Parkland Administrators Cleared of Wrongdoing In 2018 Shooting

“Insufficient factual or legal basis” found to discipline staff members

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• May 19, 2020

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School principals Ty Thompson and assistant principal Denise Reed have been cleared of wrongdoing stemming from the Feb. 14, 2018 mass shooting at the school. Following an investigation, an outside law firm found that there was “insuffient factual or legal basis” for discipline for either principal.

The investigations of Reed And Thompson were commissioned by the school district by Jennifer Ruiz, an attorney with the firm of Cole, Scott and Kissine located in Miami.

Former assistant principal Jeff Morford has received a letter of reprimand for mishandling a threat assessment of the former student identified as the alleged shooter. Morford retired last year.

Last year, former assistant principal Winfred Porter and security specialist Kelvin Greenleaf were cleared from an investigation that lasted more than a year.

Winfred Porter, a former assistant principal, and Kelvin Greenleaf, a security specialist, were cleared last fall in an investigation that had lasted since late 2018.

Thompson and Reed were notified of the decision the same week that a Broward County sheriff’s sergeant won an appeal of his firing in connection with the shooting. Sgt. Brian Miller had been accused of sitting in his car, failing to supervise deputies while the gunman murdered students inside the school. It was determined that a termination 16 months after the shooting violated his due process rights.

The school district commissioned the investigations of Reed and Thompson by lawyer Jennifer Ruiz of the firm Cole, Scott & Kissane of Miami.

“These guys didn’t do anything wrong. They were doing their jobs,” said the defendants attorney, adding that they didn’t want to comment but were relieved the ordeal is over.

The only district employees to face tough consequences related to the shooting were two low-paid campus security monitors, Andrew Medina and David Taylor, whose contracts were not renewed in June 2018.