2.Joseph Reynolds — Direct/Cross/Redirect
459 linesJOSEPH REYNOLDS, duly sworn
COURT CLERK: Have a seat. State your name, spell your last name for the record.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Joseph Reynolds, R-E-Y-N-O-L-D-S.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: Good morning, sir.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Good morning. How are you?
MR. MELLIN: I'm doing good. How are you doing?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Good, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Sir, where are you employed?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: The Watertown Police Department, Town of Watertown.
MR. MELLIN: And what is your rank?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I'm a patrolman.
MR. MELLIN: Officer Reynolds, where did you grow up?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I grew up in Watertown, Mass.
MR. MELLIN: Did you go to high school in Watertown?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes; all public school in Watertown.
MR. MELLIN: After high school, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I went to college at Suffolk University for a year and transferred to Worcester State College.
MR. MELLIN: Did you get a degree from Worcester State?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: What kind of degree did you get?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Health and nutrition education.
MR. MELLIN: After that what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I got employed by the Town of Watertown in 2006.
MR. MELLIN: And when you were employed by Watertown, is that with the police department?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I'm sorry?
MR. MELLIN: Were you with the police department?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes. Yes.
MR. MELLIN: And have you been with the police department ever since?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, the past nine years.
MR. MELLIN: During those nine years, generally what have you been doing?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I work patrol out in the streets.
MR. MELLIN: Back on April the 18th at about 11:45 p.m., so just before midnight on the 19th, did you report for work?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: What were you doing that day?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: That day before work? I -- just a regular day. As I was getting ready for work that evening, I was watching the news, as I usually do, and the photos were released of the two marathon bombers.
MR. MELLIN: When you went to work that night, did you have a roll call before you actually went out on duty?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. MELLIN: And what is a roll call?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Usually we go over the last few days, just shift briefings, any recent news.
MR. MELLIN: Prior to getting to work that night, had you seen on the news anything about the shooting?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: The shooting at MIT? Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And what had you seen at that point or learned at that point?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: We learned that MIT Police Officer Sean Collier had been shot, and that there was two suspects that had not been caught.
MR. MELLIN: Is that something you learned at the roll call?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: As well, yes.
MR. MELLIN: And what were you told at roll call about that shooting?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Just to be extra vigilant in our duties that evening.
MR. MELLIN: How close is MIT to Watertown?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Within three to four miles. Very close.
MR. MELLIN: When you left roll call and went out on patrol, what did you do that now-very-early morning?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I usually -- I just check my side streets, check everything for any suspicious behavior.
MR. MELLIN: What side streets and what area at that point were you patrolling?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I work Route 5, which is the east end of Watertown. It borders Cambridge, Brighton, Belmont.
MR. MELLIN: When you say "the east end of Watertown," so you're talking about the west end of Cambridge, then?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And how would you describe that area that you were patrolling? Is it residential, is it mixed use, is it --
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yeah, it's mixed. It's residential. There is businesses. There's elementary schools as well.
MR. MELLIN: While you were out on patrol after midnight, now into April 19th, did you receive a call about a carjacking?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. MELLIN: Can you tell us about that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At about 12:28 a.m. we first received a call -- or the dispatcher received a call that in Cambridge there was an armed robbery, and a few seconds later it turned out it was a carjacking.
MR. MELLIN: What were you told to do, or what were you going to do based on that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Based on that information, I headed down to Mount Auburn Street which leads into Cambridge, and, I just kind of stayed in that area. They gave out a BOLO for the vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And if you can wait there. Now, why did you head towards Mount Auburn?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Just to head down towards Cambridge Street in case we saw the suspect, area into Watertown.
MR. MELLIN: Now, you just said that they put out a BOLO. What is a BOLO?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: A BOLO is a "be on the lookout."
MR. MELLIN: And what were you to be on the lookout for?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: They gave a description of a black 2013 Mercedes utility with Mass. registration 137NZ1.
MR. MELLIN: When you say a "Mercedes utility," you mean a sport utility?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: An SUV?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Once you received that information, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I remained on my patrol, just keep on the lookout for that vehicle, obviously, and just patrolling the streets.
MR. MELLIN: At some point after that were you given more information about the black SUV?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes. It was pinged to the area of Dexter Ave., and we had -- I'm sorry. They used the GPS in order to ping the vehicle to Dexter Ave.
MR. MELLIN: Once you got that information, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I was on Arsenal Street and I was heading eastbound. I was in the immediate area, probably about 100 yards away from Dexter Ave.
MR. MELLIN: You were 100 yards from Dexter?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yeah, approximately. Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Given your vicinity to Dexter, what happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I first turned left onto School Street, and I took an immediate right onto Dexter Ave. I sped up to the area they gave us the ping --
MR. MELLIN: Let me ask -- let me stop you there. The area that you're now in, can you describe that area?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It's a residential area, all residences. There's no real -- too many businesses around there.
MR. MELLIN: Are there homes lining the road?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I sped up to the area that they gave the description, or the ping. And I sped up to that area and then slowed down and canvassed the area to see if I could locate the vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: At some point did you locate the vehicle?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Approximately how much time elapsed between the time of the be-on-the-lookout until the time you located the vehicle?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I would say about 20 minutes from when we received the original BOLO.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I located a green -- later-model green Honda Civic, and it had a black hood to it. Directly behind it was a black Mercedes. I slowed down to get a good look at the plate to see if it matched, in which it did.
MR. MELLIN: Now, you mentioned a green Honda. Was the green Honda in front or behind the black Mercedes SUV?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It was right in front of me. Oh, I'm sorry. It was right in front of the Mercedes.
MR. MELLIN: And at that point in time, had you had any information about a green Honda?
MR. MELLIN: So when you rolled by the green Honda, did you pay any attention to it?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, sir.
MR. MELLIN: What happened when you rolled by the black SUV?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: We were going probably about five to ten miles an hour. I looked over to observe the operator, in which I did. So and we locked eyes at each other.
MR. MELLIN: And when you say we were rolling at five to ten miles per hour, were you with anyone at that time?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, I was in a one-man cruiser.
MR. MELLIN: So you were going about five to ten miles an hour?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: And approximately how fast were the Honda and the SUV going?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: They were going just as slow. It was very suspicious.
MR. MELLIN: All right. When you went by the SUV and you locked eyes with the driver, did you recognize the driver?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Not at that time, I did not.
MR. MELLIN: Subsequently have you learned the identity of that driver?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: And who was the driver of the black SUV at that moment?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
MR. MELLIN: After you rolled by the black SUV and you saw the defendant's brother driving it, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Immediately I turned left onto Hazel Street, and I reversed back out -- almost a three-point turn, you could say -- and started to follow the vehicle. And I radioed to dispatch that I had the vehicle we were looking for.
MR. MELLIN: You were in a police cruiser, correct?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: What type of a car?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: We have an SUV. It's a Ford Escape.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Does it have lights on top?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Did you at that time activate your lights?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Why not?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: My patrol supervisor, Sergeant MacLellan, told me to wait for backup to make a stop on the vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: So what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I turned around. As I was following them, they both sped up for a bit. I thought they were going to take off, it might be a car chase. But they immediately turned left onto Laurel Street. At that point I was still following them. And they kind of slowed down. I was keeping my distance, maybe 20 to 25 yards, trying to observe what they were going to do.
MR. MELLIN: At that point what did they do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point they came to a stop in the middle of the street on Laurel Street.
MR. MELLIN: And at that point which car is in front?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: The green Honda Civic was in front of the Mercedes.
MR. MELLIN: When those two cars came to a stop, what happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I was maybe, I would say, two car lengths behind the black Mercedes. That's when Tamerlan Tsarnaev got out of his vehicle, out of the driver's side door, and he began shooting at my cruiser.
MR. MELLIN: When he began shooting at your cruiser, approximately how far away were you from him?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I would say about five to ten yards as he continued to walk towards me.
MR. MELLIN: Where did he shoot at the cruiser?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I'm sorry. Where did he shoot?
MR. MELLIN: Yeah.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I believe he was trying to hit me.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point my only defense was my cruiser. I didn't want to exit. I didn't think it was a good vantage point for me. So what I did was I ducked down behind my dashboard, I threw the cruiser into reverse, and I backed up about 30 yards.
MR. MELLIN: After you backed up, did you get out of your car?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes. Before doing so I notified dispatch that we had shots fired. "Shots fired."
MR. MELLIN: At that point in time, had anybody else come on the scene?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I was still alone at that time, yes.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I exited my driver's side door and I used that as cover. And I was exchanging gunfire with Tamerlan, I believe.
MR. MELLIN: You said "Tamerlan, I believe." What do you mean by that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Well, Tamerlan was still from cover. So it was Tamerlan that was shooting at me at that time.
MR. MELLIN: Where was he located in relation to the black SUV?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that time he was still beside -- I believe he was using his driver's side door as cover. All I could see was muzzle flashes.
MR. MELLIN: And when you say he was using his driver's side door as cover, in what direction is the black SUV pointing? Is it pointed back at your vehicle or is it pointed down the street?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, sir. It's still directly pointing down the street, so...
MR. MELLIN: Do you know approximately how many shots were fired at that point in time?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Did I fire or did --
MR. MELLIN: No, that he fired at you.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I couldn't count. It was nonstop.
MR. MELLIN: Did you return fire?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: And at that point, now where are you located while you're returning fire?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I'm still using my driver's side door as cover.
MR. MELLIN: And what happens?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point Sergeant MacLellan arrived on-scene, and he pulled around to -- I was on the right side of the street. He pulled around to my left side.
MR. MELLIN: What type of car does he have?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He has an SUV, a Ford Expedition.
MR. MELLIN: So it's a larger SUV than the car you were in?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point Sergeant MacLellan had left the vehicle in neutral -- or drive, and it continued to drive down Laurel Street towards the suspects.
MR. MELLIN: With the car rolling down towards the suspects, what happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I came out from cover behind my driver's side door. I was using the rear of his cruiser, and I was walking down the street continuing to fire at the two suspects.
MR. MELLIN: What was Sergeant MacLellan doing?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that time -- I had not realized at that time that he had exited his cruiser and he had ran into the side yards of one of the residences at Laurel Street -- on Laurel Street.
MR. MELLIN: As you're using his car now as cover, what do you see in front of you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I could see muzzle flashes at that point.
MR. MELLIN: Where were the muzzle flashes?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Coming from behind the black Mercedes.
MR. MELLIN: Now, when you're saying it's behind the black Mercedes, it's no longer behind the driver's door, it's someplace else?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yeah, in front of the hood -- in front of the front hood, so...
MR. MELLIN: At that point in time, were you able to tell who was shooting?
MR. MELLIN: What do you actually see? You see muzzle flashes. What else?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I could see muzzle flashes. And at that time I saw Sergeant MacLellan run into the side yard, so I followed him over there to communicate what he wanted.
MR. MELLIN: When you followed him to the side yard, describe what that side yard looked like.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It's a very narrow area. There's a small tree that we were using for cover. There's bushes, a white plastic fence.
MR. MELLIN: So are the two of you taking cover behind one tree?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: What happened as you were doing that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: We continued the gun fight with the two suspects.
MR. MELLIN: Again, can you describe for us exactly what you see happening at that point in time?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I could see two men. I could not distinguish who was who. I could see muzzle flashes. As well, I saw a lighter being lit and a wick being -- what looked like a wick burning.
MR. MELLIN: And when you saw that wick burning, did you see something happen with that item?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I saw -- I didn't see who threw it, but it was thrown towards myself and Sergeant MacLellan.
MR. MELLIN: What happened to that item?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It landed in the middle of Laurel Street and exploded.
MR. MELLIN: When it exploded, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I ran back into -- to get more cover behind the houses.
MR. MELLIN: At the time that you are seeing these muzzle flashes and this gunfire, are both of the suspects behind that black SUV?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: But you can't tell who is shooting?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No. No.
MR. MELLIN: And you don't know who threw that first pipe bomb?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I do not.
MR. MELLIN: And then what happened when you went around to your vehicle?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Well, before that, sir, there were other bombs thrown.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Tell us about that.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Again, it was a long gun battle, approximately eight to nine minutes. They had thrown, I believe, three more -- four more bombs -- or three more pipe-bomb types. I could see those being lit and being thrown at us as well as taking gunfire.
MR. MELLIN: Did all of those explode?
MR. MELLIN: Do you recall how many exploded?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I believe two exploded.
MR. MELLIN: Two more?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Two more were exploded, yes.
MR. MELLIN: Now, when you said they were being thrown at you, could you tell who was throwing them?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, sir. I could not.
MR. MELLIN: What happened after that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Then as we were still in their yard taking gunfire, of course, I could see -- I didn't see who threw it. I saw it coming through the air, but I saw a larger-type bomb being thrown at us.
MR. MELLIN: When you say you saw a larger-type bomb, what -- can you describe what you saw?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It was a cylinder, almost like a big cooking pot, a big pan.
MR. MELLIN: What exactly did you see? Did you see it in the air? Did you see it being thrown? What did you see?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I could not see it being thrown. I saw it coming through the air at that time.
MR. MELLIN: At that point in time, where were the two suspects?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: They were still behind the front of the Mercedes.
MR. MELLIN: As you saw that going through the air, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I was closest to the street at that time, Sergeant MacLellan was to my left. I wasn't sure if he had seen the size of the bomb coming towards us. So what I did was I said, "Run, Sarge. Run, run, run." And I grabbed his shoulder and I pulled him along with me. Obviously I thought there was going to be a bigger blast radius, so I wanted to create as much distance as possible.
MR. MELLIN: Was there a bigger blast?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Can you describe that blast?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It shook me to my knees, my ears were ringing. I could hear all the car alarms going off throughout the many streets around us. There's a big, huge cloud of smoke. I could feel all the debris landing on top of me as well.
MR. MELLIN: What type of debris did you feel landing on you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that time I just thought it was -- it felt like little pebbles or dirt. I believe I created so much distance of -- lucky enough -- to get out of the initial radius of the -- where any damage could be done.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do after that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I wasn't sure if they had any more of those pressure-cooker-type bombs, so I hopped the fence that we were in. And the house we were -- that we were taking cover is on the corner of Laurel and Dexter, so what I did was I ran around Dexter to return to where my cruiser was, and I continued to -- exchanging gunfire from there.
MR. MELLIN: When you began to exchange gunfire again, where were the suspects?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: They were still behind the black Mercedes.
MR. MELLIN: During these eight or nine minutes that you were engaged in this earlier gunfire and then when you started to engage again, in addition to pipe bombs being thrown, what did you see the suspects doing?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I could see them ducking down underneath -- behind the Mercedes. That's about all I could see. They were coming in and out of cover.
MR. MELLIN: Could you estimate about how many rounds were fired in the direction of either you or Sergeant MacLellan?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: For eight minutes it felt like it was hundreds. I couldn't -- obviously I couldn't count. But, I mean, lots of bullets.
MR. MELLIN: Were there times during the gunfire where there was a pause in the gunfire from the suspects?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yeah, there was many times.
MR. MELLIN: And having been a police officer for as long as you've been a police officer, do you know at some point an automatic -- a semiautomatic weapon is going to run out of bullets, correct?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And so if that happens, what do you have to do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Reload the gun, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Did you have to reload your gun at times?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: How many times did you reload?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I reloaded -- I have two spare mags on my belt as well as the one in my gun, and I used all my bullets.
MR. MELLIN: So what kind of gun did you have?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: A Glock.
MR. MELLIN: And what caliber is it?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: .40 caliber.
MR. MELLIN: You talked about having two spare mags. Just so we can clear that up, what's a mag?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: That's where you -- it contains your bullets.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. So that's a magazine?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: And it holds the bullets?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And then you have to take out the one that is -- the magazine that's empty and you put in a new one?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Correct, sir.
MR. MELLIN: All right. Okay. So when you came back around to your car and you started to engage in the gun battle again, what did you see?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I saw Officer Colon had arrived on-scene, as well as Sergeant Pugliese had arrived on-scene.
MR. MELLIN: And what were the suspects doing?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: They were still engaging in gun battle with us.
MR. MELLIN: At that point in time, approximately how far are you from where they are located?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I would say about 50 yards.
MR. MELLIN: At some point does someone walk out from behind one of the SUVs?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. When does that happen in relation to this gunfire?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: That's when Sergeant Pugliese had flanked the suspects. And he ran behind the yards on Laurel Street. And that's when I believe he exchanged in gunfire -- started to engage in gunfire with Tamerlan.
MR. MELLIN: You said that he had flanked them. What do you mean by that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Basically just went behind all the yards so he could come up on them from the side.
MR. MELLIN: As Sergeant Pugliese approached on the side and you were shooting from straight-on, what happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point Tamerlan had come up from cover, and I believe he was in the driveway of one of the residences there. And he was exchanging gunfire with Sergeant Pugliese, at which point I came out from cover, I started walking down the street. I had a good visual on him, so I got down on one knee and I started -- attempting to strike the suspect.
MR. MELLIN: By shooting him?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Why did you abandon your more-secure position?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I believe I had a good shot on him that I could end the threat.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Do you know what the other suspect was doing at that point in time?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I could not see.
MR. MELLIN: You came out, Sergeant Pugliese is engaging him in gunfire, and you're shooting at Tamerlan Tsarnaev?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: What do you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I was just down on one knee, like I said, and just exchanging gunfire. At that time I don't know what happened with Tamerlan or Sergeant Pugliese, but Tamerlan started running towards this officer, towards me.
MR. MELLIN: Towards you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. As he started to run towards you, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I saw Sergeant Pugliese chasing him, so I holstered, I started running down the street, and that's when Sergeant Pugliese tackled him from behind.
MR. MELLIN: When the defendant's brother started running at you, how far was he from you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Probably about 30 yards.
MR. MELLIN: At the time that he was tackled, how far were the two of you apart?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: From when he was tackled, about ten yards.
MR. MELLIN: When he was tackled by Sergeant Pugliese, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Sergeant MacLellan had come from where he was located, and we all, the three of us, tried to subdue Tsarnaev -- or Tamerlan. Sorry.
MR. MELLIN: When you say you tried to subdue him, how did you try to do that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He was wrestling with us and we were trying to gain control of him so we could get handcuffs on him.
MR. MELLIN: Were you able to do that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, not at that time.
MR. MELLIN: Why not?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He was a big kid. He was wrestling with us. We just weren't able to control him at that time.
MR. MELLIN: At some point did you hear a car rev up?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: What happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point we were wrestling with Tamerlan, and all of a sudden I could hear an engine revving and, you know, come closer to us. I screamed to the guys, I said, "Get off. Get off. He's coming back towards us."
MR. MELLIN: When you said "he's coming back towards us," what was coming back towards you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: The black Mercedes was aiming right at us.
MR. MELLIN: How fast was that Mercedes coming at you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It was speeding up so I assume he -- you know, I hate to say pedal to the metal, but that's what it, you know, sounded like.
MR. MELLIN: When you look up and you see that Mercedes, how far away is it from you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point he was maybe 30 yards.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I pulled my gun out and I attempted to shoot the operator of the vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: Were you successful?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I don't know if I hit him but I know I hit the windshield.
MR. MELLIN: Did the car stop?
MR. MELLIN: What happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: The next thing that happened was myself, Sergeant MacLellan and Sergeant Pugliese, we all kind of dispersed, and Sergeant Pugliese attempted to pull Tamerlan off the road, or off -- out of the way of the vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: Was he successful in doing that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Negative.
MR. MELLIN: What happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He was ran over by the Mercedes. I remember being -- I was very close, maybe seven to ten yards away. I saw Tamerlan get run over, get stuck in the rear wheel well. He then kept going and ran over his brother.
MR. MELLIN: Do you know who was operating the Mercedes at that point?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: It was Dzhokhar.
MR. MELLIN: And for the record, do you see him in court today?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Can you identify him?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Him (indicating).
MR. MELLIN: Your Honor, I would ask that the record reflect identification of the defendant.
THE COURT: All right.
BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: When you looked up and the defendant's driving that SUV, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point Dzhokhar had struck my SUV. He got stuck. His driver's side front tire got held up into my front driver's side and hit each other.
MR. MELLIN: The way you just indicated, you kind of had both vehicles moving and hitting each other, but was your --
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: My vehicle was parked, and he struck my vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: All right. And he hits your vehicle in the front left quarter-panel area?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. And he hits -- the vehicle he's in also is in the front left quarter-panel, correct?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: All right. What happens when there's the impact?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He got hung up on my -- on my vehicle. At that point I was maybe ten yards away, and again I tried to -- attempting to hit the operator -- I'm sorry. Shoot the operator.
MR. MELLIN: And what happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I don't believe I struck him at that time.
MR. MELLIN: Where was Tamerlan Tsarnaev at that point?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point he was probably about ten yards back, 15 yards back.
MR. MELLIN: So he had been run over but at some point dislodged?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. MELLIN: After you attempted to shoot the defendant as he was operating the SUV, what happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He became disengaged with my vehicle.
MR. MELLIN: What do you mean by that? Was he able to break free of your vehicle?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yeah, he was speeding up, or again, you know, pressing on the gas to try to get loose to escape.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. He was able to do that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: What happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point he crossed Dexter Ave., that intersection, and just kept going down Laurel Street. And that's the last I saw of him.
MR. MELLIN: At that point in time are you -- did you attempt to shoot the car?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Negative.
MR. MELLIN: Did other officers on the scene attempt to?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. He was able to get away?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I ran back to where Tamerlan was. He was with Sergeant Pugliese. And he was still wrestling with Sergeant Pugliese.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I attempted to gain control. Sergeant Pugliese was yelling if I had handcuffs. I pulled my handcuffs off my belt, Sergeant Pugliese was able to gain control of his right arm, I was able to gain control of his left arm, and I placed the handcuffs on Tamerlan.
MR. MELLIN: After the handcuffs were placed on him, what happened to him?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Sergeant Pugliese radioed for an ambulance.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I could hear, "Officer down, officer down." I was in close proximity of my cruiser, so I grabbed my medic back and my valve mask, my oxygen bag.
MR. MELLIN: Hold on a second. So you go back to your car at that point?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: And you say you get a medic back? What's in your medic bag?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Just basic necessities in case of an injury.
MR. MELLIN: Had you had CPR training before?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. So what did you take with you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I took my medic back and my oxygen tank bag which contains my bag valve mask.
MR. MELLIN: You grabbed all of that. Where did you go?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I ran over to where I could hear "Officer down, officer down." Someone kept screaming -- I'm not sure who -- at which point we located Officer Dic Donohue in one of the driveways on Dexter Ave.
MR. MELLIN: How did Officer Donohue appear to you as you were coming up on him?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He was still talking at that point. You could -- there was a lot of blood around our knees, but he was alive at that time.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point one officer was performing CPR on him, and that's when I -- I said, "What do you need me to do? What do you need me to do?" And he said, "Get the bag valve mask."
MR. MELLIN: What is that used for?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: To perform rescue breaths.
MR. MELLIN: And what is a rescue breath?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Just to pump oxygen into a person's lungs.
MR. MELLIN: Was he having trouble breathing at that point in time?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Where are you located relative to him at that point in time?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I was -- if he was laying down, I was to the left of his head.
MR. MELLIN: And sitting down by his head, what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I was leaning over on top of him -- well, not on top of him, but leaning over him -- performing rescue breaths.
MR. MELLIN: And how is it that you did that?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Just by -- if I could show you. It's a bag valve mask. You just squeeze it and it blows out the air.
MR. MELLIN: At that point in time, is Officer Donohue talking?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that time he had stopped talking.
MR. MELLIN: And how did he appear?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He appeared that he was dying.
MR. MELLIN: Did you look at him?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, I kept -- I was directly over him, so I was looking into him, and I kept telling him, "You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine."
MR. MELLIN: And was he looking at you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: He was.
MR. MELLIN: What happened?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At this point Officer Donohue started -- he could kind of just look right through you, you know, and you could tell that he was probably going to die soon.
MR. MELLIN: So what did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: We radioed for an ambulance. I remember I kept screaming, "Please get me an ambulance quick, fast. We need it now," at which time we continued with CPR, rescue breaths, until an ambulance arrived.
MR. MELLIN: When the ambulance arrived, what did you do with Officer Donohue?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: There was four other officers there at that time. I grabbed his right shoulder, another officer grabbed his right leg, another officer grabbed his left leg and another officer grabbed his left shoulder -- yes. I'm sorry. Left shoulder. We all lifted him up and we all ran him over -- ran him into the ambulance and placed him on the gurney.
MR. MELLIN: How did he appear at that point?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Dead.
MR. MELLIN: What did you do?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point I jumped out of the ambulance and awaited further instruction per Sergeant MacLellan.
MR. MELLIN: Thank you, your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Watkins?
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. WATKINS:
MR. WATKINS: Good morning, Officer Reynolds.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Good morning.
MR. WATKINS: All right. You've since learned that Officer Donohue recovered?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Thankfully, yes.
MR. WATKINS: And is, indeed, alive. He did not die that evening.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, sir.
MR. WATKINS: When you heard "officer down" and went to the driveway, that's a driveway next to a house on Dexter?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Correct.
MR. WATKINS: And that house is 144 Dexter?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I believe so, yes.
MR. WATKINS: And the driveway is right next to 144 Dexter?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: When you heard "officer down," the gun battle had stopped at that point; the Mercedes was gone?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes, sir.
MR. WATKINS: Officer Reynolds, when you stopped the vehicles on Laurel, Tamerlan got out of the Mercedes, correct?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: And Tamerlan had the gun when he got out of the Mercedes, right?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: And when Tamerlan got out of the Mercedes with the gun, he started shooting at you, right?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: Turning now to the end, where you saw him come out to approach Officer Pugliese, that was Tamerlan with the gun then?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: I couldn't tell. Like I said, it's a dimly lit street. At that point I couldn't see who was shooting.
MR. WATKINS: But you did ultimately know it was Tamerlan that engaged with sergeant -- Officer Pugliese?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Because he started running towards us, yes.
MR. WATKINS: And so it was Tamerlan with the gun at that point. Is that correct?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: At that point, yes.
MR. WATKINS: And it was Tamerlan then that after engaging with Officer Pugliese then ran towards you?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: That's all I have.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: Officer Reynolds, do you know who had the gun or who was firing during this entire exchange of gunfire?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: No, sir.
MR. MELLIN: Okay. Could it have been either one of the suspects?
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Yes.
MR. MELLIN: Thank you.
THE COURT: All right, Officer. Thank you. You may step down.
JOSEPH REYNOLDS: Thank you, sir.
(The witness is excused.)
MR. WEINREB: Good morning, your Honor. The United States calls Sergeant John MacLellan.