Castaldo v. Stone
| Decision Date | 27 November 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.00-B-1611.,CIV.00-B-1611. |
| Citation | 192 F.Supp.2d 1124 |
| Parties | Richard R. CASTALDO, Dominic R. Castaldo and Connie Michalik, Plaintiffs, v. Jefferson County Sheriff John C. STONE, individually and in his official capacity, Former Jefferson County Sheriff Ronald Beckham, individually and in his official capacity, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, Neil Gardner, individually, John Hicks, individually, Mark M. Miller, individually, Tanya Williams, individually, Mike Guerra, individually, Phillip Lebeda, individually, John or Jane Does 2 through 10 (All Deputies in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department), individually, Jefferson County School District R-1, Frank DeAngelis, individually and in his official capacity, Howard Cornell, individually and in his official capacity, Peter Horvath, individually, William Butts, individually, Garrett Talocco, individually, Judy Kelly, individually, Tom Tonelli, individually, Tom Johnson, individually, John or Jane Does 11 through 30, individually, Thomas Klebold, Susan Klebold, Phillip Duran, Robyn Anderson, James Royce Washington, Ronald Frank Hartmann, J.D. Tanner, dba Tanner Gun Show, Robert Kirgis, and Kirgis, Inc., a Colorado Corporation, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
James A. Cederberg, Buchanan, Jurdem & Cederberg, PC, Denver, CO, for plaintiffs.
J. Andrew Nathan, Andrew J. Fisher, Bernard Roland Woessner, Nathan, Bremer, Dumm & Myers, PC, Denver, CO, William A. Tuthill, III, Lily Wallman Oeffler, Jefferson County Government Center, Golden, CO, Alan Kaminsky, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, New York, NY, for Ronald Beckham, Neil Gardner, John Hicks, Mark M. Miller, T. Williams, John Healy, Mike Guerra, Philip Lebeda, John C. Stone, Tanya Williams, defendants.
William J. Kowalski, Susan S. Schermerhorn, William Stuart Stuller, Caplan & Earnest, L.L.C., Boulder, CO, for Frank DeAngelis, Garrett Talocco, Judy Kelly, Tom Johnson, defendant.
Gregg E. Kay, Franklin D. Patterson, Patterson, Nuss & Seymour, P.C., Englewood, CO, for Susan Klebold, Thomas Klebold, defendants.
C. Michael Montgomery, Joel A. Kolodny, Lorraine Elizabeth Parker, Steven Gregory Greenlee, Montgomery, Kolodny Amatuzio, Dusbabek & Parker, LLP, Denver, CO, for Wayne Harris, Katherine Harris, defendants.
Andrew J. Fisher, Bremer, Dumm & Myers, PC, Denver, CO, Michael B. Sullivan, Candace Sturdivant, Heather A. Salg, Harris, Karstaedt, Jamison & Powers, P.C., Englewood, CO, for Phillip Duran, defendant.
J. Stephen Mullen, Retherford, Mullen, Johnson & Bruce, Colorado Springs, CO, Scott Jurdem, Buchanan, Jurdem & Cederberg, PC, Denver, CO, Alaurice Marie Tafoya, Alaurice M. Tafoya Law Office, Denver, CO, for Mark Manes, defendant.
William Stuart Stuller, Caplan & Earnest, L.L.C., Boulder, CO, for Jefferson County School District R-1, Peter Horvath, William Butts, Tom Tonelli, defendants.
Richard Lee Everstine, Michele R. Prud'Homme, Robert Patrick Ingram, Dickinson, Everstine & Prud'Homme, Denver, CO, for Robyn Anderson, defendant.
Gordon Lamar Vaughan, Sara A. Ludke, Vaughan & DeMuro, Colorado Springs, CO, for James Royce Washington, defendant.
Michael R. Waters, Jones & Waters, LLC, Colorado Springs, CO, for Ronald Frank Hartmann, defendant.
Lori Mary Moore, Retherford, Mullen, Johnson & Bruce, Colorado Springs, CO, Matthew Y. Biscan, Malcom S. Mead, Hall & Evans, Denver, CO, for J.D. Tanner, defendant.
Defendants Jefferson County Sheriff's Department (Sheriff's Department) and Sheriff John C. Stone, Former Jefferson County Sheriff Ronald Beckham, Deputy Sheriff Neil Gardner, Deputy Sheriff John Hicks, Deputy Sheriff Mark M. Miller, Deputy Sheriff Tonya Williams (incorrectly identified as Tanya Williams), Deputy Sheriff Mike Guerra, and Deputy Sheriff Phillip Lebeda, (collectively, Sheriff Defendants) move, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), to dismiss all claims brought by Plaintiffs Richard R. Castaldo, Dominic R. Castaldo, and Connie Michalik, (collectively, Plaintiffs). In a separate Rule 12(b)(6) motion, Defendants Jefferson County School District R-1 (School District) and Frank DeAngelis, Howard Cornell, Peter Horvath, William Butts, Garrett Talocco, Judy Kelly, Tom Tonelli, and Tom Johnson (collectively, individual School Defendants), also seek dismissal. After consideration of the motions, briefs, arguments of counsel, and for the following reasons, I grant the motions.
The following facts are alleged in Plaintiffs' Third Amended Complaint. On April 20, 1999, at approximately 11:20 a.m., Plaintiff Richard Castaldo, a Columbine High School student, was shot and seriously injured outside the school near the rear door to the cafeteria, (C/O) ¶¶ 1, 24, by fellow students Dylan Klebold and/or Eric Harris. C/O ¶¶ 24-25. The attack, apparently in the planning stages for more than a year, involved complex preparations, including construction of bombs and the acquisition and modification of firearms. C/O ¶ 26. Harris' and Klebold's actions resulted in the deaths of twelve students and one teacher, and serious physical injuries to some twenty-six others, including Richard Castaldo. Id. at ¶ 29.
Sheriff Stone has served as the Sheriff of Jefferson County, Colorado since January 1999. C/O ¶ 24. Sheriff Beckham was the Sheriff at all material times until January 1999. Id. at ¶ 115.
Plaintiffs allege that in January 1998, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold broke into a van to steal tools. The two were apprehended by the Sheriff's Department, prosecuted by the Jefferson County District Attorney, and placed in a Jefferson County juvenile offender diversion program on March 28, 1998. C/O ¶ 68. The Sheriff Defendants, including but not limited to Deputies Gardner, Hicks, Lebeda, and Healy knew, based on statements contained in a Web site, that Harris and Klebold were in violation of the terms of the diversion program. C/O ¶ 95.
On March 18, 1998, shortly before Harris and Klebold were placed in the diversion program, Deputy Miller received a complaint from Randall Brown, a Jefferson County citizen, that Eric Harris had made repeated threats against the life of his son, Brooks Brown, also a Columbine student. C/O ¶ 69. According to Mr. Brown, Harris talked often about making pipe bombs and killing people. Id. During their meeting, Mr. Brown and his wife gave Deputy Miller a printout of information contained on Harris' Web site. See C/O Attachment, Exhibit A. These pages contain: 1) death threats; 2) written plans to use pipe bombs to kill numerous people; 3) a specific description of a pipe bomb detonated by the pair; and 4) descriptions of other bombs being built by Harris and Klebold. C/O ¶ 69; See Exhibit A.
After meeting with the Browns, Deputy Miller completed an incident report, attached the Web site printout, and submitted it to his supervisor, Deputy Lebeda. C/O ¶ 71. At Deputy Lebeda's direction, Deputy Miller's report, including the Web site printout, was forwarded to Deputy Gardner, assigned full-time to Columbine High School as a student resource officer. C/O ¶ 72. Deputy Gardner's job duties as school resource officer included contact with students and school staff and awareness of law enforcement issues and student safety. See C/O ¶ 53. Deputy Gardner was also briefed on the reports concerning Harris and Klebold. Id. at ¶ 73.
Deputy Hicks, assigned to investigate the Web site information, C/O ¶ 117, met with Mr. and Mrs. Brown and bomb squad deputies, including Deputy Guerra. Id. at ¶ 81. Deputies Healy and Williams were also assigned investigative duties concerning the Web site. Id. at ¶ 82. Apparently, the Sheriff's Department unsuccessfully attempted to access the Web site. See Exhibit A. Plaintiffs allege that the Web site remained accessible until after the attack. Id. at ¶ 97.
Prior to April 20, 1999, Harris added the following information to the Web site on "three different information panels":
Hobbies: Preparing' for the big April 20! You'll
all be sorry that day
Occupation: Senior at CHS and the rest is still
unpublished
Personal Quote: when in doubt, pull it out. (computers)
____shut up and shoot it ____ quit
whining, it's just a flesh wound ____
Kill Em AALLLL
Id. at ¶ 98. The Complaint does not contain the date this information was added or if the statements were made together or separately.
At some point after the first meeting between Deputy Hicks and the Browns, initial steps were taken to obtain a search warrant in connection with Harris' activities. C/O ¶ 85. Ultimately, the search warrant application was halted by "someone in a position of authority in the Sheriff's Department." Id. At approximately the same time, all follow-up on the Brown's complaint "apparently ceased." Id. at ¶ 86.
Plaintiffs allege that investigation of the Browns' report and the Web site was intentionally aborted by someone in authority in the Sheriff's department for reasons unrelated to legitimate law enforcement considerations. C/O ¶¶ 85-89. In radio communications during the immediate aftermath of the attack, two deputies refer to one of the shooters as "the Sheriff's guy." Id. at ¶¶ 91, 92.
Defendant DeAngelis was the Columbine High School principal. C/O ¶ 10. There are no allegations that Mr. DeAngelis knew Harris and Klebold. Plaintiffs allege that "Columbine High School officials knew ... about Harris and Klebold talking about blowing up the school." C/O ¶ 166. As principal of Columbine, Defendant DeAngelis is a Columbine High School official. Therefore, it is alleged that Defendant DeAngelis knew that Harris and Klebold talked about blowing up...
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