STRATEGY

Orlando Cop: We Were Told Not to Pursue Omar Mateen

“I was following lieutenant’s command.”

Police officers responding to the mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub earlier this month were told to stay put for at least 15 minutes before entering the bathroom where shooter Omar Mateen was holding hostages, one of the officers told The Washington Post. “I was following lieutenant’s command,” said Brandon Cornwell, 25, the first responding officer to speak publicly. While he was aiming at the bathroom door, he could see movement inside and hear people screaming. “We took up a tactical position by the bar standpoint in the middle of the club,” he recalled. Soon after, Cornwell and his fellow officers were instructed to take a 15-20 minute-long “holding pattern” before SWAT teams arrived.