April 29, 2004

Update

For what it's worth, although the indicator for this got buried in our coverage yesterday, we've once again oened up a group chat via Yahoo! Messenger if readers with too much time on their hands during this inquest want to discuss it. The group chat is named 'portlandcommunique' (without the quotes, of course), and if anything transpires there, we likely will be posting the transcript to this site at the end of the day. We might be absent/idle from it along the way, since we'll be posting, but we're lurking at least.

Update

Schrunk is explaining that they are "experiencing problems with witnesses that were subpoenaed to come in." He is proposing that when they don't show up, they wait a reasonable time and if they don't show up, they will play a taped statement from those witnesses. They may be taking some witnesses out of order, and witnesses whose taped statements are played but show up later will take the stand anyway.

Taking the stand is Marty Dennis. He was coming down Fesseden when he notced a police car. Sery was out of the car and drew his gun. Dennis pulled into the parking lot. He is indicating on the photograph and diagram where he was.

Macomber he wasn't watching, his focus was on Sery. Perez' car door is open at this point and Perez is inside. Perez was siting with his hands down and it sounded like he asked what he had done. The officers are "braking" orders at Perez, one saying put your hands on the wheel, the other saying get out of the car. Macomber goes to try to pull Perez out through the door. He backs up, Sery backs up, goes down in a crouch, and shoots.

Just before, Dennis heard "get your hands on the wheel" and also "get out of the car." He heard no response from Perez.

When Macomber was pulling on Perez, Perez was in his seatbelt. Dennis says there was no struggle. Macomber went in, tried to pull him out, he stepped back, and Sery shot him. This happened in seconds.

Dennis has been in his truck watching during all of this.

After the shots, Dennis sees the Taser wires, Dennis' dog is barking. Dennis got out of the car and started tape recording the scene from where he was. He thought Sery had missed Perez with his gun, which is why Macomber Tasered him. Macomber "leans on" the Taser, "on and on and on." Dennis was thinking "Haven't you given him enough yet" but he is still Tasering him. Officers are still barking orders at Perez to get out of the car and show them his hands.

Then another police car comes up, an officer comes out with a shotgun and approaches Perez pointing the gun into the car. Then the rest of the police cars come up. When the second car arrived, Macomber was still Tasering Perez.

Dennis found out later he knew one the the parties involved, that being Sery. Dennis yelled at Macomber to stop Tasering the driver. During this latter part, Dennis was 35-40 feet away, looking directly at the scene towards the driver's side door of Perez' vehicle.

Dennis turned his tape over to the state police.

They are now going to play the tape.

Update

On the tape, Dennis can be heard saying something like "They keep tasing the fucker," with the rapid clicking of the Taser cycling heardi n the background, going on, and on, and on, and on. "Have you given him enough yet?" Dennis can be heard calling out. Cycling. Then sirens arriving on the scene. Dennis sits nearly stonefaced through the playing of the tape. After the sirens, it's very hard to make anything out. Until Dennis says, "They've been tasing him for three fucking minutes at least."

Update

"They finally quit tasing him, fucking guy looks like he's about fucking dead." Or something close to that. "Looks like they killed the fucker." Silence in between, cars arriving. Dennis saying into the tape the Perez has not moved an inch. Voices in the background. Dennis explaining to someone else that they Tasered him for about three minutes. More silence. More sirens arriving. Dennis explaining the situation to someone else. Difficult to make out. Dennis explaining the situation to other people a number of times.

Update

Dennis explains that they left out at least a minute of the tape at the very beginning. He says he began the tape 9-10 seconds after Macomber began Tasering Perez. Dennis is getting impatient with Schrunk's questions about when he pulled into the parking lot, which he already explained. Schrunk asks if he gave a statement to police that he pulled in when the Tasering started, and he says he did not.

Schrunk says there "may or may not be some sort of conflict" in Dennis' description of when he got to the parking lot. Exhibit 39 offers an officer saying that Dennis claimed to have "pulled up as the officers were pointing weapons at the car." Dennis says that officer's statement that he said he saw them Taser Perez three times is not what he said.

Dennis has settled a lawsuit with the Portland Police Bureau, Schrunk has established, for $5,000, over an incident where they tried to take him to detox.

Question: Why does the scene diagram not include Dennis' car?

The diagram, he says, is of the police cars, which weren't there when he got there. The diagram is of the scene later on after Dennis' truck was gone.

Question: Explain what cars were at the scene when he arrived.

There were people at the laundromat, the diagram is pretty close, other than the extra police cars that weren't there until later.

When he arrived, Dennis saw Sery. He knows this because he is the one that was grabbing for his gun.

Question: Did you know Sery by sight? No, Dennis said. He never knew hwo beat him. When you say you saw Sery, you didn't recognize him at the shooting, you just know he was later identified as Sery? Dennis confirms.