New book by the first SWAT officer inside Columbine on 4/20

lol

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Meh, I would read it. I have no idea what to expect, but I would.

Quote :

It's a standard cop refrain: You haven't been where I've been, so shut your piehole.

"I want to say to the critics: Okay, if you think it's so damn easy, then you go patrol a beat," reads one passage. "I bet you wouldn't make one day with me before you pissed yourself."

Uh holy shit? What a start. someone sounds bitter.

This is a very interesting article by the way, thanks for the link LPorter!

Quote :

To give Whitus his due, his team was working on a lot of bad information as they tried to find the wounded teacher and clear the school. It's also true that, except for what happened to Sanders, the SWAT response was largely irrelevant at Columbine; most of the damage was done (and the shooters neutralized by their own hand) before the teams could deploy, which is why law enforcement agencies now train first responders to aggressively pursue an active shooter rather than set up a perimeter and wait for SWAT while precious minutes tick by and unarmed civilians die.

A Westword review of 911 calls and dispatch traffic in 2000-2001 uncovered many contradictions, distortions and misleading statements in the "official" version of the police response contained in the sheriff's report,and it's unsettling to find Whitus relying on the same tired excuses for why Sanders wasn't found sooner or why the library was the last place entered. Every cop shop in the country seems to have learned the bitter lessons of Columbine — except for the folks who were there.

liquorvamp wrote:

This is a very interesting article by the way, thanks for the link LPorter!

You're welcome.

I haven't thought much about Columbine for a while, so I'm catching up on the latest news articles.

Whitus was one of the cops with Sanders so despite the horrible cover I am gonna check it out

I always want to know more

I would read it if it were given to me but i wouldnt spend a dime on it myself. The review sounds like he is a douch bag on steroids! A real asshole. He wont acknowledge any mistakes or wrong doing on the part of law enforcement. Just a bunch of self inflated hot air. Name calling and condescending remarks about everyone who isnt part of his little club. Now in all fairness, all this i gathered from the one review, so i could be totally wrong. Something about the way he expresses himself reminds me of eric harris

Meh, what can he really offer us? He was one tiny piece of a huge puzzle that didn't get put together that day. He didn't have any prior contact with E & D, he just responded to the scene. You can read plenty of the police's reports in the 11k detailing entering the school, the atmosphere, the circumstances. And it's all available for free. Is it going to be 200+ pages of "I went here, but then I was told to go there"? I mean, they hung around for 3 hours outside trying to figure out what to do, I don't want to read about that chaos. I doubt there'll be anything new that we don't already know. And, of course, he won't criticize any of the LEO departments involved.

Tomb you said it. And in a manner far kinder than I. In addition to the points you make, it sounds like he spends much time blowing hot air about what a tough guy he is. Insults people by childish name calling and it sounds like he even is insulting to the readers of his book! I dont know, im irritated by people like that. I figure he must be compensating for some kind of 'shortcoming' if you know what i mean. Lol

rockiemontana wrote:

Tomb you said it. And in a manner far kinder than I.  In addition to the points you make, it sounds like he spends much time blowing hot air about what a tough guy he is.  Insults people by childish name calling and it sounds like he even is insulting to the readers of his book!  I dont know, im irritated by people like that. I figure he must be compensating for some kind of 'shortcoming'  if you know what i mean.  Lol

Yeah, I mean he has no groundbreaking new information to offer. He wasn't the sheriff or even that high up the command chain. What's he gonna say "The smell of gunpowder was overpowering"? In the 11k. "The fire alarms were deafening"? In the 11k. "We waded through inches of water from the sprinkler"? In the 11k. "The carnage in the library was horrific"? No shit, we don't even need the 11k to tell us that. Sorry, dude, I'll pass. Maybe someone can give us a synopsis when it comes out but that guy's not getting my money.

I still think it'll be interesting to hear about his experiences. I mean, there's not really much anyone can tell us at this point that isn't common knowledge, or at least there to find should you be willing to search for it. For me, I'm just interested in hearing every side of the story.

Obviously, he's no longer employed by Jeffco. No agency would allow an employee to write a book about a crime of this caliber. It looks like he's now VP of Blue Line Protection Group I. He may have something to say we haven't previously heard, especially if he left the department on bad terms, but I doubt it. Anyways, hopefully somebody can give us a thorough review when this book releases.

Tomb wrote:

Obviously, he's no longer employed by Jeffco. No agency would allow an employee to write a book about a crime of this caliber. It looks like he's now VP of Blue Line Protection Group I. He may have something to say we haven't previously heard, especially if he left the department on bad terms, but I doubt it. Anyways, hopefully somebody can give us a thorough review when this book releases.

Kind of like that thread where someone reads through the "Columbine" book and gives their thoughts. Maybe someone can find that thread, it's fairly old.

ultraviolencelv wrote:

Quote :

It's a standard cop refrain: You haven't been where I've been, so shut your piehole.

"I want to say to the critics: Okay, if you think it's so damn easy, then you go patrol a beat," reads one passage. "I bet you wouldn't make one day with me before you pissed yourself."

Uh holy shit? What a start. someone sounds bitter.

Lol and I would say to him, on 4/20, I could've done everything you did the entire time you were there...nothing. Ultraviolencelv has a passage further up that sums it up perfectly, SWAT response was irrelevant that day, aside from bringing Dave Sanders out as he died.

If anyone reads it, let me know if its worth the read please!

I have a friend who received an advanced copy and said it's not worth the money. No new info

asloversgo wrote:

I have a friend who received an advanced copy and said it's not worth the money. No new info

That's what I figured. Everything is in the 11k unless he releases unseen photos or something. Thanks for the heads up!