The Orlando Police Department has closed its investigation into the former owners of the Pulse nightclub without filing any charges. Victims’ families and survivors of the killing of 49 patrons at the LGBTQ-friendly club had asked law enforcement to investigate them for possible criminal culpability.
No charges will be filed against former owners Barbara and Rosario Poma because probable cause didn’t exist for involuntary manslaughter by culpable negligence, the Orlando police said this week in an emailed statement.
About two dozen people, mostly survivors and family members of those who died in the 2016 shooting, gave statements to investigators. They said that building plans weren’t available to first responders during the three hours hostages were held in the club and that unpermitted renovations and building modifications had occurred. They also maintained that the club was likely above capacity, that it had operated for years in violation of its conditional use permit, and that there were security and risk-management failures.
Despite efforts to reach the the Pomas, investigators weren’t able to interview them. Sara Brady, a spokesperson for the Pomas, said Wednesday that they aren’t issuing a statement.
Investigators concluded that the lack of building plans didn’t hamper rescuers, that it was impossible to identify how many people were in the club that night, that the city of Orlando never took any action against Pulse when the nightclub changed its interior, and that there were too many unknowns about how gunman Omar Mateen entered.
None of the Pomas’ actions were done “with a reckless disregard for human life,” and “they could not have reasonably foreseen or anticipated a terrorist incident taking place at Pulse,” investigators wrote in a report.
On its Facebook page, the group Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice called the investigation a “sham” in a post.
“It’s really very simple. There should be some accountability and a legitimate investigation. Not this joke report,” the post said.
Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed after a three-hour standoff with police.
The Pulse shooting’s death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas.
The city of Orlando purchased the Pulse property last year for $2 million.
Before the Pomas and another businessperson sold the property, Barbara Poma was the executive director of the onePulse Foundation, the nonprofit that had been leading efforts to build a memorial and museum. The original project, unveiled in 2019 by the onePulse Foundation, called for a museum and permanent memorial costing $45 million. That estimate eventually soared to $100 million.
Barbara Poma stepped down as executive director in 2022 and left the organization entirely last year amid conflict-of-interest criticism over her stated desire to sell the Pulse property instead of donating it.
The city has since outlined more modest plans for a memorial. The original idea for a museum has been scrapped, and city leaders formed an advisory board to help determine what the memorial will look like.
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