This presentation will be by the District Attorney for the jurisdiction where this tragedy occurred. He will discuss the tragic incident in terms of what can be learned from the behavior and red flags that exited prior to the event. There will also be a discussion of the events of April 20, 1999 through the eyes of the DA and what he observed on that fateful day. Finally, what has transpired in the years since the shooting occurred with special focus on the long term effects of violence of this nature. There will be a candid look at what went wrong and what was done right.

Dave Thomas has spent his entire adult life as a prosecutor or law enforcement administrator. The majority of that career involved being a prosecutor and elected District Attorney. Dave was the District Attorney at the time of the shootings at Columbine High School. Dave now serves as the Executive Director of the Colorado District Attorneys' Council which represents the 22 elected District Attorneys of Colorado. As of Nov. 6th, he will be the newest member of the Jefferson County School Board. That is the district that includes Columbine High School. It is the largest school district in Colorado and one of the 5th largest in the country. He is active in the National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators. Dave's passion during his prosecutorial career was in the area of Domestic Violence. Mr. Thomas also served for six years as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety which is a cabinet level position in state government and includes the state police functions, criminal justice research and fire and emergency services. He has also served as a consultant for the National Center for State Courts on projects involving the criminal justice system, courthouse construction and case flow and staffing within the justice system. Dave is deeply committed to justice and victim's rights.