The Department of Justice announced Friday it will review the Orlando Police Department’s response to last month’s mass shooting at Pulse nightclub.
Orlando Police Chief John Mina asked for the “comprehensive after-action assessment,” said Ronald Davis, the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services director.
“The lessons learned from this independent, objective and critical review of such a high-profile incident will benefit not only the Orlando Police Department and its community. It will also serve to provide all law enforcement critical guidance and recommendations for responding to further such incidents,” Davis said.
The DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, will assess how the Orlando police department was prepared for and responded to the attack, the strategies and tactics it used and how it is managing the aftermath.
The assessment will be done through COPS’ Critical Response Technical Assistance program.
The June 12 attack on Pulse nightclub, a gay nightclub in Orlando, left 49 people dead and 53 others injured.
The shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was shot and killed by Orlando police after a three-hour standoff during which paramedics were not allowed inside because the situation was considered active.
Police said Mateen had two firefights with police during the incident before holing up in a bathroom inside the nightclub. Mateen called police around 2:35 a.m. and spoke with authorities before they moved in around 5 a.m., resulting in his death.
Mateen reportedly entered the club a little before 2 a.m., and opened fire moments later.
Authorities have defended their decision to wait so long to go into the nightclub during the hostage situation.
Orlando Fire Department’s District Chief Bryan Davis, who was the incident commander the night of the attack, has said they were “not equipped to handle an active shooter.”
The attack was the deadliest attack against LGBT people in U.S. history, as well as the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11.
