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Show A8 The SaltLake Tribune NATION Thursday, May 13, 1999 Cops Under Microscope for Actions.at Columbine pects, police searched them, then the building. Amongpolice experts, the wis- Some wonder whyit took so long to secure the school, but police say they faced an ‘unthinkable’situation THE WASHINGTON POST When two teen-age gunmen tore through Columbine High School on a shooting rampage last month, police officers from across the Denver area descended swiftly on the scene. But theex- traordinary law enforcement response was hamperedby the simplest of problems — they could not communicate with one another. Decisions made at ahastily as- to share guns and vests. Eleven men shared one protective shield. Pulling onhis bulletproofvest, Manwaringasked four adolescent boys if they knew the building's floor plan, then ran to his car for paper and pen. Theysketchedout a maze of doors and hallways. At roughly11:51 a.m., guided bythis crude blueprint, Manwaring en- tered the school Hecarried somethingelse, too — a haunting imageof a pair of ern KentuckyUniversity. But police commander Joe Pelle, who was at Columbine as headof the Boulder SWAT team, arguesthat textbook rules did not apply. Forming an emergency team, he said, “is an extremely risky thing to do. You'rebasically deciding somebodyon your team 1. likely to get shot. . In mostsit- ing instructions, police moved other stuff goes out the window. Somebody hasto get in there and methodically through the build- ing, evacuating students instead of raeing through thecorridorsin jurisdictions, however necessary search of the gunmen. But that meant hours would pass before SWATteamsreacheda critically wounded teacher on the second floor. Serious questions remain about whether police made errors in judgment that day, when 13 to sendin police from numerous introduced one of the most critical challenges — the lack of a common radio channel police could useto talk to one another. Fight tactical teams were formed fromfive jurisdictions. But officers in and around the clear thatpolice faceda rangeof ing. They were told at one point that they should be looking for critical problems, fromthelack of a common radio channel to the more than two shooters and per- dreds of terrified students. of students and teachers trapped quandary of how to handle hun- haps as many assix. Adding to the confusion, scores The massacre at Columbineis quickly becomingacasestudy for inside wereusing countless cellulartelephones, school telephones SWATteamsnationwide, dissect- and even computer messages to tortuous detail for all that went where they were hiding and wherepolice could find thesus- ed minuteby minute, critiquedin wrong andright during thegruel ing police rescue mission. alert police and family about Enduring Dilemmas: At time when hundreds of American cities have assembled rapid-re- sponse SWATteams, Columbine isa vivid reminder of difficult, enduring law enforcement dilemmas. Howfast should police move when faced with rampaging shooters? Should the primary goal berescuingvictimsorelimi nating the threat? When can cau- tion cost lives? For law enforcement officials. deconstructing that day’s deci strobe lights, halls filled with water from the sprinkler system. He tried to pinpoint the loca- pects. Of the county’s 32 emer- were shootings. Crucial information coming out of the building, however, was not reaching theofficers inside. the first SWATteam, said they werenever told that a teacher was gravely woundedupstairs. In theory, throwing together a makeshift SWATteamis a “horribleidea,” said Victor Keppele police studies professor at East- SWATteams declared the school safe. Patzoness of the Arts they're in this part. Seventeen hostages on the east side. You there. Both shooters down. We hadkids calling us fromtheattic. Calls were coming from the audi- torium, the business office and the math room. Where the hell’s the math room?” Manwaring’s roughly drawn floor plan did notsuffice to guide The commanders, in turn, re- The Home Furnishings Mall is pleased to introducethe beauly annd ea of ATHEN. The quality andartistry designedto last aslongasthelegend. ona white erasable board. A second SWATteam entered the building shortly after noon. At Visit today andseethis breathtaking collection. To celebrate this much ant ipated introduc tion, we are offering 6 OS no interest no payments* and an additional < savings on the entire 12:20 p.m., police put out a call for more ammunition. After 1 p.m., a third SWATteam went in ATHENA collection nowPunt May 31. 1999 sions is critical for the future. The Littleton tragedy will not be the country’s last school shooting, ex perts warn. But it represents a test Most of the officers on hand outside. A shooter here, a shooter lied on Columbine Principal Frank DeAngelis, who was huddied there with them, sketching the school layout with a marker 15 potential suspects. that day arguethatthe police response should not becriticized, have kids inside, you have kids Manwaring and Denver police Capt. Vince DiManna, also partof channels, cers found Dave Sanders. At 3:30 p.m., police found 12 dead in the library, including Harris and Klebold. An hour later, at 4:30 p.m., sizes team safetyand,in this situation, would view all students as this part of the building; no, officers through the modern, expansive structure of 80 classrooms. They relied on radio instructions fromsupervisorsat the command post to find their way. 911 day. It was 3 p.m. when SWAToffi- SWAT approach, which empha- Gpoddess of Wisdom tion of gunfire and detonating jammed with calls about the gency of these students couldbethe sus- killers ended before noon that ing fire alarms, glaring security werefinding Information that reached the early SWAT officers was conflict- Police movement through the school was excruciatingly slow. Behindvirtually every classroom door and in every office, police found pockets of students and teachers, hiding, sometimes begging for help. Not knowingif any is Manwaring’s goal. Once inside the building, the of- “We weregettingall sorts of information from outside,” he said. “Two to six shooters. They're in Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then killed themselves. But dozens of interviews with officers and others on the scene make it would be inside the building. imaginable environment — blar- bombs, but foundit impossible where they were or what they chronology is stark: Police say the shots fired by the the shooters? The answer lies in a standard ficers found themselves in an un- building could not communicate peopledied at the hands of Eric Eventually, more than 50 officers However, when you have evil people killing children, all the a classroom window The decision by Jefferson County law enforcement officials cruciating consequences. Follow- extraordinary circumstances. Nevertheless, the Columbine dom of a methodical approachis a point of debate. Why didn’t the police send someofficers to find uations you wouldn't do that handshe hadseen pressed against sembled commandpost had ex- that stan lard police practice must be vented on thefly in escorted them, hands up, out of Complimentary design service is available to our customers. no police force had ever BEARDSLEYPL faced: bombs exploding as un- known gunmen shot their way through a building crowded with nearly 2,000 panicking students andteachers The images of April 20arestill fresh: scores of police officers milling aroundoutside the school building, even as an ominous sign hangs in an upstairs window: bleeding to death.’ “1 Students pressing their shirts against a teacher's wounds for hours, show “i HOMEFURNI ReteRicom Tas _ IN ROME ESTIMATES LING 995 W, Beardsley Place (2480 South) « Tel: (801) 973-7987« Toll Free: www-homefurnishingsmall.com 487-5662 800-456-8759 +On Quaitied Credit Bernhardt CMBUBLIDS © VERTICALS © ROMAN Stat BLINDS © CRYSTAL PLEAT SHUTTERS © Or, DRAPERIES ® PLEATEDSH * Henredon ¢ “NOW YOU CAN AFFORD THE BEST” ing himphotos fromhis wallet to keephim alive This is beyond the worst-case scenario they train for unthinkable,” the Oc said Larry Glick chairmanof the National Tactical Officers Association Glick’s organization is already weekends nationwide recommending that SWAT teams (500 minutes a month) train for potential crises in schools. The group will also dis seminate to other SWAT teams “a lot of lessons learned out of Col 10° umbine’ when the official report compiled by authorities is com. plete, he said a minute weekdays Part of the goal in the reviews will be to answer criticism that it (at 400 included minutes) took far too long to reachcritical ly wounded teacher ers, particular Dave Sand counts that the s in 45 minutes or less Others have asked why SWAT teams inside the building were not told about Sanders’ plight, de spite telephone calls from a stu dent in the science room and the window sign warning that some one was perilously wounded pe Lakewood police said when they Noonegives you more statewide anytime minutes andincluded features for $39a month, Knock, knock. saw the sign, they asked to go in to Who's calling everywhere for FREE rescue the victim but were told by the commander in charge that two other police departments were al ready in that part of the building Guaranteed. this WEEKEND? Rapid Response: While px | lice were hampered by numerou problems, 4 slow initial response was not amongthem For Lt, Terry Manwaring, Jef ferson County's SWAT command er, the day was ajolting trip from { You are. the sublime to the unthinkable He arrived at Columbine at 11:38 a.m. to find pandemonium, Traumatized people werefleeing the building. Klebold and Harris Othergreat plans start at 19% werefiring shots inside tossing homemade bombs and sho officers in the parkinglot The Jefferson County S artment quickly established a command post,” a police bus rked a half block from the nool, where Lt. David Walcher would spend the next several Gel move feom We. | hours giving orders to SWAT team leaders from other police departments. Meanwhile, Manwaring who was desperate to get inside the building, patched together a makeshift police team fromJef ferson County, Denver andLittle ton His team, he said, was “a pretty ragtag SWAT outfit.” Most offi cers had no gear and were forced ) | yeled Features Caller 1D Call 1-888-Streams for details (787-3267) VOICESTREAM STORES Fina Incoming Minute Free AUTHORIZED DEALERS syn Ato Fat Mal Eaprons Pan Staples VoiceMail And More |
