In the criminal justice system, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty,
either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury.
This is one of those trials.
Ray Hernandez was my partner.
My best friend.
Our wives got along.
Our kids.
These are his three.
Javier, Tina, Marcello.
That's Elena. Ray's wife.
I spoke with her.
We had to tell her how Ray was shot at point-blank range.
The candles stay lit until justice is done.
I'm gonna need a little privacy.
How's my boy?
Remember Steve McQueen?
- That movie Papillon? - Yeah.
He said to all the other convicts, "How do I look?"
You don't have to do this, Bruno.
I can fight, postpone the arraignment until you're out of here.
No. Let 'em see what they done to me.
Okay?
Ever check your voice mail?
- My phone's not charged. - Where's the judge?
He's in the nurse's lounge, putting on his robe.
Detectives Hernandez and Burke knocked at Mr. Johnson's door and I.D.d themselves.
Mr. Johnson fired through the door.
The detectives were knocked down. Kevlar vests saved their lives.
Then Mr. Johnson entered the hall,
crossed to Detective Hernandez, and fired into his throat, killing him.
- Mr. LaSalle? - What the state failed to mention...
... is that Mr. Johnson only returned fire after the police tried to kill him.
My client was shot 41 times.
Lay it out in court. Your plea?
Not guilty.
We feel Mr. Johnson should be held without remand.
Your honor, my client can't move, let alone flee.
- He has limited financial means... - He's accused of killing a police officer, counselor.
Remanded.
Trace...
Mike.
Deja vu all over again.
Last I heard, you and Chloe took a honeymoon to the Loire Valley and bought a vineyard.
That's true, and she started stomping grapes with the old Count, and I was off the label.
- I'm sorry. - I'm sorrier about some other things.
I take it from the arraignment you plan on blaming the cops.
Did you ever see a better piece of evidence?
Law and Order Trial by Jury Episode 1x02 - 41 Shots
Transcript provided by Raceman Synchronisation : Silverado
Thanks to Csivore and Nick Eads www.forom.com
Hernandez was shot here.
Johnson fled toward this exit pursued by backup cops led by Detective Blakely.
- Anyone see it who wasn't a cop? - No.
Ever hear of Amadou Diallo?
There's no similarity, Audrey. The cop is the victim.
I deal with media.
The hot story's an African-American shot 41 times, not a cop who was shot once.
A cop with an excellent record who left a wife and three kids.
There you go, Audrey. That's our hero.
I'll try Jim Ryan. Maybe I can get the family on Good Day New York.
And see what dirt you can find on Johnson before Mike LaSalle suits him up in shining armor.
This man needs your help.
What about when I needed him?
- Shut up, bitch. - You shut up!
That's the mother of your child.
Listen, Bruno is in a fight for his life.
But he can win...
... and you will all benefit.
I don't even know him.
Benefit us how?
There'll be a lawsuit against the police and the city.
And it'll mean a great deal of money.
Don't mean nothing to me.
When Bruno wins, he wins for all of you.
That mean something to you?
You ain't gonna do nothing with the money but spend it on crack and hoes.
Would you shut up?
The man's trying to save my son's life.
Look, we'll draft an agreement.
We'll designate a specific amount of money for each of you...
... if you support him.
- How much money? - Come on...millions!
- I'm talking about for me! - You know what? I'm tired.
Yo, get them the hell up out of here, yo.
Let's take a break, just for a minute.
Okay, we get you back in the bosom of your loving family.
We have some photo ops.
- What about you? - Me?
Yeah. What you get out of this?
I get to save your life.
I get a big percentage of any lawsuit.
Now we talkin'.
Hey, it gives me a keen interest in seeing you acquitted.
Sounds like we got a deal.
I'm gonna go talk to them.
We heard shots while we were on the stairs.
At the landing, I saw Ray Hernandez and Hagen Burke go down.
Seeing that, what did you think?
I thought they were dead.
But then Hernandez moved.
So you're certain that Detective Hernandez was still alive?
Yeah, he saw Johnson come out of the apartment, and he, uh...
He raised his hand like this.
Johnson had a gun in each hand. I yelled, "Freeze."
But he shot Ray here, above the Kevlar vest.
- Then he turned fire at us. - We fired at him.
Then he ran to the fire stairs.
- I got a question. - Yes?
When he yelled, "Freeze," didn't he shoot at Bruno Johnson?
Did you hear the question, detective?
No, no shots were fired before Johnson fired at us.
Then's when you shot him to pieces?
He fired, and we returned fire.
So did you keep shooting when he was down?
Police policy states "Officer will continue to fire till imminent threat to life is over."
13 signatures. We made it by one vote.
Not a slam dunk.
A taste of what's waiting for us.
Those our marching orders?
I read the file. The cops' statements are pretty solid.
Yeah, I want all the cops checked out.
I checked the jackets. These guys seem okay.
These are guys from the two-nine. That was my first home on the force.
It's pretty much a by-the-book precinct.
Well, any time you can prove me paranoid, I'm a happy girl.
Why another arraignment?
This will be before the trial judge. Johnson will be formally charged with capital murder.
Why does it matter if I'm there?
Well, we believe that there'll be media and press outside the courthouse.
People should know that Ray Hernandez was a decent man with a wife and family.
You know, a friend called me...
... about an article about the shooting.
And I--I try not to read those things.
It talked about the man who killed Ray.
How he was shot many times.
It never mentioned Ray's name.
- Tell that to the media. - Will they even listen?
I mean, someone from your office tried to get me on a TV show.
And they didn't want me.
At the arraignment, we'll control things.
A band of brothers. What's that from, the Bible?
Shakespeare. It's Henry V.
What? Free Shakespeare in the Park.
Anyways, that's how we are around here.
- A band of brothers. - Briscoe gets it.
- He was on a job. - So was Salazar. He was in the six-four.
- Huh. And then you went over to the D.A.'s. - I was retired on a medical.
- Three-quartered? - Yeah.
So you were wounded in action?
Did you guys know Bruno Johnson before you went there with the warrant?
Hey, you carry a badge, you heard about Bruno Johnson.
Armed robber, drug enforcer.
That's his file, but did you know him personally?
No.
For me and Hernandez, he was just a name on a warrant.
By the way, a warrant for armed assault.
All right, but you went in way ahead of your backup.
Yeah, we had guys on the stairs, the exit areas.
Who knew where this guy was going when we knocked?
Sure it wasn't a cowboy thing?
You want me to justify this with procedural policy.
If that's your concern, I can do it.
Yeah, it's always a concern.
Why don't you come into the lockers and look at Ray's shrine?
That's our concern.
We want Johnson convicted.
Look, Hagen, we're obliged to ask the same questions the defense is gonna ask.
Yeah, sure. Everybody's got their own way of doing things.
We have video feed on our side. How's your connection?
Elena, you should sit here with the kids.
Prosecutor's just arrived.
That's a live camera on Johnson.
Any particular way you want him shown?
Oh, thanks. Yeah, this is Kibre.
Yeah, can you just do just his face?
Could I see...
A head shot, yes. Oh, that's good.
Thank you very much. What the hell is this?
A live feed from the hospital.
You didn't fight it.
Oh, well, that was weeks ago.
And you never said a word about the grieving widow and the weeping kids.
In what universe do you think that I'll let you do this?
It validates your claim hat Mr. Johnson hovers at the edge of death.
Are you trying to steal the show?
I never had any doubt that the media would be here at your invitation.
We're ready. Both picture and sound are up.
Great. Shut it down.
Mike, there's precedent. You didn't argue against this.
So, I'm arguing it now.
I want an immediate hearing on Mr. Johnson's constitutional rights to appear.
Bruno, we're traveling.
Electronic appearance is provided for under article 182.
With the consent of the defendant, your honor.
You didn't argue against a claim of concern for his medical condition.
Well, who could know how quickly he would recover?
Mr. Johnson wants and deserves to participate in his own defense.
Ms. Kibre, is there any current medical opinion that contradicts this?
Dr. Sachs, Mr. Johnson's physician, continues to express concern.
- Is Dr. Sachs here to testify? - No, your honor.
Your honor, let me put Mr. Johnson on the phone with you.
He'll tell you himself how good he's feeling and that he wants to be here.
No need. We'll begin arraignment in two hours.
State will provide transport for Mr. Johnson.
Thank you, your honor.
Folks, move in. Mr. Johnson has something to say.
I appreciate the support.
The love of my family.
And the love from everybody who knows what was done to me was dead...
... dead wrong.
That's it. Thank you.
Hang in, Elena. People will want to hear from you.
We're going to demonstrate...
how wrong it was for the police to hunt and shoot this man down.
Elena. Elena.
Let her go. He won this one.
This is a federal civil suit...
... against the police department and the city...
... in the amount of $20 million,..
... filed on behalf of Mr. Johnson.
They destroyed this man's life, and they will pay!
Thank you very much.
Your press.
All good.
Good enough to save my ass?
Well, today's headlines wrap tomorrow's fish. We can't slack off.
Well, then, I'll just kill another cop.
Whoa, don't ever say that, not even to me.
You're an innocent man.
Anytime I think about it like that it just don't seem like much fun.
You like sex?
Yeah. In fact, why don't you spread the word, tell 'em they didn't shoot it off.
I want some party when you get me up out of here.
Now, that's the future.
How about a nice, conjugal visit with Amada?
- You have to marry her. - Marry?
Why the hell I gotta marry her? Can't I just lie?
No, because lying won't get your picture in the Ledger.
But marrying the mother of your child...
That bitch is just gonna take the money from the lawsuit.
- No! - I will write you an iron-clad prenup.
Look, loving husband, good father.
It rounds out your image.
Seems like one image is all we got, huh?
No, we got lots of stuff to explore.
Let's review all the good deeds you've done in the course of your long criminal career.
Next, he'll be Father of the Year.
Isn't this guy a career criminal?
A lot of arrests, not many indictments.
And few convictions.
There's not much we can actually use in the Sandoval.
Whatever there is, make sure Anderlee sees all of it.
- Well, most of it won't be allowed. - Most of it.
Doesn't matter.
The judge will see it and know he's not a very nice guy.
Cop killer. He's suing us.
We want to win this one, ladies.
Also, take a more jaundiced look at this Detective Hernandez.
You said he was our hero.
If he's not our hero, make damn sure we know it first.
Listen to this.
Woman complains that Hernandez failed to return phone calls on 18 occasions.
I could paper my apartment with disciplinary complaints.
So you guys just can't decide whose side you're on?
Disciplinary files? Come on, give us a break.
What is this, trash raid day?
Look, guys, I know this sucks, but we have to cover every possible angle.
Stop selling yourself as a cop, Briscoe.
You're an insult to Ray's memory.
I'm what? What'd you say?!
Walk it off.
Yeah, get me out of here before I end up in one of these files.
You know the worst part? I'm with them.
I mean, we're looking at this stuff that means nothing.
Defense might find hidden meanings in nothing.
The priors are a litany of violent acts that define a pattern of behavior.
Even the attempted shooting of another police officer before the murder of Detective Hernandez.
My client was arrested for that and not indicted. It's clearly inadmissible.
Your client seems to have a number of indictments that were recently dismissed.
Suggesting that he was falsely accused.
Or had amazing luck.
In any case, those are clearly not allowed.
Uh, but, your honor, I assume that you'll allow the fact that the officers...
... were executing a warrant when the shooting occurred.
I'll allow that, but in very limited form. No mention of armed assault.
I thought we were calling Anderlee a prosecutor's judge.
She is.
Oh, come on, Tracey. If we can't emphasize that the warrant was for armed assault,
how do we explain why the cops needed armed backup?
Cops slip it into the testimony.
Yeah, and the defense will object, and she'll sustain.
And the jury will hear it.
She favors us. She's just hamstrung by the law.
- Favors us how? - I cheated a little today.
Are you confessing an impropriety?
A man had a lot of dismissals. Might mean something, might not.
But I want to see him go down.
He's a cop killer, a career criminal.
- Lillian read through his file. - Very nasty stuff.
And I had to disallow. He's got Mike LaSalle.
When I first took the bench... I think it was my third trial...
Mike LaSalle put the moves on me in chambers.
LaSalle actually touched you?
As a prosecutor, I would have gone for harassment,
but I didn't think that was the way to start out my judicial career.
So I threatened him with contempt. Went home and took a long, hot shower.
Someday you'll have to face him and be fair.
Burden of the bench.
There's something suspicious with your cop killer.
Johnson had three charges dismissed on the same day.
Um, two possessions with intent and a gun violation.
Well, believe it or not, Kapoor, those are pretty minor charges.
Probably someone in our office just didn't want to deal with it.
How about an armed assault? That's not minor.
Johnson shot and wounded a man named Tancred Harlan.
It was dismissed the first day of trial.
No one can be that lucky.
Have Briscoe and Salazar find Tancred Harlan.
I read the paper.
And I'm glad the cop shot him full of holes.
The man shot me twice.
I'm laying there, and the man come and shoot me again.
You even had eyewitnesses.
A bullet they took out of me matched Johnson's gun.
So what happened?
- Why was it dismissed? - I don't know.
- I didn't hear about it for two days. - You weren't in court?
- They told me not to go. - Who told you?
- A cop told me. - Who was this cop?
Federal cop, like FBI or something.
Showed me his badge, said, "Stay away."
I don't know his name.
Listen... I gotta get to the clinic.
- Get my methadone. - Yeah, go ahead.
I'm guessing Bruno Johnson was a snitch.
He said FBI. Could have been DEA, ATF.
Talking hundreds of agents. How do we find who worked him?
Feds have a typical push/pull with snitches. They're never totally out of touch.
I think the visitor's log at Rikers prison hospital might be a shortcut to who this guy is.
Agent Merriwether, you've made several visits to Bruno Johnson in the prison hospital.
I assume that was work-related.
Well, Mr. Johnson provides information relevant to ongoing federal cases.
- His information's pretty good? - Depends.
Well, something bought him a dismissal on armed assault.
Well, we use resources, just like you do.
What kind of cases was Johnson working on?
Our work relates to national security.
- Johnson informed on terrorism cases? - I'm not saying what he did.
But you expect us to buy that he was helping keep us safe from Al Qaeda?
Come on. You feds need new material.
Hey, lady, everything has linkage. I break privilege, and none of my informants are gonna trust me.
I'm getting the feeling that the death of Detective Ray Hernandez doesn't matter much to you.
You wanna take a stand on that attitude?
You wanna take a stand for justice?
Oh, wait... Hey, hey, hey, hey! Come on, look. We all wear a badge.
One question: it doesn't go anywhere near privilege.
Have you been called as a witness for Johnson's defense?
That son of a bitch.
Worst case scenario,
Johnson was an informant on a police corruption case.
And if it was one involving those cops who knocked on his door,
suddenly his self-defense argument gets stronger.
But we checked on all those cops:
Hernandez, Burke, Blakely, everyone on backup.
Forget checking files. Get to those cops.
If they want to see their buddy's killer convicted, they're gonna have to work with us.
Come clean.
Let me guess.
You found out when Ray was 10 he jumped a turnstile for a free ride on the "R" train.
Hey, guys, why don't we call a truce and see if we can do each other some good, huh?
A federal agent named Merriwether has been called in as a defense witness.
That look tells me that you guys knew that Johnson was a snitch.
We knew, but we didn't know.
Oh, you're smart. Jury's gonna love an answer like that.
You guys want your buddy's killer to walk?
Hey, we knew about the snitching from the street. That's all.
We thought it would make Johnson look good, so we figured nobody should know.
From now on, don't figure.
All right, now the big question.
Did Johnson have dirt on anybody in the precinct?
There's always some guy in every precinct that the IAB or the feds are looking at.
Hey, I've been there myself, but that's not an answer.
That why you went to Johnson's door?
I swear on my son's life, the only thing we went to do was serve a warrant.
You buy it?
Maybe I'm too close to my gold shield, or too old a dog. I buy it.
The cops had no agenda to kill Johnson?
I'm with Briscoe.
Thanks.
We could ask for a delay.
File motions to access federal materials relating to Johnson.
Ah, we'll be in assisted care before the feds give us anything.
We have to fight with what we have.
All rise!
The court is now in session.
Give your attention, and you shall be heard.
The honorable Judge Amanda Anderlee presiding.
You may be seated.
This is Bruno Johnson at a fight club less than two weeks before the murder of Detective Hernandez.
He's a powerful man...
who used to brag that the police would never take him alive.
He meant that.
When detectives Burke and Hernandez came to this door...
... and identified themselves, without answering,
Bruno Johnson fired from ambush.
Both men were knocked down...
...from the impact of the 45-caliber slugs to their bulletproof vests.
Bruno Johnson then stepped out from hiding.
He crossed to Detective Raymond Hernandez.
He took aim and shot him in the throat.
Mr. LaSalle.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
you just heard a story.
Your honor, it is unfair that I should have to compete with these theatrics.
Court officers, please remove all uniformed members of the police force.
And there will be no uniformed presence for the remainder of this proceeding.
I think I'd like to withhold my opening remarks until after the people have rested, your honor.
That's a highly unusual request.
In view of the disruption, you may delay your statement, Mr. LaSalle.
Thank you.
A single bullet tore through the trachea,
severed the right anterior carotid artery, then exited,
just missing the vertebral column.
Death resulted from...
The torn artery feeds large quantities of blood into the damaged trachea.
The victim aspirates and chokes.
Effectively, he drowns in his own blood.
No more questions.
Dr. Roy.
Were any bullet fragments recovered from this wound?
The bullet passed through. Nothing was recovered.
So you can't say from what gun this bullet was fired.
No, we cannot.
Could you say with certainty that this bullet was fired from Mr. Johnson's weapon?
I cannot.
There was a lot of shooting going on.
Could a police bullet have ricocheted and struck Detective Hernandez?
Objection. Calls for speculation.
- I'm going to allow it. - It's possible.
But the wound appears to have been made by an intact bullet,
not a misshapen bullet, as is usually the case in a ricochet.
Thank you, Dr. Roy.
Eleven shots were fired from inside the apartment.
I was hit on my vest and went down.
I looked over and saw that Ray... Detective Hernandez... was down too.
- What happened then? - Johnson came out.
He looked at Ray and...
... shot him.
Then he ran for the fire exit.
Thank you, Detective Burke.
Detective...
- How long have you served on the force? - Eleven years.
And for nine of those years, were you actively investigating homicides?
That's correct.
Do you have any expertise...
... in determining from which direction shots are fired?
I was assigned to ballistics for three years.
Your honor, I request permission to use Detective Burke as an expert witness.
Objection... Detective Burke was called as an eyewitness, not an expert.
Overruled.
Detective Burke claims some expertise in ballistics.
But confine your questions to that arena, Mr. LaSalle.
Thank you, your honor.
Detective, were these shots fired by you and Ray Hernandez at Mr. Johnson?
Yes, they were.
So as an experienced homicide detective,
can you tell me which shots were fired first through the door...
the shots fired by Mr. Johnson or shots fired by you?
I was there. I sure as hell know who fired first.
Johnson.
Yes, but I'm asking you as an experienced homicide investigator.
Can you determine from the pattern of shots on the door...
- ... who fired first? - No.
But I know what I saw.
Thank you, Detective.
He tainted our best witness.
I just say he diluted some of the effect.
Okay, you wanna parse words? Diluted.
But by delaying his opening statement, he gets to address the jury mid-trial and put a spin on it.
Ms. Kibre!
We just got the defense witness list.
Two names.
Their own medical examiner would not say...
... that the bullet that killed Ray Hernandez came from Mr. Johnson's gun.
Their eyewitness, Detective Burke, could not corroborate his own testimony.
Could not say that Mr. Johnson fired at the police before they fired at him.
So let's break some new ground.
Let's find out why these detectives went to that apartment...
... to murder Bruno Johnson.
When judges were informed that Mr. Johnson helped us,
they were willing to dismiss certain cases against him.
They valued his efforts. And you did too.
That's correct.
Thank you, Agent Merriwether. No more questions.
That's it? That's a lot of nothing.
Relax. You have no idea where this is going.
Agent Merriwether,
how many convictions resulted from information provided by Mr. Johnson?
Uh, cases are in the works.
That's not an answer.
Has one single conviction resulted from information given by Bruno Johnson?
No.
But he was paid off with having cases dismissed.
He shot a man and walked out of court.
Why the special treatment?
Your honor, a dismissal is a dismissal.
Agent Merriwether can't testify as to why an indictment was dismissed.
- Sustained. - Thank you.
Withdrawn.
No more questions.
Will the court allow these documents offered as identification?
It will be marked as Defendant Exhibit "F."
Redirect, your honor.
Agent Merriwether,
what can you tell us about this document?
This is a transcribed telephone conversation between Bruno Johnson and Miles Plebo.
And why was this conversation recorded?
As part of a federal investigation into drug dealing and possible police corruption.
Police corruption?
I ask that this be offered into evidence, your honor.
- Objection. - Overruled.
Would you turn to page five, Agent Merriwether?
I ask you to read line 18 of the recorded conversation.
"Johnson: Who they got over there?
"What will help with the dealers on the street?
"Plebo: They own cops.
"A guy named Hernandez be settin' it up."
"They own cops. A guy named Hernandez be settin' it up."
Thank you, Agent Merriwether.
Ms. Kibre.
Your honor, we'd like a recess to review this document.
I want to keep this moving. Best I can do is an early lunch.
Whatever they know that I don't know can kill our case.
Do you understand that?
Your husband's friends, they must have been in trouble.
They weren't corrupt.
I mean, I'd have known. We shared things.
Yeah, then why is his name in the transcript?
- Court reconvenes in five minutes. - All right, I'll go it alone.
While I'm vamping on a smile and a shoeshine, find me something... anything.
I don't know if any investigation of Hernandez was done.
It wasn't my case.
Can we assume that the mention of his name didn't warrant an investigation?
That isn't what I said.
Since you don't know if an investigation was done,
how about why an investigation wasn't done?
Your honor, objection. Conjecture.
This is a fishing expedition. The state has no rhyme or no reason...
Withdrawn.
In that transcript, is there any mention of Hernandez's first name?
No.
There's nothing about his first name or rank?
No, nothing, uh... no.
Is there any mention of the precinct where this man Hernandez worked?
Uh, I believe not. Uh, no.
Are you aware that 126 police officers...
with the surname Hernandez currently serve within our five boroughs?
I didn't know that.
Can you swear that the man referred to in this transcript...
is, in fact, Detective Raymond Hernandez,
our victim, who was murdered by Bruno Johnson?
No, uh... I... I can't do that.
No more questions.
Branch wants to see us. He saw the Post.
You mean he read, quote,
"Federal Agent Frederick Merriwether devoured on cross-examination,"
end quote.
I'll cop. I liked reading that.
Well, to further gratify your ego, Branch is about to give us attaboys...
- ... over pastries from Maison Freres. - Ooh! Sweeten us up for the "P" word.
A plea.
Put it on the table now while you got him on the ropes.
A lot of people feel justice would be a needle in Johnson's arm.
Yeah, why cut slack? Their self-defense theory's been shredded.
Well, you discredited some hearsay about Hernandez,
and that's good, but what else is there out there?
Their self-defense theory is still sitting in a wheelchair in front that jury.
If even one juror takes pity...
We owe something to Hernandez' widow and those cops. They have very strong feelings.
Address those feelings with guaranteed punishment.
You can do that with a plea. The verdict is never certain.
Doesn't he have an awful way of being right?
Okay, I'll put 20 to life on the table.
You got to try this.
It's pretty good, even if it is French.
- Life without possibility? - Don't let him talk you into this.
I'm not talking him into anything.
Taking a plea is his decision.
He's a lawyer.
He's gonna try to scare you into doing whatever works for him.
- You have to fight. This is your life. - That's what you're concerned about?
You're my husband.
Look, don't worry, woman. What works for you works for him, works for all of y'all.
And that's the money. Ain't that right, counselor?
It's the money--that's why there's all this concern for my life, right?
The plea kills the lawsuit.
But you know what? Y'all in luck.
'Cause I'm in it for the money too.
See, I'm nothing unless I'm free with millions, you heard?
You need one juror.
To get that juror, you need something big.
Big?
I'm the biggest thing we got.
Why don't you put me on the stand?
Ethically, I'm supposed to talk you out of putting yourself at risk.
All or nothing?
Are you up for that?
Yeah, you like that, don't you?
- Yeah. - Me too.
Well, let's make it one hell of a story.
Shots came through the door.
Fragments of metal hit my face.
When the shooting stopped, you returned fire?
Oh, yeah. I shot through the door.
Then I found the handle and pulled it open.
Why didn't you stay in the apartment, hide?
No, I knew they'd trap me like an animal.
Kill me.
So I ran out.
Two police were lying there in the hall.
I ran for the fire exit.
Bullets start slamming me from behind.
You were shot 11 times in the back.
- Is that what you felt? - Yeah.
My leg, it was like rubber.
I fell, laid there,
bullets knocking into me.
I thought, "Oh, my God, I'm dying."
Then it got quiet.
Quiet.
And I was still alive.
The police stopped shooting?
Yeah. Then I prayed.
"Lord God, I been bad.
"I done bad things. "I beg you, now that I'm dying,
" please let me see that glory beyond the mountain."
That was 11 seconds of prayer.
So for 11 seconds, the shooting stopped.
Did the cops think they'd killed you?
Objection. Calls for a conclusion.
Sustained.
After you prayed, what happened?
I saw shadows.
I heard voices.
Police looking down on me.
Seeing I was alive.
Then the shooting started again.
Bullets pounding the last breath I had.
They shot till I played dead.
Or I was dead.
Then a light from the TV crew...
I thought, "This is the wondrous glow of the almighty God."
No further questions.
Ms. Kibre.
That's compelling testimony, Mr. Johnson, but let's go back a bit...
... before any shots were fired.
You're in your apartment.
What made you aware that someone was at the door?
I heard a knock.
You didn't hear any voices? The police identified themselves.
No.
Is it your custom to answer your door with gun in hand?
I knew the police were out to kill me.
So I was armed.
- Intent on killing? - Intent on defending myself.
Do you deny that you deliberately killed Detective Raymond Hernandez?
I shot through that door.
I don't know where those bullets went.
Look, I feel sorrow for what happened.
That man's family is left with the burden of his death.
Like I'm left with the burden of my life. Look at me.
No more questions.
Praying for God's forgiveness.
Why do stone killers always go there?
Establishing the 11-second pause with a prayer.
It's very smart.
You know, that's the place to impeach him.
But how?
We can go back over witness statements from the police canvass.
Forget it, we did that.
Neighbors claim they heard machine guns, grenades, thousands of rounds.
You know, Johnson talked about the TV lights.
"The wondrous glow of almighty God."
Okay, here's a question.
When did cameras first arrive on the scene?
Get down!
We were picking up stuff of the crowd, and then we heard that 15 shots.
Do those shots correspond to these holes in this door?
Objection, your honor. Witness was not on the scene.
He can't testify to that.
- Sustained. - Withdrawn.
So after that pause,
you hear this.
Yep, one shot.
A single shot was fired into the throat of Detective Hernandez.
Objection.
Witness has no way of knowing where that shot was fired.
Ms. Kibre hasn't asked a question yet, Mr. LaSalle.
Yes, but the way she was framing the question was leading the witness.
Then object when she asks the question.
Withdrawn.
Four seconds after that single shot, you hear this.
How many shots can be heard on your tape, Mr. Vilis?
I counted 86.
Is there an 11-second pause anywhere in that barrage of gunfire?
Not that I hear.
- Is there any pause at all? - No.
So after that, were any other gunshots heard?
No, the paramedics are going in. It's over.
I'll see you in hell.
Thank you.
Guilty.
Not guilty.
Is there anything you'd like see from the trial that would help?
You saw him.
- He's been punished enough. - Come on.
You wanna feel sorry for someone?
There's a man outside my building in a wheelchair.
He's a war hero, not a cop killer.
Settle down.
This lady's feelings will be respected in here.
You heard the prosecutor.
The man you see now is not the man that did the crime.
This is the man.
Remember?
We heard they came back in.
Yeah, they just came in.
What's going on? What are you doing out here?
Why don't you guys go on in. We're not allowed till it's over.
No, I'll stay here with you guys.
Yeah, me too.
- The judge has the verdict. - I'm dying over here.
The foreman is speaking.
They got him!
We fought the good fight, Bruno.
All you wants was money!
Hey, it hurts.
Where you going?
Damn lawyers.
Once again, I concede defeat.
Last case we had was a hung jury.
That wasn't what I was talking about.
Thank you.