ORLANDO, Fla. — As the City of Orlando plans to allow Pulse survivors and victim’s families inside the building for the very first time, some are mad over a waiver they are being asked to sign.
“It’s outrageous to do that to a parent.” Christine Leinonen is talking about this waiver she received from the City of Orlando, requiring them to sign if they want to go inside Pulse in June.
It’s where her son Drew took his last breath after the mass shooting. We asked if she plans to go in, and she replied, “Yes, definitely. I’m between a rock and a hard place. What else can I do? They have left me with no options.”
The waiver releases the city from liability if anyone is injured physically or emotionally during the site visit. Christine says, “They’re not saying trust us it’s safe. They’re saying, hey, we’re telling you it’s not safe, but it’s on you if you want to go in; it’s all on you at your own risk.”
A city spokesperson says they believe the building is safe and said, “This release outlines the parameters surrounding participation in the upcoming Pulse site visit and is standard practice for government-sponsored activities, especially those involving transportation to and from sites. These protocols are established to ensure the safety and emotional well-being of the victims’ families and survivors.
As additional background, as we have mentioned, we are following models and best practices from other communities. The NTSB also has a waiver they require participants to sign when they do a site visit.
We talked to attorney Todd Miner via phone about the importance of signing a waiver, “It’s not surprising that the city would request that. They are obviously trying to protect their interests. As a family member, I would probably be a little bit offended by it as well.”
Christine says, “We’re being forced to sign it.” She says advocates have offered to pay for a building inspection for the city. We talked to a parent whose son died during the Parkland shooting and went inside the school afterward.
We asked Max Schachter if it helped him heal. He replied, “For me, yes, I had questions that I wanted to understand. I sit on the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas HS Public Safety Commission.”
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