Parkland att’y ‘bird’ flip furor
A lawyer for Parkland, Fla., mass murderer Nikolas Cruz who appeared to raise her middle finger to cameras during the sentencing phase of his trial is being investigated by the Florida State Bar Association.
Footage of the incident shows annoyed public defender Tamara Curtis noting a cameraman pointing a lens in her direction before the start of a court session.
She then appears to confer with Cruz and another member of her team at the defense table before waving at the camera and raising her finger while scratching the side of her face.
The childish move drew a rare chuckle from Cruz, who was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for slaughtering 14 kids and three teachers in one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
Several relatives of those killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School denounced Curtis’ behavior — and said Cruz’s defense team failed to show them minimal “humanity” over the course of his sentencing trial.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was shot dead in the attack, had seen the gesture and called Curtis an “immature punk child” after Cruz was formally sentenced Wednesday.
“I will never ever, ever forgive that moment,” Guttenberg said. “But that’s who they were.”
Other speakers who addressed the court before Cruz’s sentencing expressed disdain for Cruz’s attorneys — who at one point complained to the judge that the victims’ families appeared to be inciting violence against them.
A jury opted against giving Cruz the death penalty at his sentencing trial last month, citing “underlying factors” such as his being affected by fetal alcohol syndrome and having a tough upbringing.
Curtis, who received her law degree from Ohio State University, has been practicing since 2004 and has no prior disciplinary history. The bar association declined to say what its investigation is about or whether her conduct during the trial would be called into question.
Curtis did not immediately return a request for comment.