July 20, 1995 - Part 4
July 20, 1995 - Part 4
(12:55:37) The point that I think is important, in listening to you -- and I know you've relived these events in your mind and gone over them 201 time and time again-is that time plays funny kinds of tricks on us. Sometimes things that we are right now going through minute by minute and second by second can go by in a flash, and I'm sure that a lot of what happened to you in that short period of time, those couple of days, went by a lot quicker than these hearings have, certainly, or the conversation after the fact has. So I just want to talk about, really, how you viewed a couple of issues that have come up in the context of the time then, without the benefit of hindsight, because I think that is very important. The first thing is that on several occasions we heard Marcy Park referred to as a crime scene. In your answers to Senator Boxer, all three of you said as far as you were concerned, at the time it was a suicide and you did not treat it as a crime scene. Mr. ROLLA. No, that's not Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. I think that's important Mr. ROLLA. That's not true. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. That's not true? What you said in response to Senator Mr. ROLLA. No, that's not true. Fort Marcy Park was treated as a crime scene. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. It was treated as a crime scene. I'm sorry, I used the word homicide. Was it treated as the scene of a homicide or-is there a difference in the way you treat the scene of a homicide versus the scene of a suicide? Mr. ROLLA. It was treated as a death scene with an open investigation, and they're treated the same way. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. But at the time you thought of this whole event as a suicide, you were not viewing it as a homicide or any foul play or anything like that? Mr. ROLLA. Again, keeping an open mind after clearing the scene and viewing all the physical evidence of what we had, everything leaned toward suicide at that time. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. That's what you told Mr. Foster's wife at about 10 p.m. that night? Ms. BRAUN. Yes. Mr. ROLLA. An apparent suicide. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. With regard to the request, Sergeant Braun, the request that the office be sealed or secured, there is a difference between securing an off-ice, sealing an office and searching an office, certainly, and that's been talked about a little bit. You were earlier saying that since the time this happened, you've been promoted, and you learned as supervisor you have to ask people a lot of questions to know that they understand your meaning. Are you confident that Mr. Watkins understood your meaning when you made the request to him regarding sealing the office? Ms. BRAUN. Not at this time. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. Did you ask him to seal or did you ask him to secure the office? Ms. BRAUN. I don't know what exact words I used at the time. I basically indicated that we were interested in the office and going back through the office in the morning. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. Even though that wasn't the procedure that was a woman's intuition that it would be the right thing to do, to shut it down at that point? 202 Ms. BRAUN. Yes. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. You have testified that you didn't hear that request, but in any event the office was, in fact, secured about 30 minutes after that request was made to David Watkins, about 11:41. You talked to David Watkins about 10:30 or thereabouts? Ms. BRAUN. I'm confused. Are you referring to Detective Mark land's report? Because the way I interpreted Detective Markland's report when we had it on the screen earlier was it was secured all day after 10 a.m. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. We have 11:30 p.m., the testimony was that it was secured at 11:30. The office was locked at 11:41. That comes from the depositions. You were not aware that, in fact, it was locked 30 minutes after you made the request of Mr. Watkins. In any event, the next morning, by 10 a.m. the next morning, there was a guard posted there, and by 11 a.m. the next morning there was a locksmith called in and the locks changed. Mr. ROLLA. Yeah, but before 10 a.m. the secretary and Mr. Nussbaum had already been back in the office. Senator MOSELEY-BRAUN. I'm not debating that, I'm just saying in terms of the time of what transpired, we're looking at 10 p.m. You go into this horrible, chaotic scene. You mention in passing that it might be a good idea to shut this down. Mr. Rolla doesn't hear it; David Watkins doesn't remember it, but, whatever, it was a chaotic scene- It wasn't like everyone was being coldly efficient at the time. Ms. BRAUN. That's correct.