Chapter 65
While court was in recess, Rocky signaled to Hollis by touching her heart, reassuring him that faith and hope were still in the room.
Beau Lee and Alvarez approached the family to provide words of encouragement while regathering their courage to finish this battle.
After recess, Attorney DaSilva began his questioning.
“Mr. Montrose, you have a lot riding on this case, don’t you? ”
“I know that if the jury finds me guilty of these charges, I’ll have to go to prison.”
“But you have more than that at stake, don’t you, Mr. Montrose?”
“I don’t know what you mean, sir.”
“Are you aware that you, through your lawyer here, filed a fifty-million-dollar excessive force lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department?”
Beau Lee tried to object for relevance but was shot down.
“I know my family and I filed a lawsuit for what they did to me.”
“Mr. Montrose, you have been humble. This isn’t just any other run-of-the-mill lawsuit.
To quote your lawyer, Mr. Beau Lee Cooper, ‘We filed this fifty-million-dollar lawsuit, the largest police brutality lawsuit in city history, to send a message, to make a point.’ So, I ask you again, Mr. Montrose.
You have a lot riding on this trial, don’t you? ”
“If you say so,” Hollis answered, feeling angry and frustrated that he would even be asked such a question.
Beau Lee was uncomfortable knowing there was nothing he could do to save his client from this assault.
“Mr. Montrose, it’s not what I say. It’s what you and your lawyers have said. But now that we’ve made that point, I will further explore your motivations today. You like filing lawsuits, don’t you?”
“No, sir. I don’t.”
“Didn’t you file a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department for employment discrimination, filed by your other lawyer, Attorney Alvarez?”
“Objection, Your Honor. Relevance,” Beau Lee shouted, agitated.
“Overruled, Mr. Cooper. You opened the door when you asked him about how long he worked at the Chicago Police Department.”
DaSilva repeated the question and Montrose responded affirmatively.
“And that lawsuit is still pending, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So, you’ve got two lawsuits pending against the City of Chicago?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And apparently Mr. Cooper and Ms. Alvarez have a great financial interest pending on this case.”
“Objection. Improper. Argumentative. And relevance,” Beau Lee said.
“Sustained. Move on, Mr. DaSilva,” the judge said.
“Mr. Montrose, in your discrimination lawsuit, you said that the white police officers at the Chicago PD had a racist culture, and within that racist culture, you experienced discrimination on a systematic basis, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And in that lawsuit you said you’d suffered PTSD, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you also plead in the lawsuit that the discrimination created a hostile work environment. And that you had to leave the Chicago Police Department because you felt that if they didn’t do anything about it, you feared that you would retaliate against these white police officers. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes, sir. That’s how I felt.”
“Mr. Montrose, isn’t the truth that when these officers pulled you over, it triggered your PTSD and you gave in to your emotions and you shot at these police officers, namely Chaz Rossi, who was there on your right side?”
Beau Lee stood. “Objection, Your Honor. Improper question and misstatement of the facts!”
“Overruled, Mr. Cooper. You opened the door and you argued your case. Now Mr. DaSilva gets to argue his.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” DaSilva said. “Mr. Montrose, did the traffic stop in this shooting trigger your PTSD?”
“No, sir.”
DaSilva scratched his head for a second. “It didn’t? You mean to tell me that this wasn’t a traumatic enough experience to trigger your PTSD?”
“Not at first. I just thought it was all a misunderstanding—”
Before he could finish his answer, DaSilva fired off another question: “But at some point during the traffic encounter, your PTSD was triggered, wasn’t it?”
“No, you’re trying to put words in my mouth.”
“I’m just trying to see when your PTSD was triggered. Because you understand that when your PTSD is triggered, the science says you don’t really know what happens during those episodes, correct?”
Beau Lee stood up, flabbergasted. “Objection. Your Honor, really? He’s now the prosecutor and the psychological expert?”
“Judge, this is straight from the pleadings in his employment discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit discusses when his post-traumatic stress disorder is triggered and his reactions from it.”
“Overruled, Mr. Cooper.”
Beau Lee shook his head in disbelief.
“Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. Montrose, have you ever heard anybody else say anything about President Obama, and that they had the power in this traffic stop, except you? Because that’s the first time I’ve heard anything like that in this case. It’s not in any of the police reports.”
“I know what I heard, sir.”
“Are you sure you heard this and it wasn’t just your PTSD?”
Hollis nearly shook with anger; it was clear that he was having a hard time controlling the timbre of his voice.
“Sir, you’re trying to make it sound like I’m lying.
Like I’m crazy. That these officers were justified.
You all think us Black people are crazy when we try to explain our lived experiences during our encounters with the police all the time.
Even when they shoot and kill us, you all try to justify it. What they did to me was not justified!”
“Your Honor, the defense asks for a brief recess to allow Mr. Montrose a moment to confer with counsel,” Alvarez said.
DaSilva decided to add on. “Mr. Cooper and Ms. Alvarez can confer with their client after I conclude my cross-examination.”
“Your Honor. I object to this continuous badgering and improper questioning of Mr. Montrose,” Beau Lee said.
“I understand your objection, Mr. Cooper. It is not proper grounds for me to interrupt a cross-examination just because your client is upset with the questions. Do you have much longer to go, Mr. DaSilva?”
“Not much longer, Your Honor. I think I’m making it clear to the jury what really happened here.”
Beau Lee stood up, but before he could say a word, the judge intercepted. “Sit down, Mr. Cooper. I’m going to watch for any badgering of Mr. Montrose in the next few minutes since this examination is almost over.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” DaSilva said, and returned his attention to the witness stand. “Mr. Montrose. You were trained as a police officer, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” Mr. Montrose answered in a more contained manner.
“So you were trained as to when an officer is justified in using reasonable force, even and up to the use of deadly force?”
“Yes, sir. But I never had to shoot anyone in my twenty-five years as a police officer.”
“Thank you for that, Mr. Montrose. But my question was, simply, you were trained as to when an officer is justified in using reasonable force, even and up to the use of deadly force?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s ignore for a moment what the officers have testified of you shooting at them during the traffic stop and assume your version of the narrative, Mr. Montrose.
Let’s assume that you’re a police officer and conducting a traffic stop and the suspect is lying on the ground with his hands above his head, and you notice that he has a gun at his waist. And all of a sudden, despite your verbal commands for him to keep his hands outstretched with his palms touching the ground, he starts to move his hands down toward the gun.
Wouldn’t it be justified for you to shoot at the suspect before he gets to his gun and could shoot your fellow police officers? ”
“But I wasn’t reaching for my gun, sir,” Mr. Montrose affirmed.
“But Mr. Montrose, how were these officers to know what you were reaching for?”
“If he hadn’t kicked me, I wouldn’t have reached for my rib cage. It was a natural reaction to protect myself, as I thought he was going to kick me again.”
“See, you’re making statements that no one has made in the case prior to your testimony.
There is nothing in any police records that mentions someone kicking you in your side.
But here’s my question: Is an officer justified in shooting to stop the quickly evolving threat of a suspect having a gun and ignoring verbal commands, and reaching towards the gun? Yes or no?”
“Well, like I told you, sir. I never shot anybody in the line of duty. And now that you mention it, no officer or investigator took my statement.”
“Judge, I would ask for that to be stricken as nonresponsive.”
Beau Lee: “Argumentative.”
“How is that argumentative, Your Honor? I simply asked him a yes-or-no question based on his training as a police officer for twenty-five years.”
“Objection is overruled. The witness will answer the question based on his training and experience.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” DaSilva said, eyeing Beau Lee with derision. “Mr. Montrose. Yes or no?”
“Sir, I can’t answer that question, because like I said, I never shot anybody in the line of duty.”
“Is the real reason you can’t answer the question because if you acknowledge it was justified, then it prevents you from being able to go forward with your fifty-million-dollar lawsuit against the City of Chicago?”
Beau Lee objected, but before the judge was able to decide, DaSilva withdrew. “Even Mr. Cooper would agree that a blind bat can see what’s happening here. I have no further questions.”
Beau Lee, Alvarez, and Nellie looked at one another for a moment as Officer Doyle pushed Hollis’s wheelchair back over to the defense counsel’s table.
Beau Lee couldn’t help but notice Rocky sobbing during the assault and battery that DaSilva had projected onto her husband.
Beau Lee knew that DaSilva would score points when he decided to put Hollis on the witness stand, but this was far worse than what he could have imagined.
Beau Lee prayed to God for a Hail Mary to save Mr. Montrose from being found guilty, from being incarcerated for a lengthy period of time, but most of all, from dying in prison.
Beau Lee had one last move, but it was the riskiest one he’d ever had to entertain.
If it backfired, it wouldn’t just be Hollis Montrose not getting justice, but it could mean Beau Lee’s facing a major defamation lawsuit and a possible disbarment.
At that moment, looking at Hollis and his family—physically battered and spiritually bruised—Beau Lee was a little boy again, taking a vow to defeat racism and discrimination no matter the risk.