Male narrator: In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
[dramatic notes]
- Another push-in rape?
- Looks like it, Lieutenant.
Guy follows the wife
into her apartment around 11:00
intending to rape her.
Husband comes home, gets pistol-whipped.
- Just like the one on Frederick Douglass.
- Worse. He stayed longer this time.
We got the call a little after 6:00 a.m.
Suspect left them tied up.
Wife used voice-activated Siri to call 911.
- Good for her. - Uh-huh.
- So she's still conscious?
- They're working on her.
- Doom, Campesi, twice in two weeks.
- Long, hot summer.
They're working on the wife, Cynthia Harris, in there.
- She give a description?
- Not yet. EMTs are just finishing.
- Mrs. Harris? Hi, I'm Lieutenant Benson.
Can you tell me anything about the man
who did this to you?
- He was, um, black, tall.
Hold on.
My daughter. Oh, my God.
Do you have my daughter?
- Your daughter?
- Sophie, she was at a sleepover down the hall.
She got homesick and she came home early.
I think he took her.
- A sleepover? How old is your daughter?
- She's 12. - Okay,
let's get her out of here, guys. - [sobs]
- We're gonna find her. We're gonna find her.
- No videos. No witnesses so far.
- All right, he took their 12-year-old daughter.
Probably didn't want to be seen dragging her out
in broad daylight, so let's lock the building down now.
- On it.
- Clear down here.
[police radio chatter]
[siren wailing]
- Roof's clear.
- Anything?
Storage room is clear.
- Clear in the hallway.
- Check over there. - Right away.
- Clear here.
- Clear!
- Hey!
Hey, I found her! Call a bus!
Sophie, are you okay?
Are you all right? Come on.
I got you, come on.
Come on, I got you. Got you.
Hey! I need a gurney over here!
Come on! Come on.
- Here you go. We got you, Sophie, we got you.
- Where's my mommy and my daddy?
- They're okay. They're okay.
You're gonna be fine, Sophie.
All right, I'll ride with her.
Find this guy. Ready?
[dramatic music]
♪
- Hey. Sexual assault, secondary trauma.
- Busy night. I have a husband and wife being worked on.
- [whispering] Yeah, those are her parents.
- Oh, my God.
- Sophie, Dr. Patel is gonna take care of you, okay, sweetie?
- Get her in that bay.
- All right, you're gonna be just fine.
- Lieutenant Benson, how are the vics?
- Alive.
- Same M.O. as last week?
- Apparently, looks like we have a bad guy
working your precinct.
I mean, we're gonna run the DNA, but I...
- You're still short-staffed, right?
Whatever you need, just ask.
Vertical patrols, get last week's sketch out.
- Okay, how about I address your next roll call?
Also, I'm gonna need to borrow a couple of detectives
to interview the vics when they're ready to talk.
- You got it. - Thank you.
- I need to see Cynthia and Sophie.
- Doctors are with them, Mr. Harris.
Right now, just tell us what you remember.
- It's fuzzy.
I was knocked out.
- Take your time.
- [sighs] I get home from work late.
He comes out with a gun to Cynthia's head.
Pistol-whips me.
Makes her tie me up.
Then he rapes her.
- Can you describe him?
- Big, black, late 20s.
- What about his hair?
Anything about the clothes he was wearing?
- Uh, bit of an afro, some kind of a team jersey.
- Is this the man you saw?
- Maybe.
That the push-in rapist?
My brother warned me about him.
- Who's your brother?
- He's on the job, the one-two.
You haven't caught this guy yet?
- I didn't see him in the hallway,
but he was right behind me. He pushed me inside.
- Did he have a gun?
- Yes.
I gave him my purse, my PIN number.
I just... I did whatever he told me to,
but I was worried about my husband coming home,
that... [sobs]
I should have screamed. I should have warned Alec!
- Cynthia, he could have killed you.
You survived.
Your husband survived.
Your daughter survived.
- Okay. Okay.
- Excuse me, we need to start the rape kit now.
- Okay.
- Hey, how are the vics?
- Not great.
- He made the husband watch?
- Yeah. - Son of a bitch.
Then he rapes the little girl too?
- Some of our guys know the husband's brother.
He's good police.
- God help this guy when we catch him.
- Yeah.
- You get a DNA hit yet?
- I don't think so.
Detective Rollins is leaning on the M.E.
- Rollins? Oh, she's sharp.
Yeah, we worked a case together out in Brooklyn
a few years back. Kind of hit it off.
- Oh, did you?
- Yeah. Maybe I'll just go say hello.
Detective Rollins.
- Doom, how are ya?
- I'm good. I'm good. Congratulations.
Who's the lucky dad? Someone I know?
- All right, attention. We got a lot to cover.
Captain Reece.
- You've heard about our pattern rapist,
so I won't waste any time.
SVU is here to walk you through the relevant details.
Lieutenant Benson?
- So last night, a push-in rape occurred
about three blocks from the one a week ago.
Perp had a gun and he assaulted each member
of the family, including their 12-year-old daughter.
- And yes, the victims are related to a brother officer.
This is family.
Detective Rollins.
- Look, the first vic worked up this sketch.
Now, we're still waiting for the DNA
from last night's attacks,
but one of the vics did give us details that do match this.
Now, he took the wife's credit cards,
so we have flagged them. We've left 'em open.
- Canvass the neighborhood. Lean on your Cls.
I got no problems with stop-and-frisk tonight.
He's hit our precinct twice this week.
He has to have roots here. Someone knows him.
- Remember, he's armed, extremely dangerous,
looking at serious time.
- I know it's hot. Keep your vests on.
Time, distance, cover are your friends.
I don't care if this scumbag makes it through the night.
I care if you do. Understood?
All: Understood. - Yes, sir.
- All right, let's hit it.
- Gentlemen, want to slide over here right quick?
- Nah, nah, man. Stop-and-frisk is over.
- Stop-and-shut-up isn't.
- You seen this guy?
- Why? You gonna shoot him?
- Look again.
- I know ten brothers who look like that.
- Start naming 'em.
- Excuse me, ma'am, would you mind looking at this photo?
- Why am I being harassed? I'm just walking.
- Okay, just put a name to the face
and then we'll move on.
- Am I under arrest? Otherwise,
I don't have to answer your questions.
- Okay, Ma'am, he raped a 12-year-old girl.
You don't want him on the street.
- Yo, you've seen this guy? - I don't know him.
- How about you look at the sketch first,
then answer?
How about you, bro? You seen this guy?
- He may have been here about half an hour ago.
He had one of them throwback jerseys on.
Number 23.
- And you're sure you haven't seen this man?
- No. I wish I could help you,
but I've never seen that man before.
- Thank you, sir.
Well, that was useless.
What are we, 0 for 6?
- Hold on, maybe not.
Rollins just got a hit on the bank card.
- This the guy?
- Yeah. I got it right here.
- Okay, how long ago was this?
- Maybe 15 minutes.
- Hard to see his face.
- You got anything else?
- No, but I see him. Took out $200.
He wanted more, but I told him that was the max.
I thought he was gonna shoot me.
- He had a gun?
- I saw something on his right side.
- Lock the neighborhood down.
- Central, form a perimeter around 131st Street.
Let transit know perp was last seen 15 minute ago.
- We're on it. - Okay, good.
Have unis lock down any ATMs in their sector.
He maxed out here, but he could be trying others.
- You got it.
- Spotted him?
- Yeah, he was in the bodega 15 minutes ago.
- 10-13. Suspect headed south on Frederick Douglass and 129
toward the projects.
- That's the Clayton Powell houses.
Central, get aviation up.
- Let's move. - Copy that, Air 2 on the way.
[siren wailing]
- Halt! Freeze!
[siren chirps]
[tires screeching]
Stop! Police!
- Crossed 127, running west to the projects!
[tires screeching] - There he is, right there!
Right there! Go, go! Cut him off! Cut him off!
[dramatic music]
[siren wailing]
- I'm sorry. - Go, go, go!
[gunshots]
- Call it in.
- Shots fired, Clayton Powell houses.
- Hey.
- Is everyone all right?
- We got him. We got the bastard.
- He was going for his gun.
- Okay, secure the scene now. Carisi, get his weapon.
Check for vitals.
[crowd murmuring]
Got the gun?
[siren wailing]
- Clear.
- Where's his gun? - I don't see it.
- Carisi, where's the weapon?
- I got keys. He's barely breathing, looks...
- Where's his gun? The bus is on its way.
- Why these guys gotta be shooting 'em all the time?
- You show me the gun!
- He reached for a weapon. I saw.
- Okay, start looking. He must have tossed it.
- He was shooting at us. I heard it.
- Don't say a word.
- Hey, I got a wallet.
- Okay.
- I got cash.
No credit or ATM cards. Just driver's license,
says his name is Terrence Reynolds, 22 years old.
Lives here on the fifth floor.
- Hey. Y'all just gonna leave him there?
Cops shoot another unarmed black man then leave him to die?
- Why are you so worried about a man
who just raped a child? - Hey.
- Okay, take it easy.
- Ambulance is on the way, ma'am.
- Your guys need to turn over their guns
and they all need to get to the hospital.
- For a blood alcohol and tox screen.
I know the drill. - Okay.
- I'm gonna need your weapons.
- It was a good shoot, Captain.
He ran. He was taking cover.
- Stop talking, Detective.
Say nothing to anyone. Wait for your delegate.
I'll take your guns over here.
- Get his name to Real Time.
See if they have anything on him.
Confiscate phones.
Somebody could have gotten this on video.
- This crowd isn't gonna help us.
- Well, convince them otherwise.
- Where the hell's the bus? He's slipping away.
- Okay, the bus is on its way.
They're coming. Listen, I'm gonna stay with him.
You go search the building.
- Shouldn't I wait for a warrant?
- Yeah, I'm gonna call one in.
Okay, in the meantime, just get creative, okay?
He stole their money. He stole
their credit cards, their jewelry.
We need to tie him to those rapes ASAP.
- All right.
Where does Terrence keep his stuff?
- Don't you need a warrant? - It'll be here any second.
Why? You got something to hide?
- Was that Terrence who got shot? Why?
- He ran.
Can I look in here?
Yes or no? What's in here that you don't want me to see?
- It ain't even mine. Go ahead and look, man.
- How well do you know your roommate?
- We met, like, three months ago on Craigslist.
He's a quiet dude.
- Okay. Well, he's got pills here.
He's got a few joints. This gives me probable cause
to search this whole place. You get that, right?
- No. - You covering for him?
That makes you an accessory to the rape
of a 12-year-old girl. Were you in on that?
- N-n-no. No. Look wherever you want, man.
- Where was he last night?
- I don't know, I was working. You can ask my boss.
- Believe me, I will.
Your roommate cut his hair recently?
- Nah, man. He always had a fade.
- Penny ante drug possession doesn't help me, Carisi.
No stolen credit cards?
Yes, the warrant is on its way.
Get CSU up there. Look for blood,
the vic's DNA, everything. Let's go.
Tucker.
What, do you sleep with a radio under your pillow?
- I don't need one.
Police shoot another young black man, word travels.
Is that them?
- Yes. Everything's being taken care of.
- All right. I understand they have
48 hours to talk to IAB and give their statements,
but if they take all 48, your precinct's gonna be on fire.
- I'll talk to 'em.
- Not without me, you won't.
- Ms. Denzler.
Detective's Endowment moving quickly also, huh?
- If you're here, Tucker, I'm here.
- Easy, guys, we're all on the same team, right?
- We were told that our son was here.
- Terrence Reynolds. - Mrs. Reynolds...
- We got a call saying that he was shot.
- He was. He's in surgery now.
- What happened? - We're still investigating.
What we do know is that your son led the police on a foot chase.
- Wait, the police shot him?
- Do you know anything about your son's whereabouts
last night?
- No, he doesn't live with us. - You shot him?
Why would you shoot him?
- Calm down. Calm down.
- Is that his doctor?
- That's one of them.
- I'm... I'm so sorry.
- No.
No, not my son.
No. [sobbing]
No.
- I saw him on TV. That's the guy.
- Okay, well, hold on, take your time.
We need to make sure, so look at them all.
- No, no, it's him. His hair's a little bit shorter,
but it's him.
- That one looks a little like him
but he's... he's young in that photo.
Is it old?
- No, it's current.
- I'm...
I'm sorry, I think he was older and tougher-looking than him.
- Okay.
Thank you so much for coming in.
- You get an ID?
- Not really. Rollins?
- Immediately, picked Terrence right out of the gate.
- It's 50/50.
- Three cops who thought he was pulling a gun
that we can't find.
- Three cops we know, that we've worked with.
I mean, Doom is rock-solid.
- Okay, Carisi, bring in last week's vic.
Show her a photo array.
Go over every video from the shooting.
Maybe he tosses the gun.
And Rollins, where the hell is that DNA?
- It just went down to the lab.
- So follow it. Test it yourself if you have to.
[dramatic notes]
- Terrence Reynolds fit the description
of the rapist we were pursuing.
- Did you identify yourself?
- Yes, and then the suspect fled.
- At what point did you find it necessary to fire your weapon?
- When the suspect took cover in a doorway
and pulled something out of his waistband.
At that moment, I clearly felt that my life
and the lives of my fellow officers were in danger.
- Why did you feel that way?
- He fled without cause.
We gave chase, and when we subsequently cornered him,
he reached for something that I had reason to believe was a gun.
- Did you see it?
- We were told the suspect was armed.
I felt my life and the lives of my fellow officers
were in danger.
- So you emptied your clip?
- No, I fired three times.
- Your two fellow officers emptied their clips.
Why did you stop at three?
- Uh, I didn't have as good a visual on him as they did.
- Oh, you didn't?
And yet you knew he was armed at the time you fired?
- I felt my life and the lives of my fellow officers
were in danger.
Are we good?
- Almost. One more thing.
Your story, besides the amount of shots you fired,
is remarkably consistent
with that of your fellow officers.
- The truth is consistent, Lieutenant.
- Maybe, but usually it's not verbatim.
- Next time you prep your people,
tell 'em to use their own words.
- I'll take that under advisement.
- Please do.
I'll be right back.
[door opening and closing]
Showing up in person. Bad news?
- I didn't want to put it in writing.
- Bad ID on the first vic?
- It's worse.
The DNA came back.
The two push-ins are a match, but our perp...
Whoever he is... Isn't Terrence Reynolds.
So our rapist is still out there,
and more to the point...
- These three officers killed an innocent man.
- How many more?
How many more times must we mourn the death
of an innocent black youth
at the hands of those who were sworn to serve and protect?
How many more have to die?
All: No more! No more! No more! No more!
- So the whole city's on boil.
- I have to convene a grand jury.
The DA says it's my last chance to work my way
back into the good graces of City Hall.
- So they're hanging you out to dry.
- Politicians want an indictment.
The DA wants an indictment.
If I fail to get it, it's on me.
- So you'll push for one,
even though those officers were just doing their jobs?
- Their jobs?
They fired at an unarmed college student 35 times.
- We were in hot pursuit of a dangerous rapist.
Terrence matched the BOLO down to his jersey, he ran...
- A black man in a basketball jersey
runs when he gets stopped by the police?
You're right, he deserves the death penalty.
- That's not what I'm saying.
- It's not? [knocking at the door]
- Counselor... and Lieutenant Benson.
I trust you're here to assure our friend Mr. Barba
that this was a good shooting?
Or does this relate to the serial rapist
you haven't caught yet?
- Actually...
Actually, I was just leaving.
- NYPD's PR czar waltzes into my office.
This must be my lucky day.
What does the Commissioner want now?
- I know City Hall has their agenda,
but what we want... What the city needs... is clarity.
- Clarity?
- These cops were chasing down
an armed suspect who raped a 12-year-old.
Get ahead of it.
Explain why New York isn't Baltimore or Ferguson.
- Or Cleveland or Los Angeles or Staten Island.
You see the problem? There's a pattern.
- This wasn't a part of it.
The sooner the grand jury clears these three,
the sooner the city can begin to heal.
- [scoffs]
Used to be a rush to judgment. Now it's a rush to heal.
[knocking at the door]
- Mr. Barba, Reverend Curtis would like to speak with you.
- I'll call him back.
- Actually, he's here.
- Mr. Barba.
- Reverend Curtis. Counselor Henderson.
- Deputy Commissioner,
glad to see you've taken an interest.
- Always.
Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, on behalf of the Police Commissioner,
I would like to express our sincerest condolences.
- Thank you.
- I was just telling Mr. Barba,
the Commissioner wants a full and thorough investigation
to ensure justice is served.
- I'm sure he does, as do we.
- Now, you're the first to hear this.
NYPD is suspending the officers involved.
- Without pay?
- That's a union issue.
I'll leave you in the very capable hands
of the ADA.
- Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, please.
- They've put you in the hot seat, Mr. Barba.
- I just want to get to the truth.
- We all do.
Unfortunately, recent grand juries have been rigged,
so our community has lost faith in the process.
- This process is going to be different.
- We're here to ensure that. We're going to be proactive.
- Inciting the public will not help.
- That's not our intention.
- The last thing we want is more violence.
- We're going to conduct a parallel investigation,
an independent autopsy.
We want to offer another avenue for people
who might not feel comfortable talking with law enforcement.
- Okay, I appreciate that,
and I'd also appreciate any evidence you find
coming directly to me.
Let's not play this out in the press.
- My job is to advocate for the family.
I will do whatever is in their best interest.
- And that interest, for all of us, is justice.
- As it is for all of us.
Thank you for coming in.
Again, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds,
we are all very sorry for your loss.
- Thank you.
- I know you're tired of this Kabuki, Rafael,
and so am I.
This year alone, almost 700 people
have been shot and killed by the police.
Now, that won't stop until cities start to send a message.
I-I can't imagine the pressure that you're under.
Please, do the right thing here.
- We find out about our suspension
by hearing it on the news? A lot of respect.
- Get used to it.
City Hall's looking for sacrificial lambs.
- Hey.
- Detective Rollins.
- Detective Donlan. Detective.
- Hey.
- What are you doing here?
- She came to meet me.
- Well, I was just leaving.
- Yeah, and I got my wife and kids crying at home.
Your first?
- Yeah.
- Good luck.
- Thanks.
- Sorry about those guys. - Eh, it's all right.
You guys are under a lot of stress.
- Yeah.
About that...
You know Barba.
Any idea where he's going with this?
- Honestly, I don't.
- Your Lieutenant, Fin, and Carisi were all on the scene.
SVU's got our back, right?
- We know you're good cops.
- He was cornered.
His hand went to his waist.
That's when you use deadly force.
He was guilty of something. Why else would he run?
- Maybe it's best not to talk about this... in public.
Come on, how about I give you a lift home?
- You think I'm drunk?
- Mm.
- I'm fine.
Ah. [chuckles]
What difference does it make?
They're gonna hang us, aren't they?
- Mr. Barba, you didn't have to come down.
- Yeah, I did.
I read your report.
- Look, I know this is a tragic situation,
but like it says, they're not bad apples.
No charges of excessive force. No accusations of racism.
- And commendations for integrity,
meritorious police duty.
- So even our best and brightest are gunning down innocents.
- They believed the suspect had a weapon
and was a threat to themselves and civilians.
It's all in our report.
- Yes, I know.
I watched the deposition as well.
There appears to be a gap.
You said, "One more thing," then it cut out.
A glitch?
- No, I... we thought that they just sounded
a little over-coached.
- Over-coached, or coached to lie?
- The former.
They each quoted verbatim the legal definition
of the necessary use of force.
- We hear that a lot. Lawyers.
Bottom line, if I was in their shoes,
I'd have fired too.
- 35 times?
- Amanda.
- Wha...
Declan, what are you doing here?
- How far along are you?
I'm 4,000 miles away in Serbia
trying to take down a sex-trafficking ring.
I still heard about it.
- Seven months.
- It's that weekend back in February, the blizzard?
- Yeah.
- It's mine?
When were you gonna tell me, darling?
- Well, like you just said, you were 4,000 miles away.
Didn't really know how to get ahold of you.
- Fair enough, but I'm here now.
- For how long?
- Can't say.
- That's why I didn't bother you with it.
I mean, you don't have time to worry about it.
- I'm not worried.
- Okay, but it's gonna be okay.
My... my mom's coming up, um...
it's... it's my... My decision.
Don't worry, it's not your responsibility.
- But it is. We got to talk.
I'm not just gonna walk away. You know that.
- Okay.
We'll talk.
Right now, I got to get upstairs.
It'll be fine.
Right now there's a lot going on that I got to deal with.
We'll talk. [phone buzzing]
- That's my phone.
You call that number, I'm on a plane in an hour.
- The grand jury starts tomorrow.
My advice: Make sure your guys... And your guys, especially...
Tell the truth in their own words.
If they sound coached or too legalistic...
- They'll do fine. It's a tragedy...
- But it was a good shoot.
Sooner or later, all cops become Irish.
Look, I don't get to voir dire a grand jury.
It's the first 23 through the door,
and everyone on that panel will have heard about this case.
Some of them will think cops are never guilty.
Some will see this through the prism
of Ferguson or Baltimore.
- This is different.
- You think so, but all it takes is 12 votes to indict.
- Mr. Barba. - I said no interruptions.
- I know, but...
- Thank you for coming today.
I'd like to warn you that what you are about to see
is as graphic as it is tragic.
We've obtained cell phone footage
of Terrence Reynolds running for his life from the police.
A resident of the building across the way
took it from his window.
Here we see Terrence desperately trying to open
a locked door while reaching for his keys.
- Stop!
- Hands where I can see 'em!
Turning towards the officer to comply with his commands.
The officers begin firing their weapons.
Here it is in slow motion.
Watch closely.
He keeps trying to put his hands up
even after his body hits the ground,
but the officers just continue to fire
until the ninth and final bullet pierces his body.
- This changes things.
- Doesn't change a damn thing.
- It does. It's out there.
- Hold on.
I know this looks bad,
but this is not the angle that they had.
If it were, of course they would never have taken the shot.
They were in the heat of the chase.
It was dark. They were in the projects.
- They were following procedure.
- They were doing what any cop
would have done in their situation.
- Any cop?
Even you?
- Anyone who's seen the smoking guns video knows
that Terrence Reynolds was shot in cold blood
for the crime of running while black.
[all speaking at once] - This is the first step...
- These police officers put their lives in danger
to protect all of us.
- I believe the grand jury will do the right thing and
The only comment I have... - Terrence's murderers will have
the right to counsel, the right to trial.
Terrence was deprived of those rights.
In one instant, these three officers
were his judge, jury, and executioner.
[people cheering]
[dramatic notes]
- When we arrived at the bodega,
we secured a security still of the suspect
which closely matched our sketch of the rapist.
- In this security photo, as well as the sketch,
the suspect clearly has an afro.
Terrence Reynolds' hair was short-cropped.
- With the cap, it's hard to tell,
but they both wore a distinctive basketball jersey.
- Just to be clear, Terrence Reynolds...
The man who was killed by police gunfire...
Was not the man at this ATM?
- No, but at the time,
we had no way of knowing that.
The 10-13 that came in said the suspect
was running towards the Clayton Powell houses.
- And what is a 10-13?
- Officer in need of assistance.
Any cop hears that, he drops what he's doing, he responds.
- To your knowledge, was any officer
actually in danger at that moment?
- They were on the heels of someone they believed to be
an armed and violent rapist,
so, yeah, that would constitute danger.
- If the suspect was much younger
than the actual rapist, unarmed, and innocent,
what would that constitute?
- Hindsight.
- Is that what you would say to Mr. Reynolds' family?
- Terrence was a good son.
He, um, was working part-time at an animal hospital
while he was going for his degree.
- Has your son ever been charged with a crime, Mr. Reynolds?
- [scoffs] He'd been ticketed a few times.
Once for running a stop sign on his bicycle.
Uh, once for possession of a joint.
- Nothing violent?
- No. Never.
- Why do you think he ran that night
when the cops stopped him?
- In our neighborhood, relations with the police are not good.
Many of Terrence's friends get arrested for no reason.
They can't make bail. They lose their jobs.
My son didn't do anything wrong,
but he knew that wouldn't make a difference.
He was just trying to go home.
- When the suspect hid in the doorway,
he moved his hand towards his belt
in a way that indicated he might be reaching for a weapon.
In no way is this reckless endangerment.
In no way is this criminally negligent homicide.
If it were me, I would have believed
that our lives and the lives of bystanders were in danger.
I would have done what my officers did.
- Your officers made the assumption
that he's reaching for a gun and not his keys?
- They're trained to assess the situation by experience.
In this case, they were told the suspect had a weapon.
- So, yes.
Would the assumption have been different
if they'd been chasing a young white woman
or a man in a suit?
- Well, that's not a fair comparison.
The officers were in pursuit of Mr. Reynolds
because he matched the description
of a dangerous rapist.
- Lieutenant,
how many rape suspects have you chased in your career?
- I don't know. Uh, a hundred?
- And how many times have you believed
your life could be in danger?
Would dozens be a fair estimate?
- Okay.
- According to your file, you've shot two such suspects.
Is that correct?
- Yes, that is correct.
- So you've had dozens of suspects run...
Even pull weapons on you...
Yet, time and again, you've chosen not to shoot.
Terrence Reynolds was shot. Why?
- In my opinion, all police procedures were followed.
- He was not facing them.
Could they have waited, called for backup?
They were also wearing vests.
Could they have waited even half a second?
- Waited for what?
For their partner to get shot?
For their own head to get blown off?
They followed procedure.
I cannot speak to what I would have done in that situation
because I was not in the line of fire.
- Neither were any of the officers.
I'll ask again:
Can you think of any option these officers had
besides shooting Terrence Reynolds?
- In my opinion, all police procedures were followed.
- The victims of the rapist you believed you were pursuing
were family members of a police officer.
Could that have influenced your decision to shoot?
- We were told he had a gun
on the right side of his waistband.
I shot because I thought the suspect
was reaching for that gun.
- But you didn't see a gun.
- I saw him reach for his waistband.
He was turning toward Officer Dumas.
I was in fear for his life and mine.
That's when instinct took over.
- You fired 16 times, emptying your magazine
even after Terrence Reynolds was on the ground.
Why?
- We are trained to shoot until we perceive
that there is no longer a threat.
In the chaos, with bullets ricocheting,
you fire until the shooting stops.
- So you, Detective Campesi, and Sergeant Donlan,
all thought the suspect was reaching for a gun?
You all thought your lives were in danger?
- Yes.
- The only difference being, Detective Dumas,
you fired just three shots.
Why's that?
- As I said, the situation was chaotic,
but I and my fellow officers followed procedure.
- Just to clarify for the jury,
I'd like to show a video taken by a bystander.
- Stop!
- Hands where I can see 'em!
[gunshots]
- Do you recall this moment, Detective?
- Yes.
- Your fellow officers continued firing
after the suspect was down.
- We still didn't see his hands.
We still had reason to believe that he was armed.
- So why did you stop firing?
- Again, I didn't have the angle that you have here now.
- Could it have been that you perceived
that the threat had been eliminated?
- I guess.
- You guess?
Is it possible you had second thoughts?
Do you think you should have waited to determine
whether Terrence Reynolds was, in fact, armed?
Was, in fact, an actual threat?
- I don't know. He was turning.
- He was turning but you didn't see a gun,
and that's why you stopped firing.
Isn't it, Detective?
- I-I don't know.
- If you and your fellow officers
had waited half a second longer,
Terrence Reynolds would be alive today.
Would you agree with that?
- Yes.
.
- Hey. How'd it go up there?
- I can't talk about it. Neither can you.
- But Barba knows what he's doing, right?
- Yeah, he does.
- She's in a mood.
- Yeah. Well, we all are.
[dramatic notes]
- You have in front of you the charges
of reckless endangerment in the first degree
or criminally negligent homicide.
- Before we vote, is it possible
for us to indict on more serious charges?
- Excuse me?
- Well, I don't think we're looking
at recklessness or negligence.
I-I think we're looking at murder here.
Can... can we bring a charge like that?
- That is within your purview,
but I would like the grand jury to understand
that in order to prove manslaughter one or above,
you have to prove intent.
That's a much higher legal standard
requiring an increased level of mens rea...
Intent versus negligence.
- Well, I'd like you to explain that standard.
You know, for manslaughter, murder, whatever.
You know, walk us through everything.
- I can, but before I do, I'd like to see a show of hands.
How many of you would like to hear
a definition of those charges?
- We are extremely gratified
that the grand jury has decided to indict Sergeant Donlan
and Detective Campesi on manslaughter one,
and Detective Dumas on reckless endangerment.
- This is just the first step toward justice for Terrence.
We will continue to do everything we can
to make sure these officers are held accountable.
- Would the parents like to make a statement?
- Obviously, we are pleased with the indictments.
This is just the beginning of a long trial.
- Well, the DA did what City Hall wanted...
Blame the cops, keep the peace.
- It's just an indictment. It's not going anywhere.
- Son of a bitch, Barba.
Good luck next time he needs a cop.
- Eh, this might not all be on Barba.
Upping the charges?
Sounds to me like he had a runaway grand jury.
- Runaway my ass.
Barba led and they followed.
- Hey, well, the good thing is, if this does go to trial,
there's no way they can prove intent.
- After what happened today,
you're gonna trust a New York jury?
- What are you worried about, Doom?
- Excuse me? [phone buzzing]
- You want to tell me what you said up there
that you only got reckless endangerment?
- Hey, easy... - Huh? And I want to know
what your lieutenant said up there, too!
- That's enough! - Guys!
Guys, this is not the time.
[phone buzzes]
[phone rings]
[phone buzzes]
- Hey. What's his status?
- He... he didn't make it. He was shot in the face.
They couldn't do anything for him.
- Traffic stop gone bad. They got the shooter.
- That the wife?
- Yeah. Two kids, 24.
A rookie.
- Does it get any worse?
- It might.
The Mayor's on his way up.
- [sighs]