Public access to police reports on shootings?

J

Jeff Thomas

New member
I have no interest in intruding on the tragedy and grief of others. And, I'm not interested in macabre descriptions of crime victims. But, I'm getting pretty darn interested in honest debate re: the RKBA!

So, a question for our LEO friends and anyone else with relevant experience. Can we obtain 'official' reports on incidents such as the shootings at Columbine HS? I don't need or want names of victims, but I do want to understand as well as possible exactly what happened, and what was used to kill those victims. Our political leaders are clearly not too interested in reality, and the media seems even less inclined.

We keep hearing how these poor kids where gunned down by 'assault weapons'. From what I've heard, the shotguns were much more likely to be the main instruments of carnage. It clearly makes a difference, since incidents such as this are used to drum up support for banning all kinds of things - usually unrelated to the reality of the situation.

So ... can we get that data and / or those police reports?

Thanks.

Regards from AZ
 
Jeff, police reports are considered public record. I don't see why you wouldn't be able at some point to obtain the report on the Columbine shootings. It will not be released with names or addresses of juveniles, however, everything else will be there. All you have to do is ask for it.

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You are... What you do... When it counts.
The Masao
 
I tried to get the autopsy reports on the Columbine victims and the are being kept closed by the court. I don't know how long they will remain that way. I wanted to see what weapons killed who. I have heard that only one shot was fired from the Tec-9 and that the majority of the killings were done with the shotguns, but I have been unable to verify the information.
 
Most fire, EMS, and police reports submitted by local agencies to state and/or federal agencies for the purpose of gathering statistical data are available to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. Investigative reports are not public information.
 
Even though the reports are available through the freedom of information act, they may not be released until after all legal procedings( criminal ) are done. You may not get the coroners report but it won't hurt to ask.

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You are... What you do... When it counts.
The Masao
 
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