College unsure how to handle Loughner's behavior, e-mails show

[47of74]

Source: Arizona Republic

For more than a year, officials with Pima Community College tried to balance their growing concerns over Jared Loughner's behavior with his due-process rights.

And as reports stacked up about the man later accused of killing six and wounding 13 in a shooting rampage near Tucson, administrators appeared unsure of what actions to take.

E-mails obtained Thursday as part of a lawsuit by The Arizona Republic against the college show that in the months leading up to Loughner's suspension, instructors wanted to remove him from class and campus police wanted to expel him from school. Administrators, concerned about violating his rights or treating him unfairly, wanted more time to investigate.

Officials acknowledged in e-mails that Loughner's outbursts in class left students and teachers fearful but stressed that he never made any overt threats. That created a quandary about how best to deal with a student to whom some referred as "dark," "creepy," "strange," "bizarre" and "psycho.


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/19/20110519loughner-emails-pima-community-college-brk19-ON.html

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Here's a link to the emails.

Everyone kicked this can down the road, and the road led to a Tuscon supermarket on a January day.

[KittyWampus]

1. It's a tough call. Many DU'ers who bend Libertarian would be appalled if someone who was

different was subjected to authoritarian measures. In hindsight it's very easy to say more should have been done. Sometimes you do as much as possible but things slip through.

I am posting more info from the article regarding what steps the Administration did do:

"Administrators suspended Loughner about three months before the Jan. 8 shooting at a constituent event for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The congresswoman was wounded in the attack with a shot to the head.

Administrators told Loughner he could not return to campus unless he obtained a waiver from a mental-health examiner showing he was not a danger to himself or others.

But e-mails show that school officials remained concerned about Loughner. After suspending him, they contacted the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to find out if he owned a gun and the Arizona Department of Public Safety for his driver's-license photo to distribute to campus staff."

And the further down in the article:

"A day after his suspension, college officials began circulating a warning bulletin with Loughner's picture to faculty members. E-mails were marked "Red Category." The message: "Jared Lee Loughner is not permitted on any Pima Community College property. If you see him, please contact campus police immediately."

Even then, e-mails stressed that the information was for law enforcement and staff use only and "cannot be disseminated to the public."



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/19/20110519loughner-emails-pima-community-college-brk19-ON.html#ixzz1MuQa5Pbc


Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/19/20110519loughner-emails-pima-community-college-brk19-ON.html#ixzz1MuPiiogH

[Igel]

8. Every liberty, every right entails a risk.

The freer a society, the riskier.

Societies in which the population demands to be taken care of usually get the nanny state and strong father-ruler that it requires. There are exceptions, but it doesn't automatically follow that every country will be an exception.

It's why I'm not sanguine about the Arab Spring.

[ret5hd]

2. So, you contend that expelling him from the college would have prevented the shooting?

Please, show your work. Partial answers will not be accepted.

[wuushew]

3. Why is all this information being made public?

Doesn't this violate numerous mental and health privacy laws? The suspect hasn't even gone to trial let alone been convicted.

I am the only who has a problem with this?

[EFerrari]

4. Looks like someone wants a shot at the admin jobs at that college. n/t

[kestrel91316]

7. It has probably been made public as part of some legal proceeding,

or somebody leaked it. My guess is it's public info at this point.

[pnwmom]

5. I think the college behaved appropriately. They tried to involve other authorities

and they tried to protect their students. But they were limited by pesky concepts such as civil liberties.

[montanto]

6. sounds like they did what they could.

i hate to think we are advocating for arresting an oddball. i hate to think that because we know what happened later, we should have arrested an innocent wacko earlier. its tragic, to be sure, but many of us in public service, and in education especially, encounter dark, creepy weird-os every day and no harm ever comes of it. maybe we should legislate for psychic abilities?