It’s been said that during a conversation between sergeant Baldwin and Millsapps, Millsapps called Eric Harris the “the Sheriff’s guy,” which is police talk for “informant.”

When asked to clarify, Millsapps denied saying “Sheriff” and clarified that he said “Harris.”

Many people have analyzed this audio and some people hear Sheriff while others hear Harris. I have access to advanced audio tools so I took a stab at it and I clearly hear “Is this this Harris guy?”

Reason being: the transition between the two words preceding the word Sheriff/Harris does not match the words “this the,” as in, “is this the Sheriff’s guy.” When listening closely it’s the same word repeated twice: “this this,” as in, “is this this Harris guy.”

It is “this this” not “this the” and there is no “sh” either.

Here’s the original audio:

Here’s an enhanced version of the audio:

Here’s an enhanced and slowed version of the audio:

It sounds like “this-this-hair” not “this-the-sher.”

Hearing “this the” is an illusion that comes from the assumption he is saying “Sherrif’s guy” but if you listen closely, the “s” sound from the word “this” completely ends before a hard “h” sound begins. The “S” and “H” are separate hard consonants, pronounced independently as the end of one word and the beginning of another.

It is “this this har—” and not “this the sher—”

Here’s the backstory:

One of the most interesting controversies comes from a call made to dispatch by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Sergeant Dave Baldwin. Baldwin was involved in the 1998 pipe bomb investigation of Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, and Zach Heckler (yes, Zach was part of that investigation, too).

Baldwin: “Hey what’s up, Sergeant Baldwin at dispatch. We need a detention deputy to be sent immediately to R-1 schools to pick up blueprints for Columbine High School.”

He is connected via dispatch. Then Baldwin asks Sergeant. Rich Millsapps to pick up the blueprints.

Millsapps: “Sgt. Millsaps.”

Baldwin: “Hey Rich, Dave Baldwin.”

They talk about the logistics regarding how to get to the school and where to find keys to a patrol car. And then… the controversial statement is made.

Baldwin: “Just so you know, Rich, while you’re driving down there, our suspect -- he’s supposed to still be in the school shooting people. He’s wearing... he’s an 18-year-old wearing all black. Uh, that’s all we have at this time.”

Millsapps: “Is this the sheriff’s guy?” / “Is this this Harris guy?” (this is the controversy - people disagree on whether he’s saying “sheriff’s guy” or “Harris guy.”

Baldwin: “Yes.”

Millsapps: “Okay.”

Baldwin: “Okay.”

The controversy stems from the fact that police refer to their informants as “the Sheriff’s guy.”

Interesting side note: the audio has been scrubbed from all sources and turned private on YouTube. Google has also de-indexed many web pages that contain references to these two deputies.