Security guard sued by victims of mass shooting

Initially hailed a hero in 2016 Orlando attack, suit claims he stayed outside

As the first officer to exchange gunfire with the mass shooter who terrorized Orlando’s Pulse nightclub on the morning of June 12, 2016, Adam Gruler was quickly hailed a hero. For his actions, the Orlando Police Department honoured him with a “Pulse Valor Award,” and Rep. Val Demings invited him to be her guest at U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

But nearly two years later, some of the victims and the families of those who died are telling a different story.

In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, the victims and families claim Gruler, who was working an extra job as Pulse’s security guard that night, remained outside “to ensure his own safety” while the gunman shot and killed 49 people and injured 68 others inside Pulse.

Gruler is one of 31 Orlando officers sued, but the only one of them identified by name. The plaintiffs contend that Gruler and the other Orlando police officers acted too slowly and failed to protect the nightclub’s patrons as the alleged gunman, Omar Mateen, opened fire on the club and then held hostages for more than three hours inside the bathroom.

At a news conference Thursday, family members of those who died, as well as those who were at the club that night, said they believed police could have saved more lives had they acted quicker.

“It pains me to think my brother might still be alive if the defendants in the lawsuit acted differently,” said Berto Capo, who lost his brother Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo in the shooting. “What if the Pulse security guard stopped the shooter from ever coming inside Pulse? Would my brother still be alive? What if the Orlando police officers who responded to the shooting were aggressive with the plan to rescue hostages and victims and killed the shooter? Would my brother still be alive?

“We believe the answer is yes,” Capo said. “(My brother) would still be alive if their actions would have been faster.”

In a joint statement, the Orlando Police Department and City of Orlando, also a defendant, said they had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment on the substance of the litigation.

The lawsuit accuses Gruler of being the first to fail the victims. The plaintiffs claim Gruler “abandoned his post” inside the club, making it easier for the shooter to enter without being stopped at the door. But in his account given to the Orlando Sentinel in the days after the shooting, Gruler said he left the club because he was searching for a teenager who had gotten in with a fake ID.

Gruler couldn’t find him inside, he said, so he headed out to the parking lot to take a look — and that’s when he heard the shots ring out.

Dash cam footage captured Gruler firing at Mateen from the parking lot at 2:02 a.m., but, realizing he was outgunned, Gruler said he called for backup and remained outside.

“Not only did the officer allow this to take place by apparently abandoning his post,” attorney Solomon Radner said, “but also instead of immediately going in and neutralizing the shooter, he appeared to be primarily concerned about his own safety. He stayed outside where it was safe and allowed dozens of people to be massacred, knowing that was taking place, knowing that he was the only armed person there who could stop this. That was his job.”

The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.