Red Lake seeks items seized by FBI

By Chuck Haga Star Tribune

Red Lake's school district has gone to federal court to seek recovery of documents and equipment seized by the FBI during its investigation of the March 21 shootings on the reservation, in part to protect itself against potential liability lawsuits.

In a motion filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the district said it needs the return of security video footage, education records of shooter Jeffrey Weise, witness statements of district employees and computer hard drives, among other things.

Those materials are "crucial," according to the filing, for the district to evaluate its security system and procedures in effect on March 21 "and to defend against likely lawsuits."

A spokesman for the clerk of court's office confirmed that it had received documents from the district's attorney.

It had not been determined whether the motion would be filed as part of the ongoing juvenile proceeding or as a separate matter.

After seizing the school district materials, the computers and other personal possessions of some Red Lake students, the U.S. attorney's office arrested one other student -- Louis Jourdain, son of Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. -- and subpoenaed other students to appear before a federal grand jury.

A judge late last month ruled that Louis Jourdain, who was 16 at the time of the shootings, should be tried as a juvenile. Prosecutors have not said what Jourdain is accused of doing, but a source with knowledge of the case has said the boy is charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Shamus O'Meara, a Twin Cities attorney who represents the Red Lake district, said that no suits stemming from the shootings have been filed against the district, but that two law firms "representing at least 18 families and individuals" have advised it they're considering liability suits.

"The district faces the very likely prospect of being involved in litigation with multiple plaintiffs," O'Meara said.

"We are respectful of the federal role in this [case] and its investigation," he said. "But there shouldn't be competing interests here. There should be a way to balance the interests of the federal government with the district's interest in [conducting] a complete evaluation."

He said the school district "has tried on several occasions" to obtain the return of the materials, which were seized in the days immediately after the school shootings, in which Weise, 16, killed eight people, including himself. Weise had killed two others before going to the school.

The federal investigators "basically told us to seek access to the materials through the Freedom of Information Act," O'Meara said. "We did that, and it was denied.

"From the district's perspective, this is a last resort. We hope that when the U.S. attorney's office gets a chance to read our motion, they'll give us a call and work this out."

U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger said late Thursday that he had not seen the district's motion and could not comment.

A thorough investigation into the security arrangements the district had in place on March 21 "is particularly important," according to the district's filing, "because certain individuals have criticized the district's camera system in place at the time."

The district "also has been unable to investigate Jeff Weise's psychological and educational records to determine the extent of the information in the district's possession prior to the incident."

In an affidavit with the filing, Red Lake Superintendent Stuart Desjarlait noted that the FBI has returned several of the district's computers, "but without hard drives."

Weise's student records sought by the district include records maintained during the 2004-05 school year by his instructor in a homebound program "and, possibly, a report involving Jeff Weise authored by a psychiatrist from Indian Health Services," according to the filing.