Collision Course (A Josh Williams Novel)

by Joe Broadmeadow

  "No objection," Fleming said, Collucci seemingly engrossed in the file. Fleming was constantly amazed at his arrogance; he did not even bother to read the file beforehand. She did. This was not going to be helpful for the case, for that she took some satisfaction.

  "Chief, would you read the section of the file where Sergeant Williams has been disciplined?"

  Brennan looked confused at first, and then the light went on, "Sergeant Williams has never been disciplined for anything."

  "Well, Chief that's a rather thick file, are there any letters of reprimand?"

  "No"

  "Letters of complaint?"

  "No"

  "Well then can you tell us what the file contains?"

  "It contains standard family contact information, training records, firearms qualification scores, promotion letters, and a number of departmental and external commendations."

  "How many commendations?"

  Brennan was in the game now. He counted the pages, individually, and announced, "There are twenty-eight departmental commendations, including one for the Medal of Heroism, the highest award given by the department.

  There are eleven commendations from outside agencies, including the Rhode Island State Police, FBI, DEA, ATF, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

  There are two commendations from the United States Attorney's Office in Rhode Island, one signed by William Strain, who went on to be Governor, and one by Mr. Robert Collucci, the current US Attorney, for outstanding support of the United States Department of Justice," watching as Collucci heard his name, looked at Fleming, trying to figure out why.

  "Chief, you mentioned a Medal of Heroism; can you read a portion of that commendation?"

  "I'd be happy to,” shuffling to find the document, "Detective Sergeant Joshua A. Williams is awarded the Medal of Heroism for actions above and beyond the call of duty. On the night of July 29, 2005, Sergeant Williams responded to a reported house fire. Upon arrival, neighbors reported a small child on the second floor of the residence. Sergeant Williams, at great personnel risk, entered the building, located the child, age 4, as well as an unconscious female, later determined to be the mother, on the floor in a rear bedroom.

  Sergeant Williams picked up the unconscious woman and young child taking them to safety.

  Sergeant Williams exhibited the highest example of courage and selflessness, risking his life to safe innocent people. His actions are in the best tradition of the East Providence Police Department."

  "Thank you, Chief. One more thing, is there anything in that file regarding a complaint against Sergeant Williams for conduct of a racist or prejudicial manner?"

  "Nothing, not one thing. I will add that I do not tolerate that behavior on my department. We have done a great deal to combat those attitudes. Sergeant Williams has never engaged in such behavior."

  "Chief, what is the normal departmental procedure for an officer involved shooting?"

  "Well, first we make sure the officer receives any necessary assistance in dealing with the situation; it is always difficult to take a human life regardless of the circumstances.

  He or she is immediately placed on administrative duties while the matter is investigated. Since I have been Chief, we always ask for assistance from the Rhode Island State Police to insure impartiality. The result of the investigation then submitted to the Attorney General for review. Typically, the matter is placed before a statewide grand jury."

  "How many times has this happened under your command?"

  "Thankfully only three times, including this one, in each of the two prior cases it followed the track I just described."

  "Chief are you aware of any other case taken over by the US Attorney's Office?"

  "Objection," Collucci jumped from his seat. "Any other cases, where, the state, New England, nationwide? There needs to context here, although I fail to see the relevance."

  "Your Honor, I am merely demonstrating how these matter are normally handled. Chief Brennan can certainly testify to that. I will rephrase the question to put it more in context." Hawk argued.

  "Overruled, rephrase the question and the witness can answer." Rodericks ruled.

  "Chief, in your experience in the State of Rhode Island, are you aware of any other cases of an officer involved shooting taken over by the US Attorney's Office?"

  Brennan directed his gaze to Collucci, "No sir. As a matter of fact, I spoke to every Chief in the state and the Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; no one could recall any such action by the US Attorney."

  "Now Chief, are you familiar with the Rhode Island Police Officers' Bill of Rights?"

  "Yes, of course."

  "And is it true that the law says an officer 'charged with a felony may be suspended, without pay, at the discretion of the Chief of Police?"

  "Yes that is true." Brennan was now sitting straight up, he knew where this was going, knew how much it irritated the political hacks, and some other Chiefs, but he did not care.

  "Did you suspend Sergeant Williams once he was indicted by the Federal Grand jury?"

  "No," placing his hands on the railing and looking the jury, "I did not."

  "And why is that Chief?" Hawk took a step back bringing him next to Josh.

  "Because I have absolute faith in Sergeant Williams, I reviewed the investigation, done by the members of my department, assisted by the Rhode Island State Police, and I found no evidence whatsoever to justify suspending Sergeant Williams. I believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty, I will never suspend an officer just because it is politically expedient. I stand behind my officers when they are doing their job and acting within the requirements of the law. Sergeant Williams’s actions met that standard."

  "Thank you Chief. I have nothing more your Honor."

  "Mr. Collucci, do you wish to inquire?" Rodericks asked, looking hopefully that he wouldn't.

  "May I have a moment, your Honor?" Collucci replied.

  "Of course."

  Collucci and Fleming engaged in a brief conversation. Fleming pointing out several of the documents in the file. Collucci nodded, rose, and said, "Your Honor, I have no questions for this witness."

  "Very Well, Chief Brennan thank you for your testimony, you are excused."

  Brennan rose up, nodded to Rodericks, smiled at the jury, and strode out of the courtroom.

  "Your Honor," Hawk said, "I would like to amend my witness list. The original list called for an expert witness to testify, we have decided not to call that witness."

  "Very well, Mr. Bennett," Rodericks looked at the computer on his desk, "We will adjourn for the evening. Reconvene at 9:00 AM. Will Sergeant Williams be testifying?"

  Several members of the jury leaned forward at this.

  "We will be discussing that very subject this evening, your Honor. I have two other witnesses on my list before we get to that point." Hawk smiled, "We will have our decision for you in the morning," allowing the tension to simmer and build slowly.

  Hawk knew he would have to shoot Josh to stop him from testifying, but no need for everyone to know that quite yet.

  Chapter 69: No Walk in the Park

  Bill Symonds, Josh, and Hawk sat in the office eating pizza. They ordered two large and one small one since Josh insisted on having anchovies.

  "How can you eat those things?" Bill asked.

  "It ain't pizza without anchovies." taking a swig of Beck's beer.

  As Hawk opened one of the beers he said, "Did you take these out of evidence as well?"

  "Nope, deducted the expense from your fee."

  "Nice, which leaves me enough to buy one more pizza. At this rate I'll be paying you."

  Josh tipped his beer and smiled.

  "Okay," Hawk settled into his desk and propped up his feet, "which part of Josh's anatomy is Collucci going to try and cut off first, his head or his balls?"

  Josh laughed, "I am ready for him, I got this. He isn't going to do anything to me on the stand I can't handle," taking a long
drink from his beer, not noticing the look between Symonds and Hawk.

  Symonds put his pizza down, walked over, and picked up a file, tapping the outside of the folder repeatedly. "Sergeant Williams, does it say in your report that you cataloged and placed in the evidence safe the six bottles seized during the arrest for the sale of alcohol to a minor, yes or no?"

  Josh looked at Hawk, then back at Symonds, "What's this?"

  "It's a yes or no question, Sergeant,” looking over at Hawk, "your Honor would you instruct the witness to answer the question please."

  Hawk sat up, bang his fist, "Sergeant, you do understand the concept of yes or no, answer the question."

  Josh shook his head, "okay, you want to practice, fine. Yes, that is what it says."

  Symonds continued, "Does it not say you removed one bottle, packaged it, and delivered it to the Rhode Island State Toxicology Laboratory for analysis, also yes or no?"

  "Yes," Josh sat up. These people think they can rattle me, fine, go for it, I have been playing this game a long time.

  "Now Sergeant, is it your testimony that the evidence you produced in the court hearing on that matter was in fact the same evidence you seized at the time of the arrest?"

  Josh smiled, gotcha, "No, I did not testify to that."

  "Ah, what did you testify to?"

  "I was asked if it was the same beer seized that night and I answered yes it was. It was Becks Beer."

  "I see," Symonds paused a moment, "was there an evidence tag attached to this same beer?"

  "Yes" Josh replied, starting to wonder where this was going.

  "And was it the same evidence tag you prepared the night of the arrest and evidence seizure?"

  Josh thought to himself, okay, I see this now, not going to work. "It was the same evidence tag, same bag seized. I never said it was the same evidence," his confidence growing.

  "Did you alter the tag?"

  "No"

  "Did you indicate that the evidence contained therein was not the original evidence seized?"

  "No, that's not what I was asked." Enjoying this game.

  "Is it normal practice to substitute similar items for missing evidence?"

  Josh hesitated, Symonds continued

  "When did you discover the original evidence was missing?"

  "When I received the subpoena, I went to retrieve the evidence out of the locker and found it was misplaced"

  "And who has access to this evidence storage area?"

  "The members of SIU, the Captain of Detectives, and the Chief of Police."

  "Who did you report the missing evidence to? Did you prepare a report, did you notify anyone, Sergeant? How many times have you testified on court with exhibits that were substituted for evidence you lost? Did you drink the evidence, Sergeant, is that what happened? You have such a callous disregard for this, or any court, that you believed you could slide by because of some poorly structured questions that failed to uncover your lying to the court? Is that it Sergeant? "

  Josh was staring blankly.

  "After admitting here you've lied under oath in the past or, in your version, altered the facts to fit the truth, do you now expect this jury to believe you? Why is that Sergeant? Is lying in a minor case that, at worst, if you told the truth about the missing evidence, might have resulted in a dismissal of charges, perhaps a minor reprimand to your spotless record acceptable? Yet you would have the jury believe you would not lie about something that could put you in jail for a very, very long time? Is that what you want us to believe?” Looking over to Hawk, "I am threw with dis guy."

  Josh was rattled.

  Symonds opened another beer, walked over, and handed it to Josh. "Look, don't be fooled by Collucci's soft-pedaling this with Lt. Hamlin. It is you he wants to fry in front of the jury. He is going to try to make it so they will doubt anything you say. He will try to cover the lack of evidence by building his case on destroying your credibility. That is what we have to deal with. We need to get this out, take the bite out of it, before Collucci uses it."

  Walking back and sitting. "My advice is don't give him the opportunity to do this just to satisfy that ego of yours. If you let him destroy your credibility, the lack of evidence will not matter. All the jury will see is a liar on the stand. A liar who shot a war hero that saved the life of a seventeen year-old girl."

  "Josh, listen." Hawk added, "I can tell this jury likes you. Collucci put Chris in the hot seat about this and the jury did not care. They want to hear what you say about things in the church. I can lead them away from letting this affect your credibility. However, you are going to have to listen to us and lose that 'I've been doing this a long time' attitude. You have just lucked out that most lawyers do not prepare properly. For all his arrogance and faults, Collucci knows where his opportunity lies, and it is here, with this. We need to neutralize it."

  Josh stood, walked to the window, and looked out on Weybosset Street. "Okay, you made the point. What do I, I mean we, do about it?"

  As the discussion continued, Chris Hamlin arrived. Josh looked up at her, searching her eyes. She just shook her head.

  Hawk noticed the exchange, "not to be cold my son, replacing is more efficient than repairing."

  Chris turned to face Hawk, "You really can be an asshole. You know that?"

  "I do, I freely admit it, that’s why my experience is that it is easier to start with a blank sheet, so to speak." Chuckling as they continue to discuss the plan.

  Chapter 70: The Fifth Commandment

  "The defense calls David Anthony Ventraglia," Hawk's voice resounded through the courtroom.

  The door at the side of the courtroom opened. Ventraglia, dressed in a plain white shirt and khaki colored pants, entered the court. The Marshal directed him to the witness stand. Two other marshals, trying to be inconspicuous, took up positions near the exit doors.

  "Please raise your right hand," the clerk said.

  "Why? I ain't saying shit," came the reply.

  Rodericks glared. "Mr. Ventraglia, you should be aware that I can make your time within your present living arrangement even less pleasant. I will not tolerate such language or attitude here. Is that clear?"

  "Whatever," Ventraglia replied, slightly raising his right hand.

  The oath was administered.

  Ventraglia's responded, "I ain't testifying, so everything I say will be true." Looking up and smiling at the judge.

  Hawk, watching the jury's reaction to this, thought this is even better than I hoped.

  "Would you state your name, Sir?"

  "Nope, I ain't stating nothing, I am pleading the fifth." Rising from the seat and heading back toward the exit, "thanks for the day trip but it was a big waste, bye judge."

  Rodericks said, "Mr. Ventraglia, you will remain in that seat until such time as the court instructs you otherwise. Now sit down or you will be held in contempt."

  Ventraglia sat back down.

  "Now," the Judge continued, "Mr. Ventraglia, are you invoking your right not to testify under the Fifth Amendment?"

  "Yes, I am," Ventraglia nodded and smiled at the jury, "I know under the Fifth Commandment I don't have to say shit, I mean, sorry, I don't have to say anything."

  However, no one on the jury, or in the court, was paying much attention. They were laughing too hard.

  Rodericks motioned for the marshals to take Ventraglia back to the holding cell.

  As soon as Ventraglia left, Rodericks ordered the jury removed.

  "Mr. Bennett, was that really necessary?"

  "Your honor, under the best evidence rule, since Mr. Ventraglia will not testify, I intend to call Detective Joseph McDaniel to introduce the video of Mr. Ventraglia's statement regarding Mr. Machado's participation in the robbery."

  "Objection, your honor," Collucci said, "It would be hearsay and should not be allowed."

  "Well, isn't this an interesting twist, the government objecting to the defense motion for the introduction of a video statement, obtained by
the police. They didn't mention this in law school that I recall."

  "This would hardly be hearsay. Mr. Ventraglia gave a very detailed statement, against interest, regarding the robbery. It goes to the very essence of this matter. The jury needs to see the whole picture. Sergeant Williams had good reason to put a great deal of weight on the validity of information he received from the dispatcher. Ventraglia's statement merely confirms the basis of the information."

  Hawk looked at his notes for a moment.

  Collucci stood and interjected, "Your Honor, if I may, Mr. Ventraglia's statement has no bearing on the matter before the court. The defendant in this case knew nothing of the details surrounding the robbery, other than the broadcast by the dispatcher. The government's contention is that information was insufficient to justify Sergeant Williams’s actions; his innate prejudice was the motivating factor. Whether or not Ventraglia's statement is consistent with the information broadcast is immaterial and prejudicial. The jury would be compelled to give information not available to the defendant inordinate probative weight. This matter hinges on what actions the defendant took based on what was available to him at the time he took them. Any subsequent information, learned after the fact, is immaterial and will confuse the jury," Collucci argued.

  Rodericks wrote a few notes, looked over to the computer monitor, and said, "I will take an hour to review this matter. We will stand adjourned until 10:00 AM.”

  Chapter 71: A Different Truth

  Rodericks returned promptly at 10:00, catching everyone by surprise.

  "The court has considered the arguments in this matter, Detective McDaniel will be allowed to testify about, and introduce, the statement made by Ventraglia." Holding his hand up as Collucci rose to his feet, "subject to the normal standards of evidence and subject to wide latitude in cross-examination," looking over at Bennett. "Call your witness Counselor."

  "The defense calls Detective Joseph McDaniel."

  The door at the rear of the courtroom opened and Joe McDaniel walked in. Wearing a nicely tailored, dark blue suit, his short gray hair, deep blue eyes, slightly ruddy complexion, glasses hanging around his neck gave him the appearance of a grandfather walking into a school performance. McDaniel spent so many hours in courtrooms he lost count. As he walked to the witness stand, he nodded at Josh, smiled at the jury, turned to face the clerk, and raised his right hand.