ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 35 victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre and their lawyers announced that they have filed a civil rights lawsuit.
The announcement came Thursday morning. The lawsuit includes the city of Orlando, the Orlando Police Department, and Adam Gruler, an OPD officer who was working as security at the time of the massacre.
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The lawsuit alleges the defendants violated the constitutional rights of people who were injured and killed in the shooting.
Gruler was the off-duty, in-uniform officer who was working security the night of the shooting. During the federal trial of the shooter's wife, Noor Salam, her attorney showed evidence that Gruler left his post before the shooting while pursuing an underage person in the club.
"If he would have been where he was supposed to be, Gruler could have engaged the gunman, Omar Mateen," said Soloman Radner, the attorney representing the victims.
Survivors are also claiming a 4th Amendment violation. Pollack says while people were running they were detained and taken to a law enforcement facility where they were denied food, water, and bathroom breaks. They were also not allowed contact with their families.
"You are not allowed to be forcibly detained even though a crime took place," Radner said.
The owners of the nightclub were not named in the lawsuit. But Radner says the owners could be named in a future lawsuit.