GOLDEN — Members of a Lakewood police SWAT team who took part in rescues at Columbine High School said Wednesday that patrol officers might have gone in to stop the shootings if they had occurred in their city.

"It's preferable if we could take all the time we need to develop tactics, but when shots are going on, it just depends on the courage and individual will of the officers responding," said Lt. Burdell Burch, who headed the Lakewood special weapons and tactics team that responded to Columbine.

Their testimony before the Governor's Columbine Review Commission contradicted claims by Jefferson County authorities, who said patrol officers are not capable of handling hostage situations and should wait for those trained to handle it.

Families of victims have sued Sheriff John Stone and his department, saying they should have taken action sooner to try to stop the April 1999 rampage by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who killed 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives.

Stone and his deputies have refused to testify before the commission, citing the lawsuits. Commission members met later to discuss options, including subpoenas to force their testimony.

Burch said his team followed orders from Jefferson County authorities, who told them to focus on locating the suspects' cars and rescuing students. The team was responsible for the widely televised rescue of Patrick Ireland, who was pulled from a school library window after the team used an armored car to approach the school.

Lakewood SWAT Sgt. George Hinkle told the commission, "If you have someone actively killing people, you've got to stop them."

Randy Brown, whose son escaped unhurt from Columbine and who has organized a recall effort against Stone, praised Lakewood police for coming forward.

"If they were on the scene and shots were being fired, they would have gone in. This shows again the failure of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office," Brown said.

Mark Mershon, who now heads the Denver FBI office, said his SWAT team was one of at least six sent to the school, and it also followed orders from Jefferson sheriff's commanders. He said his team was ready to go at 1:45 p.m. but did not begin a search of the school until an hour later.

Mershon said the time was spent gathering information on the layout of the school, the suspects' appearance and the team's mission.

"They don't just go charging in," he said.

The commission also heard from Jefferson County Public Schools security officials, who said Jefferson County schools are making major changes in security in the wake of the shootings but acknowledged those changes would do little to prevent a similar attack.

Karen Duffala, director of safety and security, said schools are considering limiting access to schools, adding surveillance equipment and conducting random searches.

The changes come after a report in May that found too many people have keys to schools, hazardous chemicals were unlocked in science areas and mechanical, electrical and telecommunications equipment rooms were left unlocked during a check of three of the district's 144 schools.

Experts also told the commission they are worried about the psychological impact of the changes on children and teachers.

"Are we creating prisons for our children? Some studies say that raises the fear factor of students and faculty. Student achievement cannot occur when students or staff members do not feel safe," said Stan Poprocki, a consultant to the state Department of Education on prevention initiatives.

July 20, 2000

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