Bill pushed by parents of dead student OK’d by Senate
NASHVILLE (AP) — College security officers would have to immediately notify local law enforcement of any death or rape on campus under legislation approved unanimously Wednesday by the Senate.
The bill, named the “Robert ‘Robbie’ Nottingham Campus Crime Scene Investigation Act of 2004,” is being pushed by the parents of an East Tennessee State University student who was found dead on the sidewalk in front of his on-campus apartment building last March.
Nottingham’s father, James, said campus police botched the investigation. They believe Robbie Nottingham, 22, committed suicide by jumping from the second-story balcony.
“They just didn’t know what they were doing. We have solid evidence of foul play,” said James Nottingham, who hired an investigator after his son’s death. “My son was murdered. That’s what I believe from the evidence we’ve collected.”
James Nottingham said the university didn’t even call him and his wife to tell them about the death; they heard from friends of their son. Campus police had removed the body and were washing the blood away when the parents reached the scene from their home about 20 miles away.
Also, according to the family’s investigator, the crime scene was not roped off until Johnson City police arrived on the scene, and campus police sent the city officers away.
The scene, Nottingham’s car and room were not processed for evidence until days later, and a security tape showing vehicles coming to the building was recorded over the day after his death, the investigator said.
University officials could not be reached Wednesday night for comment.
Nottingham was a Kingsport native who belonged to the school’s ROTC program and was a graduate of the Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga.
His father says Nottingham “wanted to protect people. Maybe this was the way he was meant to do it.”
The bill also requires that local law enforcement officers and college police work together on such cases but allows college security officials to lead rape investigations.
Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland, questioned the wisdom of that provision.
“I don’t mean to cast aspersions on campus police or local law enforcement agencies, but I would prefer that on rape investigations, the local law enforcement take the lead. They have more experience,” Miller said.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, said the provision was a compromise.
The bill was approved unanimously 28-0 and still must be acted upon by the House, which postponed action in a committee Wednesday.
———
On the Net:
Read Senate Bill 2797/House Bill 2753: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.