By Robert Anglen
The Arizona Republic
TUCSON, Ariz. — The week before authorities say Jared Loughner opened fire on a crowd at a political town hall near here, police at Pima Community College were on alert for him, concerned he would return to the campus.
In a series of e-mails Dec. 28, college police said they planned to distribute Loughner’s picture to staff members, instruct night officers to be on watch for the former student and order additional checks of campus. Loughner had been forced out of the college three months earlier after exhibiting bizarre behavior in class and posting a self-narrated YouTube video shot on campus.
The e-mails, obtained by The Arizona Republic under the state’s public-records law, apparently were prompted by one officer’s discovery of other YouTube videos that Loughner posted, even though they had no indication he had set foot on campus since being suspended in late September.
“I will have a photo of Jared copied and given to the swing shift crew and have them conduct more frequent checks of the Northwest Campus,” Manny Amado, college police commander, wrote in a Dec. 28 e-mail.
The e-mails are the first evidence that college officials remained concerned about Loughner after telling him he could not return to campus without a mental-health examination showing that he did not pose a danger to himself or others.
Loughner is accused of killing six and wounding 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in a Jan. 8 shooting spree outside a grocery store. He is charged in U.S. District Court with attempting to kill Giffords and two of her staffers. He is expected to face additional federal and state charges, including multiple counts of murder.
The college e-mails suggest that campus police still were keenly aware of Loughner months after he had left campus. In a Dec. 23 e-mail, college police Sgt. Dan Simmons sent an e-mail to other Pima officials saying one of his officers “happened to find” YouTube videos posted by Loughner. Simmons described the postings as “more drivel from Jared Loughner,” adding, “Doubt there is anything to do about it.” In e-mails Dec. 28, officers discussed the video Loughner had filmed on campus.
Officers also discussed with some concern whether a student who called the campus to arrange an appointment with officials was Loughner. The caller, it turned out, was not Loughner.
College officials Monday refused to discuss the e-mails and referred questions to the Gordley Design Group, a private marketing firm here that the college has hired. Cindy Klinge, vice president for Gordley, did not respond to calls or an e-mail.
In addition to the e-mails, Pima Community College has released several incident reports describing Loughner’s behavior in class in the year before the shooting. Officials say they are withholding other documents regarding Loughner because they are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, designed to guard student privacy.
Throughout 2010, Loughner displayed troubling behavior that prevented him from holding on to jobs and eventually led him to be forced out of Pima Community College.
College records show that from February to September 2010, Loughner had multiple run-ins with college officials that left students, teachers and staff members unnerved and had police officers questioning his mental stability. They described strange outbursts in class and confrontations over perceived slights that left at least one teacher refusing to return to class without a police escort.
College officials did not suspend Loughner until Sept. 29 after he had posted a YouTube video in which he said he was at war with the college and that students were being tortured. In the video, Loughner toured the campus at night while delivering a rambling monologue about what he said were injustices at the college.
College police officers delivered notice of Loughner’s suspension to his home. They requested backup from two other officers at the time.
The officers spoke with Loughner in his garage. One officer said Loughner was “in a constant trance” as they explained the details of the suspension. Afterward, the officer said Loughner said, “I realize now that this is all a scam.”
There is no information that Pima Community College shared any of its concerns about Loughner with the Pima County Sheriff’s Office or Tucson Police Department.
Copyright 2011 Gannett Company, Inc.