U.S. Attorney Refuses To Convene Columbine Grand Jury

DENVER -- Federal prosecutors on Thursday declined to convene a grand jury to examine allegations a police officer killed a Columbine High student during the 1999 massacre, saying there is no evidence of a crime.

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

The announcement came on the same day that an Arapahoe County Deputy was placed on leave while an investigation begins into what he did and didn't see the day of the Columbine massacre.

Gov. Bill Owens said he would not ask for a separate investigation, and U.S. Attorney John Suthers said no federal crimes have been alleged.

"We have not received a formal request. Before devoting resources, we need to have a reasonable belief a federal crime has occurred," said Suthers' spokesman, Jeff Dorschner.

The parents of four students slain during the high school massacre called for a federal investigation, saying they had proof a police officer accidentally shot student Daniel Rohrbough and authorities tried to conceal it.

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.

Brian Rohrbough's TV appearance came a day after he released a tape recording of what he said was an Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy describing his son getting shot.

During a Wednesday news conference Rohrbough, played a tape recording of a voice he identified as deputy Jim Taylor describing his son's shooting. The man on the tape says he was dispatched to Columbine when gunfire broke out.

"I'm right there and I see this through my window .... 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," the voice says.

He said he recognized the boy as Rohrbough's son through a photo in a newspaper the next day.

The recording was made without Taylor's knowledge 11 months after the shootings during dinner with Sue Petrone, Daniel Rohrbough's mother, and her husband, Rich Petrone, longtime friends of Taylor's.

In a statement taken by an Arapahoe County deputy on Monday, Taylor said the only thing he told the Petrones was what he had seen on television and read in newspapers.

Taylor was placed on leave Thursday, 7NEWS reported.

Rohrbough, Sue Petrone and the parents of Lauren Townsend, Kelly Fleming and Matthew Kechter have asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock to reinstate their federal lawsuit, one of eight he dismissed in November, based on new evidence.

The suit alleged authorities ignored advance warnings of the April 20, 1999, attack and botched the rescue. Gunmen Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide at the school.

Pam Russell, spokeswoman for Jefferson County District Attorney Dave Thomas, said Thursday there is no evidence for a grand jury to review.

"You have to believe there was criminal conduct to convene a grand jury. We have no reason to believe there was anything criminal that took place during the investigation," she said.

Russell said she sympathizes with the relatives who want more information. She said a grand jury investigation would complicate the issue by requiring that any information uncovered be kept secret unless indictments were returned.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Pat Sullivan said he was disturbed by apparent contradictions between the tape and the statement given by his deputy and has asked to meet with Rohrbough.

"It really, seriously disturbs me," said Sullivan, who said he will wait until he hears the full two-hour tape before deciding on any action.

Taylor did not return calls left with the sheriff's office seeking comment.

El Paso County Sheriff John Anderson already has agreed to a request from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office to investigate claims that a Denver SWAT officer shot and killed Daniel Rohrbough when police converged on Columbine. His father has dismissed that investigation as biased.

Owens said the Columbine Review Commission, chaired by former Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice William Erickson, did a thorough job looking into the case. He said he will leave any further investigation to authorities and the courts.

In a report released last May, the commission concluded that authorities failed to recognize and act on numerous advance signs that the two student gunmen were planning the deadly attack.