Q. Sergeant Reyes, would you tell us for the
record how long you've been employed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs and what other employment history you
have prior thereto?
A. I've been a member of the Police Service now
for three years. Prior to that, I've been a member of the
Department of Defense Police Department and museum
protection officer with the Smithsonian Institution.
Prior to that, I was in the United States Marine Corps.
Q. Thank you. We have taken testimony from
participants or witnesses to the incident involving
Mr. Bryant, Officer Gomez and Officer Bartlett on August
29 2000, and we'll be asking some background questions of
you a little later.
To begin, we'd like for you to tell us in
your own words how you came to be aware of a situation
that had developed in front of the VA hospital located at
923 East 4th Street in Malden?
A. I was in the chief's office and I heard a
radio transmission calling for a 10-85, officer needing
assistance, or requesting assistance. They described the
location being a main entrance area flagpole. It's
somewhat of a patio area in front of the building, and I
responded.
Q. I see. And were you the only person to
respond?
A. No.
Q. Who else responded to the call?
A. The Chief was behind me, Officer Bartlett
apparently was all right there. There was another officer
already there, Officer Jordan.
Q. Officer Jordan was already there?
A. He was already there.
Q. Okay. And when you came upon the scene, what
did you see?
A. When I got out of the building, I noticed
everybody was pointing towards the right side of that
patio area, the flagpole area as we recognize it, and I
saw two individuals, one on the floor and one standing
over him grabbing him. I observed the one on the floor, I
guess attempting to maneuver his way out. When I got
closer, I realized that the gentleman on top, the
individual on top was Officer Gomez, and the individual on
the bottom was an elderly gentleman.
Q. Now, you said when you first approached the
scene, you saw a gentleman on the floor, and you saw
someone standing over him.
A. Yes.
Q. Did Officer Gomez' position vis-a-vis
Mr. Bryant change?
A. I'm sorry?
Q. You said he was standing over him.
A. Yes.
Q. Did he have any part of his hands, was he
making contact with Mr. Bryant, who was on the ground?
A. Yes.
Q. Would you describe how Officer Gomez was
making contact with Mr. Bryant?
A. He had both hands on to the gentleman's
jacket or sweater like. He had both hands, he was
grabbing him.
Q. And did you observe him shaking him or
hitting him or battering him in any way or did he just
have his hands on Mr. Bryant's jacket?
A. He was holding him.
Q. And was Mr. Bryant struggling in any way?
A. Yes.
Q. Would you say that he was resisting,
possibly?
A. With all due respect, I wouldn't really deem
it resisting, due to the fact that he's already on the
ground.
Q. You said that Mr. Bryant was trying to get
out of a situation. Would you say he was resisting? Was
he kicking, was he flashing his arms, what was he doing?
A. He was doing both. He was kicking and trying
to--
Q. And the other person was over him?
A. Yes.
Q. So would you say he was resisting? If you as
an officer was in that situation trying to place a person
under arrest and the person was doing that to you, would
he be resisting?
A. It would be resisting if the individual is
not heeding my verbal commands.
Q. Did you hear any conversation or any words
spoken either by Mr. Bryant or Officer Gomez at this time?
A. It's been a while, with all due respect. It
was somewhat of a shouting match. They were both shouting
profanities at each other.
Q. Where was Officer Bartlett at this time? If
you can recall.
A. I don't recall that.
Q. So you recall Officer Gomez bending over Mr.
Bryant, he has his hands on his jacket?
A. Yes.
Q. And they're shouting at each other, yes?
A. Yes.
Q. What happened next, as you recall?
A. I approached both parties and I put my arms
around Officer Gomez, and I had Officer Gomez and I was
trying to pull him off.
Q. Why?
A. It was, well, for me it was just a matter of
separating the two individuals. There was no precedent or
anything of that matter. I just wanted to separate the
two individuals. I just happened to be the first one to
actually try to physically do it. I grabbed Officer
Gomez, I kept telling him, "I got it, I got it, I got it,"
and I was pulling him off.
Q. And when you say "I got it," forgive me, but
what exactly did you mean?
A. I'm basically trying to tell him that I'll
take over from here.
Q. I see.
Okay, and were you a superior officer to
Officer Gomez at this time?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. Is it common in the police that one officer
replaces another officer in a situation?
A. If it becomes somewhat personal, yes.
Q. And in your opinion, then, the situation had
become personal?
A. Hearing profanity involved and things of that
nature, it seemed that they were both being physical.
Q. Did you ask Gomez what happened once you got
them apart?
A. No.
Q. Isn't it common that when you come to another
officer's assistance and there is a personal thing between
that officer and that other party, to find out what's
going on?
A. Yes.