Pulse Survivors Are Suing Orlando
Pulse Nightclub survivors are suing 31 police officers and the city of Orlando for not protecting them during the horrific shooting two years ago.
Three survivors of the shooting have hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit to say that the defendants failed their jobs when Omar Mateen walked into the Pulse nightclub and started shooting. Matten ended up killing 49 people and injured an addition 50 others.
The lawyer working for the survivors is named Soloman Radner. Radner says that officer Adam Gruler, who was working as security during that night in 2016 and was the first officer to exchange fire with Mateen, had abandoned his post that night.
As Radner said at a news conference about Gruler and the lawsuit, “he should have done what he was there to do: protect the club.”
But Gruler isn’t the only officer being sued. The lawsuit lists 30 other officers as being a part of the problem. The lawsuit says they “deprived Plaintiffs of their interest in life, liberty and property by violating Plaintiff’s right to personal security and substantive due process as described herein, which caused Plaintiffs to suffer injuries.”
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That’s not all. The lawsuit also mentions how many police officers stood outside the building as the shooting was happening. Those officers would often grab people running away from the scene and prevent them from getting away. In some instances, survivors were detained.
Wigberto Capo is the brother of one of the fallen Pulse victims named Luis Omar Oscasio-Capo. Wigberto Capo says that he’ll always wonder if the police could have done more.
“What if the Orlando police officers who responded to the shooting were aggressive with their plan to rescue victims and hostages and kill the shooter?” he told reporters Thursday. “Would my brother still be alive?”
In response to this lawsuit, the city of Orlando released the following statement:
“Nearly two years after the horrific act of hate inside the Pulse nightclub, our community continues to mourn the 49 lives taken and provide support for all those impacted,” the statement said. “On the morning of June 12, 2016, federal, state and local law enforcement officers and first responders put themselves in harm's way to save as many lives as possible. Our first responders are committed to the safety of this community, and they stand ready to protect and serve.”
