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2015 Federal TrialtranscripttranscriptMatthew Isgur — Direct - Day 31 - 2015 Federal TrialMatthew Isgur authenticated MIT surveillance footage and described Sean Collier's cruiser and two figures near North Court.
William D. WeinrebTimothy G. WatkinsGeorge A. O'Toole Jr.Matthew IsgurCourt ClerkMatthew IsgurMR. WEINREBMR. WATKINSTHE COURTdirect
2015 Federal Trial/Day 31/March 11, 2015
13 pages·9 witnesses·2,567 lines
Chad Fitzgerald described cell-site activity and its limits, while defense questioning distinguished recorded call durations from actual conversations. Witnesses described Sean Collier's shooting, emergency response, and surveillance; Nathan Harman identified the defendant beside the cruiser. The court also granted a jury view of the boat and restricted public display of autopsy photographs.
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DirectDirectMatthew Isgur — Direct Examination Matthew Isgur William D. Weinreb

MATTHEW ISGUR, duly sworn

COURT CLERK: State your name and spell your last my name for the record, keep your voice up and speak into the mic.

MATTHEW ISGUR: Matthew Isgur I-S-G-U-R.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: Good afternoon. Where do you work?

MR. WEINREB: What's your job there?

MATTHEW ISGUR: I maintain the video surveillance system.

MR. WEINREB: How long have you had that job?

MATTHEW ISGUR: About six years now.

MR. WEINREB: What are your job responsibilities?

MATTHEW ISGUR: To manage the system, to order new cameras, repair and maintain the current ones.

MR. WEINREB: Does MIT have a number of cameras?

MATTHEW ISGUR: We do, about 1,200 of them.

MR. WEINREB: Are you familiar with all of them?

MATTHEW ISGUR: I am, yeah.

MR. WEINREB: Could you pull that a little closer because I'm having a little trouble hearing you. Thanks. In the course of your work, do you look at the video that's taken by MIT surveillance cameras?

MR. WEINREB: Frequently?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Whenever we have an investigation, yes.

MR. WEINREB: Do the cameras make fair and accurate recordings of the things that they're pointed at?

MR. WEINREB: Do these recordings have date and timestamps on them?

MR. WEINREB: Are those accurate?

MR. WEINREB: Are you familiar with the layout of the MIT campus?

MR. WEINREB: Are you familiar with the locations of each of the MIT surveillance cameras at all the different locations?

MR. WEINREB: Could we have Exhibit 680, please.

MR. WEINREB: If you'll look at the screen in front of you, do you recognize what's pictured there?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Yup. This is North Court on MIT's campus.

MR. WEINREB: What's the building at the top of the frame that we're looking directly at?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's the Koch building, Building 76.

MR. WEINREB: The building to the left of the frame?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's the Stata Center, Building 32.

MR. WEINREB: Do you know where these photos were taken from?

MATTHEW ISGUR: From a camera on the rooftop of Building 54, which is MIT's green building.

MR. WEINREB: Can we have Exhibit 721 for the witness, please.

MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize that?

MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate photo?

MR. WEINREB: The government offers Exhibit 721.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

(Government Exhibit No. 721 received into evidence.)

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: What's that building in the distance?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That is Building 54.

MR. WEINREB: The path that occupies most of the right-hand part of the screen that's leading towards it appears to go by a courtyard. What courtyard is that?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's MIT's North Court.

MR. WEINREB: So that's what we were just looking at?

MR. WEINREB: And where is the Koch Institute?

MATTHEW ISGUR: The Koch Institute is to our left.

MR. WEINREB: That's the building, we can just see the corner of it there on our left?

MR. WEINREB: And to the right we see a piece of the Stata Center?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

MR. WEINREB: The screen in front of you is touch sensitive so that if you just touch it you'll create an arrow and if you move your finger you can create a circle. Can you circle where the camera is on Building 54?

MATTHEW ISGUR: (Witness complies.)

MR. WEINREB: And it points down towards the courtyard?

MR. WEINREB: Exhibit 722, please.

MR. WEINREB: This is an exhibit that makes it possible to create a 360-degree view of the area. Do you recall seeing this photo before?

MR. WEINREB: And is it a fair and accurate depiction of what's in it?

MR. WEINREB: The government offers Exhibit 722.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

(Government Exhibit No. 722 received into evidence.)

MR. WEINREB: If we could publish that.

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: So what's pictured in this image right now the way -- in the direction we're looking at it?

MATTHEW ISGUR: This is also in North Court.

MR. WEINREB: Is that the Koch Institute on our left?

MR. WEINREB: And then as I turn the camera, are we now -- as we zoom around, is that the North Court?

MR. WEINREB: And that's -- and Building 54, is that visible?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

MR. WEINREB: And moving in the other direction, what's down at the end of that path?

MATTHEW ISGUR: So that's the corner of, I believe, Main and Vassar.

MR. WEINREB: And if we keep panning around?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Yeah, that's Main and Vassar.

MATTHEW ISGUR: And this is the Stata Center.

MR. WEINREB: Okay. And we're going to come fully around. And that's Building 54 again?

MR. WEINREB: On April 18th, 2013, did you assist in the Sean Collier murder investigation?

MR. WEINREB: How did that come about?

MATTHEW ISGUR: I was called in by Deputy Chief Jay Perault, and when I got on-scene I reviewed the footage from this camera, Building 54.

MR. WEINREB: Were you asked to pull footage for a particular time period?

MATTHEW ISGUR: I was, between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.

MR. WEINREB: Did you review a -- recently review a composite of that video?

MR. WEINREB: Okay. And that essentially consists of segments of the full hour of video that you pulled. And that points -- a segment plays and then it skips ahead in time to another segment. Is that correct?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

MR. WEINREB: And there's a text indication on the screen as to what time it's stopping and what time it's starting up again?

MR. WEINREB: Is that a fair and accurate composite of the surveillance video that you pulled on that evening?

MR. WEINREB: Could we -- that's Exhibit 723, your Honor, and the government offers it at this time.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

(Government Exhibit No. 723 received into evidence.)

MR. WEINREB: I would like to play that.

Actually, your Honor, can we pause for one moment? We need to bring out the screen.

(Pause.)

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: So right now the screen is frozen on April 18, 2013, at 10:16 p.m. Is that correct?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That is correct.

(Video played.)

MR. WEINREB: Now, for the record, what's showing here on the left-hand portion of the screen?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's Sean Collier in his police cruiser.

MR. WEINREB: Where is the car located -- it's come to a spot. Where is it that it's located?

MATTHEW ISGUR: The car is located on the Main and Vassar point of North Court, so in between Koch and Stata.

MR. WEINREB: And that was at 10:16:50, correct?

MR. WEINREB: And what does the screen indicate now, about what time?

MR. WEINREB: Is the car still there?

MR. WEINREB: Now, I'm just going to pause for a second. Do you see on the right-hand portion of this screen a yellow circle has appeared?

MR. WEINREB: That's not in the original, right?

MR. WEINREB: But that's been added to highlight an image, correct?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

MR. WEINREB: And what's inside the circle?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Two individuals entering from the Main and Ames corner.

MR. WEINREB: And that's on the right-hand of the screen?

(Video played.)

MR. WEINREB: So for the record, the individuals have rounded the corner. And then does it appear that the brake lights of the car have come on?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

(Video played.)

MR. WEINREB: Again, for the record, does it appear that the individuals are now going back the same way they came?

(Video played.)

MR. WEINREB: Have the individuals now left the screen entirely?

MR. WEINREB: And what time is it on the video?

MATTHEW ISGUR: It's 10:26 p.m.

MR. WEINREB: And it indicates here we've now moved ahead four minutes, to 10:30. Is that correct?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

MR. WEINREB: And does it appear somebody has emerged from the left-hand side of the screen and walked over to the door? Were you able to see that? Here, let me run it some more. Do you see a figure moving now around the car?

MATTHEW ISGUR: It's a little dark, what I'm looking at.

(Video played.)

MATTHEW ISGUR: Yes, I see it now.

(Video played.)

MR. WEINREB: In addition to viewing this video, did you also view a shorter segment of this video that was essentially a close-up version?

MR. WEINREB: And is that a fair and accurate copy, except that it's a close-up?

MR. WEINREB: That's Exhibit 724, your Honor. The government asks to admit it now and to publish it.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

(Government Exhibit No. 724 received into evidence.)

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: Just so we're all oriented, do you see Sean Collier's car?

MR. WEINREB: Where is it?

MATTHEW ISGUR: It's in the left pane.

MR. WEINREB: That's in -- is it fair to say it's near the center of the larger image --

MR. WEINREB: -- near the top of the screen?

MR. WEINREB: Okay. And then in the lower right-hand pane -- it might be easier to see what that is when we start playing it, okay? So let me focus your attention now to the lower right-hand pane. Do you see those two figures --

MR. WEINREB: -- walking there?

(Video played.)

MR. WEINREB: Mr. Isgur, were there any other cameras in the area of the Koch Institute that would have captured what happened where Sean Collier's cruiser is at that time?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Not at that position, no.

MR. WEINREB: Could I have Exhibit 719 for the witness, please? Let's have, actually, 683 for the witness.

MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this diagram?

MR. WEINREB: What is it a diagram of?

MATTHEW ISGUR: This is a diagram of the North Court area on MIT's campus.

MR. WEINREB: Is it fair and accurate?

MR. WEINREB: The government offers 683.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

(Government Exhibit No. 682 received into evidence.)

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: Can you circle in this where Sean Collier's cruiser was parked that evening?

MR. WEINREB: And then can you also trace with your finger the path that the two figures took to get to the car?

MR. WEINREB: And you testified earlier they retreated along the same path according to the video surveillance?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's right.

MR. WEINREB: So what street would they have wound up on on the right-hand side?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Ames Street.

MR. WEINREB: Could I have Exhibit 682 for the witness, please.

I believe 682 is already in evidence.

THE COURT: I think it is, yes.

MR. WEINREB: So if I could actually have it for the jury as well.

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: In this exhibit do you see Ames Street there?

MR. WEINREB: Now, please follow Ames Street south from the point where it meets -- or it essentially meets the Koch Institute. And as you go south, do you see a building that comes to a point and is essentially pointed at Ames Street?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Right here.

MR. WEINREB: Could you circle it, please?

MATTHEW ISGUR: (Witness complies.)

MR. WEINREB: Do you also see a piece of a building that is across the street from that building and a little lower than it?

MR. WEINREB: Is there a surveillance camera on that building that points directly at the point of that pointy building?

MR. WEINREB: Could I have Exhibit 1461?

MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this?

MR. WEINREB: What is that a picture of?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's the crosswalk between E15 media lab and Building 66.

MR. WEINREB: Is that Ames Street?

MR. WEINREB: The building that's right in the middle of that photo, is that the point of the pointy building?

MR. WEINREB: You have to say yes or no.

MR. WEINREB: Okay. Did you review this along with a series of other photos that essentially depict a 180-degree sweep around from that pointy building to the other building you identified having the camera on it?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's correct.

MR. WEINREB: And were they all fair and accurate photos of what they depict?

MR. WEINREB: Your Honor, those are Exhibits 1461 through 1465. The government would offer those at this time.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

(Government Exhibit No. 1461 through 1465 received into evidence.)

MR. WEINREB: So if we could start by publishing 1461 to the jury.

BY MR. WEINREB:

MR. WEINREB: So, again, the point in between what appear to be two Dumpsters, that's the point of that pointy building?

MR. WEINREB: And 1462.

MR. WEINREB: And now we've essentially -- if that were a clock and we were facing 12, what direction are we now facing in?

MATTHEW ISGUR: Eleven o'clock.

MR. WEINREB: So we've turned sort of -- started turning counterclockwise?

MR. WEINREB: And the street we're seeing now fully, what street is that?

MATTHEW ISGUR: This is Ames Street.

MR. WEINREB: 1463, please.

(Pause.)

MR. WEINREB: Let's try 1464.

MR. WEINREB: What building is that?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That is E15, the media lab.

MR. WEINREB: And is that the building that was across the street from the pointy building?

MR. WEINREB: 1465, please.

MR. WEINREB: Is that a -- in the -- near the roof line of that building, do you see something?

MR. WEINREB: What is it?

MATTHEW ISGUR: That's a camera.

MR. WEINREB: Could you circle it, please?

MR. WEINREB: And is that camera pointed essentially right at the point of that pointy building?

MR. WEINREB: Were you asked to pull video surveillance footage from that camera?

MR. WEINREB: 1466 just for the witness, please.

MR. WEINREB: Do you recognize this?

MR. WEINREB: What is it?

MATTHEW ISGUR: This is a video we pulled of the -- of a car fleeing Ames Street.

MR. WEINREB: And that's, according to the date and timestamp, on April 18th, 2013, at -- looking where the player controls are -- 10:26 p.m.?

MR. WEINREB: And did you also pull video from that same camera exactly a week later at approximately the same time?

MR. WEINREB: Were both of those videos fair and accurate videos of what the camera was pointed at at the respective times?

MR. WEINREB: The government offers 1466 and 1467.

MR. WATKINS: No objection.

THE COURT: All right.

(Government Exhibit Nos. 1466 and 1467 received into evidence.)

MR. WEINREB: But we do not intend to publish those at this time.

MR. WEINREB: Thank you, Mr. Isgur. No further questions.

MR. WATKINS: Nothing, your Honor.

THE COURT: All right, Mr. Isgur. Thank you. You may step down.

(The witness is excused.)

MR. WEINREB: Your Honor, the government calls Nate Harman.

Continue to next page12.Nathan Harman — Direct