List of Columbine records released
By The Associated Press
07.27.02
DENVER — Officials on July 24 released an almost complete list of records on the Columbine High School shootings compiled by the 55 police, fire and other agencies that responded to the massacre. But the documents on the list are not necessarily open to the public.
Most of the items on the list, contained in three notebooks each 4 to 5 inches thick, are considered criminal justice records. Under state law, it is up to the agency holding such documents to decide whether to release them.
On July 24, the Columbine Records Task Force also filed a friend-of-the-court brief encouraging the Colorado Court of Appeals to overturn a decision by Jefferson County District Judge Brooke Jackson to keep some Columbine records sealed. Those records include videotapes, journals and written materials made by Columbine students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.
Harris and Klebold killed 13 people before committing suicide at the school on April 20, 1999. Twenty-three others were wounded.
Attorney General Ken Salazar, who co-founded the task force, said he would file a similar brief as attorney general.
"We want to make sure the citizens of Colorado are confident that the government is not hiding anything," Salazar said. "The best way to do that is to make everything available."
Sheriff's office spokeswoman Jacki Tallman said her agency is defending itself against lawsuits and is complying with judges' orders to keep some records sealed.