FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for the Broward Sheriff's Office to release video from outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 mass shooting.
Media outlets, including the South Florida Sun Sentinel, are seeking the video to shed light on law enforcement's response while gunman Nikolas Cruz was murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others.
The requested footage does not depict the inside of the school, nor does it show Cruz or any of the victims.
Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey R. Levenson authorized the release of the footage in April, a decision that was upheld by the Fourth District Court of Appeal last month.
"It's a sad commentary on our times that there must be a full and open public discussion about the type of security system that is appropriate for a large public high school and the appropriate law enforcement response to an active shooter on a high school campus," Fourth District Court of Appeal Judge Robert Gross wrote in the opinion.
"Parents have such a high stake in the ultimate decisions that they must have access to camera video footage here at issue," he added, "and not blindly rely on school board experts to make decisions for them."
The Broward School Board, concerned that the video's release will expose weak spots in surveillance systems in place at several high schools, appealed to the Supreme Court.
The board was joined by the Broward State Attorney's Office, which argued that the video fell under the "active criminal investigation" exemption under Florida's public records laws.
The Supreme Court declined to accept jurisdiction Wednesday and indicated "no motion for a rehearing will be entertained."
The news organizations had argued that the public is entitled to the video to adequately review the law enforcement response to the shooting as it unfolded and for some time afterward.
Some video from outside the school was released in March. It showed then-Broward Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson, a school resource officer, standing and waiting outside the 1200 building during the shooting. But where the other officers were was unclear.
There also were questions about precisely when sheriff's deputies arrived at the school. By the time Coral Springs police officers got to the building the gunman had already left, according to audio and police records.
In previous hearings, attorneys representing the Sheriff's Office said they did not object to releasing the video but would only do so under court order.
A BSO spokeswoman did not indicate early Wednesday afternoon when the office would be releasing the video.
