- The father of a teen killed during the massacre at Columbine
High School is going public with a tape he claims suggests a police cover-up
in the death of his son.
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- On the tape, played in part this morning on ABCNEWS'
Good Morning America , an Arapahoe County, Colo., sheriff's deputy seems
to give an account of 15-year-old Daniel Rohrbough's death that is at odds
with the long-standing official police version and a new police statement
released Monday.
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- Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. - whose
department was one of several that responded to the April 20, 1999, shootings
at the high school in Littleton in Jefferson County - denied knowing of
any cover-up. He said he has placed Deputy Jim Taylor on administrative
leave while he investigates the differences between the comments on the
tape and a statement Taylor gave to investigators.
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- "I firmly believe there is no cover-up in the Columbine
investigation," Sullivan said today. "I am deeply troubled by
the comments of Jim Taylor that could have misled the Rohrboughs, and we're
investigating the contents of the tape and Taylor's role at Columbine."
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- The official version of events found that Daniel Rohrbough
died after being shot by one of the two student gunmen. Ballistic reports
were inconclusive.
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- On the tape, a speaker - who Daniel's father, Brian Rohrbough,
claims is Taylor - said he saw Daniel Rohrbough "drop" on a sidewalk
while fleeing the shooting spree inside the school.
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- "When I come around kids were still running out
of the building," the voice on the tape said. "And you could
hear glass breaking and you could see kids running everywhere and that's
when I see the boy coming down the sidewalk, you know, and I see him just
fall down."
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- On another part of the tape, the speaker said he learned
from a newspaper photograph the following day that the boy he saw fall
was Rohrbough.
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- However, in a four-page statement to police last week,
Taylor said: "During my assignment, I didn't hear or see any gunfire
or see Daniel Rohrbough get shot."
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- Sullivan said he released an official police statement
Monday outlining Taylor's denial that he witnessed the death of Rohrbough.
Sullivan said the statement was released before he knew about the existence
of a tape.
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- Brian Rohrbough said the tape was secretly recorded by
his ex-wife, Sue Petrone, who is Daniel's mother, during a dinner with
Taylor and his wife 11 months after Columbine. He said the comments on
the tape echoed comments Taylor made to him and his ex-wife immediately
after the shooting.
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- "Jim Taylor sat as a family friend and told us this
story one day after the shooting," Brian Rohrbough said. "We
waited for five months to hear Jefferson County's version. And their version
didn't work. They couldn't explain some of the issues of the position they
said Dan was in, and the lack of recovering the bullet."
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- Brian Rohrbough has said he believes his son was shot
accidentally by a Denver police officer, not by Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold,
the two student gunmen blamed for the 1999 shooting spree. A witness claimed
in a federal court deposition that, soon after the incident, an officer
told her he feared he might have killed a student at Columbine.
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- Rohrbough and the parents of three other students said
Wednesday they wanted a federal investigation into the Columbine incident
- in which 12 students, a teacher, Harris and Klebold died. Several parents
have asked a district judge to reinstate a lawsuit, dismissed in November,
that alleges local law enforcement mishandled its response to the shootings
and therefore bears some responsibility.
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- A legal analyst said on Good Morning America the tape
appears to expose deception by the police.
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- "This latest lie - and you can't call it anything
but a lie - raises all sorts of questions," said Craig Silverman,
a former Denver prosecutor. "People lie for a reason. If we can get
to the reason, then perhaps we'll know more about the truth of what happened
at Columbine."
-
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- ABCNEWS' Michael S. James contributed to this report.
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- Comment
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- From Leon B Todd, Jr
leontodd@dejazzd.com
1-4-2
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- Hi Jeff, I'm a regular reader of your web site. This
is the first time that I've felt it necessary to write. Concerning the
article "Tape Suggests Alternate Columbine Scenario":
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- 1. I believe that Officer Taylor is telling the truth.
2. The following are facts from Mr. Rohrbough's tape which he attributes
to Officer
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- Taylor: A. Kids were running out of the building. B.
You could hear glass breaking. C. Kids running everywhere. D. I see a
boy coming down the sidewalk. E. I see him just fall down.
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- 3. The following is from Officer Taylor's statement
from last week: "During my assignment, I didn't hear or see any gunfire
or see Daniel Rohrbough get shot".
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- How can anyone claim that the tape and the statement
contradict one another? On the tape, the officer saw kids running, heard
glass breaking and saw a boy fall down. NOTE: No mention of gunfire.
In Officer Taylor's statement he tells that he heard no gunfire and did
not see the boy get shot. Taylor's statement, in fact, corroborates,
the tape.
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- I believe the boy was shot inside the school and fled
until he could go no further. I was a hunter and I know of heart-shot deer
that traveled more than 100 yards after impact. I believe that this is
what occurred that day. I'm truly sorry for the Rohrbough family. Losing
a son would be one of the hardest things to face in this life. However,
I also believe that Officer Taylor must be treated fairly.
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- I would ask Mr Craig Silverman to explain his remark
and show us the lie.
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- Sincerely Yours,
Leon Todd
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