9.Clarence Henniger — Direct
305 linesCLARENCE HENNIGER, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: State your name, spell your last name for the record, and keep your voice up.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Clarence Henniger, H-E-N-N-I-G-E-R.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Sergeant Henniger, good afternoon.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Good afternoon.
MR. WEINREB: Where do you work?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: MIT police.
MR. WEINREB: For how long?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Forty years.
MR. WEINREB: What positions have you held there over the 40 years?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I'm presently a sergeant.
MR. WEINREB: And before that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I was a patrolman.
MR. WEINREB: Did you have any training in connection with your work there?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: Would you just tell us briefly about it.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I completed a full police academy with the Quincy Police Academy in 1974.
MR. WEINREB: Since then have you had on-the-job training?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I have.
MR. WEINREB: How long have you been a sergeant?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Fourteen years.
MR. WEINREB: What are your job responsibilities as an MIT police sergeant?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I'm a patrol supervisor.
MR. WEINREB: Can you tell us what that means?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I'm usually on patrol making sure that my officers are responding to calls; if needing a supervisor to be on the scene, I respond to that; make sure that the paperwork is all done, completed and submitted.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. And as a very experienced officer and as a sergeant, do you work with the younger officers?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Do you help train them and mentor them?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I have.
MR. WEINREB: Did you work with Officer Sean Collier?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: What was your relationship with him?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: He was on my squad on the three-to-eleven shift.
MR. WEINREB: Did you help train him and mentor him?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: Were you working on the night of April 18th, 2013?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I was.
MR. WEINREB: What was your assignment?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Patrolling, supervising the campus.
MR. WEINREB: Is one of the people you were supervising that evening Sergeant Collier -- I'm sorry -- Officer Collier?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: Do you remember the events of that night?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Do you know where Officer Collier was at around 10:20 p.m.?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Where was he?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: He was parked in the plaza next to the Koch building on the MIT campus.
MR. WEINREB: On the Stata side or the Main Street side?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Actually, both. He was facing the Main Street next to the -- between the Stata and the Koch building.
MR. WEINREB: How do you know where he was?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Approximately about 10:20 that evening I was returning back to the station. I was coming down from Main Street, took a right on Vassar, and I observed Officer Collier's cruiser parked there next to the Koch building.
MR. WEINREB: Did anything seem unusual about him or the cruiser at the time?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: None at all.
MR. WEINREB: Can I have Exhibit 680, please.
MR. WEINREB: If you look at the screen in front of you, you'll see an exhibit. It's been marked as Exhibit 680. Do you recognize what's pictured there?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's the area that we call the North Court.
MR. WEINREB: Do you see the Koch Institute in that picture?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: So that's a touch-sensitive screen. If you use the pad of your finger and press on it, you'll create an arrow. And then if you move your finger around, you can draw. If you could just show us -- here, I'm going to clear the screen. Can you show us which is the Koch Institute?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: The building directly in front of me.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Towards the top of that photo?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: And where was -- where did you see Sean when you drove by him that night?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: It's not too clear here but it's right here, Main Street. I took a right on to Vassar, and his vehicle was parked right here.
MR. WEINREB: Okay.
MR. WEINREB: Can I have 683, please?
Actually, before we go, just let the record reflect that the witness drew a path in the upper left-hand corner of the screen going clockwise, starting at twelve o'clock and going in a clockwise direction, and then indicated that the cruiser was parked just to the left of the building on the top of the frame.
THE COURT: We can capture the image for you with the markings, if you'd like.
MR. WEINREB: I'll ask for that later, your Honor, but not with respect to this one. Thank you.
Exhibit 681, please.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: What are we seeing here?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's a closer view of the picture there. So --
MR. WEINREB: So just in case that wasn't audible, so that's a close-up view of what we were just looking at?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. And you just drew a yellow line to the left of the building that figures prominently in the frame. Is that where Officer Collier's car was?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it was.
MR. WEINREB: After you saw him there and you drove by, where did you go?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I returned back to the station.
MR. WEINREB: About how far away is that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Patrol drive, about four to five minutes.
MR. WEINREB: Four or five minutes, did you say?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Four to five minutes.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. Did you reach the station about four or five minutes later?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes.
MR. WEINREB: And what happened when you got there?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: At that time Dispatcher Sacco was attempting to reach Officer Collier's car. After the third time of not succeeding, I asked him the nature of the call. He responded that he had received a call about loud noise, drums -- some type of loud noise/drums coming from that direction where he was at, from the Stata area.
MR. WEINREB: Where Sean Collier was at?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: So what did you do?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I asked him to use the emergency alert button. At that time I said I had just seen him, I will return, thinking that he was possibly already responding to the call in that area.
MR. WEINREB: What happened next?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I was en route to his location. I tried calling him twice, and the phone went automatically to voicemail.
MR. WEINREB: Now, in your experience is it unusual for an officer not to respond to a radio call, and then an emergency tone, and then cell phone calls?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Not to that extreme. Usually we're pretty responsive with the alert tone unless you're in a bad location. There are areas of MIT, because of the construction area, that at times communication is a bit broken up.
MR. WEINREB: At that time did it occur to you that something had happened to Officer Collier?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: None at all.
MR. WEINREB: What happened next?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: When I arrived at the scene, Officers Collier's cruiser was still at the same spot I had seen it earlier, lights on, vehicle running, the only exception was that the door, the driver's side door, was open.
MR. WEINREB: Was his window open or closed, do you recall?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I recall later on that it was down, yes.
MR. WEINREB: When you saw that, what did you do?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I parked about eight to ten meters from him, walked over to the cruiser. And when I arrived at the cruiser I looked inside and that's when I discovered Officer Collier had been shot.
MR. WEINREB: What exactly did you see?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I observed a wound to the head, to the temple; I observed a wound to the neck; I observed a wound to his right hand.
MR. WEINREB: Was he still sitting in his seat?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: At that point he was beginning to lean more towards the right side.
MR. WEINREB: Was there blood?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, sir.
MR. WEINREB: Where?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: All over the car, his body.
MR. WEINREB: Was he breathing?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: At that time once I observed that he had been shot, I immediately backed away and I did a security check to make sure the area was safe. And while I was performing that I got on the radio and requested help. I requested officers respond as well as medical.
MR. WEINREB: Were you able to see whether he seemed to be breathing or not when you first came to the car?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Not till the second time.
MR. WEINREB: What did you see then?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: The second time I went and I took his pulse, and there was a slight pulse still beating from his carotid pulse, and I could hear a gurgling sound coming from his mouth.
MR. WEINREB: Tell us exactly what you did when you found Officer Collier shot. You said that you -- you did a security check. Why did you do that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I had no idea whether the area was still hot, whether there might have been a suspect still, might have been an ambush. So I had to take precaution for that.
MR. WEINREB: And what did you do?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I then, after I checked him -- Officer West was the first responding officer who came to the scene. At that point --
MR. WEINREB: Before we get there, you said that you radioed for assistance?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: I'd like to -- did you review -- not -- a while ago with me the radio traffic, or a bit of it, from that evening?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: Was that a fair recording of what the radio traffic sounded like after you got to the scene?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it was.
MR. WEINREB: That's Exhibit 687, your Honor, and I would offer it into evidence at this time.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit No. 687 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: Can we play Exhibit 687, please?
(Audio recording played.)
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: What did you just say there?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I did.
MR. WEINREB: What were the words that you said?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I said, "Officer down. Officer down."
(Audio recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: Is that you yelling there, "Get on it"?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Uh-huh.
MR. WEINREB: What were you trying to get happen?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I just wanted to have medical and police assistance.
(Audio recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: What did you just ask for there?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Can you repeat that again, please?
MR. WEINREB: Sure.
(Audio recording played.)
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Oh, I requested for ALS as well.
MR. WEINREB: What's that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's the advanced medical service.
MR. WEINREB: So you're calling for an ambulance?
(Audio recording played.)
MR. WEINREB: So that response, "We've got an incoming," and you responded, "Roger," what did you understand that to mean?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That meant he was going to send me additional help.
MR. WEINREB: I interrupted you before but you were saying that Officer West was the first to respond?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, he was.
MR. WEINREB: How long did it take him to arrive?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I would say probably within -- he was also responding in the search for Sean Collier. He knew the location he was last seen, so he was also responding prior to my arrival. So I would say he was there within 45 seconds.
MR. WEINREB: What happened when he arrived?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: He came and he approached me and I led him to where Sean was. We got there, he looked, he froze for a second or two. And I told him, "Let's get him out." Joe went up for the shoulder, I went for his legs. We were able to extract him out of the vehicle, put him on the ground, and began to give him medical treatment.
MR. WEINREB: Was there some difficulty getting him out of the car?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes. His right foot apparently was caught between the brake and the gas pedal. And because of the amount of blood that was over his body, it was very difficult to get a grip of him to remove him.
MR. WEINREB: Did Officer West ask Officer Collier anything?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Once we had him on the ground and we began to perform CPR and medical treatment, he was asking him to hang in there. "Just hang in there. You'll be okay."
MR. WEINREB: Did he ask him "Who did this to you"?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: He asked him once. There was no response from Sean. I believe Sean at that time may have been unconscious.
MR. WEINREB: Could I have Exhibit 688 just for the witness, please.
MR. WEINREB: The photo that you're seeing here, was this taken on the night of Officer Collier's murder?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it was.
MR. WEINREB: The building that's straight ahead of you in the frame, what building is that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's the Koch building.
MR. WEINREB: The car that's parked in front of it, whose car is that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Sean Collier's.
MR. WEINREB: In this photo the door's closed, correct?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: But you said that when you got there, the door was open?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: So this was taken sometime after?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it was.
MR. WEINREB: And, in fact, the debris that's on the ground next to the car, do you know what that is?
MR. WEINREB: What is it?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's all the medical equipment that we used for Sean.
MR. WEINREB: So by the time that this picture was taken, Sean had already been taken away in an ambulance?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Is this a fair and accurate picture of what the car looked like at that time?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: The government offers Exhibit 688.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: All right. Admitted.
(Government Exhibit No. 688 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: Could I have Exhibit 689, please, just for the witness.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Is this the same scene from a different angle?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's correct.
MR. WEINREB: 690 for the witness, please.
MR. WEINREB: Same thing here?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Same thing, correct.
MR. WEINREB: The government offers 689 and 690.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 689 and 690 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: If we could please publish 689 to the jury.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: So again just so the jury's oriented, where -- the building that's in the right-hand side of the screen there, is that the Koch Institute?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: And the car that's parked just to the left of it, is that Sean Collier's cruiser?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: 690, please.
MR. WEINREB: What's this? Can you tell us what this is a picture of?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: This is the aftermath. Still Sean's cruiser next to the Koch building. We had began to cordon off the area.
MR. WEINREB: When you found Officer Collier in his cruiser, did he still have his firearm?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, he did.
MR. WEINREB: What, if anything, did you do with it?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Initially I thought that the firearm was missing. We have a holster designed -- it's a three-prong retention on top of our gun for safety issues. And I noticed that one out of the three detentions had been breached. At that point, with the amount of blood that I saw all over his body, I thought that his weapon was missing. That was corrected once we extracted him out of the vehicle, and Officer West did see his weapon still in his holster, minus the retention was down.
MR. WEINREB: So his holster was still -- his gun belt was still on, the holster was still there and the gun was still inside of it?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: It was just so covered with blood that you hadn't noticed it at first?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Before we leave this picture let me just ask you a question. Is this -- the brightness that we see in this photo, is that normally what the courtyard looks like there at that time or is that lights from the camera people?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: It could possibly be both. I mean, we do have -- I should say we do have lightposts there as well, so...
MR. WEINREB: May I approach the witness, your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Sergeant Henniger, this is Exhibit 691. It's been previously identified as a holster and a fake plastic gun that isn't capable of shooting. Do you recognize the type of holster?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: It's the one that we're assigned to, yes.
MR. WEINREB: Do all MIT police officers wear that kind of holster?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Patrol officers do.
MR. WEINREB: So Sean Collier had that kind of holster?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, he did.
MR. WEINREB: What kind of gun do patrol officers carry?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: We carry the .40 Smith & Wesson weapon, a semiautomatic.
MR. WEINREB: So it's .40 caliber?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Could you show us -- demonstrate for us what you were telling us about the holster that you said the retention was part way open? Can you pick that up and just demonstrate for us what you mean by that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Okay. This is the three-prong, like I say, safety. We got the hood, this is called, then we have the second safety that you pull forward, and the third one comes out as well.
MR. WEINREB: So tell us again what was open and what was closed.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: The second latch was down. And for you to extract the weapon out, there's a button here that you have to press to release it.
MR. WEINREB: Thank you.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Without pressing it, no matter what you do, the gun will not be released.
MR. WEINREB: What did you do with -- if anything with the -- Sean Collier's belt and holster and gun after he was laid on the ground and officers began CPR?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I removed -- I removed the belt from him, brought it to my cruiser, and I secured it.
MR. WEINREB: Why did you do that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I'm sorry?
MR. WEINREB: Why did you remove it?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: It just is normal procedure. It was -- we had -- we just -- we just had a -- an incident that occurred, and I just wanted to make sure that his weapon was secure.
MR. WEINREB: Could I have Exhibit 692 for the witness, please.
MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: What is that a photo of?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: That's Sean Collier's Garrison belt.
MR. WEINREB: Is that a picture of it as you put it in the car to safeguard it?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Correct.
MR. WEINREB: Exhibit 693 for the witness, please.
MR. WEINREB: Again, is that the same thing just from a slightly different angle?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: The government offers 692 and 693.
MR. WATKINS: No objection.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Government Exhibit Nos. 692 and 693 received into evidence.)
MR. WEINREB: Can we publish 692, please, to the jury.
BY MR. WEINREB:
MR. WEINREB: Looking at the gun belt, can you see blood on any part of it?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Which part?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: On his weapon.
MR. WEINREB: Is that consistent with what you saw with your own two eyes that night when the gun was on him?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, it is.
MR. WEINREB: 693, please.
MR. WEINREB: And again, with a little more light on it, do you see blood on the weapon and the holster?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I do.
MR. WEINREB: Do you see blood anywhere else on the belt?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: A couple of areas here on the -- right there, and on the holster, and I believe on his handcuff.
MR. WEINREB: Thank you.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Right there as well.
MR. WEINREB: You said that patrol officers carry a .40 caliber weapon?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, we do.
MR. WEINREB: Has it always been that way or was it --
CLARENCE HENNIGER: No, we just converted to that, I think within the last two and a half -- the last three years now.
MR. WEINREB: Okay. And before that was it --
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Before that we had the Sig Sauer.
MR. WEINREB: The Sig Sauer?
MR. WEINREB: Was that the .40 --
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I'm sorry. Let me correct myself in regards to the weapon, I just realized. The weapon we are now assigned is the .45 Smith & Wesson. That was my error.
MR. WEINREB: No problem.
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Prior to that we had the .40 Sig Sauer.
MR. WEINREB: So what Sean Collier had that day was a .45?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes --
MR. WEINREB: After Officer West showed up and you and he began the process of CPR, did other officers show up?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, they did.
MR. WEINREB: What, if anything, did you do at that point?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: When Officer Magliozzi arrived, he took over for me rendering first aid. That's when I went in and removed Officer Collier's Garrison belt.
MR. WEINREB: What did you do then?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: I then proceeded to keep bringing medical equipment towards the officers.
MR. WEINREB: Were you there when Sean Collier was finally taken by ambulance to the hospital?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: Yes, I was.
MR. WEINREB: Did you ever see him alive again?
CLARENCE HENNIGER: No, I did not.
MR. WEINREB: No further questions.
MR. WATKINS: Thank you, sir. No questions.
THE COURT: All right, Sergeant. Thank you. You may step down.
(The witness is excused.)
MR. CHAKRAVARTY: Officer Brendan O'Hearn, please.