Alabama Rejects $1M Claim by Parents of Slain Auburn University Student

An Alabama state board this week rejected a $1 million claim filed by the parents of a slain Auburn University student, who said their daughter might still be alive if the university had maintained its own police force at the time of her abduction from the campus.

The Alabama Board of Adjustment denied the claim by the family of Lauren Burk, which questioned a decision by the university to merge its police force with the city of Auburn. The family claimed that led to inadequate security on campus.

The 18-year-old college freshman from suburban Atlanta, Georgia, was on her way to the library to study when she was abducted by a man at gunpoint from a campus parking lot in March of 2008. She was forced to undress and fatally shot off campus when she tried to escape her captor. Police later arrested Courtney Lockhart, who was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

The woman’s father, Jim Burk, said the family had filed the $1 million claim to press Auburn to re-establish a campus police force. He said the claim was never about the money. “If they would have had the on-campus security when Lauren was attending that would have reduced the possibility of her abduction and ultimately getting murdered,” the father said after the decision.

Lockhart told investigators that he had been sitting on campus looking for easy prey much of the day, that he left once when he saw a patrol car, and then returned to grab Burk, according to testimony at an earlier hearing. Burk was shot in the chest as she jumped out of the moving car.

“The guy was sitting there in the parking lot for hours. He actually even brings the car back into the parking lot and sets it on fire. And there’s no one around to see that?” noted Burk’s mother, Viviane Guerchon.

State law gives state government and state institutions like Auburn immunity from most lawsuits. Instead, those who feel they have been wronged can seek compensation from the four-member Board of Adjustment.

Board Chairman Bill Newton said the board determined that there was a lack of evidence to show that Auburn University was responsible for the, “very tragic events that led to the murder of Lauren Burk.”

Auburn University issued a statement saying the university official “remain diligent in working with our university security team and local law enforcement officials on our commitment to a safe campus environment.”

Christopher G. Blake, chief staff officer for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, said it is rare for large universities not to have their own police departments.

Auburn University closed its police department in 2004 and instead began paying the city police department to patrol on campus. Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said he believes the merger in 2004 was an improvement in safety for students.

“You can’t prevent every crime. I don’t think if they had a police department strictly for AU, I don’t think it would have prevented it all. It’s an unfortunate tragedy,” Dawson said.

Burk’s parents also said they believe Auburn didn’t follow security recommendations to reinstate the campus police department. The family also filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education accusing Auburn of not properly reporting their daughter’s abduction under federal reporting guidelines. A family attorney said the crime was reported as a robbery with a footnote that it led to an off-campus murder. Burk’s family said the assault and abduction on campus wasn’t reported. The university didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jim Burk said he is exhausted after fighting the university over the police force issue.

“What we’re saying is logical and makes sense. Whoever makes those decisions, if it happened to their child I wondered how they would feel,” Burk said.