E2 Owners Renew Attack Of City Response On Fatal Night

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Now that they've been cleared of causing the deaths of 21 people at a South Side nightclub, owners of E2 continue to argue they were scapegoats targeted to cover-up a botched emergency response.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports.

Club owners are suing the city for malicious prosecution and alleging that serious missteps by Chicago's first-responders led to many deaths.

Ever since the E2 nightclub disaster in 2003, Dwayne Kyles and Calvin Hollins say, they've been haunted by the tragedy.

"I knew nine of them personally. I still feel their pain of their families," Hollins told reporters Thursday.

"That tragedy has been a tearing, searing hole in our hearts from the day it happened," Kyles says.

Their attorneys insist the business owners were never at fault and were prosecuted by the city to divert attention from Chicago's own, deadly failings.

"If you're the one at fault, then the easiest thing to do is to point the finger at somebody else," attorney Vic Henderson says.

They allege that video taken both inside and outside the club shows that rescue crews stood outside for 40 minutes to 45 minutes after they arrived and did nothing.

"You expect them to come and help as quickly as possible. They sent two ambulances, 20 police cars and stood on the street and watched while 21 people died," Ed Grasse, another attorney for Hollins and Kyles, says.

And remember those early allegations that doors at the club were locked on the night of the tragedy?

"All the video shows that the doors were wide open. What locked and blocked the doors were police officers forming half-circles to stop people from going to help," Grasse says.

Attorneys for Kyles and Hollins say there's never been a proper investigation of what police and fire did or didn't do on the night of the E2 disaster.

They say they're hoping the victims' families will finally learn what led to the deaths of their loved ones.

In a statement, city officials have said, "We are disappointed with the court's decision. In our view, respondents violated a clear and mandatory court order, and but for that violation no one would have died or been injured at their club. We are continuing to review the court's opinion to determine whether to seek further review."

Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to say Thursday whether the city would appeal the case, saying city attorneys were still reviewing the appellate court ruling.

"I've talked to the [corporation] counsel this morning, and they're looking into the judges' ruling at this point," Emanuel said.