FAMILIES SEEK ANSWERS TO DEATHS

Two Men Were Slain Following Confrontation With Peace Officers

VANDALIA -- A year after a deadly standoff near this southwestern Michigan
community, the families of two men shot dead by law- enforcement officers
are still seeking answers.

The irony of the violent deaths of marijuana-rights activists Grover "Tom"
Crosslin and Rolland Rohm at Crosslin's Rainbow Farm Campground has not
been lost on their supporters.

The five-day siege involved local and state police and the FBI.

Crosslin, 46, was killed Sept. 3, 2001, when he allegedly raised a rifle to
fire at an FBI agent who shot and killed him.

Rohm, 28, died the following day. He was shot by a state trooper after
allegedly setting fire to the campground's farmhouse where he and Crosslin
lived, then running outside brandishing a rifle.

At an impromptu gathering Monday of supporters and family members at the
burned-out campground, neighbor Buggy Brown recalled the peaceful
atmosphere that prevailed at the campground's popular Memorial Day and
Labor Day weekend festivals of past years.

Each pro-marijuana concert attracted thousands of visitors who came to see
such entertainers as Tommy Chong and Merle Haggard. But there seldom were
any problems, Brown said.

No one is certain what triggered the standoff. Some say Crosslin felt he
was pushed too far when he was notified that his property could be
confiscated for his alleged drug activities and that he faced possible jail
time on drug-related charges.

Others say Crosslin could not cope with the loss of Rohm's 12-year-old son.
A court had ordered the boy removed from the farmhouse, where he had been
raised since age 4 by the two men.

The siege began Aug. 31, 2001, when Crosslin and Rohm, armed and dressed in
camouflage, allegedly set fire to other buildings on the property.

The FBI became involved after Crosslin allegedly shot at a news helicopter
from South Bend television station WNDU as it flew over the campground.
Firing at a helicopter is a federal offense.

Cass County Prosecutor Scott Teter cleared the FBI and state police of any
wrongdoing in the shootings. The FBI, state police and the Cass County
Sheriff's Department also conducted their own investigations, and their
reports backed Teter's report.