Re: 12/11/00 - NH Advocate: Grand Jury Report
Following is the text of the grand jury report issued Monday, Dec. 11, 2000, by State Superior Court Judge Carmen Elisa Espinosa into the cover-up by New Haven police of the murder of Philip Cusick. The juicy stuff starts at Section II.
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FINAL REPORT
OF
GRAND JURY NO. 2000-1
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I
On March 24, 2000, Michael Dearington, State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Haven, made application to the Investigatory Grand Jury Panel for the appointment of an Investigatory Grand Jury, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes $$ 54-46 et seq., to investigate whether or not there was probable cause to believe that a crime or crimes had been committed by members of the New Haven Police Department in connection with the investigation of the homicide of Philip Cusick on November 6, 1996.
On April 3, 2000, the Investigatory Grand Jury Panel approved the State's Attorney's application and requested that the Chief Court Administrator appoint a Grand Juror to conduct said investigation into the matters contained in the application. On April 5, 2000, the Chief Court Administrator appointed me as a Grand Juror to conduct an investigation into the matters contained in said Application, designated Application No. 2000-1, and he designated the New Britain Judicial District at 20 Franklin Square, New Britain, Connecticut as the court location where any findings and records of the investigation should be filed.
The scope of the Grand Jury's inquiry, as authorized by the Investigatory Grand Jury Panel, was to determine the extent of the investigation by the New Haven and North Haven Police Departments of the death of Philip Cusick, the reasons for the New Haven Police Department closing and not assuaging officers to the investigation of that homicide, the failure to secure evidence which was obtained regarding that investigation, and the identification of any police officers who made false statements to fellow police officers regarding that investigation and the false statements made.
The undersigned designated the Chief State's Attorney's Office to assist in the investigation, which commenced on April 17, 2000. The Grand Jury heard testimony from 57 witness, some more than once, and received 187 exhibits (222, if you count 35 sub-parts to exhibits). An official record was made of all proceedings. Having completed the investigation, I herewith file my Final Report, in accordance with General Statutes $ 54-47g.
II
The following recitation of facts is a summary of the evidence received by the Grand Jury.
On November 6, 1996, Philip Cusick was found lying on the side of the road across the street from his mother's home in North Haven, Connecticut, with a gunshot wound to the chest. Subsequent investigation by the North Haven Police Department determined that Cusick may have been shot in New Haven. Upon discovering this information, the North Haven Police Department enlisted assistance from the New Haven Police Department with respect to the collection of information in New Haven. Initially, in late 1996, North Haven Police Department detectives worked cooperatively with New Haven Police Department detectives on the case, but no significant information was developed.
It was not until February 1998 that New Haven detectives received informant information that led them to a witness to the Cusick murder. The detectives advised their immediate supervisors and Brian Sullivan, who was then a Lieutenant (Lt.) and who was in charge of the Investigative Services Unit of the New Haven Police Department, of the new developments in the case. Sullivan told the detectives to proceed with the investigation and to keep him advised.
On February 27, 1998, the detectives interviewed the witness to the Cusick homicide and took a tape- recorded statement from him. Based on what the witness said, the detectives concluded that the information was reliable and substantially consistent with the known facts concerning the shooting of Philip Cusick. Moreover, it was apparent from what the witness said that Cusick was shoot in New Haven.
After obtaining the taped statement from the witness, the detectives requested a meeting with Sullivan and Sergeant (Sgt.) Edward Kendall, the second in command of the Investigative Services Unit. Prior to the meeting, Kendall told Sullivan that the detectives had obtained a very good statement about the Cusick homicide and Sullivan told Kendall to have a written transcription prepared from the tape.
Before the meeting with the detectives and after the statement was typed, Kendall gave Sullivan an overview of the contents of the statements and told him that according to the statement, the Cusick homicide was a New Haven case. When the detectives met with Sullivan and Kendall, they explained the substance of the interview with the witness to the Cusick homicide and indicated that they believed there existed probable cause to support a search warrant for the shooter's house. They wanted to search for a gun which they hoped could be tied to a projectile that had been recovered from Cusick's body. At that point, however, the detectives were told by Sullivan to stop the investigation "per order of the Chief." As a result, the investigation was terminated.
At that time, no one from the New Haven Police department gave a copy of the witness' statement to the North Haven Police Department or shared its contents with them, although the statement was the strongest evidence that had been developed regarding the identification of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the Philip Cusick homicide. The detectives who took the statement, although very upset by the order to stop the investigation, did not question Sullivan as to his reasons for the order. Initially, they thought that perhaps their work may have interfered with another more serious investigation to which they were not privy and which was being handled by another agency. They also feared reprisal from Sullivan who had previously removed other officers from the Cusick investigation. Sgt. Kendall later asked Lt. Sullivan if the order had really come from the Chief, and Sullivan told him that it had. Consequently, Kendall did not purse the matter further.
After the meeting where Sullivan told the detectives to stop the Cusick investigation, the detective who took the taped statement sought to retrieve the cassette and the transcription of it from his file cabinet where the typist would have placed them. Although the transcription log indicated that the tape had been transcribed, the detective could not locate it. While the detective was telling his immediate supervisor that the tape and the original transcript could not be located, Kendall exited his office and told him that he had it because he had to review it. Kendall gave the statement and the tape to the detective, who then made two copies of the original typed statement. The detective returned the original typed statement to Kendall and took the cassette tape to the property room and logged it in as evidence.
Subsequently, Sullivan told Kendall to get the statement and cassette tape and bring it into his office. Kendall obtained the tape from the property room and took it with the original typed statement, which he had received from the detective, to Sullivan's office. Sullivan then told Kendall to hold on to them until he heard from him. Sullivan never got back to Kendall or asked him about the case again. Sometime between February 1998 and March 2000, Kendall lost the cassette tape. Kendall found the original typed statement in his desk in March 2000.
On at least three separate occasions, Sullivan made false statements to an officer of the North Haven Police Department about the Cusick matter. On March 29, 1998, Sullivan met with Deputy Chief Thomas Habib of the North Haven Police Department (then a Captain) and told him that he may have some information for him on the Cusick case. A week or so later, Sullivan called Habib and told him he would like to go to North Haven and talk about the case to refresh his memory about it. In April 1998, Sullivan went to the North Haven Police Department, met with North Haven detectives, and reviewed North Haven's entire file on the Cusick homicide. When Habib asked Sullivan if they were talking about the same people, Sullivan stated that it was some of the same group and that he would get back to North Haven. At that time, Sullivan never mentioned the statement of the witness to the murder which his detectives had taken on February 27th and he never got back to North Haven.
In October 1998, Habib asked Sullivan about the information he was going to get back to him with and Sullivan stated that it had not worked out, that one of the persons was in jail at the time, and that there was nothing to it. Once again Sullivan did not mention the statement his detectives had taken from the witness on February 27th.
As late as February 8, 2000, Habib spoke to Sullivan and asked him if there was anything new on the Cusick case. Habib told Sullivan that Mrs. Cusick was ill and that it would be nice if the case could be solved before she died. Sullivan responded that there was nothing new, but that he would check with his detective and ask what he knows. Sullivan still did not mention the statement his detectives had obtained on February 27, 1998 from the witness to the Cusick homicide. And, Sullivan never got back to Habib.
Numerous witnesses testified at the Grand Jury that, in early 1998, they witnessed Captain Sullivan order the investigating detectives to stop the investigation of the homicide of Philip Cusick "per order of the Chief." Nicholas Pastore, retired Chief of the New Haven Police Department, Chief Melvin Wearing, and Assistant Chief Douglas MacDonald all appeared at the Grand Jury, however, and testified that they never told Sullivan to shut down the Cusick investigation. There was no evidence presented to the Grand Jury of any actions by Chief Pastore, Chief Wearing or Assistant Chief MacDonald that could have been construed by Sullivan to require shutting down or hindering the Cusick investigation.
Capt. Sullivan also appeared at the Grand Jury as summoned but did not testify, choosing to exercise his constitutional rights.
III
Having heard all the evidence presented and reviewing the same, the undersigned Grand Juror finds probable cause to believe that Brian Sullivan, Captain of the New Haven Police Department, committed the crimes of Hindering Prosecution in the First Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes $ 53a-166 and Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes $ 53a-155. Captain Sullivan improperly ordered the closure of the investigation of the murder of Philip Cusick, after receiving oral and written reports which strongly indicated that Cusick was murdered in New Haven and that further investigation by the New Haven Police Department was needed in order to apprehend the perpetrator or perpetrators of this crime in a timely fashion.
Moreover, Captain Sullivan made false statements to Deputy Chief Thomas Habib of the North Haven Police Department about the progress of the Cusick investigation in New Haven and never disclosed to anyone in that department that New Haven Detectives had taken a taped statement from a witness to the crime. Instead, Captain Sullivan intentionally made false statements and misled the North Haven Police Department, for a reason which the present Grand Jury inquiry was unable to ascertain. As a result of his suppression of evidence gathered by his department, Captain Sullivan affected the outcome of a criminal case by aiding the person or persons responsible for the murder of Philip Cusick to avoid detection and apprehension.
There was no evidence presented to the Grand Jury from which the undersigned could find that there was probably cause to believe that Capt. Sullivan was aided or abetted by any of his subordinates in the crimes set forth herein. There was no evidence presented that Capt. Sullivan's subordinates shared criminal intent or unlawful purpose with him in his conduct relative to the Cusick homicide investigation. There was no evidence presented that any subordinate of Capt. Sullivan knew what his intent was in closing the Cusick investigation or the motivation for his unexplained conduct. Moreover, there was no evidence presented to the Grand Jury from which the undersigned could find that there was probable cause to believe that any subordinate conspired with Sullivan to commit the crimes set forth herein. Capt. Sullivan's subordinates merely acted upon the orders of their superior, that is, Capt. Sullivan.
The task of an Investigatory Grand Jury is to gather evidence and determine whether a crime or crimes have been committed. The obtaining of an arrest warrant and the subsequent prosecution is a matter solely within the discretion of the Chief State's Attorney, after consideration of the higher standard of proof required in a criminal prosecution and the evaluation of the likelihood of a conviction. The Chief State's Attorney has in his possession copies of the transcripts of the testimonial evidence gathered during this Grand Jury's investigation and, as required, the undersigned leaves to him the decision of whether to prepare an application for an arrest warrant. Dated at New Britain, Connecticut, this fourth day of December, 2000.
Respectfully submitted,
Carmen Elisa Espinosa, Judge
Grand juror
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