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UPDATE as of 2/27/2018 (paraphrased). Former Deputy Sheriff Scot Peterson released a statement on 2/26/2018 stating that he originally responded to a call for fire crackers. Here is a link to the full response through Mr Peterson’s attorney. If what he says is true, I wonder why he resigned?SEE Response on Twitter: A copy of lawyer’s letter on TwitterOriginal Text: There could be many reasons why the Deputy Sheriff did not respond or go into the building. We won’t know unless he gives a statement.If Mr. Peterson’s account withstands scrutiny, then there is more to this situation and my answer is not correct as it lays the blame entirely on him.He has been interviewed by Sheriff Scott Israel but the results have not been released.We believe we know what happened based on the cctv video that the deputy did not enter the school.The question is what expectations do we have for that individual?The expectation from MY POINT OF VIEW is the deputy should have entered the building and engaged the shooter. That is certainly under the purview of his duties. We know this didn’t happen.I’m glad he resigned but I do feel for him as a human being. Our military service members are trained to run towards trouble: gunshots, IED explosions, mayhem. It is clear that this individual was either not trained up properly or not screened out properly for the job.There’s a lot of calls to arm teachers. Sure, I can see “select” teachers, maybe, or former law enforcement or military.But ‘regular’ teachers would be as effective as the deputy was in this case and unless there is some substantial training (even for former experienced personnel), there could be more trouble caused than the problem it is trying to solve.Just putting “armed” guards in the school is another very bad idea. Just examine their shooting qualification scores and you’ll not want any of these people nearby to protect your kids.If I had to make a suggestion, I would train up these “protectors” like the US Air Marshals. They are trained in close quarters combat and the use of firearms in very confining areas. To be effective with minimal loss of life, you need the right tool for the job.We can look to Israel which has dealt with perpetual turmoil. Everyone does a minimum stint in the military and the majority of the population is trained up, and armed to deal with the conflict.I don’t advocate arming up everyone but in this case, the only way to effectively deal with a bad guy and a gun is with a good guy and a gun (who can shoot and has the proper training and psychological abilities to deal with the stress).UPDATES: typical grammar and spelling errors. Darn you spell check.

It was a hot July afternoon in 2017. I was getting ready to jump in the shower to go work for a few hours when I heard a knock on the door. I had a pair of gym shorts on so I went and answered it and to my amazement there were a bunch of cops outside. They told me they had had a complaint of loud noise and possibly domestic violence. I just laughed and said no that's not here as I live alone and they said well that's okay.One of them asked me if I had any ID on me so they could go about their business and I said sure. My wallet was on the wall right by the door and so I pulled my ID out and handed it to one of the officers. He looked at it and asked me if I could step outside. Again I kind of chuckled and said yeah no problem.As soon as I stepped out of the door of my house the other officer said turn around, put your hands behind your back. I looked at him kind of funny and I said what for he said turn around! So I turned around. I put my hands behind my back. Suddenly I felt handcuffs. As they set me down in front of the house on my bench I asked one of the other officers what this was all about. He said there's a warrant out for your arrest. Now mind you I have never been in any kind of trouble at all in my life and so again I kind of chuckled. I said what kind of warrant? The officer said I don't know it's from out of state.Now I'm starting to get a little freaked out. So the officer leads me into the car. All I have is my gym shorts and flip-flops and my cell phone. That of course was taken from me. As we're driving to the jail about 45 minutes later I asked the officer what this is all about. He said I really don't know, it's an out-of-state warrant and we've got to take you to jail. And it looks like there's a no bond clause on this warrant, which means until I figure out what this is I'm stuck there.I was put into a holding cell with about 15 gang-bangers in Fort Lauderdale Broward County Jail. About 11 that night was transferred to a holding jail. Given a 2-inch mattress and a blanket and told to go to sleep on the floor. At this point I've asked probably four or five officers what's going on and nobody seems to know. I haven't seen an attorney and I don't have any telephone numbers memorized. Stupid smartphones.So the next day I ask an officer again what's going on and how do I find out. He comes back and simply says it's an out-of-state warrant, you'll have to wait to see the judge. I said I want to access my cell phone so I can find some numbers and call somebody. At that point they told me they won't let me unless there's a court order.Here's where it gets really bad, as if it wasn't bad enough already. I don't see a judge for 8 days. Yep you read that right, I'm 8 days in jail not having any idea why, not seeing an attorney and having no access to call anyone. I finally see a judge on the 8th day and he tells me it's an out-of-state warrant and again he doesn't know what it's for and I have a choice, I can fight extradition or I can concede to extradition.If I fight I'm going to probably be there for 60 days minimum and possibly be let out. If I concede I could be there another 45 days before they take me to the other state. So I conceded and I asked him for the court order to access my phone. The judge says he's never heard of having to have a court order to access a cell phone but reluctantly gives one.On the 9th day as I asked to again access my phone I'm told that they're not going to allow me to access my phone even though they have a court order because the phone battery is dead. Now I don't know what to do. This is the ninth day and it turns into the 10th and 11th and 12th Etc. On the 23rd day, no one in the world knows where I am. I'm assuming my kids probably think I'm dead, as they live in another state.North Carolina shows up to extradite me on the 23rd day. During this 48 hour trip where I'm shackled hand and foot in the back of a van, I finally convinced one of the officers that is driving to access their Facebook account and message a friend of mine to try to get a phone number.They do that and of course my friend thinks it's a scam. Finally I gave him information that only I would know and I get a phone number. On the 25th day in North Carolina I finally found out what the charge is. Former client of mine from 4 years prior in a business that I had had and signed over to another partner have accused me of taking $20,000 and fleeing the state. I laughed again. But not real hard this time because this was getting real.As I'm booked into their jail I'm trying to figure out what to do. The next day I finally saw an attorney. He doesn't have too much information for me but tells me what the charge entails and what the possibilities are for sentencing and things like that. A few days later he comes back with what they call Discovery which is evidence on me from the district attorney side.As we went through that I found no evidence at all pointing any kind of criminal activity to me, which of course I knew because I hadn't done anything. However I did find a receipt from an unknown company that was in my former partners handwriting and had his home address as the address for the unknown company. The amount receipted was $12,000. I told my attorney what I found and then was escorted back to my cell.Days and weeks go by. No news at all. The total amount of time I spent in this jail was 52 more days. They demanded $25,000 in cash in order to release me or I was just stuck there. I had access to no money at all however I had finally called my buddy who had gotten in touch with my sister and they had let my kids know what was going on.On about the 44th day I had woken up with some pain. Looks like I had caught an infection and it was in my right testicle. Had no way to contact a nurse except to put it on a message board requesting medical. There was no medical that day, there was no medical the next day, even though I requested it again.6 days later I finally had seen a nurse after I told them through the message that it has gone into my ear. She gave me one antibiotic pill that day and told me I would get another the next day. On the 51st day I saw my attorney and my attorney had told me at this point the DA is not going to offer a plea bargain because the evidence against you doesn't make sense. However there is a possibility that there will be a plea bargain offer but it probably won't be for about 6 months.If at that point I plead not guilty it may be another six months to a year before there is a trial. At this point I just tell my attorney that we need to speak to the DA. He says he doesn't have time to do that and I said no problem. Give me the name of the DA and the telephone number and I'll have my sister three-way me and we'll call him ourselves.Something amazing happened at that point. The next morning my attorney arrived and told me I was getting out that day. The state released me on my signature with no money involved. So I left North Carolina on a Thursday evening and had to take a train back to South Florida. I got home Friday night.Fortunately through this time I've spoken to my landlady, even though I had been evicted because she didn't know where I was, she let me stay. My car had been repoed, the companies that I have done business with had canceled contracts, and one had even charged me back almost $75,000. But at least I had a place to stay.So I begin to regroup the next afternoon and I noticed that my eye’s hurting. By that night I couldn't see from my right eye and it was in so much pain that I had to call an ambulance. Long story short, I ended up staying the night in the hospital with an infection that had gone into my eye behind my eye and was in the process of getting ready to attack my brain.I lost sight in my right eye that day. ended up several months later having to have a cornea transplant. The transplant was a year-and-a-half ago, and I still can't see very well out of the eye. Today is July 22nd, almost two years from the arrest and the case still hasn't been closed. I've been told over and over that they're going to dismiss the charges but they haven't done that as of yet. So that's my answer to the day I said is this really happening?Edit Nov. 18 2019. Just an update for those who have asked. Have had several court dates in the last several months the last one being last Wednesday November the 6th. Court has again continued at this case until January 8th 2020. At that point it will be about two and a half years since I was arrested. I've made a decision that if it's not been dismissed on January 8th I'm going to search for an attorney in Charlotte North Carolina who will take this case on a contingency and start a lawsuit in the process. If anyone reading this knows of someone good in that area please respond and let me know.Nov. 22 2020 update.It's now been three years and one month since I was released. To date the case still has not been dismissed. I contacted an attorney about two months ago. One in North Carolina. After telling him what had happened he told me that the way that the law is written in North Carolina makes it very difficult if not impossible to sue the state or the county. They've written safeguards into their law which adequately protect them from suit even for negligence. The only suits that have been successful have been wrongful death and so the way the law reads as long as they keep you alive even if you've lost eyesight or limbs Etc they've done their job. Can't get them to dismiss it haven't been able to figure out how to sue them. Have even lost another insurance company that did a random background check and found the pending charge. It's okay I still keep my head up above water.March 13 2021.I have been asked many times to update on the situation as I can. Well it has now been 3 1/2 years since the arrest. There was NO progress for 3 years. I just found out on Monday, that unbeknownst to me the case had been dismissed without the ability to charge me again back in August. 7 months ago. My attorney wasn’t notified, I wasn’t notified on anything. WOW! The good new is it is now officially behind me. The bad news is, I probably won’t ever be able to recoup financially what I have lost not to mention the sight in my right eye.The good new as well? This actually was used by God to work out in my favor. Through the trials that was caused by the arrest and losing everything, I got tougher and more creative. I launched a music career that I had let go of clear back in 2003. I began to write songs and put a band together and praise God, if it wasn’t for all of these circumstances coming together, This probably wouldn’t have ever happened. Life is not what I expected, but it is good. Look my up on youtube! Glenn Baker and my song Freedom and No New Normal. Thanks for all of the encouragement the last 3 plus years.

UPDATE DEC 2016: even funnier is seeing the DailyMail[1] use this as a source of content. Please do read below for better understanding.UPDATE DEC 2013: Funny - in seeing this on Business Insider and being a transient in London from 2000 to 2004 then 2011 to now, I have a number of similar observations to aspects of life in London compared to life in the States - and specifically to the comparison of NYC, San Francisco and South Florida.Please note, this is not describing the rest of England - which is very different to London. And, much like NYC, there are distinct boroughs within the city - far more than I found in NYC.Cost of LivingOkay - yes, the British pound is "stronger" than the dollar, but consider that this is an island nation and yes, things are more expensive. And yes, salaries are less than the US for similar roles and taxes are slightly higher - especially with the VAT (value added tax) found on almost everything. But the handling of your taxes is much easier on your salary since they subscribe to a PAYE (pay-as-you-earn) system, but the challenge is when you leave a role at the wrong time, you can find a large chunk of your taxes taken out due to the perceived salary and then wait a year to get that refund.But once you go through the standard stages of grief, I mean shock, you get used to it.FoodThe old adage of "British food is great, if you like fish and chips, bangers and mashed or chicken tikka masala" is now a load of bollocks (bull$!@t). There are amazing restaurants to be found in London - some great restaurants and farmers markets (my favorite, bar none, is Borough Market). Once you learn to navigate the different supermarkets (Tesco, Sainburys, Waitrose, Asda, etc) and discover their online interfaces, you begin to appreciate the convenience.BUT, weekends are terrible when you consider that everything closes by five pm (1700) on Sundays.Tea or Coffee?One of my favorite distinctions: do you drink tea or coffee? From my experiences, coffee is taking over England though Starbucks (company), Costa Coffee, Caffè Nero and the food joints, but a robust coffee culture (e.g. the Grind shops) is around that is driving up quality overall.And yes, you can still do high-tea at the Ritz, but the norm is putting the kettle on and pouring out a cuppa.HousingYou begin to appreciate your US home all the more when you do the house/flat search. Estate agents are (for the most part) terrible sales people, if you are not aiming high enough and sadly, once the contract is signed or you show any slight hesitation on the flat, their interest wanes. They are like the telephone salespeople of the States who call at dinner time, but they are "suited and booted" (in a sharp suit and pointy shoes) and work as if they are all from Oxford or Cambridge, but actually from East London or Norwich.You can try to use Craigslist or moveflat or SpareRoom or easyroommate, but the quality is often challenging - you discover why people are using these services versus the estate agents. These flats are often difficult to get used to (incredibly small, misshapened or tough to get to in general).One thing you will miss is water pressure. Sadly, the Victorian mains and the age of many homes were designed with limited water and poor pressure. Some people say they have "power showers" which are often essentially electronic devices designed to add some pressure at the expense of a loud and powerful noise. Who needs leaf blowers when a power shower will do.TransportIn 2000, I gave up my Honda in San Francisco and swore to remain true to public transport and periodic taxis. And, in the 16 years, I have been pretty successful in both London and NYC. London has the best transport system anywhere (yes even better than NYC) in so far as the buses and the Tube run relatively on time and the wifi in the subways make life a lot more livable. The amount of vagrants is much less and the Tube rides are, for the most part, quiet (except when taking it around 11pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when pubs are letting out).Taxis are expensive, which is why you now use car services like Addison Lee or Uber (company). But there is nothing better than using a Black Cab in London - if the cabbie is actually well-versed. Much like NYC cabbies, if you go beyond their comfort zone, they too have no idea and use the sat-nav (e.g., Google Maps) just like you do.Trains are expensive and for the most part, anywhere in the country is usually a well-worn train. My favorite train experience in England is the EuroStar and it now comes to St. Pancras Station which is a wonderfully easy station to use.You also need to understand the transport hubs of London - which are essentially the train and bus stations of London (Victoria, London Bridge, Blackfriars, Paddington, St. Pancras, Liverpool St.) - and these are scattered throughout the city.Work LifeI love Dawn's description of lunch - yes, you are doing the sandwich thing - which I used to joke was essentially "white bread, a slice of lettuce, a thin slice of tomato, mayonnaise and a single slice of meat or some mashed up meat salad". Today, the old sandwich shops have faded and stores like Pret A Manger, EAT, Pod and you learn more about Nandos (a chicken place using peri-peri sauce).Everyone sits at their desk and bangs on their computer primarily, and depending on your role determines your clothing choices. Even in startups, sales is often suited and booted in sharp suits and thin trousers (not pants, as we say in America). Engineers or Developers are relatively shabby in t-shirt and trousers chic. And everyone else seems to dance to their own drum.You can usually tell a person profession from their dress: finance and insurance people are in the dark suits and the only hint of color is their tie and shoes, which will not make sense to American fashion. Seniority is often determined by who is wear their jackets in the office -- you can tell who the junior manager is by their newer clothing and jumpers (sweaters) over their collared shirts.A general assumption is that hierarchy happens -- and there is very little overt political aggressiveness in the workplace. Passive aggressive is sometimes the norm and the worst thing that could happen is embarrassment from an overt action turning out wrong or answering a question "wrong". But, when "pub o'clock" comes (around 4-6pm), join your workmates and get ready to discover what life is in a culture centered around pints and pubs.You learn more about the feeling of a company in the pub than you will in team meetings. And be ready to be discussing football (e.g., soccer) and various coach moves. Weather is the safe discussion with others outside the workplace, but you quickly discover that gossip is the currency of the realm within the workplace.Best event: Christmas parties. The English do it best - especially since the culture of companies are actually determined by the success or infamy of the previous year's Christmas party. And, like you have heard, the stories of hookups happen and become fodder for their primary social currency.Social LifeFunniest thing about having a social life in London is to determine which pub or club your friends go to. In London, the following factors usually determine your ability to connect with others:your accent (geography based)your secondary school (read: high school)your uni (read: college)The stories you will hear of blitzed nights out where people can not remember what happened is the norm. As many others have said, this is a culture of "functional drunks" - capable of carrying on until 3am in the morning, stumbling home and then waking up for work on Friday, with only a slight reduction in performance.Meeting others can happen as an American, since your accent provides no hint of geographic background that is within the English discerning. My favorite experience is saying hello to people in a locale I just joined and watch the turned heads and smiles that suddenly appear. Just remember not to be too loud and you will be well received.And get ready for an experience called "fancy dress" parties. The Brits love to dress up in proper costumes and they have a blast beyond none other. Spend some cash on a fancy dress rental (read: costume) and enjoy. I assume this is due to their desire to be other people in a safe experience.If you are married and live in a more suburban locale (e.g., Dulwich), you learn about the family parties and other events that happen with incredibly regularity. And yes, we have fewer conveniences, but a lovely connection with people and great foods (e.g., cheese and wine parties are amazing).BankingCompletely agree with other comments - it is a challenge if you do not have a bank relationship yet, but you can overcome this by getting an HSBC account in the States (or a Citibank account) and then work with the British branch to help you. Lloyds, RBS, Natwest and other British banks are tough if you have no history.Health CareI agree about the support for NHS, but what they do not tell you about is the joy of finding a GP for yourself. Your GP is determined by your physical residence, so you have to go to the specific clinic near your home. You may be lucky and get a great one, or you could potentially have to use private clinics which does incur a fee. But everything else regarding emergency room and other services are quite true.I have not had the joy of having any surgery or major issue as of yet, but I am somewhat concerned with some horror stories I have heard about waiting times and hospital quality. But getting something like BUPA or some other service can be a benefit.Job SearchingYou get to rediscover recruiters -- and there is every type of recruiter for each role in the universe. Heck, even students and part time staffers have Fish4Jobs for roles.TelevisionYou will discover that the overly glitzy commercials that we see from Madison Avenue is not the same here, but they do enjoy their particular brand of humor. Television is primarily contests (yes, they do more games shows than the US), documentaries (yes, you learn more about WWII than anything else), travelogues, gardening, antiquing, some really well done dramas, lots of thoughtful talk-shows (Stephen Fry's QI is a fav), terribly reality shows, and lots of American shows that get imported. And, lots of movies that seem to prove that America is about strange forms of love and our military drive. Oh - and if you are up late, you can discover the strange acts of sex, guns and other deviants in America.Footnotes[1] What Americans REALLY think about life in the UK