Columbine: A True Story author Jeff Kass takes issue with numerous conclusions reached by Dave Cullen, whose book Columbine has received a great deal of national attention. But that's nothing compared to Brian Rohrbough, whose son Daniel was murdered in the April 20, 1999 attack on the high school whose name has become synonymous with school shootings.
Although Rohrbough is the fourth person mentioned in the acknowledgement section of Cullen's book, he complained to a producer of Oprah Winfrey's talk show about a Columbine segment featuring the author, Jeffco investigator Kate Battan and FBI profiler Dwayne Fuselier; the report was pulled from the schedule at the last minute, and now, Rohrbough says he's been assured that it will never air. And during a conversation promped by the news about the cancellation, he had negative things to say about Kass' book, too.
Rohrbough concedes that he hasn't read either book cover to cover. However, he says, "Jeff asked me to review some chapters, and they were riddled with errors. I pointed out one critical mistake, but he wasn't interested in correcting it. And he leaves the impression that he was responsible for the release of all the open records, which is absolutely not true. The overwhelming number of documents released came from the court action we started."
In Cullen's case, Rohrbough maintains that "he for years and years has tried to cozy up to Battan and Fuselier -- and it seems to me that he wrote a book that tried to fit the profile Fuselier did, even though that profile has very little basis in fact. And using Battan is just another way to cover up what Jefferson County did, and try to minimize the absolute corruption that took place over there.
"It's certainly not the final word on Columbine," Rohrbough continues. "Of course, I've read the documentation and I've asked the questions that had to be asked. I've deposed the parents who raised the murderers. I've done lots of things he's never done. Now, people who know nothing about Columbine will look at the book and say, 'It's got over 400 pages. It must be definitive.' But the truth is there, the evidence is there, and to me, it's more appropriate to write a book that actually tells the truth."
