“Is he always this coy?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Over the years, I’ve learned not to question my brother’s methods.”
60
“HE HAD A GUN”
“Please state your name and occupation for the record,” I said.
“Kevin Murphy. Sergeant, SFPD.”
“How long have you been a police officer?”
“Thirty-four years.”
Judge Ramsey’s courtroom was silent at four o’clock on Monday afternoon. The nervous energy in the gallery had dissipated into grim resignation. Afternoon sessions are always a slog—even without a jury.
In his pressed patrol uniform and polished badge, Murph looked the part of an old-fashioned neighborhood cop. With his wide face and engaging grin, he’d give you a friendly wave as he walked his beat. You’d never suspect that he would break your kneecaps if you crossed him. While he lacked Roosevelt’s gravitas, he was, in his own way, a convincing witness.
I approached the stand. “You were Officer Bacigalupi’s supervising officer?”
“Yes.”
“Was he a good cop?”
“One of the best that I ever trained. Top of his class. Stellar record. Excellent marks during probation. A superb recruit and a fine officer.”
He was laying it on a little thick. “You were on patrol with Officer Bacigalupi on the morning of February ninth?”
“Yes.”
It took ten minutes to walk him through the events in the Fillmore. Harper didn’t interrupt as Murphy followed my lead and spoke in easily digestible sound bites. SFPD should have brought their recruits to watch him testify.
“Sergeant, where were you when Officer Bacigalupi approached Mr. Jones’s vehicle?”
“Near the rear of Mr. Jones’s car on the passenger side. I instructed Officer Bacigalupi to take the lead in the interaction. I was hoping that it would be a simple fix-it ticket.”
“But the situation escalated.”
“Yes, it did. Following standard police procedure, Officer Bacigalupi ran the vehicle registration and Mr. Jones’s license through our computer. He determined that Mr. Jones had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation. In such circumstances, it is legally required and standard procedure to ask the perpetrator to exit the vehicle so that the officer can conduct a search. I instructed Officer Bacigalupi to proceed in this manner. I always encourage our recruits to handle every interaction by the book.”
Right. “What if the individual refuses to leave the vehicle?”
“The officer is required to remove the suspect and, if necessary, subdue him.”
Until this point, I had been setting the table by eliciting short answers. Now I wanted to let Murphy tell the story in his own words. “What happened next?”
He turned subtly toward the judge. “Officer Bacigalupi respectfully asked Mr. Jones to step out of the vehicle. Mr. Jones refused. Officer Bacigalupi asked again, and Mr. Jones still refused. Mr. Jones became angry. He displayed a weapon and banged the driver-side door into Officer Bacigalupi, knocking him down. Mr. Jones fled on foot.”
“Did you try to stop him?”
“No. He was armed and dangerous, so I protected myself. I ordered him to halt.”
“Did he?”
“He did not.”
“Did you pursue him?”
“First, I radioed for backup. Second, I checked on Officer Bacigalupi, who was not seriously injured. He pursued Mr. Jones on foot. I followed him.”
“Sergeant Murphy, are you certain that Mr. Jones was armed?”
“Yes.” He paused for dramatic effect. “He had a gun.”
Perfect. “What kind?”
“We found a Kel-Tec PMR-30 handgun under his body.”
We’ll get to that in a minute. I asked him to describe the chase.
“I followed Mr. Jones and Officer Bacigalupi through the plaza, north on Fillmore, and west on Geary.” He confirmed that Jones jumped the gate into the parking lot. “Officer Richard Siragusa cut off the suspect in the intersection of Geary and Fillmore. Officer Charles Connor provided backup in front of the post office parking lot. Officer Siragusa, Officer Connor, and I were standing outside the parking lot when we heard shots fired.”
“Could you see what happened?”
“No, but we heard Officer Bacigalupi order Mr. Jones to lie down. When Mr. Jones refused and reached for his weapon, Officer Bacigalupi had no choice but to shoot him in self-defense.”
And there you have it.
Harper got to his feet. “Move to strike. Sergeant Murphy couldn’t see what was happening inside the parking lot. He is therefore testifying as to matters for which he has no personal knowledge.”
Yup. That’s true.
Before I could respond, Murphy spoke up. “You weren’t there, Mr. Harper, but I was. Mr. Jones was armed and dangerous. He repeatedly refused to follow commands or surrender. Officer Bacigalupi had no choice but to use lethal force in self-defense.”
Sometimes you get help from unanticipated sources.
The judge spoke to me. “Anything else for this witness?”
“One more item.” I turned back to Murphy. “After the shooting stopped, did you climb over the gate to assist Officer Bacigalupi?”
“Yes. So did Officer Connor and Officer Siragusa.”
“Were you the first officer to reach Mr. Jones other than Officer Bacigalupi?”
“Yes.”
“Was Officer Bacigalupi upset?”
“Yes, but he handled the situation professionally and in accordance with his training. He administered first aid and attempted to save Mr. Jones’s life.”
“You testified that you found a handgun under Mr. Jones’s body.”
“I did.”
“Loaded?”
“Yes. Per procedure, I disarmed the weapon and logged it into evidence along with the unused ammunition.”
“It’s been suggested that the gun was planted.”
“That’s preposterous.”
“Just to be clear, did you plant the firearm under Mr. Jones’s body?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Did Officer Bacigalupi?”
“No.”
“Did Office Siragusa or Officer Connor?
“Of course not.”
Almost done. “Based upon your thirty-four years of experience and your proximity to the events, did Officer Bacigalupi shoot Mr. Jones in self-defense?”
“Yes, he did.”
“No further questions.”
“Cross-exam, Mr. Harper?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Harper strode forcefully through the well of the courtroom, where he took a position a couple of feet from Murphy.
Stay the course, Murph.
“Sergeant Murphy, you were present during the traffic stop, right?”
“Right.”
“Isn’t it standard procedure to turn on your body cam when you engage a suspect?”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t turn on your body cam, did you?”
“No. I thought it was going to be a routine traffic stop for a fix-it ticket.”
“So you violated policy?”
“Technically, yes.”
“You understand that if you had turned on your body cam, we would have more definitive evidence of what happened on the morning of February ninth, right?”
I could have objected, but I let it go. Murph could hold his own.
The veteran cop held up a hand as if to say, “That’s all you’ve got?” “If I had to do it again, I would have turned on my camera.”
Harper shook his head. “You’ve been a police officer for thirty-four years, right?”
“Yes.”
“Ever been suspended?”
Here we go. “Objection. Relevance.”
“Overruled.”
Murphy held up a hand as if to tell me that he would deal with it. “Once.”
“For what?”
“A convicted sex offender made wild claims that I was too rough when I arrested him.”
“You cracked his skull with your baton, didn’t you?”
“I acted in self-defense after he tried to kill me.”
“Is that how you train the officers that you supervise?”
“Objection. Relevance.”
“Sustained.”
“The person that you beat up was African-American, wasn’t he?”
I figured that this was coming. “Objection. Relevance.”
“Overruled.”
Murph didn’t fluster. “Yes, the convicted felon who attacked me was African-American. He’s going to be in prison for the rest of his life.”
Harper moved in front of Murphy. “How long were you suspended?”
“A week.”
“You didn’t challenge the suspension, did you?”
“No. The process would have taken longer than serving the suspension.”
“You told your superiors that you never hit the suspect, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“That wasn’t true, was it?”
“No.”
“Are you lying now, Officer Murphy?”
“Objection. Relevance.”
“Sustained.”
“You’ve also been put on report six times for police brutality, haven’t you?”
“I’ve been doing this for a long time. Spurious claims are part of the job description.”
“All of those claims came from African-Americans, didn’t they?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Do I need to introduce the official complaints into the record?”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“So you would acknowledge that all of the claims came from African-Americans?”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“You seem to have a problem with African-Americans.”
“I work in a neighborhood where the population is predominantly African-American. As a result, most of the people with whom I interact happen to be African-American.”
“And if you need to rough them up a bit, that’s fine with you, right?”
“Objection. Relevance. Foundation.”
“Sustained.”
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
“Please call your next witness, Mr. Daley.”
“The defense calls Officer Richard Siragusa.”
61
“YOU THINK I’M MAKING IT UP?”
Rick Siragusa sat in the witness box, arms at his sides. “I responded to a request for backup from Officer Bacigalupi and Sergeant Murphy at one-ten a.m. on February ninth.”
“Where were you at the time?” I asked.
“Parked in front of the Boom-Boom Room.”
Judge Ramsey was listening intently. The people in the gallery were getting antsy.
“Did it strike you as odd that Officer Bacigalupi and Sergeant Murphy requested backup for a traffic stop?”
“No. They requested backup after Mr. Jones attacked Officer Bacigalupi and fled.”
“Did they specify whether Mr. Jones was armed?”
“They did. Listen to the audio on the police band. The perp was an African-American male dressed in black, armed and dangerous. I put on my lights and pulled into the intersection of Fillmore and Geary. A moment later, I saw Jones running toward me.”
“Did you get out of your car?”
“No. The suspect was armed, so I called for more backup. I used my microphone to order him to stop, but he didn’t.”
Here goes. “Did you see a gun in his hand?”
“Yes.”
I asked him what happened next.
“Jones turned onto Geary and headed west. Officer Bacigalupi followed him shortly thereafter. Sergeant Murphy came a moment later.”
“Did you follow them down Geary?”
“Yes. I drew my sidearm, left my vehicle, and proceeded on foot to the area outside the parking lot of the post office, where I found Sergeant Murphy and Officer Charles Connor. We couldn’t see Officer Bacigalupi or the perpetrator because they were behind a postal van. We heard Officer Bacigalupi order Mr. Jones to lie down. Mr. Jones disobeyed the command and reached for a weapon. Officer Bacigalupi shot him in self-defense.”
“No further questions.”
Harper was up quickly. “You were in your car when Mr. Jones ran by?”
“Yes.”
“How far away from you was he?”
“About the length of this courtroom.”
“It was dark and raining?”
“Yes, but my headlights were on.”
“And your wipers?”
“I believe so.”
“Did he stop in front of your unit?”
“No.”
“So you saw him for about a second?”
“A little longer. Probably two or three seconds.”
“And it’s your testimony that Mr. Jones was holding a handgun?”
“Yes.”
“What type?”
“I’m not sure.”
Harper walked to the evidence cart and picked up the Kel-Tec. “Was it this handgun?”
“I presume that it was. Sergeant Murphy and Officer Bacigalupi found it under Mr. Jones’s body.”
“Did Mr. Jones point it at you as he ran by?”
“No.”
“But you could see it in his hand?”
“Objection,” I said. “Asked and answered.”
“Sustained.”
Harper put the Kel-Tec back on the cart, then he moved in front of Siragusa. “Did you activate your body cam?”
“No. There wasn’t time.”
“So, while sitting inside your police unit on a dark and rainy night with your wipers going, you were able to see a small handgun in Mr. Jones’s hand as he sprinted by you?”
Siragusa didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“And you expect us to believe you?”
“Objection.”
“Withdrawn. No further questions.”
“Redirect, Mr. Daley?”
I had nothing to add. “No, Your Honor.”
“Please call your next witness.”
“The defense calls Officer Charles Connor.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Charlie Connor gulped down his second cup of water. His soft features and pale complexion made him look more like a high school student than a police officer. His starched uniform looked like he had taken it out of the box earlier that day.
I had given Siragusa some open-ended questions. I was going to lead Connor shamelessly. “You were in your unit near Kimbell Park when the call for backup came in from Officer Bacigalupi and Sergeant Murphy?”
“Yes.”
“That’s about a block away from the post office?”
Connor nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Yes.”
“You immediately drove over to Geary?”
“Yes.”
“How long did that take?”
“About fifteen seconds.”
“You parked in front of the post office parking lot?”
“Yes.”
“And you saw Juwon Jones running toward you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you get out of your car?”
“No. I got on my speaker and ordered him to stop.”
“Did he?”
“No. He climbed over the gate into the parking lot. Officer Bacigalupi followed him a few seconds later.”
“Did you see a gun in Mr. Jones’s hand when he ran by your car?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do next?”
“I radioed for backup. Then I got out of my vehicle and walked over to the parking lot.”
“Was anybody else there?”
“Sergeant Murphy. Officer Rick Siragusa joined us a moment later.”
“Could you see Officer Bacigalupi inside the parking lot?”
“No. He and Mr. Jones were behind a postal van.”
�
��Could you hear anything?”
“Yes. Officer Bacigalupi ordered Mr. Jones to put his hands up. Then he ordered Mr. Jones to lie down. Mr. Jones disobeyed Officer Bacigalupi’s orders multiple times and reached for a weapon, so Officer Bacigalupi shot him in self-defense.”
“How do you know it was self-defense?”
“As I said, I saw a gun in Jones’s hand when he ran in front of my unit.”
Good enough. “Officer Connor, did you activate your body cam?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“I was still inside my unit.”
“So you took video of Mr. Jones as he was running in front of your car?”
“Yes.”
“Can you see a gun in his hand?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It happened very fast. It’s hard to see anything in the video because it was dark and raining.”
Good enough. “Do you have video of what happened inside the parking lot?”
“Yes. My body cam was on when I was standing outside the gate. As I mentioned, we couldn’t see Officer Bacigalupi or Mr. Jones because they were behind a postal van.”
“But you could hear them?”
“Yes. Officer Bacigalupi ordered Mr. Jones to lie down. He repeated the order three times.”
“Are Officer Bacigalupi’s commands to Mr. Jones audible on the recording from your body cam?”
“Yes.”
“And when Mr. Jones did not obey Officer Bacigalupi’s multiple orders to lie down, Officer Bacigalupi shot him, right?”
“In self-defense.”
“In self-defense,” I repeated. “No further questions.”
Harper walked straight to the front of the witness box. “You testified that you saw the gun in Juwon’s hand while you were still sitting in your police car, right?”
“Right.”
“And you’re absolutely sure that he had a gun in his hand even though it was dark and raining and he ran by you in less than a second?”
Connor hesitated. “Yes.”
“And you testified that you couldn’t see the gun in the video, right?”
“Objection. Asked and answered.”
“Sustained.”
Harper shook his head. “Officer Connor, is it your testimony that Juwon still had the gun in his hand when he climbed over the gate?”
“Yes.”
“You realize that the gate is eight feet tall, right?”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“So he had to leap up and pull himself over, right?”
Serve and Protect (Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez Legal Thriller Book 9) Page 23