Authors: Derek Blass
“
We know these wounds were caused by the MP5,” Mason said, “but do you know which officers had those guns on the day that Mr. Rodriguez was shot?”
“
I was able to figure that out as well. The city's police department tracks which officers in the S.W.A.T. team take which weapons when responding to a call. The city implemented this tracking procedure approximately ten years ago to track weapons usage. On the day in question, hold on one moment...” The doctor dug through his records. “On the day in question there were five officers that responded as a part of Sergeant Shaver's team—Officers Williams, Martinez, Tomko and Lindsey and Shaver himself.”
“
And, by the way, where are those officers today?”
“
Objection! Irrelevant!”
“
What is the relevancy of where the other officers are, Mr. West?” Judge Melburn asked.
“
The jury has a right to know why Officers Williams, Tomko and Lindsey are not here to testify, Your Honor.”
“
Overruled, but I will be paying close attention to this testimony, Mr. West.”
“
Can I answer?” Dr. Ganesh asked.
“
You can,” Mason said.
“
Officers Williams, Tomko and Lindsey were killed shortly after the incident involving Mr. Rodriguez.”
“
Do you know how that happened?”
“
Objection!”
“
Sustained. I do not see that having any bearing on this matter, Mr. West. Move on.”
“
Getting back to the day at Mr. Rodriguez's house, Dr. Ganesh, which officers were carrying an MP5?”
“
Sergeant Shaver and Officer Martinez.” Cruz heard a low, collective gasp from the gallery. Jurors looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“
Were you able to conduct any tests to determine which of the guns, either the one the Defendant was using or the one Officer Martinez was using, was shot?”
“
Unfortunately, no. By the time we obtained the guns, they had both been disassembled and cleaned before being checked back into inventory.”
“
Is that standard operating procedure?” Cruz saw Sphinx start to rise to object but then decide against it.
“
If the officers went out and did not have to discharge their weapons, yes. However, when an officer discharges his weapon the department has a strict protocol to follow. This includes submission of the weapon to ballistics immediately.”
“
Did that occur in this case?”
“
No. Neither of the officers turned in their weapons.”
“
That means one of the men is lying and did not follow protocol on the day in question?”
“
It seems that way, yes.”
“
I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
Sphinx stood up and threw his pad of paper onto the podium. “Let me understand a few things here, Dr. Ganesh. Most importantly, you have no idea whether Sergeant Shaver's or Officer Martinez's gun was the one that discharged into Mr. Rodriguez, correct?”
“
I cannot tell from the evidence I had which gun it was.”
“
So that's a yes.”
Dr. Ganesh looked uncomfortable. “I guess you could say that.”
“
You have no expert opinion then as to whether Mr. Rodriguez was shot by Sergeant Shaver or Officer Martinez.”
“
Objection,” Mason said, “asked and answered.”
“
As I said before, the evidence would not allow me to make that conclusion. I only know that it was either Sergeant Shaver or Officer Martinez.”
Sphinx flipped through the pages in his notepad. The silence was broken by thumping coming from outside of the courtroom. Cruz ignored the sound and focused intently on Sphinx's cross-examination.
“
You know what, Your Honor? I have no further questions myself if that is Dr. Ganesh's only conclusion.”
“
Would the State like to redirect?” Judge Melburn asked Mason.
“
No, Your Honor.”
“
Next witness then.”
“
The State calls Officer Roman Martinez.” A cheer broke out from the crowd outside the courthouse again, following another secret text from Sandra. Judge Melburn scoured the courtroom with his eyes. Cruz smirked at this man's vain attempt to exercise control. It was amusing and simultaneously depressing to see a man of his age not having learned to let go of certain things.
Martinez rose from behind Mason and gave Cruz a quick look of reassurance. He made his way to the witness stand and was sworn in. Martinez looked calm, his jet-black hair slicked back, matching his black suit. Cruz thought he appeared credible, controlled. The true test would arise on cross-examination.
Mason stood beside the podium for this direct. He leaned casually, hands clasped together and resting on the edge of the podium. The court reporter stared at him, waiting for his first word. Cruz looked at the jurors, who were all captive.
“
Officer Martinez, can you please introduce yourself to the jury?”
“
Sure. Officer Roman Martinez. I'm a six-year veteran of the city's police force. My last two years have been as a member of the S.W.A.T. team.”
“
What did you do before becoming a police officer?”
“
I served in the Army for seven years as a communications soldier attached to a special forces squad.”
“
Service is in your blood then.”
“
Yes, it sure is.”
“
Were you recognized in any way while in the Army?”
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I was. I received the Army Commendation Medal and the Purple Heart.”
“
The Purple Heart? So you were wounded?”
“
I was wounded while serving in Iraq during the first Gulf War.”
“
How were you wounded?”
“
The short story is that I was shot in the ankle by an enemy. I ended up needing a bone graft and several surgeries to correct the injury, which still is not a hundred percent.”
“
I assume you were honorably discharged?”
“
Yes.”
“
When did you join the police department?”
“
I went to the academy a couple of years after I was discharged from the Army. I needed to heal before putting myself through that type of physical work. The academy was about six months long and included tough physical and mental testing.”
“
Mental?”
“
Rules of law mainly.”
“
When you completed that training, what happened next?”
“
I passed the required tests and began my field training. Patrols mainly. The worst shifts in the worst parts of town.”
“
Is that what they do with most new recruits?”
“
The ones they think can handle it. In some ways, it was harder being on those streets than in war. Your own people were attacking you. They hated you even though you were trying to help.”
“
When did you start working with Sergeant Shaver?”
“
Pretty much when I was assigned to S.W.A.T.”
“
Was there a process for becoming a member of that elite team?”
“
Oh, yeah. You had to prove yourself in combat situations, had to pass extra physical and cognitive tests. There were several tests dealing with all types of firearms. Then you had to be political.”
“
What do you mean, political?”
“
Lots of guys want to be S.W.A.T. To put it bluntly, you had to know which ass to kiss.” A couple of the jurors laughed. Judge Melburn looked like he was going to rouse himself but instead slunked back into his chair.
“
Did the Defendant lead your team the entire time you were on it?”
“
Actually, he was reassigned for six months during my time on the team.”
“
For what?”
“
He got into...”
“
Objection, objection Your Honor!” Sphinx said as he stormed past the podium and halfway to the bench. The bailiffs looked at him quizzically. He slid to a stop on the polished marble floor after becoming aware of where he was and just where he was storming.
Judge Melburn looked at him quizzically. “Your objection?”
Sphinx cleared his throat and readjusted his jacket with both hands. “Yes, Your Honor. Irrelevant.” Cruz looked at the jurors who seemed more perturbed than amused. He knew jurors could sense if someone was trying to hide facts from them. Too many objections could make it feel that way.
“
Does the State have any compelling reason to introduce this evidence?”
“
I'll withdraw the question,” Mason said. It was a nice move. Willingness to decline a fight went over well with jurors. “Let's move on to the day in question Officer Martinez. When did your team get the call to respond to Mr. Rodriguez's house?”
“
Seems like it was about two-thirty in the afternoon. It had been a slow couple of days before that. We were called out on one other d.v.—er, domestic violence—but that was it. The call came in and we geared up. This was during the time of the
Police
shows, so we had to wait a couple of extra minutes for the cameraman to get ready.”
“
What
Police
shows?”
“
The shows you see on T.V. You know, where the camera follows cops on their beats. Ours was just a special S.W.A.T. edition.”
“
All right, and what was the cameraman's name?”
“
Max.”
“
So you loaded up and headed to the house?”
“
That's right. It was about a ten-minute trip in the armored rescue vehicle from our station. We got there and Sergeant Shaver gave us our orders. Essentially, who was supposed to go where. He told me to take the rear of the house.”
“
Who else was there with you?”
“
At the rear? I know Max was there. Then I think it was Lindsey and Williams.
Tomko and Sergeant Shaver usually stuck together.”
“
They were close?” Mason asked.
“
Always. Tomko was his right-hand man. So, we waited for our count, the time we were supposed to breach, and then breached.”
“
What did you find when you entered?”
Martinez laughed and pushed back from the witness stand. “Nothing, nothing at all. The house was empty where we entered. Silent. We moved down the hall, in formation, until we got to the main living room. That's where they were.”
“
Who was there?”
“
The old man, Mr. Rodriguez, and his daughter.”
“
What was her name?”
“
We never got her name. At least I didn't. Everything kind of fell apart after things went down.”
“
Before you go there, where were Tomko and the Defendant?”
“
Standing there, in the living room. Mr. Rodriguez was lying on his bed. He was quiet and looked to be asleep, although I don't know how he would have been with all the commotion of the breach. That's probably what pissed Sergeant Shaver off.”
“
That Mr. Rodriguez was asleep?”
“
No, that Mr. Rodriguez seemed to be faking it. No way he was asleep.”
“
What happened after you all ended up in the living room?”
“
The daughter was on the floor, on her side and grasping at the foot of the bed. She was just recovering from the flashbangs that we tossed into the house. She was crying, clearly hysterical from the sight of us once her eyes adjusted. It was understandable, you know? Five men in black armor, masks pulled over our faces, guns drawn, and a cameraman to boot.”
“
Hold on. Can you explain what a flashbang is for the jurors?”
“
Sure, flashbangs are shaped like cylinders and kind of look like grenades. They are true to their name. Once deployed, they emit a burst of high intensity light and a deafening bang. The combination will stun just about anyone—there's really no defense to it. When the people inside the building are stunned, it's safer for us to go in.”
“
Okay. Once you all entered the room and saw just Mr. Rodriguez and his daughter there, did anyone declare the room secure?”
Martinez paused for a second, thinking about his response. “I don't think so. I don't remember hearing that. It was more confusing. We had expected some sort of altercation, but it was pretty calm except for the daughter freaking out. We all stood there for a minute or so, trying to figure out what was happening. That's when Sergeant Shaver started honing in on Mr. Rodriguez.”
“
What do you mean by that?”
“
I think the old man was pissing Shaver—Sergeant Shaver—off. He was just lying there. He hadn't moved at all since we entered. Sergeant Shaver started jabbing at him with the barrel of his gun, the MP5 that Dr. Ganesh was talking about earlier.”
“
Did Mr. Rodriguez respond at that point?”
“
Nope.”
“
Was he alive?”
“
Oh yeah, he didn't look dead or anything. He had opened his eyes, but appeared to be in some sort of catatonic state. Excuse me,” Martinez said as he drank some water. “Sergeant Shaver jabbed at him a few more times and told him to get his hands out from under the blanket that was covering him. This made the daughter go off. She started wailing, hitting at our feet. She told us that her father didn't speak English. Shaver yelled at her and told her to shut up. His attention diverted to her at that point and he started to mess with her. He grabbed her hair, got really close to her. She was screaming and he was loving every second of it.” Cruz saw one of the woman jurors pull her sweater tighter around her chest. She had a look of disgust and fear spread on her face.