Thursday, August 2, 2012

Did the University of Colorado know the Aurora shooter was a danger to others but failed to act? What did University of Colorado personnel and administrators know about James Holmes and when did they know it?

Dr. Lynne Fenton expressed her fears about Holmes hurting others
but the University of Colorado choose not to inform
authorities because Holmes was leaving the school.  
Robert Stacy McCain raised the issues of James Holmes' mental health treatment at the University of Colorado a couple of days ago.  The point he raised were wether attorneys for victims would use Dr. Lynne Fenton's background to get at the deep state pocket in civil litigation.  His journalistic instincts were onto something, but with a different twist.  Wombat Socho just posted this article.  
Sources told KMGH that Fenton contacted several members of a "behavioral evaluation and threat assessment" team to say Holmes could potentially be a danger to others, the station reported.
The "BETA" team consists of "key" staff members from various university departments who have specific expertise in dealing with assessing potential threats on campus, the school says on its website.
Holmes was a doctoral student at the university's Anschutz Medical Campus until June, when he withdrew from the program.
Sources told KMGH that university officials never contacted Aurora police with Fenton's concerns before the July 20 killings.
We can expect this to be a central issue in Holmes' criminal trial since his attorneys will almost certainly be pursuing some sort of insanity defense.  But for civil liability, a critical element is often foreseeability.  If the evidence shows Fenton and the University had a duty to report to the police but did not, it is also foreseeable that plaintiffs' lawyers might focus on Fenton and the University.   And the Pontius Pilate defense will probably not work for them.

Update:
Ann Althouse is now starting to notice...
More coverage here...

Update II:
Did Fenton report Holmes to the University of Colorado police weeks before the attack?  

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