Among the issues on the table: Whether the lawyer representing the survivors, Solomon Radner, can sue police officers as John Doe 1-30 without naming the specific officers who came to the club in the early hours of June 12, 2016.
The only officer named in the lawsuit was Officer Adam Gruler, who was at Pulse that morning working an extra-duty shift.
Orlando police officials later estimated that the shooter fired more than 200 rounds in fewer than five minutes. Though Gruler fired at the gunman from two spots outside the club, it took officers six minutes to enter the club.
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.
Radner’s 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.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The assigned judge is Paul G. Byron, the same person who presided over the trial of the shooter’s widow, Noor Salman. Salman was acquitted of aiding and abetting her husband and obstruction of justice after a month-long trial in March.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more details.
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