
Former State Police Superintendent W. Gerald Massengill said in Wednesday editions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he thinks his panel can get the records though a law that requires state oversight of mental facilities and by arguing that it has a right to review counseling records that Virginia Tech may have on Cho.
He said he had discussed the issue with the state attorney general's staff.
"We're going to get what we need, one way or the other," Massengill said. If that fails, "we'll have to go to the courts."
University officials say federal privacy laws bar them from sharing the records.
Cho killed 32 people in two campus buildings before committing suicide in a classroom on April 16.
A year and a half earlier, he had been found "mentally ill and in need of hospitalization," according to court papers. A judge ordered him into involuntary outpatient treatment, but there is no indication that he complied.
University counsel Kay Heidbreder said the laws, even for someone who is deceased, mean the records cannot be shared even among departments at the university.
As it is constituted, the panel cannot issue subpoenas to compel testimony and obtain documents. Delacey Skinner — a spokeswoman for Gov. Timothy Kaine, who convened the panel — said the governor has assured members the attorney general will help them get information.
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