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- DENVER (AP) _ One lawsuit
contends police had a chance to shoot one of the teen-age gunmen during
the rampage at Columbine High School. Another claims a victim died from
an officer's bullet.
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- With at least nine new lawsuits accusing the Jefferson
County Sheriff's Department of mishandling the Columbine shootings, one
legal analyst says it's too early to dismiss the litigation as mere finger-pointing.
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- "Already we've seen this week that these lawsuits
have forced into the public domain some information that wasn't yet public
and in and of itself that's a good thing," said Denver legal analyst
Andrew Cohen.
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- Sheriff's deputies are accused of mishandling their response
and ignoring advance warnings of the shootings.
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- "We are confident that the claims are without any
legal merit and we will defend them vigorously," Jefferson County
Attorney Frank Hutfless said.
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- The new lawsuits were filed Wednesday, a day before the
one-year anniversary of the tragedy in the suburb of Littleton. Teen-age
gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold fatally shot 12 students and a teacher
before killing themselves in the April 20, 1999, massacre.
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- State law requires that lawsuits against government agencies
be filed within one year of the disputed action. Thursday was the deadline
for suits related to the Columbine shootings.
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- Angela Sanders, daughter of slain teacher Dave Sanders,
contends a sharpshooter on the roof of a nearby house had a "clear
view" of Klebold through a library window, but was denied permission
to fire.
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- Her lawsuit also states sharpshooters witnessed the suicides
of Klebold and Harris through high-powered binoculars and rifle scopes
about an hour after the first shots were fired, but sheriff's commanders
for nearly four hours prevented "anyone from taking any action directed
at rescuing or saving the life of Dave Sanders."
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- Sanders, 47, was shot twice as he shepherded students
out of the cafeteria and into hiding places when the shooting began. He
ran upstairs and was pulled into a science room, where he remained for
four hours before rescue crews arrived. Some officials have said Sanders'
wounds were so severe he would have died even if he had been reached earlier.
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- In a second lawsuit, filed by five families, lawyers
contend Daniel Rohrbough was killed by police, not the gunmen. The claim
is based on reports from a police officer and teacher, the position of
his body and the trajectory of the fatal bullet.
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- They also alleged sheriff's deputies failed to rescue
the students in a timely manner and failed to properly train deputies,
dispatchers and 911 operators.
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- Additionally, the lawsuit said that an unidentified person
within the sheriff's department was a friend of Harris' father, Wayne Harris.
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- That person, the lawsuit said, "effectively terminated"
procedures prior to the shootings that would have resulted in a search
of the Harrises' home after deputies became aware that the father found
a pipe bomb made by his son and exploded it in a vacant field.
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- A search "would have discovered additional bomb-making
materials and bombs," the lawsuit said.
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- Rohrbough was killed outside the school. Families of
Matt Kechter, Lauren Townsend, Kyle Velasquez and Kelly Fleming, who died
in the library, were included in the Rohrbough suit.
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- Lawsuits have been filed in both state and federal court
by families of slain student Isaiah Shoels and injured victims Richard
Castaldo, Lance Kirklin, Mark Taylor, Kacey Ruegsegger, Valeen Schnurr,
Evan Todd, Jeanna Park and Sean Graves.
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