaugh

[alarimer]

69. As a state employee, this pisses me the fuck off.

As a group, public employees (except for cops in many cases) are VILIFIED. The ignorant masses claim we are all living high on the hog, with great benefits, massive salaries and huge pensions.

No, actually that is not true for most. From my current job, assuming I last to retirement, my pension will be something like $700-800 a month. I am vested in another state pension system that will give me about the same. That's it. That's my "bloated state employee pension" - $1600 a month, much less than my current salary. I have to be a certain age and have to have served a certain number of years before I can even draw that paltry pension, which is still better than some private sector employees get due to mismanagement by their companies. Or a 401K that has lost everything due to the market.

I am somewhere in the middle as far as position and salary goes. My salary is not even high enough to live here on my own due to the cost of living (well to pay living expenses with anything left over at least).

And this guy, this do-nothing cop, gets his entire fucking salary as a pension and then some. That is not true of any other system but the one that protects cops. It is what attracts the corrupt pieces of shit that infest police departments everywhere.

Don't get me wrong, I think pensions are so much better than other retirement systems, but guys like this give public employees a bad name in many ways. I just don't want anyone to think this is the norm. It might be the norm for police agencies (and it shouldn't be) but it is NOT the norm for the vast majority of public employees.

[SharonClark]

85. I couldn't agree more.

This is not the norm among public employees unless you are very high up the food chain.

[alarimer]

87. And I think cops in general have very generous pensions.

More generous than teachers, say. There is no reason for it. Sure the profession is arguably more dangerous than some (but statistically it actually isn't more dangerous than mining or commercial fishing or other professions without pensions).

Obviously, this is somewhat a function of unions. Cops have good unions. Teachers have unions too, but I can't speak to the quality of the representation and many of them are not allowed to strike, which removes any leverage they have.

Depending on where you are, many other state employees do not have unions at all (I do, but they can't do much about salaries and benefits, which are set at the state level) so their leverage is limited as well.

Normally, I would say that unions are a good thing and the fact that they've negotiated such a benefit is good, but this pension is completely out of whack, especially when compared to other professions and also if the person retires under a cloud like this guy (though I am not sure he really did anything wrong enough to lose his pension over).

[JustAnotherGen]

77. He earned it

[olegramps]

80. let me ask a question. If a person fails to fulfill oblgations should the pension be in jeopardy?

Does this constitute a contract and the obligation to fulfill it. It a appears that some are only questioning the rather generous pension mostly because of his alleged failure to protect the kids he swore to protect. A cops job isn't easy and they put themselves is danger, but many other occupations are just if not more dangerous and don't have the same benefits. The loss of pensions is a major blow to many if not most workers in today's society. It is the gross inequity that is really problem.

[JustAnotherGen]

82. No

That's like the alcoholic attorney at Verizon Wireless who had 25 years in, and then passed out drunk at work. He as fired. He paid in all of those years to the 'Corporate American Pension' aka 401K with matching from the company. He was fully vested.

They didn't take his pension away - and this individual shouldn't have his taken away either.

[Abnredleg]

81. Are cops in Florida part of the Social Security System?

In many states public safety employees were not part of the system, which means that their pension is their only source of retirement income.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

86. Court Restores Jerry Sandusky's Penn State Pension

To keep things in perspective:

Court Restores Jerry Sandusky's Penn State Pension

November 13, 2015 1:22 PM ET

ALEXANDRA STARR

A Pennsylvania court has ruled that the state must restore the pension of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach imprisoned for sexually abusing 10 boys. ... The State Employees' Retirement Board revoked Sandusky's pension in October 2012, when he was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse.

The court said Sandusky, 71, was entitled to the pension — which amounts to $4,900 a month — because he was affiliated with the university but was not a Penn State employee during the time he committed the crimes that voided his pension. ... "The board conflated the requirements that Mr. Sandusky engage in 'work relating to' PSU {Penn State University} and that he engage in work 'for' PSU," Judge Dan Pellegrini wrote on behalf of a unanimous Commonwealth Court panel.

Sandusky received a lump sum of $168,000 when he retired in 1999, although he maintained strong ties to the football program. He had an office on campus and free season tickets to its football and basketball games, according to court documents published by PennLive.

The judges ordered the retirement board to reinstate the pension retroactively and pay back interest. That means Sandusky and his wife, Dottie, will receive some three years' worth of makeup payments, according to The Associated Press.