SOUTH BEND — One year after the fatal shooting of Corporal Nick Polizzotto, South Bend paused to remember the life and legacy of a local hero. But for some, it was a frustrating pause because questions about how the mentally ill man who shot him was able to obtain the gun remain unanswered.
They were questions Indiana lawmakers began asking in the wake of Polizzotto's shooting. At the time, some worried that "a lapse in information sharing" may have helped put the gun in 45-year-old Scott Barnaby's hands.
Barnaby shot Patrolman Mike Norby and killed Polizzotto on April 24 at the Wooden Indian Motel. Barnaby was also killed in the shoot-out.
But one year later, many of those same questions about "information sharing" remain unanswered, because of concerns about privacy. Some lawmakers still aren't sure where to draw the line between protected information and protecting innocent lives.
THE WORDS THAT CHANGED IT ALL
It was a simple phrase, but one year ago, when Chris Barnaby confirmed his brother Scott had wrestled with what he called "the demons in his head," WSBT began to dig deeper into Barnaby's past.
What that investigation uncovered was shocking.
"We had him forcibly committed," Barnaby said in April of 2007. "Yes. He's been in a mental institution."
And the symptoms, Chris said, were obvious when Scott Barnaby was off his medication. Paranoia, schizophrenia and delusions, just to name a few.
Barnaby had a history of treatment, too, at four different institutions, including one in Grand Rapids, where Chris Barnaby said Scott was forcibly committed.
They were the words that meant the system had failed.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LAW
It's been 40 years since Congress banned the sale of firearms to anyone deemed "mentally defective" by a judge, and today, answering "yes" to "question 11-F" on a federal background check means an automatic disqualification for a handgun permit or purchase.
It reads, simply: "Have you ever been adjudicated mentally defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution?"
It's aimed at preventing scenes like the one that played out on the campus of Virginia Tech just over one year ago. The gunman there, Sung Hui Cho, was responsible for the worst massacre on a college campus in U.S. history.
Court records show Cho was also ordered to receive mental health treatment by a judge who also declared him "dangerously mentally ill."
But he never went.
Even so, his background check came back clean.
So did Barnaby's, the day after the gun he bought illegally was used to kill Polizzotto.
Former Bristol firearms dealer Ronald Wedge was sentenced to serve prison time for falsifying information on Barnaby's application, and allowing him to buy the gun before his background check cleared.
But the fact remains, it did clear.
The question for lawmakers in both Indiana and Virginia one year ago, was why?
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS
They quickly found that the answers lie in the mental health records kept by each state in the nation. Just over 30 states share some, or all of those records with the federal government. In our area, Illinois recently began sharing many of their records, and Michigan is one of the few states in the country that shares nearly all their records.
But some states share none of their mental health records. That means all records of treatment, including treatment ordered by a court, is not included in the FBI's NICS database used to check the backgrounds of potential gun buyers.
In other words, in many cases, the FBI has no way of knowing whether or not that buyer has ever had any sign of mental illness.
One year ago, as Scott Barnaby pulled the trigger, Indiana was one of those states.
Today, it still is, and Nick's brother Tony Polizzotto calls that unacceptable.
"It seems like a no brainer to me," he said. "Half the states [still] don't have this law in action. And it's something that really needs to be brought to the forefront."
In the wake of Polizzotto's shooting and the campus shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, it has been brought to the forefront in the Hoosier state.
"Indiana is working to develop a mechanism for transfer of information to the background check system," said Jane Jankowski, a spokeswoman for Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. "We know the state is not in full compliance. So, we're doing what nearly every other state is doing: looking for solutions."
At Gov. Daniels' direction, a panel that includes representatives from the Indiana State Police, Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the Indiana Supreme Court and others, has been meeting for the last nine months to formulate a plan on how the records might be shared.
But so far, there's been little movement.
SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS
Indiana State Representative Ryan Dvorak (D-Granger) says there's a simple reason why.
"No one wants to see a violent criminal with a history of violent mental problems have a handgun permit," he said. "But we do have to be careful to balance out privacy concerns."
Rep. Dvorak says there are still too many unanswered questions.
"What are mental health records? What qualifies as something that needs to be reported? What would be some sort of incident that would disqualify somebody from getting a permit?" he asked.
Former Mayor of Fort Wayne Paul Helmke, who is now the president of the Washington, D.C. based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, says it's clear at least 30 other states have already answered those questions with a simple definition.
"We're not talking about people who have gone in for counseling," he said. "[We're not talking about] people who have had treatment or people taking medication. We're talking about people who a court has found to be a danger to themselves or others because of mental illness."
Because of that, Helmke says the "privacy argument" no longer holds up.
"The gun dealer doesn't know the reasons for denial. They just get the signal that they're denied. So there really shouldn't be privacy concerns here," he said.
Indiana State Representative Jackie Walorski (R-Lakeville) doesn't buy it.
"We say, 'Oh, it's only going to go to the FBI. It's only going to their database.' Oh, really? Do we know that for sure? Hmm. I don't know if we know that for sure," she said.
Until she's assured the system would work the way Helmke describes it would, she says she'll refrain from calling for passage of a bill, or an executive order from the governor to begin sharing the state's records with the NICS.
Still, she does believe the issue needs further study.
But some aren't even convinced of that.
"From the perspective of the crimes that are brought to us, we don't really see the problem," said St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak. "As far as the tragedy with Corporal Polizzotto, whether or not a change in laws may have prevented that is speculative."
But despite the concerns and lack of movement, Helmke and others remain convinced change will come and soon.
MOVING FORWARD
Shortly after the shootings at Virginia Tech, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine signed an executive order mandating that his state's mental health records be shared with the NICS database. So far, Gov. Daniels hasn't followed suit. But Helmke says he, and state legislators may soon have no choice.
Three months ago, President Bush signed a bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress that allocates more than $1 billion to help states cover the costs of sharing the records.
And if they don't?
"There will eventually be monetary penalties if the state doesn't fix it," said Helmke. "So, I'm hopeful that with the money and the concern about losing other dollars that the state is going to take some action."
It's a battle Tony Polizzotto never wanted to be a part of, but, like it or not, it's one he now feels he has to fight. And after 40 years of battles that have now hit all too close to home, he now wants to win the war by changing laws and changing minds.
"I don't know what they're going to do or how they're going to do it, but something has to happen," Polizzotto said.
Many are convinced something will happen. Both Representative Dvorak and Indiana Statehouse Speaker B. Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) say it's likely some sort of bill on information sharing will move forward at the state capitol this fall.
And it's likely the pressure on lawmakers will only increase until it does.
It's coming from a number of different groups, including a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns. South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke is a member of that group, and at a meeting earlier this month, helped draft a letter to state and federal leaders demanding a change in policy.
For those like Tony Polizzotto, it's a sign that real change will eventually come. His hope now, that it doesn't take another tragedy before it does.
