Tape Disputes Sheriff's Columbine Account

LITTLETON, Colo. -- The father of slain Columbine student Daniel Rohrbough appeared on "Good Morning America" Thursday to press his contention that his son died when he was mistakenly shot by a police officer.

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Are You Interested In Columbine Stories?Hear The Tape That Points To Alleged Columbine Cover-Up

Brian Rohrbough's TV appearance came a day after he released a tape recording of what he said was a deputy describing his son getting shot. Rohrbough identified the deputy as Jim Taylor, who works for the Arapahoe County Sheriff.

Sheriff Pat Sullivan had earlier denied that his deputy witnessed the shooting.

Brian Rohrbough filed a motion Dec. 26 claiming Taylor said a Denver police officer was near him on the southwest side of the school during the massacre and that he remembers hearing machine gun fire and seeing a boy, later identified as Rohrbough, get shot.

"You could hear glass breaking, 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," Taylor tells Sue Petrone, Rohrbough's mother, on a recording reportedly made in March 2000.

Taylor recalled telling his wife, "you know I seen some kid get shot," according to Petrone.

The boy is not named in the portion of the 2½-hour tape that was aired.

On Tuesday, a news release from the Arapahoe County sheriff's office written under Taylor's name stated that he was never on the southwest side of the building. Instead, the release said Taylor was on the east side of the school where he assisted in the evacuation of students and staff for about four hours.

Taylor had told reporters that he didn't hear any gunshots on April 20, 1999, the day 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School in suburban Jefferson County were killed before attackers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed themselves.

He had also claimed that he hadn't said anything to the Rohrboughs, family friends for two decades, to lead them to believe that he witnessed shots being fired at Columbine.

"For him to come out and say he never said these things, he never witnessed these things, is a bald-faced lie," Petrone said.

Taylor on Tuesday night did not return a phone message left at his house.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff's office said they will not comment until they have a chance to listen to the Rohrbough's tapes.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan refused to comment, but said through spokeswoman Cindy Everetts, that he will investigate the recording.

El Paso County Sheriff John Anderson will lead an independent investigation into Rohrbough's claim that Denver police Sgt. Dan O'Shea shot and killed his son when police converged on Columbine.

O'Shea has said Rohrbough was dead before he arrived at Columbine. The Jefferson County district attorney's office concluded no students were shot by police.

Rohrbough said Taylor first told him of what he saw the day after the shootings and Sue Petrone made the tape 11 months later in preparation for a lawsuit.

"I find it very difficult to believe that Jim Taylor denies saying these things," Rohrbough told The Associated Press. "It's interesting that things (he) told us... have turned out to match exactly the evidence that wasn't released as late as two years later. There was no way he was not at the scene and witnessed what happened."

The lawsuit by the Rohrboughs was among eight thrown out by a federal judge in November. The dismissals are being appealed.

The lawsuits by those killed or wounded at Columbine claim law enforcement and school officials should have heeded warning signs before the rampage and bungled the response the day of the shootings.

The families of several other Columbine victims joined the Rorhbough family, saying they deserve to know the truth about how their children died.

"I've never asked for anything but the truth and I'm still waiting for it," parent Dawn Ana said.