Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20211217 : vi

MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports December 17, 2021

0 >> where's that at? >> he's currently stationed in florida. >> and your other son, where is he at? >> he's in college in north dakota. >> are they going to be home for the holidays? >> yes, they will. >> is your mother in the courtroom? >> yes. >> and your sister? >> no, she's not. >> but is your brother in the courtroom. >> yes, he is. >> and besides your brother and your mother, your father is deceased? >> yes. >> and do you have any other siblings? >> i have another sister and a brother. >> what do they -- do you know what their ages are? >> my oldest sister is in her 50s and my other brother is in his 50s also. >> my sister works for a medical device company my oldest brother works for a parking company and my other brother works for retail. >>. >> going back to when you were a youngster, where do you go to elementary school? >> immaculate conception. >> where is that? >> columbia heights. >> did you live that neighborhood? >> yes, i did. >> while you were going to that school did you have a police officer visit your school. >> yes. >> do you know his name today? >> yes, it's officer michael mcgee. >> where was he a police officer at. >> the columbia heights police department. >> why was he at your school? >> he was doing bicycle safety for grade school kids. >> and you remembered his name. anything else that was significant about him that caused you to do something in your life? >> he was -- on that occasion he really influenced me as a youngster that the police are good people and i wanted to be something like that some day. >> and because of that, and because of him being at your school, did you start out doing that? >> yes. >> what was your first job or volunteer work as a -- some type of a law enforcement officer, student, explorer, school cop? >> the first thing i did was junior high was a school patrol officer, if that counts? >> yes, that does count. what did a school patrol officer do back then? >> it was junior high so we helped the younger, grade school age children, get across the street. >> did you continue to do that throughout junior high? >> yes. sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. >> after getting in high school, what did you do? >> the police department came to my high school and had a booth set up for the police explorers. >> did you join the explorers? >> yes, i did. >> why did you join the explorers? what's the explorer? >> it's part of the boy scouts of america. it's an area where you can have career enhancement or learn about different jobs like law enforcement or fire fighting, things of that nature. >> were you an explorer throughout your high school days? >> yes, i was. >> i can't remember if i asked what high school you went to. >> tatino grace high school in fridley. >> with respect to criminal justice or law enforcement while you were in high school, besides being an explorer, did you do anything else? >> i had jobs. >> what was your job? >> my first job was at a gas station. >> what did you do there? >> clerk, cashier. >> did you continue that job through high school? >> yes. into college. >> where did you go to college? >> st. mary's college in winona, minnesota. >> that's 70 miles from here, 80? >> yes. >> what was your major at st. mary's? >> criminal justice and sociology with an emphasis on elderly studies or geriatric sociology. >> why did you take those courses? >> i wanted to go into law enforcement and i had an interest in understanding the older community and their needs and wants. >> did you graduate from st. mary's? >> yes, i did. >> was that a three year program? >> it was a four-year program, i finished it in three and a half because i had an internship in the summer. >> where did you internship? >> the columbia heights police department. >> columbia heights mark meadows columbia heights police department? >> yes. >> did you also continue your explorer career while in college? >> i stopped being an explorer after my freshman year and then i role played at the annual conference. >> what does that mean? >> every year the explorer program had an annual conference at breezy point resort and they needed role players and they liked to use students or people that were in law enforcement. >> so you graduated from st. mary's? >> yes. >> what did you do after that? >> after that i would have gone to skills. in the summer of 1994. >> okay. and what do you mean by that? >> i went to skills. >> what does that mean? >> i went to the police certification program so i could get hired. >> where was that at? >> alexandria technical college. >> in alexandria, minnesota? . >> yes. >> did you stay there while you were being educated? >> yes. >> how long of a program was that? >> 10 or 12 weeks. >> is that where you maintain your skills to apply for a police officer? >> yes, it was a hands on training. i had the college education, the book knowledge and went there for my skills program or my hands on portion of my license. >> after this program, did you go out and try to get a job in law enforcement? >> yes, i did. >> and were you successful at first? >> yes. >> did you have a job at -- >> yeah i worked at the regional treatment center, because i graduated in january -- i'm sorry in december, i couldn't go to skills until the next summer so i got a job. >> all right. so but you worked skills you were in alexandria, correct? >> yes. >> and the job you got was at the state hospital? >> yes. >> that was between your skills -- say that again. >> so i got hired there in february, and i worked for a year on a -- a calendar year, but the city police department would allow their students to -- or their employee, i'm sorry, to go to skills and still have a job on weekends or when they would get back before they got hired as a law enforcement officer. >> so at aonok state hospital what did you do. >> i was a security officer. >> and the state hospital is for -- is basically a detox center now, is that right? >> no. it had a detox. it had a county-wide detox. and a detox program. it also had drug and alcohol abuse, rehabilitation and mental illness. >> what did you do there, you were in security? >> yes. >> does that mean you had to deal with the folks that are staying there, the residents? >> yes. >> were you successful in that? >> yes. >> after working there, where did you go next? >> i left there and got hired at the city of brooklyn center. >> what year were you hired at the brooklyn center police department? >> 1995. >> and when were you sworn in? >> february the 27th. >> of 1995? >> correct. >> who was at your swearing? >> my mother and my father. >> so after you were sworn in, you started working as a brooklyn center police officer? >> yes. >> what year was that again? >> 1995. >> so would be -- my math -- 26 years before you resigned -- >> yes. >> -- is that a correct statement? >> yes. >> when you worked as a police officer for brooklyn center throughout those 26 years, did you remain a patrol officer during that time? >> i did. >> why was that? why didn't you attempt to go up the ladder like the other officers we've heard from? >> i liked my work. i enjoyed working with the community. i didn't want to be in an administrative role. >> did you also, even though you were a patrol officer, you did take part in other programs? for example, the fto program, right? >> yes, i did. >> that's the field training. >> yes, i was a field training officer for many years. >> how many years? >> i don't have an exact number, 10 to 15. >> and we've learned in this case what a field training officer does. but very briefly, what did you do? >> i would get probationers in different stages of their training, either the first phase, second phase, third phase or final phase. usually the first phase and final phase were with the same fto. and then other ftos would train the other two stages. >> why did you continue to do that for so many years? >> i felt that i had knowledge and mentorship that i could help young officers develop into somebody i would want to work with and my partners would want to work with. >> there were other programs that you volunteered for or joined -- >> yes. >> -- while you were a police officer, is that correct? >> yes. >> after you became a police officer, what was the first program that you joined or volunteered? >> i became an explorer adviser for explorer post. >> what's an explorer post? is that the younger people that -- >> yes. the program through the boy scouts of america. >> in that program you teach them about policing, is that right? >> yes. >> after that explorers program that you joined, what else did you do as a police officer? >> i was on the domestic abuse response team, i was also crisis negotiator -- >> let's stop at the domestic abuse program. how long were you on that? approximately. >> 10, 12 years, maybe more, maybe less. >> and what did that program entail? >> we would respond -- so officers would go out on a domestic awe abuse situations or domestic calls and if there was a victim of a crime or an arrest made or not an arrest made we would follow-up the next day with the victims to see that they were getting the things they needed like domestic advocates, walking them through, getting order for protections if they had questions and then helping them and checking in through the court process. >> did you enjoy doing that? >> yes. >> why? >> sometimes there were great successes and sometimes there were very sad failures. >> another program you were involved with was a hostage program? >> i was a crisis negotiator for the eou team, the emergency operations unit. >> what did you do? >> i was a crisis negotiator. >> what does that mean? >> we would go out on barricaded subjects or without with the s.w.a.t. team would be the easiest way to describe it on warrants. we would respond to calls where there may be people in danger. >> and was your job to try and negotiate with the subject and get him to submit to being arrested? >> yes, he or she. >> was that your main job? >> no, i was always a patrol officer. >> as far as a hostage negotiator that's what you did. >> yes, i was a crisis negotiator. >> what other programs were you in? >> i was on the law enforcement memorial solicitation honor guard. >> what is that? >> it's -- so the parent is the minnesota law enforcement memorial association, they do a lot of work to help survivors and their families make their way through the process of getting benefits after their officer is killed in the line of duty. i was on the honor guard. >> what did you do being on the honor guard? >> when i started in 1998, i was on the colors team for a year or two and then i went to the casket team. >> what's the color team? >> carries flags. >> and the casket team? >> we would carry the casket or the urn of the fallen officer and fold their flag. >> would you be in contact with the deceased family. >> sometimes with the family, a lot of times with the chief of police because i have to give the folded flag to the police chief. >> this was throughout the state of minnesota? >> yes. >> these were police officers killed in the line of duty. >> yes. >> or other law enforcement officers? >> 99% of it would be killed in the line of duty or we would do some retiree funerals. >> any other programs you're involved in? >>. >> i did a lot of crime prevention work for our police department and other presentations. >> crime prevention presentations? >> yes. >> what were those? >> i was assigned an apartment complex in the city and i would meet with management and we would do some programming for the residents, as far as personal safety, locking your car doors, taking valuables out of your cars. just regular safety in an apartment complex. and then i would do some other presentations on robbery preventions for banks in the city. >> by the way, when you were doing -- carrying caskets for that program, were you aware of officers killed in the line of duty by making a traffic stop? >> yes. sean patrick. >> objection, your honor, move to strike. >> the objection is overruled, i'll let the answer stand. >> during your 26 years as a police officer, did you ever receive any complaints for abusing your power? >> no. >> did you ever receive any complaints from the public? >> no. >> in training did you attend all the training sessions required by the brooklyn center police department while you were there? >> yes. >> with respect to gun training, laser training, you attended all those too, right? >> yes, i did. >> did you pay attention? >> yes, i did. >> with respect to that, in your approximation, i'm not asking for exact numbers. but with respect to the training, what would you say the amount of training was for for the firearm, for the gun, and the amount of training for the laser, what would be the percentages there? >> the firearms, it would be probably 80%. we spent more time on firearms than we did on taser. >> and tasers didn't come into being until years after you're a law enforcement officer, right? >> yes. i believe trainers in this courtroom said 2002 or 2003. >> you started as a law enforcement officer what year? >> 1995. >> with respect to laser -- tasers, did i say lasers? with respect to tasers, there's been evidence in the case that you had a taser 7, is that correct? >> yes. >> and the evidence in that was that the taser 7 had -- is shaped like a gun, father statement? >> yes. >> and the taser 7 had a dark black -- or at least a dark handle and a dark top, do you remember that? >> objection. leading. >> i'm trying to day care. >> -- i'm trying to -- >> the objection is overruled. you may answer. >> yes. >> the taser you received is it approximately a month before april 11th that you received it. >> in the courtroom i was told i received it on march the 26th. >> okay. and also, while we're there. with respect to these tasers and testing them, the rule that we read said should test the electronics every day. is that right? >> yes. >> and there's testimony that you didn't test yours a couple of days, is that right? >> yes, that's what i was told. >> do you agree with that that you didn't test it? >> i don't recall if i would have or wouldn't have. >> is that an important feature for law enforcement officers with new tasers? >> no. >> that never used them since they had them. >> correct. >> and while we're there, did you ever use a taser, use it by actually shooting it in all your years as a law enforcement officer? >> i would take my taser out on rare occasions, but i don't believe i ever deployed it. >> when you take your tazer out, it's to de-escalate what's going on, is that a fair statement? >> sometimes or to prepare for what might be behind the door, sometimes the officer has a gun and sometimes the officer has a taser out. >> now the taser that was swichd from you, did that go to one of your partners, that taser? >> my old taser? >> yes. >> i believe they were put in storage at the police department. >> and those tasers were all yellow, right? the handle, the top, the whole thing was yellow? >> yes, except the battery black, i believe that was black and there were some markings on the side. >> i'm going to show you these tasers. show you this taser -- >> objection, your honor, may we have a side bar, please? >> yes. >> the police officer accused of manslaughter has taken the witness stand. she's gone through an extensive background, she's now being asked to look at pictures of tasers versus the service revolver. with us are our nbc legal analysts joyce vance, danny se cevalis. the first thing the defense is trying to establish her credentials. >> and the defense is getting in evidence that this person was a lifer, she always wanted to be in law enforcement, she had a calling. she wasn't somebody who took a government job to hang out and collect a pension. you can see from the testimony and the jury is seeing it, all she ever wanted to be from an early age was a police officer. and that's very effective. now we're moving into the testimony about the taser. and they're going to show that recently they switched over tasers and there were possibilities that she would be unfamiliar with the new model and the new description. you see the picture right there. the taser versus block. that's a lot of yellow, and you're right. but if the taser, the model had changed in recent history, then that might go towards some distance, at least, to showing that there was a reasonable mistake. and after all, the glock is plastic, might have felt similar in the hand. you're going to see all of it. >> shaq bruster is outside the courthouse. your take so far? >> to add context to something you were hearing about the testing of the taser. there was some evidence earlier in this trial that kim potter in the days before the shooting did not test the taser -- she's back on the stand now. >> thanks so much, shaq. back to the testimony. >> was that an x-26 taser? >> i believe it was an x-26p. >> p. so -- >> with respect to the tasers, there's been evidence about signing some forms on warnings. do you remember signing those forms? >> in our annual training we'd be handed a form to sign, and i would sign it. >> and do you remember the warnings on them at all? >> not from those days, no. >> with respect to weapons confusion, was there ever any training, actual training about weapons confusion as you remember it? >> no. >> did you even know what weapons confusion was -- >> yes. >> wait until i finish the question. before april 11th? >> it would be mentioned in training but it wasn't something we physically trained on. >> by that you mean what? >> there was no training on weapons confusion. you wouldn't be set in a dark room and told to grab which weapon. >> so i'm going to go now to april 11th, 2021, a sunday. and you surely remember that day, is that correct? >> yes. >> and you were an fto that day for officer lucky? >> yes, i was. >> and that day what time did you go on duty? >> 6:00 a.m. >> was lucky on duty at that time, too? >> yes. >> what did you do during the morning? if you remember. just do drive around police work? >> we just did police work. we would have checked the squad car if we didn't have calls right away. >> it was a sunday. >> it was a sunday. >> so approximately, around 2:00, did you pull up in back of -- not you, officer lucky was driving the car, right? >> yes. >> and you were the fto. where were you seated in the car? >> in the passenger seat. >> and tell the jury what you remember about first seeing the white buick on that day, approximately 2:00 p.m. and talk slowly. >> officer lucky and i were driving south on zane avenue north we were talking about pursuit policies, doing regular fto training, and he observed a vehicle in the turn lane with a blinker on inappropriately. >> and was that the white buick? >> yes. >> and did you have a conversation with him about that? >> yes. >> and what was that conversation? >> we discussed a little bit of suspicious activity. he noticed a pine tree or air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror and the tags were expired. >> and did he want -- did you stop that vehicle? >> officer lucky wanted to stop the vehicle, yes. >> let me ask you sort of a hypothetical. if you had been working alone that day, on sunday afternoon at 2:00 would you have stopped the vehicle -- >> objection, relevance. calls for speculation. >> i can't even finish the question, your honor. >> all right. >> that's not fair. they know how to try -- >> the objection is overruled. you may answer. >> my question was, if you weren't with a field training officer that day, and you were on patrol, would you have stopped that vehicle? >> most likely not. >> why not? >> an air freshener to me is -- it's just an equipment violation, and during the covid times, the high covid times, the department of motor vehicles was so offline that people were not getting tags and we were told to not enforce a lot of those things because the tags were not in circulation. >>

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