Chapter 59
The next witness was Sargeant Leonard Johnson, who had been with the Chicago Police Department for eighteen years.
Johnson was a slight man, and the gap between his teeth was noticeable, something Beau Lee was sure had exposed him to some ridicule in his early years.
But as Johnson sat in the witness box, he exuded a distinct air of confidence.
DaSilva asked him to explain what he’d seen and how he responded to the call the night of Hollis’s shooting, but the questioning and direct examination revealed nothing that Beau Lee didn’t already know from Captain O’Keefe’s testimony.
Next up was Sargeant Chaz Rossi, who had been with CPD for four years. Beau Lee was buzzing. DaSilva had been pitching softballs to each of the police officers so far, and Rossi started like the others had by explaining the events of the night.
“It was a little after midnight when we observed a Ford Expedition swerving like it was a drunk driver or something. Officer Dunham activated the sirens and we tried to read the license plate, but it was defaced, so we couldn’t get a clear vision of it.”
“Then what did you do?” DaSilva prompted.
“We had to chase it for a few minutes, but when the SUV finally came to a stop, we got out of the cruiser and approached Mr. Montrose’s vehicle with our hands on our waists on our service weapons.
Given that he was evading us when we first asked him to pull over, we weren’t sure what to expect.
The suspect seemed annoyed and began yelling at Officer Dunham.
Officer Dunham extracted Mr. Montrose from the vehicle and ordered him to the ground.
Shortly after, backup arrived. That’s when we saw he had a gun on his side.
We told him to keep his hands stretched out above, with his palms face down toward the ground.
The suspect continued yelling, asking for our badge numbers and calling us racists.
And then he moved his right hand down and retrieved his gun and fired two shots at me. That’s when we all fired.”
“Officer Rossi, was there anything obstructing the defendant from taking a direct shot at you?”
“No, sir.”
“When the defendant fired his gun, what went through your mind?”
“I saw my life pass before my eyes. I thought he was going to kill me.” Rossi said this dramatically, putting a hand to his chest for effect. Alvarez couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“And Officer Rossi, in that life-or-death moment, you fired your weapon along with your fellow officers as you were trained to do, correct?”
“Yes, we did.”
“Based on where you were positioned, did you have the best vantage point to see that Mr. Montrose did shoot his gun at you?”
Beau Lee and Alvarez didn’t even try to object that one. They let it roll, knowing it would only further aggravate the judge, and they wanted to save their objections for the truly dire ones.
“Yes, I did. My partner, Officer Dunham, confirmed that the suspect’s weapon had been fired when he retrieved it from him.”
DaSilva brushed his hands together and passed off the witness to Beau Lee, who walked up like a cobra readying to strike. He calmly approached the podium. “Officer Rossi, did you state that one of the reasons you pulled over Officer Montrose was because you claim his license plate was defaced?”
“That and he was driving like he was drunk.”
“I will take that as a yes—that one of the reasons you and Officer Dunham pulled him over was because his license plate was defaced. Then, is it policy that once evidence like a vehicle is inventoried and impounded, it is not to be tampered with from that point forward?”
“Objection. Defense counsel is trying to create a false narrative. There is no evidence of anybody tampering with anyone’s vehicle in this case.”
Beau Lee said, “Your Honor, I am asking whether it is Chicago Police Department policy that once a vehicle is inventoried and impounded that it is not to be tampered with in any way without documentation.”
“I will allow him to answer the question as to what he knows the Chicago Police Department’s policy on this matter to be.” The judge finally gave him one, and Beau Lee felt a spike of adrenaline at the minute victory.
“Thank you, Your Honor. Officer Rossi, you can answer the question.”
“No, you’re not supposed to tamper with evidence once it’s been impounded.”
“Can you tell me, why is there video of you and your partner, Officer Jack Dunham, going to the impound yard and fiddling with Mr. Montrose’s vehicle?”
Rossi looked unusually stony. “We didn’t do anything to his SUV. We went to find out if he’d left his wallet inside it with his identification, since everybody was making such a big deal about him not identifying himself.”
“Then what you did in the impound yard that day was innocent? Neither you nor Officer Dunham defaced Mr. Montrose’s license plate to fit your narrative?”
“Objection,” DaSilva said. “There is no evidence to suggest that these officers did anything inappropriate.”
Beau Lee responded, “If they didn’t do anything inappropriate, Officer Rossi should be able to give his answer in this courtroom.”
DaSilva fired back, “The question is calculated to mislead the jury, and that’s why I put my objection on the record.”
“I note your objection on the record. Officer Rossi can answer the question.”
Officer Rossi looked at the judge and DaSilva and asked, “Do I answer?”
“Yes, you can,” Judge Lambert said.
“Yeah, it was innocent. We didn’t do nothing to that tag.”
“If it was so innocent, then why didn’t you all document it in your police reports, per policy, that you made a visit to the impound yard to go inside Mr. Montrose’s vehicle, knowing that it was the subject of a very important case?”
“We were just trying to see one way or the other if he really had his wallet and identification in his SUV since we couldn’t find any on him that night.”
“I understand your answer, Officer Rossi, but that still doesn’t explain why you didn’t document it.”
Rossi shrugged. “We were just moving so fast that it slipped our minds.”
Beau Lee was successfully backing Rossi into a corner. “You all were moving so fast, but based on video surveillance of the entrance and the exit of the impound yard, you guys were there for over twenty minutes. Why did it take so long?”
“Objection!”
“No need to rule, Your Honor. I will withdraw the question.” Beau Lee was keeping something far more important in his back pocket. He did what he’d set out to do with Rossi on the impounded car.
“Okay, Mr. Cooper, move on, but with a little less commentary,” the judge said.
“Officer Rossi, are you aware that there was a cellphone video that captured the entire incident between you and the other Chicago police officers?”
“Yes.”
“Are you also aware that the video does not show Mr. Montrose firing his gun?”
“Objection! Judge, you’ve previously ruled on this matter,” DaSilva said.
Beau Lee responded, “Your Honor, I am asking what he observed on the video.”
“The objection is sustained with my previous ruling, counselor.”
Beau Lee decided to try another tack. “Officer Rossi, are you aware that when guns are fired, sparks of light can be seen?”
“I don’t know. That depends on the person’s eyesight.”
Beau Lee shook his head subtly. “You mean to tell me that you couldn’t see the sparks of light when you fired your gun?”
“Objection, argumentative,” DaSilva cried out.
The judge announced the objection sustained.
“Officer Rossi, after the shooting stopped, did you observe Mr. Montrose making any movements?”
“No, not after the shooting stopped.”
“Were you aware that the two bullets that you fired entered into Mr. Montrose’s body?”
“Yes, I suspected that they did because of the close proximity.”
“Officer Rossi, it’s paradoxical that you acknowledge the close proximity between you and Mr. Montrose at the time of the shooting.
If you all were so close to one another and you shot two rounds and they both went into Mr. Montrose, then how come neither of the two shots you claim Mr. Montrose took struck you? ”
“Objection. Calls for speculation.”
Sustained again.
“Officer Rossi, since you had such close proximity to everything, did you observe your partner retrieving Mr. Montrose’s gun and his wallet after he handcuffed Mr. Montrose?”
“I know he retrieved his gun. We never found a wallet on the suspect.”
Beau Lee knew his next line of questioning wouldn’t fly, but it was worth saying out loud.
“Let me get this straight: Mr. Montrose, who has never been arrested in his life, who has never gotten a traffic citation, was driving his vehicle recklessly and did not have his driver’s license or his identification on his person when you all stopped him? Does that make any sense to you?”
“Objection, argumentative.”
“I withdraw. No more questions, Your Honor.”