Judge: Make Pulse lawsuit more specific
An attorney claiming Orlando police officers violated the civil rights of Pulse nightclub patrons by not immediately trying to capture the shooter has two weeks to file another complaint explaining the allegations in more detail, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
The lawsuit currently names one officer: Adam Gruler, who was at Pulse on June 12, 2016, working an extra-duty shift. The rest are named as John Does 1 through 30, which District Judge Paul G. Byron said was too vague.
“It’s a lack of particulars in the pleading that causes me concern that it’s not been well thought-out, and that places a burden upon the defense,” Byron said.
The shooting left 49 people dead and dozens more injured. Police burst through a wall and killed the shooter just after 5 a.m., three hours after the ordeal began. Orlando police officials later estimated that the shooter fired more than 200 rounds in less than five min-
“It’s a lack of particulars in the pleading that causes me concern that it’s not been well thought-out ... ” Judge Paul G. Byron
utes when he first opened fire at 2:02 a.m. Though Gruler fired at the gunman from two spots outside Pulse, it took officers six minutes to arrive and enter the club.
The lawsuit also claims officers infringed upon the rights of patrons who were not killed or injured by keeping them in custody, sometimes for hours and without the ability to contact their frantic loved ones, until they could give officers a statement about what they saw.
But, Byron said, the complaint does not name specific officers or describe their actions individually, only in the aggregate. Defendants cannot respond to the lawsuit without knowing exactly who was involved and what they are accused of doing, he said.
Solomon Radner, the Michigan-based attorney representing more than 50 Pulse survivors, said he wanted to get more records from the city before naming any officers. He asked that city officials search through their records for the names of his clients and give him any reports where they are mentioned before he rewrites the complaint, assuming that those reports would also have the names of the officers who detained them. Byron declined to allow that.
“I can’t tell you how to file the suit, but there are no special rules that apply to anyone, no matter how tragic the case is. I have to follow the law,” Byron said. “I don’t deviate from the law — ever.”
In the weeks and months after the attack, city officials released dispatch reports that say when each officer arrived at the club, as well as officers’ written accounts of what they did that morning. Those documents, released in response to public-records requests from reporters, are still available on the city’s website with some redactions.
Radner now has two weeks to file another complaint, Byron said. Even if he cannot find the name of each officer, he should at least describe exactly what each survivor went through and how his or her rights were violated, Byron said.
“This is a tragic case, obviously,” said David King, who is representing the city. “But the city of Orlando’s Police Department performed in heroic form.”
Radner’s law partner is representing Pulse survivors in a separate lawsuit claiming the club’s owners were negligent. That suit was filed in Orange County Circuit Court days after the federal suit, and the defendants have not yet filed a formal response to allegations.
Byron also presided over the trial of shooter Omar Mateen’s widow, Noor Salman. She was acquitted of aiding and abetting her husband and obstruction of justice after a monthlong trial in March.