Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveJoseph Paul - Direct (Part 1)
971 linesMR. LALLY: Yes, Your Honor. The Commonwealth — excuse me, the Commonwealth would call Trooper Joseph Paul to the stand.
COURT OFFICER: Step forward for me. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MR. LALLY: Good morning — good afternoon.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Lally, whenever you're ready.
MR. LALLY: Thank you, Your Honor. Good afternoon, sir.
MR. LALLY: Could you please state your name and spell your last name for the court?
MR. LALLY: And how are you employed, sir?
MR. LALLY: And how long have you been a trooper with the state?
MR. PAUL: I have been a trooper for approximately — eight and a half years — sorry, 12 and a half years, my apologies.
MR. LALLY: And where is it that you're currently assigned within the state police?
MR. PAUL: I am currently assigned to our Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, otherwise known as CARS.
MR. LALLY: And how long have you had that assignment to CARS?
MR. LALLY: And with respect to your assignment to that unit — prior to beginning with that unit — let me ask you this first. As far as the CARS unit is concerned, how is that sort of divided up? Is there sort of regions that you would specifically cover?
MR. PAUL: Correct. We have four separate regions across the state. We have Southeast, Northeast, Central, and Western.
MR. LALLY: And which of those are you assigned?
MR. LALLY: And geographically, how much territory are we talking about?
MR. PAUL: The Southeast covers anywhere from Boston down to the Cape, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket — your southeastern part of Massachusetts.
MR. LALLY: And how many troopers are assigned to this specialized reconstruction unit within your Southeast region?
MR. LALLY: And is there some kind of on-call system that your unit operates by?
MR. LALLY: Can you describe that to the jury?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to yourself, prior to entering into the CARS unit, what if any specialized training did you undergo in regard to crash reconstruction?
MR. PAUL: When I got into the unit, I was sent to three separate classes. Each class was 40 hours long. The first class is basic at-scene crash investigation, the next one's advanced crash investigation, and the other one's traffic crash reconstruction.
MR. LALLY: And with each of these trainings that you underwent prior to being assigned to the CARS unit — and some more that we'll talk about in a moment — with respect to each of the trainings that you've been a part of or undergone, is there some sort of certification that you receive in regard to successful completion of those trainings?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to — since you've been working with the CARS unit over the last several years — what if any additional specialized training have you received in the area of crash reconstruction?
MR. PAUL: Since I've been on, I've been into probably about 877 hours of education in the unit — that's anything from high-speed crash investigation, human factors — I'm currently certified through Berla as an Examiner and Technician, I am a CDR analyst and CDR technician trainer, I've attended multiple seminars and most recently attended a seminar in Houston on EDR data retrieval.
MR. LALLY: Now, among those other trainings that you received, some of those trainings pertain specifically to pedestrian crash reconstruction?
MR. LALLY: And in addition to the training that you've received through the state police, what if any professional organizations do you belong to in regard to crash reconstruction?
MR. PAUL: Yes. I am currently a part of NAPARS, which is the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists, and I'm also certified through ACTAR, which is the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction.
MR. LALLY: Now, if I can focus specifically just for a moment on the ACTAR certification — can you explain to the jury what goes into that and how one obtains it?
MR. PAUL: Okay. First thing you do, you've got to submit an application to ACTAR to be allowed to take the test. And part of that — you've got to tell them how much education you've had, how many crashes you've investigated — basically anything within the crash investigation world. Then, once they find that you're accepted and eligible to take the test, you set a time for the test. We did it as a section. throughout our state. And the test is a two-part test — it's a practical and theory portion of the test. Each part is four hours long, and you've got to pass both portions to be certified through ACTAR.
MR. LALLY: So there's a written exam and a practical portion of the test as well, correct?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury sort of the practical portion — what does that consist of?
MR. PAUL: The practical portion, you basically have to analyze a collision. So they give you a simulated crash and you have to go through and document the evidence, you have to answer a series of questions based on that specific crash — so where you can find the speeds, the distances, times, and everything else related to that collision.
MR. LALLY: And you've successfully completed and received that certification, sir, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And how long ago was it that you first received your ACTAR certification?
MR. LALLY: And how long is that — is that sort of in force, or is there a continuing educational component attached to it?
MR. PAUL: There is a continuing educational component attached to it. The certification — you get it — it's certified for five years, and within those five years you still have to maintain a certain amount of education to reapply for ACTAR again.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to that ACTAR examination, are you familiar with sort of the success rate or the passing rate when it comes to that examination?
MR. LALLY: And what is it?
MR. PAUL: It's fairly low. I can tell you within my unit, at the time I took it, there were probably 20-something of us that took it and only three of us passed at the time. Yeah, it's not a very high pass rate.
MR. LALLY: Now, over the course — let me ask you this: when you first sort of enter into the CARS unit, are you just — you go through the training and then you are on call and get sent out on the road by yourself, or how does that work?
MR. PAUL: No. You first get initially assigned to a field training officer, and then at that point you shadow the field training officer to various crashes.
MR. LALLY: And is there any sort of set time period for how long that shadowing process goes on for?
MR. PAUL: It's not really a set time — it's more based on experience, on how many crashes you go to and how much experience you have in the field. And then they basically — well, if they feel like you're deemed qualified, then they'll send you on the road on your own.
MR. LALLY: And over the course of your years within the CARS Reconstruction unit, approximately how many crashes have you responded to and investigated?
MR. PAUL: As of now I've been to approximately 196 crashes, and I probably assisted on another 100 to 150 crashes.
MR. LALLY: And of those — of all those crashes that you've responded to and investigated — if you know, percentage-wise or number-wise, approximately how many of those have been crashes involving a pedestrian?
MR. PAUL: I know I've probably been — I've been to approximately 55 pedestrian crashes, and I've assisted others on pedestrian crashes also. So 55 out of 196.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect, if I could turn your attention to January 29th, 2022 — you recall that date?
MR. LALLY: And at some point over the course of that date, were you contacted by somebody in regard to a pedestrian collision that occurred in the town of Canton?
MR. LALLY: And do you recall who it was that first reached out, or how did you first become aware of this?
MR. LALLY: And initially, as far as your involvement was concerned, what was your understanding as to the initial request for your involvement?
MR. PAUL: My initial request was to image the airbag control module, do an inspection, test the vehicle, and map the scene out.
MR. LALLY: Now, you've used that term a couple of times — if I could just ask you to explain it a bit for the jury — when you say an airbag control module, or an ACM, what is that, and what do you understand that term to mean in the context of crash reconstruction?
MR. PAUL: The ACM is the module in a car that controls the airbags and the seat belt pretensioners.
MR. LALLY: And what you were referencing before — as far as being a CDR, having taken CDR trainings, and being a CDR instructor — what if any relationship does a CDR have to the ACM?
MR. PAUL: CDR is just the Crash Data Retrieval software. It's the software that we use to image or download an airbag control module.
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury sort of the process — physically, how that's done — as far as what are you doing to the vehicle in order to download that information?
MR. PAUL: Yes. There are two ways really to download a vehicle — it's either direct to module, or direct to the vehicle through the DLC port, the diagnostic link connector. Direct to module — we'd only use direct to module if a vehicle had no power. Then we would have to go directly, find the module inside the vehicle, and go right to that specific module. But if the car has power, we would go direct to the DLC port — which is the same port that, like, a technician would do the diagnostics on a car, they would plug in underneath the steering wheel — and then we'd extract information from there.
MR. LALLY: Now, once that information is extracted, what if any training have you received in regards to reading or interpreting the data that's extracted?
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, turning your attention to February 1st, 2022 — on that date, where if anywhere did you go in relation to your investigation?
MR. LALLY: Now, at some point prior to that, were you made aware — or did you do any research into sort of what the weather was like around the time of the crash?
MR. LALLY: Now, initially on February 1st, 2022, where did you go?
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, at some point on that date did you also have occasion to go to a residence at 34 Fairview Road in the town of Canton?
MR. LALLY: And specifically, there was an address that you were directed to, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And who if anyone did you go there with?
MR. PAUL: I believe it was one of the Canton police officers — Lieutenant Paul Gallagher, I think his name was. I met him there.
MR. LALLY: And without anything specific as to what was told to you by Lieutenant Gallagher, what was sort of the purpose of having Lieutenant Gallagher there with you at that time?
MR. PAUL: He was going to show me where, basically, the evidence that they had at that point was.
MR. LALLY: Now, in addition to that, were you also familiar with another specialized unit within the state police called [unintelligible]?
MR. LALLY: And at some point, did you have access to certain diagrams created by Lieutenant O'Hara?
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'm going to show you what's been marked as Exhibit 135 and 136. Sir, do you recognize—
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, may I publish to the jury?
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: If I could — do you recognize what's up on the screen? As to Exhibit 136 — is this the diagram that you were able to view, created by Lieutenant O'Hara?
MR. LALLY: And what's contained — at least in this overhead shot — is that a fair and accurate depiction of the roadway, or the conditions of the roadway, absent obviously the weather, at the time that you went out there on February 1st?
MR. LALLY: You can take that, thank you. Forgive me, Your Honor, if I can just have one second.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sure.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'm going to retrieve that. I have two other photographs to show you. Do you recognize those, sir?
MR. LALLY: They are pictures that were in my report — Google images of the roadway, one facing from the northbound direction, one facing from the southbound.
MR. LALLY: Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, if I could just publish these first and then return them?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes, sure.
MR. LALLY: Directing your attention to the screen — what you have before you — is that Exhibit 582?
MR. LALLY: And if you could — there should be a laser pointer on the desk somewhere before you, sir. Using that laser pointer, direct the jury's attention to sort of what we're looking at in this particular photograph.
MR. PAUL: All right. So this is Fairview Road facing northbound. 34 Fairview Road would be on to the left in this area.
MR. LALLY: Now with regards to the roadway, when you went there, what if any observations — or what if anything did you note about sort of the roadway surface or markings on the roadway, the general overall condition of the road?
MR. LALLY: Anything significant with the roadway as far as the roadway material — were you able to observe whether or not it was sort of asphalt, concrete, or anything like that?
MR. LALLY: And as far as the markings within the roadway, what if any observations did you make?
MR. PAUL: There was a double yellow solid line, white fog lines on both sides of the edge of the road.
MR. LALLY: [unintelligible] And then as far as adjacent to the roadway, or adjacent to the fog line, what did you observe there?
MR. PAUL: So as you look at the picture, at the left side, there is asphalt curbing — these are about five inches tall, same on both sides — and there's a sidewalk along the right side of the roadway here.
MR. LALLY: And the side with the asphalt curbing — that's the same side with 34 Fairview Road on, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: If I have the next — next slide, if I can direct — next. It's 583. And again, sir, what's up on the screen — is that what you have before you?
MR. LALLY: And if you could, again using the laser pointer, just briefly direct the jury's attention to what if anything you note from this perspective.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, you can take that. Can I approach? Just retrieve.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, Trooper, with regard — with regard to the roadway, as far as Fairview Road, what if anything did you note in regard to postings regarding the speed limit on that particular road?
MR. PAUL: Yes, the posting for speed is 30 miles per hour. At this area, it's only posted 30 miles per hour for northbound operators, and I believe it was like 19 Fairview, is posted in front of — for the southbound operators it was not posted.
MR. LALLY: And so for a northbound operator, that would again be someone where the residence of 34 Fairview Road will be on the left-hand side of the road, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And with regard to the width of the lanes, or what if any measurements did you take in regard to the lanes or the roadway itself?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, each travel lane was approximately 12 feet and the overall width was approximately 27 feet.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as measurements being conducted with regard to the scene, what if anything did you use — employ to make those measurements, any devices?
MR. PAUL: Yes, we — I mapped the scene with a — it's called a Leica GNSS GPS Total Station, and I also used a drone — that's a UAS.
MR. LALLY: Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: The drone — I mean, yes. And with regard to each of those, as far as the GPS mapping and the drone, have you received any sort of specialized training in regard to employment of each of those tools?
MR. PAUL: Yes, I have been certified to use the Leica, and I also have a Part 107 license for the drone.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as starting with the Leica or the GPS, if you could explain to the jury sort of what that is and how you use that device in order to — as you termed it — map.
MR. PAUL: Yes, it's essentially what surveyors use to make roadways. It uses satellites and GPS data plus cell phone data — not marks on the roadway, but just mark points in the roadway that are within millimeters of the device.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to the drone device — how does that — can you explain to the jury sort of how that works?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so the drone — what we do, you fly the drone around the area. We set it up in a grid pattern to fly around the scene, and while it's flying this grid pattern it takes a series of photographs. These photographs are also GPS marked. So once we get all the photographs in, we put them into a program and the program essentially stitches it all together. And then once we get that picture, we throw it into a diagramming system.
MR. LALLY: And that diagramming system — have you also received training in regards to utilization of that diagramming system?
MR. LALLY: And the one that you're currently using within the CARS unit — what is that diagramming system or software called?
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes, sir.
MR. LALLY: I'm showing you four documents; ask you to just review those. Finished? And do you recognize those, sir?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MR. PAUL: These are the diagrams that we print out through the program. And the last one is the drone image.
MR. LALLY: Is that correct?
MR. PAUL: Yes, they're all drone images; the last one is just the one that was put into my diagram and I labeled it as a drone image.
MR. LALLY: I'd like to approach.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'd like to introduce the next four exhibits.
MR. JACKSON: No objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: 584?
MR. LALLY: That's right. Yes — that's my fault.
JUDGE CANNONE: Thank you very much. Sure.
MR. LALLY: Trooper, are you familiar — let me ask you this: in regard to the roadway itself, what if anything else — beyond lane width and overall width — what other measurements did you take there?
MR. LALLY: And let me ask it this way: as far as with elevation or incline of the roadway, what if any measurements would you take in regard to that?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so we took — we took the elevation and roadway measurements — the elevation for the roadway. And where in relation to the residence at 34 Fairview, did you take that — sort of the entire street, or just in the general area of that specific address? In the general area of that specific address.
MR. LALLY: And from your measurements, as far as — let me ask you this: how is a measurement with regard to elevation or incline — what kind of tool do you use for that?
MR. PAUL: We have a digital level that we'll place on the roadway and get a measurement from that.
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to the measurements that you took of the elevation or the incline in the roadway, anything — or what if anything of significance did you find from that?
MR. LALLY: So nothing significant — is that fair to say, nothing significant?
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, through your training and experience as a crash reconstructionist, are you familiar with the term related to crash reconstruction called roadway evidence?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury sort of what your understanding of that term is — what types of things could be termed as roadway evidence?
MR. PAUL: That's roadway evidence — anything that's related to the collision you're investigating at the time. It could be anything from vehicle debris, gouge marks, tire marks — anything that's related to a vehicle, or whatever type of crash you are investigating, could be vehicle or pedestrian.
MR. LALLY: So any sort of — anything from either the vehicle or pedestrian as well, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: So pieces from a vehicle, or items from —
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to both your review of the scene team diagram as well as speaking with members of the Canton Police Department, were you able to then plot certain pieces of roadway evidence onto those diagrams that I just showed you a few moments ago?
MR. LALLY: Now, with reference to — are you familiar also, through your training and experience, when it comes to pedestrian crashes, as far as sort of the physics or characteristics of how pedestrians interact with vehicles in the course of a collision?
MR. LALLY: Now I'm going to ask you just a couple of terminology questions. When it comes to items that are involved in a collision — sort of simple Newtonian physics — Newton's first law — can you explain what that is to the jury and sort of how that pertains to any collision between two objects?
MR. PAUL: The first law? Yes. Yeah, that's the — when an object stays in motion or stays at rest — well, stays at motion or rest — until acted upon by an outside force.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect — are you familiar also with a crash reconstruction term called final rest?
MR. LALLY: And are there different derivations of final rest — as far as controlled final rest versus uncontrolled final rest?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain — just first — what final rest means in relation to crash reconstruction, and then what if any differences there are between a controlled final rest and an uncontrolled final?
MR. PAUL: Yes. The final rest is what we use to describe the area where it came to stop after the collision. It's immediately after the collision — this is where they first stopped, or a vehicle — usually after a collision, where the vehicle first stopped. And a controlled final rest is when an operator actually controls the vehicle to the stop. And as opposed to that, the uncontrolled final rest is when there is no control — usually acted upon by outside forces that will control the vehicle or pedestrian to its final rest.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, if I could publish what's now been marked as exhibits 584 through 587 for the jury.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And to return — the witness — if I could ask you to zoom in just a little bit on that. And what you have up on the screen — is that what you have before you, the first?
MR. LALLY: Now, using that, I would ask you to direct the jury's attention to what if anything of significance you have noted within this diagram.
MR. PAUL: Okay, use the pointer. Okay, so in this — I labeled each part of the evidence. So right here would be the pedestrian final rest. And they're all — since there's so many, put together, everything was labeled with a red arrow that would point to where the final rest is. And this is where a glass cup was found, and these are the red and clear plastic pieces — that's where they were found. And pedestrian shoe was found here. The smaller versions here in the light blue — one's a fire hydrant, flag pole. This is a label for the street — 34 — and obviously the street named Fairview Road here.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as measurements were concerned, what if anything were you able to do to measure sort of between different points of roadway evidence, or specifically from the pedestrian — or Mr. O'Keefe's final rest — in reference to other items that you have depicted on —
MR. PAUL: So, talking about — so on these diagrams, it's hard to see here, but it is a scale diagram. The diagram itself is scale — once you put a scale up to the actual paper, it's scale. I also have on here — sorry, hard to see, but there's — I think it's right here — they're called ground control points. They're little X's on the roadway. They are used for the drones... imaging, and using the drone — the drone imaging will use those in order to help put all the pictures back together. Um, at the time of this, I measured between each point — from ground control point one to two, put it as approximately 50 feet, and 2 to 3 is 50 feet, and 3 to 4 is 50 feet. So it kind of is a second way to measure off the diagram, and also using the program to measure to different points while using the diagram.
MR. LALLY: And as far as starting with the shoe that you have depicted in this diagram, what was the measurement of the shoe away from Mr. O'Keefe's final rest?
MR. PAUL: Um, I believe the shoe was approximately — — I don't have my report — I think it's approximately 10 ft away. With the Court's permission, may I refer to my report for the specific measurements?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Okay. With regard to the shoe — how far away, approximately, was that from Mr. O'Keefe's body?
MR. LALLY: And did you also have a measurement for how far away the glass cup pieces were from Mr. O'Keefe's body?
MR. LALLY: And for the red plastic you have labeled on this diagram — how far away from Mr. O'Keefe's body was that?
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to the directionality — you also measured directionality — as far as the 9 ft that the shoe was away, which direction was it?
MR. PAUL: Um, each point, each evidence — — was measured from the pedestrian's final rest. So the shoe was 9 ft Southeast from the Pedestrian final rest.
MR. LALLY: And if you could — using the laser pointer on the screen — as far as the directionality — if you could first direct the jury's attention to the pedestrian's final rest, and then as far as Southeast from that?
MR. PAUL: Okay — so right here — Pedestrian final rest, right there. Um, the shoe's right here, so it would be kind of Southeast. Um, I have an arrow pointing North to kind of give an orientation.
MR. LALLY: And the glass cup that was one foot away — which direction was that?
MR. PAUL: Um, it was about one foot North — it was — I think it was found like within — right next to him. So...
MR. LALLY: And the red plastic that you have — — labeled — again, that was 7 ft — in which direction was that, sir?
MR. LALLY: As far as the clear plastic — what was the measurement and what was the directionality to that item?
MR. LALLY: And the red plastic that you have labeled on the diagram — how far was that, and what directionality was that?
MR. LALLY: Thank you, sir. If I can direct your attention to the next exhibit — Trooper, do you recognize what's depicted up on the screen?
MR. LALLY: And if you could — again using the laser pointer — what if anything of significance do you observe in this —
MR. LALLY: In reference to the roadway evidence.
MR. PAUL: Um, it's just essentially the same diagram — it's just a closer-up version of it. So — yes — the pedestrian's final rest, glass cup, clear plastic pieces, the shoe — all still depicted in the diagram.
MR. LALLY: And the red arrows that indicated, delineated, depicted — sort of from where the words are to where the items were — is that present in this diagram as well?
MR. LALLY: If I could direct your attention to the next exhibit before you — and if I could have that up — Trooper, do you recognize what's up on the screen?
MR. LALLY: And if you could — — just describe to the jury what are we looking at in this diagram?
MR. LALLY: And these diagrams are created from photographs with the drone overhead on that date of February 1 — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And if I can direct your attention to the last exhibit within those — and again, sir, if you could — you recognize what's up on the screen?
MR. LALLY: And could you describe to the jury — again using the laser pointer to delineate — what is of significance in this drone photograph diagram?
MR. PAUL: Um, yeah — so this is from my report. It's the same diagram. Um, has the same amount — — of evidence on here, the house, uh, light pole here — um, these lines here, which I mentioned earlier, were the edge of the road and the edge of the sidewalk.
MR. LALLY: Thanks — you can take that down.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Lally, why don't we pause here for the lunch recess. Trooper Paul, we'll have you back with us — okay, and if you follow the jurors out, thanks. And jurors, why don't we take 40-45 minutes. audio muted — sidebar I'll see counsel at sidebar.
COURT OFFICER: All rise. Stand for the lunch recess — 45 minutes. Please be seated. Just watch your step for me.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good afternoon, Trooper. All right, Mr. Lally, whenever you're ready.
MR. LALLY: With the Court's permission, may we have Exhibit 587 back up on the screen?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman — Trooper Paul, directing your attention to what's up on the screen — that's now been marked as Exhibit 587. Again, this is the last set of four diagrams, drone images, that I presented before you — correct?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to this particular area of Fairview Road — understanding that you were there in the daytime — correct?
MR. LALLY: However, when you were there in the daytime, what, if any, note did you take as to sort of overhead lighting — or available overhead street lighting — in the area?
MR. PAUL: Um, yeah — so on the top corner, I'll try to point up here — uh, there's a light pole right there — a light pole.
MR. LALLY: And with relation to where you've marked as far as the final rest position of Mr. O'Keefe and the other areas of items of evidence that were recovered — — from the scene — was there any lighting in that particular area?
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, you can take that down. Mr. Woll, we can have that back — thank you very much. Now, turning your attention, sir, back to February 1st, 2022 — at some point you were at the Canton police department, correct?
MR. LALLY: And where specifically within the Canton police department did you go?
MR. LALLY: And within the garage area, what, if anything, did you do in the garage area?
MR. LALLY: And — I'm sorry — it's fair to say the vehicle, the defendant's vehicle, was located in that —
MR. LALLY: And you imaged that vehicle — and what, if anything, else did you do with respect to that vehicle?
PARENTHETICAL: [objection]
MR. LALLY: Sorry — thank you, Your Honor. May I return those to the witness?
MR. LALLY: Now, at some point — did you perform any sort of mechanical inspection of the vehicle?
MR. LALLY: And was that that day, or at some later time?
MR. LALLY: And was that within the garage area itself, or where did you perform the mechanical inspection?
MR. PAUL: Um, we analyzed a little bit of the — you know — the steering and the brake pedals while I was sitting in the garage, um, then we did testing with it on the, um — in the driveway next to Canton PD.
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, starting with a visual inspection of the vehicle — may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: You may approach.
MR. LALLY: I'm showing you photographs — just, look up when you're finished. Do you recognize those?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, I'd move to introduce and admit these as the next two exhibits.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And, Your Honor — with the Court's permission?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Thank you — one moment. Trooper Paul, do you recognize what's up on the screen right now?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize that to be?
MR. LALLY: And what's contained in this — is that a fair and accurate portrayal of sort of the front of this vehicle, looking at it from the passenger side?
MR. LALLY: And I'm just asking if I could have the next — and Trooper, do you recognize what's up on the screen now?
MR. LALLY: What do you recognize that to be?
MR. PAUL: Uh, that is a crime scene photo that I attached to my report, with notations that I made on it.
MR. LALLY: And what's contained in this photograph — is that a fair and accurate portrayal of what you observed in the rear passenger side area of the defendant's vehicle in the garage on February 1st?
MR. LALLY: Now, step back a little bit here — with — — regards to what you've noted within this — if you could, using the laser pointer before you, just direct the jury's attention to what, if anything of significance, you observed in your inspection of this area.
MR. PAUL: Okay — so on the left side here I put down that there are scratches, and there's a dent there — um, the broken tail light here was here — um, there's some scratches on the bottom right rear bumper here — um, and there was glass from a cup back on the bumper.
MR. LALLY: As far as the glass on the bumper — what, if any, observations did you make of that in relation to the vehicle itself?
MR. PAUL: Um, yeah — appeared to be from a cup, as — ...opposed to any glass that came from the vehicle.
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll strike the first part of the answer, but the second part will stand.
MR. LALLY: I have no objection to the second. Thank you. Now, with regards to the dent that you delineated within this photograph — did you take any measurements from the ground as to where that was located?
MR. LALLY: And how far did you measure the dent to be approximately from the ground?
MR. LALLY: And what if any measurements did you take as far as from one part of the vehicle to the other as far as where the dents were located?
MR. LALLY: Now, the scratches that you were talking about before — where were they in relation to that?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as — you obviously also made observations of the driver side tail light as well?
MR. LALLY: And so from what you observed of the driver side tail light versus the passenger side tail light, what if any observations did you make as far as the color of the pieces that you found missing from the passenger side tail light?
MR. PAUL: As compared to the left side of the tail light — yes. So on the left side of the tail light there was a red and clear plastic pieces.
MR. LALLY: Now, the scratch marks along the bumper — did you take any measurements with relation to them?
MR. LALLY: And specifically, did you take measurements from the ground to where they were located?
MR. LALLY: What did you measure those to be?
MR. LALLY: You can take that down now. Trooper Paul, we talk about a mechanical inspection of a vehicle — just, in general terms, what is it that you're doing with respect to the vehicle in order to conduct that mechanical inspection?
MR. PAUL: So when we do mechanical inspections, we are obviously checking the steering, make sure the steering moves properly, the brake pedals — make sure they are firm — make sure the gas pedal moves back and forth — generally looking at the tires, make sure there's no issues with the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: And what if any observations did you make of the vehicle itself as far as any defects or anything to do with the braking, the tires, or any of the other areas that you inspected?
MR. LALLY: Now, with relation to the weight of the vehicle — what if any analysis, what if any did you determine as to the weight of the Lexus?
MR. PAUL: The weight of the Lexus — the analysis was just based on — I think I have the gross vehicle weight rating for the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: And how much did the vehicle weigh according to the gross weight?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the lights of the vehicle — being the tail lights and the headlights — what if anything did you determine those to be as far as what type of lights they were?
MR. LALLY: And if you could just expound a little as far as LED lights — what if any significance does that have, or what kind of lights are LED lights, how bright are LED—
MR. PAUL: LED — well, most comparison to what most people think of in car lights — incandescent lights, where you have the bulbs, where they have the filaments — LED is more electronically controlled. There's a sensor that will light up, as opposed to a bulb type headlight and tail lights.
MR. LALLY: Now, are you familiar with an organization called NHTSA?
MR. LALLY: And what does NHTSA stand for?
MR. LALLY: And what if anything did you do with regard to NHTSA in respect to this vehicle itself?
MR. LALLY: And what if any recalls did you discover when you ran this particular vehicle through NHTSA?
MR. LALLY: And to be specific, we're talking about this specific vehicle as opposed to just Lexuses in general — make and model — correct?
MR. PAUL: Correct. Yeah, we put the VIN into the system and it will tell you if this vehicle has any recalls to it.
MR. LALLY: Now, you indicated on February 1st at some point you did some testing with the vehicle — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And where was that testing done, and what did it consist of?
MR. PAUL: It was done in the parking lot of Canton PD on the same day. We did a forward braking test, a reverse braking test, and a reverse acceleration test.
MR. LALLY: Now, the parking lot of the Canton police station where you did this — what kind of roadway surface was that?
MR. LALLY: Similar to the asphalt surface at 34 Fairview Road — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And what was the condition of the roadway as far as how dry or wet was the roadway when you conducted these acceleration and braking tests?
MR. LALLY: And with respect to your understanding of January 29th, 2022, with the asphalt surface in front of 34 Fairview Road — what was the condition weather-wise as far as that roadway surface at the time of this collision?
MR. PAUL: At the time of the collision? Yes. What I understand is it was snowy, so the asphalt road would have been fairly wet from snow.
MR. LALLY: Now, when you conducted these acceleration and braking tests with the defendant vehicle, what if any tool or implement did you use in the course of that test?
MR. PAUL: We used a device called — it's called a VBOX, a VBOX Sport. The device is attached to the windshield and then it's also attached by an antenna that goes to the roof. And then, based on the VBOX—
MR. LALLY: Would you explain what VBOX is?
MR. PAUL: Okay, so a VBOX is just — it's a performance measurement device for the vehicle. It uses GPS data to measure the speeds and its location. We use that just to — it'll give us how fast we were stopping, a drag factor for the roadway for that specific vehicle and type of road, and acceleration factors. So we attach that to the windshield, just to give me a way to check its acceleration, check its performance.
MR. LALLY: Sorry, your honor — one moment.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sure.
MR. PAUL: So the VBOX is attached to that vehicle — what it specifically is: it is a measurement device. So it's just using the GPS data to track its location and measure its speeds, and using the speed and the location, putting that together. And once you — so you use the app through the VBOX and set certain parameters, like — you can set it — you want 30 miles per hour, 20 miles per hour, 10 miles per hour — and it'll set your vehicle so when you go to 30 miles per hour it'll tell you what you're doing at 30, what you're doing at 20, what you're doing at 10. And then it'll know if you're doing braking or acceleration tests, and use those numbers to give you your acceleration factor or braking factor for the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: So from the VBOX Sport device that you used — you've received training as it applies to using that device?
MR. LALLY: And certification as well?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the VBOX Sport — as it's attached to that vehicle, that's measuring specifically from that vehicle, with those tires, on that roadway surface that day — correct?
MR. LALLY: Now, with regards to that testing on that day, you did some reverse acceleration tests — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And how many of those tests did you conduct?
MR. LALLY: And would you describe to the jury sort of how you conducted those tests, or what speeds you were using, or sort of that process of the two reverse acceleration tests that you conducted that day?
MR. PAUL: So the reverse acceleration test — we set the parameters up to 25 miles per hour. So what we did is we tried to come from a stop at zero, and then press the accelerator all the way — about as hard as I could press it — and try to go back and see how fast I could get to 25 miles per hour, and to see how the vehicle performed at that time.
MR. LALLY: And what if any kind of data did you receive with the VBOX Sport during those two reverse acceleration tests?
MR. PAUL: It gave me an acceleration factor, it gave me speeds and times and distances that it was at each location.
MR. LALLY: And if you could explain to the jury — when you say acceleration factor, what is an acceleration factor?
MR. PAUL: It's just a number — how fast a vehicle could travel from acceleration. It could be light acceleration to a medium acceleration, hard acceleration — they all have a different number that you can use to kind of relate it back to what the acceleration is for that vehicle.
MR. LALLY: And what was the acceleration factor that you were able to obtain with those two reverse acceleration tests?
MR. LALLY: Now, during the course of those — rapid — I'm sorry, the reverse acceleration tests that you conducted on that day — what if anything did you — well, let me ask you this: as far as the operation of the vehicle, who is actually physically operating the vehicle?
MR. LALLY: And what if anything did you note during your operation of that vehicle during the reverse acceleration test that you conducted?
MR. PAUL: I also noted the accelerator pedal moved freely. There was no binding, there was no interference from anything on the floor, nothing interfered with the accelerator pedal. It worked as it was supposed to.
MR. LALLY: And when you're doing this reverse acceleration test — are you manipulating the steering wheel at all, or is it a straight line test? How is the vehicle directed during the test?
MR. LALLY: Straight and when you accelerated in reverse in a fairly straight fashion with the steering wheel what if anything did you note about that?
MR. PAUL: We kept the vehicle fairly straight. There was no — it was fairly easy to keep control of.
MR. LALLY: Now in addition to the two reverse acceleration tests, what if any testing did you do with regard to reverse braking?
MR. LALLY: And again similar — can you describe to the jury — this is also with the VBOX Sport attached, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: So you're obtaining data from that as well?
MR. LALLY: And during the course of the reverse braking test, what if anything — first, as far as data is concerned, how fast were these tests being conducted, what if anything was input, and what if any data did you receive?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so the reverse braking — we try to get up to about 30 miles per hour, and then once we get up to that speed that's when we apply the brakes, try to brake fairly hard to try to get the vehicle to stop.
MR. LALLY: And are you also familiar with the term known as a deceleration factor?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury what that is?
MR. PAUL: It's just essentially the opposite of the acceleration factor — it's a number for how fast the vehicle would slow down.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to the deceleration factor from the two reverse braking tests that you conducted on that date, what if any figure did you receive from the instrument — from the VBOX Sport — for the reverse braking?
MR. PAUL: Yes, I believe this one — so it'll give you a drag factor number for this vehicle too, and it's our deceleration factor, which both are used the same way. This one was — I think it was .71.
MR. LALLY: Now with regards — again, you're operating the vehicle during these two reverse braking tests, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And what if anything did you note in regard to the operation of the vehicle when you were conducting these two reverse braking tests?
MR. LALLY: Now in addition, sir, were you able to conduct some forward braking tests?
MR. LALLY: And similar — again, could you describe to the jury as far as how you were operating the vehicle during the forward braking test?
MR. PAUL: Yes, essentially the same thing as reverse. I was going forward this time. I got up to 30 miles per hour and I would just apply the brakes as hard as I could apply on to stops.
MR. LALLY: And again, are you receiving from the instrument some sort of deceleration factor?
MR. LALLY: Did you recall what that was?
MR. LALLY: And during the course of your operation of the vehicle during the forward braking test, again what if anything did you note in regard to the operation of the defendant's vehicle?
MR. LALLY: Now we talked a little bit about an ACM, or an airbag control module, correct?
MR. LALLY: You indicated earlier in your testimony that you had downloaded information from that — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Now when you download that information, what if anything do you get from the vehicle — or how are you able to sort of read or interpret that data?
MR. PAUL: So the airbag control module is equipped with a spot event data recorder, an EDR. And then that data from the EDR — we will use the Bosch CDR software and will attach to the vehicle. And then that software will basically extract the information or image the information that's in the module. And so that information could range from getting us speeds, if there was braking, if there was steering wheel movements — basically looking for change of velocity, that type of thing. A lot of information about the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: I have a document, seven pages in length. Do you recognize that document, sir?
MR. LALLY: What do you recognize that to be?
MR. PAUL: This is the document that gets printed out from the airbag control module through the Crash Data Retrieval software.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. May I approach, your Honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: We seek to introduce —
MR. JACKSON: No objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: Now sir, when it comes to the CDR printouts — or let me ask you this: when it comes to the airbag control module, who is that designed to protect or to apply to in respect to safety measures with the vehicle?
MR. LALLY: And this may sound a little odd at first when I say it, but essentially the airbag control module is typically not designed to protect people on the exterior or the outside of the vehicle — correct?
MR. LALLY: Now you've been involved in a number of crash investigations involving pedestrians, correct?
MR. LALLY: And as far as this particular case, what if any sort of useful or significant information were you able to interpret or retrieve from the ACM?
MR. LALLY: And when it comes to pedestrian crashes in general, as far as there being no data in this case — is that something that's abnormal?
MR. LALLY: Explain to the jury sort of why not.
MR. PAUL: So what the airbag control module is doing — as it's running it's constantly monitoring the vehicle. It's looking for a sudden change of velocity, like a collision. So once it detects that sudden change of velocity, essentially it will wake up and monitor the vehicle — see if there are people wearing seat belts, what's the speed of the vehicle, a number of different things that it could look for. And all it wants to do is: do I deploy the airbags, or do I tighten the seat belts? So most motor vehicle crashes with a car-and-car crash, there will be a higher change of velocity — so that's usually kind of what it's looking for. Pedestrian crashes are going to — there's not much change of velocity to the vehicle.
MR. PAUL: That means when they both interact with each other, the pedestrian is not going to change that vehicle's velocity in such a quick manner as, say, two cars would strike each other.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect to crash reconstruction in general, are you familiar with a term called Delta V?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury sort of what that term means — what is a Delta V and what is it measured?
MR. PAUL: So that's kind of what I was saying — the change of velocity. It's a change of velocity — like change of velocity within a certain amount of time. So change of speed within a certain amount of time.
MR. LALLY: And with respect as it applies to crashes or collisions involving pedestrians — and I think you've said a little bit about this — but what if any impact on the velocity of the vehicle would striking a pedestrian typically have?
MR. LALLY: Now specifically when it applies to pedestrian collisions in general, are you familiar with the concept of linear momentum?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury sort of what that is and how it applies with pedestrian crashes in general?
MR. PAUL: Linear momentum is just essentially when two objects interact with each other, they come in with momentum and they leave with momentum — essentially the same momentum. And linear momentum just means something that's in line with each other.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as — we talked a little bit earlier in your testimony about roadway evidence. When it comes to your experience with pedestrian collisions, what if any relationship does that linear momentum have in relation to roadway evidence that you would expect to find at a scene of a pedestrian crash?
MR. PAUL: So when a pedestrian strikes a vehicle, they will go in the direction where the vehicle was traveling. So if the vehicle's traveling one way, the pedestrian strikes it — they will go essentially that same way, depending on what part of the vehicle strikes them.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as other items that the pedestrian may either have in their hand, or other items of looser fitting clothing, what if any experience do you have as far as observations of those on collision scenes involving pedestrian collisions?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so it's not uncommon for pedestrians to lose essentially any sort of loose clothing — so, you know, shoes, belts, hats — anything that's not very strapped on very well could leave the body.
MR. LALLY: And as far as directionality is concerned, when it applies to that linear momentum that you were speaking of before, those sort of loosely held or handheld items — would glasses be included within that as well?
MR. LALLY: Those types of items — as far as directionality is concerned — what if anything can you tell the jury about that?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so they will go in the same direction the pedestrian travels post-impact. We usually use that as kind of a post-impact path of travel for the pedestrian, showing that this is the direction that they would have traveled from where they got struck.
MR. LALLY: Now are you also familiar with the reconstruction terms known as area of impact and point of impact?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain what those terms mean — excuse me — in a crash reconstruction context for the jury?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so an area of impact is essentially the area where the crash happens — where these two vehicles, or vehicle and pedestrian, ...their initial impact happens. Point of impact is the same thing — it's just more down to a specific point at a specific area; area could mean a little bit broader in that sense.
MR. LALLY: And what are some of the — is this something that is delineated somewhat, at least, by roadway evidence?
MR. LALLY: And if you could describe — what types of roadway evidence would lead you, or any crash reconstructionist, to formulate an opinion as to the area of impact —
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so like I said earlier, with the path of travel — so a lot of our investigations, we start — most of our investigations, we start where the final resting position is and we follow the debris or the clothing. We work back to — you know, follow that path back to where it came from, and we know within that area that's where an area of impact would be.
MR. LALLY: Now, with relation to the evidence that was depicted on the diagrams that were up on the screen before as the exhibits, what, if any, relationship would the tail light pieces and the shoe that were recovered from the street in front of 34 Fairview Road have in relation to that area of impact?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so they were found alongside the roadway. So I know that they were found — the area of impact would have been somewhere within the roadway and probably somewhere at the beginning — just, you know, prior to the beginning of the first point of evidence that we found. So somewhere towards the first point of evidence, contained within that debris field.
MR. LALLY: Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: One moment.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, are you also familiar with a safety system specifically applicable to Lexus vehicles?
MR. LALLY: And have you received training in regard to downloading information in regard to that as well?
MR. LALLY: And what is that safety system? What is that called?
MR. LALLY: And so the Toyota TechStream — is it a software similar to the crash data retrieval, or CDR, software that you're talking about, which is specific to Lexus?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, it's between Toyota and Lexus — they have software. The TechStream — it's similar in the fact that they both record data to the vehicle. TechStream was created by Toyota for their technicians to diagnose vehicles and use that information to help with any kind of mechanical issues that they would have with the vehicle — that they can do when you bring your car to them; they could look at the TechStream and just kind of find out what caused the mechanical issue.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the Toyota TechStream data that's available, what kind of data are we talking?
MR. PAUL: TechStream — yeah, they also capture the diagnostic stuff, so they're looking for any known engine faults or anything else. But they also have what's called a vehicle control history in it.
MR. LALLY: Sorry — I missed that. Called what?
MR. LALLY: Thank you. And the vehicle control history — is it basically monitoring people's driving behavior?
MR. PAUL: It has certain — they call them triggers — that they have listed, and when those triggers are met, they will record data related to that trigger.
MR. LALLY: And what type of data — in general terms, what type of data are you able to recover through the Toyota TechStream tool from the vehicle control history?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so each trigger — they record — you get your speeds, brakes, accelerator pedals, steering wheel angles, engine RPMs — all that type of information that you have related to vehicles.
MR. LALLY: Now, in addition, is it possible — with some vehicles made that are accessible through this Toyota TechStream, including Lexus — which I should say, I'm sorry — so the Lexus IS is manufactured by Toyota, correct?
MR. LALLY: So some Toyota or Lexus vehicles made by that manufacturer are equipped with camera systems — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And again, in general terms, what, if anything, in relation to camera systems — is it possible to collect from the vehicle?
MR. PAUL: The camera systems in certain vehicles can record photos — like little grainy black and white photos.
MR. LALLY: And were you able to recover any black and white photos, or photos of any kind, from the defendant's vehicle in this case?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the sort of physical process of downloading — of using this Toyota TechStream tool — can you explain to the jury how that's physically done, or what you're doing to the vehicle in order to download that information?
MR. PAUL: The same — the same process, just different software, as we would for the airbag control module. As I said before, we plug into the DLC port, and then start up that software program and we follow the steps and we extract the information from the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: Now, the extraction of the Toyota TechStream data in this particular case — when was that accomplished?
MR. LALLY: So a year and a day after you had conducted the braking test and inspected the vehicle in the Canton Police Department garage?
MR. LALLY: And so, as far as the timing of that being February 2nd of 2023, why — why was that?
MR. PAUL: At the time of my initial inspection, I didn't really know much about TechStream at that point. So over time I kind of learned about TechStream, and once I learned about it, I thought this is relevant to our case, and I looked more into it and found that it is relevant.
MR. LALLY: And the Toyota TechStream, as far as that applicability, or that tool — is that a relatively newer tool in the area of crash reconstruction?
MR. PAUL: It is — it's getting fairly new; it's getting spread out, it's getting bigger. The software was first created on one vehicle in 2014, so it's been slowly trickling into the Toyotas and Lexus vehicles over time, but it's definitely gotten bigger within the past couple years.
MR. LALLY: Now, with regards to this information — when you were then able to download that information, you received some data, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And to note that it records — or measures — sort of by triggers, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And from the data that you were able to obtain from the defendant's vehicle, what type of data were you able to retrieve as it relates to the vehicle control history?
MR. PAUL: Yes, so this had like a page and a half full of triggers, over the vehicle's time span, that it captured.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to the triggers, how many triggers did it capture?
MR. PAUL: It's like a page and a half — I don't know the exact number of how many triggers that's on each page, but there was, you know, at least a good page and a half full of triggers.
JUDGE CANNONE: Trooper, if I could direct you — I think it's page nine of your report.
JUDGE CANNONE: And how many triggers was it, sir? Count them.
MR. LALLY: Does he have to count them?
JUDGE CANNONE: No, no — I don't think he has to count them.
MR. LALLY: Sir, if I can direct you to paragraph 23.
MR. PAUL: Oh — yeah, so 22 separate triggers. So in my report it says 22 separate triggers that occurred on odometer mileage 12,665 to 12,666.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to the mileage that you noted, as far as being between miles 12,665 and miles 12,666 — that's 12,665 to 12,666, correct?
MR. LALLY: And what was the mileage that you observed on the vehicle at inspection?
MR. LALLY: And at the time that you conducted this Toyota TechStream download from the vehicle, what was the mileage at that time?
MR. LALLY: And there's also reference within the vehicle control history data in regard to something called a key cycle — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And can you explain to the jury what a key cycle is, and what are the different things that could trigger a key cycle?
MR. PAUL: A key cycle is essentially — so it's from the ignition cycle. Well, let me — so a key cycle is essentially from when the vehicle's off, it's the key pressed on. It doesn't necessarily need to be running or turned on; it just needs to be turned on and then off again, and that would be one key cycle.
MR. LALLY: Now, with relation to your analysis in regard to the vehicle control history, what, if any, role did the key cycle numbers play in your analysis?
MR. LALLY: And how far away, in what terms?
MR. PAUL: So when I turned the vehicle on — when I did my testing — it shows me what key cycle I was on when I did that testing, and the odometer mileage in relationship to that.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So I'm showing you the documents — ask you to look at that, look up — and do you recognize that, sir?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize that as?
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I'd like to introduce the next exhibit.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. [Exhibit] 591.
MR. LALLY: May I have a moment, and then return it to the witness?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: With the court's permission, if I could ask Trooper Paul — what's up on the screen? Is that the exhibit that you have before you?
MR. LALLY: Now, if you could — using the pointer before you — just direct the jury's attention to what we're looking at in this exhibit and what type of information and where it's located within this.
MR. PAUL: Okay, so this is the vehicle control history. Every single point here — this is where the triggers are. This is the label for each trigger. The odometer is in this label here. These are the elapsed time and key cycles. I have noted through arrows here — these were when the vehicle was with us — and a lot ...of this is related to my testing with the vehicle, and these right before that were the triggers that were prior to those testings.
MR. LALLY: Now, from within this table, sir, are there two triggers reported at odometer mile 12,629?
MR. LALLY: And what's the key cycle associated with 12,629?
MR. LALLY: Now, these triggers that are contained as far as the 12,629 — that's prior to, uh, the —
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay, you have to either come closer or speak up even louder, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: I will speak louder.
JUDGE CANNONE: Microphone near you — that's the problem, for the court reporter.
MR. LALLY: My issue is there's no light over here.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, so let's turn the light on, and then you can ask your question, then we'll turn the light — right back off.
MR. LALLY: Please. Thank you. My apologies. Um, so that odometer mile — as far as two triggering events at 12,629 — correct?
MR. LALLY: And that occurs prior to the 12,665/12,666 — during the course of your braking and acceleration test — correct?
MR. LALLY: And the mileage difference between those two — did you do that math?
MR. LALLY: What was the mileage difference between the two?
MR. LALLY: And how many key cycles were different between your testing and that odometer reading of 12,629?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the — what, if any, information did you have, and where did you get it, in relation to the defendant's vehicle's path of travel prior to those odometer readings that you noted?
MR. PAUL: Uh — yeah, so — I got — I was told where she traveled, um, afterwards or prior to that — um, I was notified of their locations, and I used those locations through Google to get an approximate mileage for them.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So I'm showing you another document, sir. Do you recognize that?
PARENTHETICAL: [sidebar]
MR. LALLY: In addition to those distances depicted in that exhibit, sir — have you also looked at a mileage or distance between — well, I'm sorry — the first up there was as far as 34 Fairview Road to 1 Meadows Avenue, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize that to be?
MR. PAUL: Uh, those are the Google directions — I put them in a table and put them in my report.
MR. LALLY: And may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
MR. LALLY: You — I have one minute, Your Honor.
MR. LALLY: I'd like to introduce —
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: May I return to the witness?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. And with the court's permission, if I can publish it to the jury?
MR. LALLY: Okay. If you could — Trooper Paul, do you recognize what's up on the screen as the exhibit before you?
MR. LALLY: Again, if you could explain to the jury what we're looking at here and how you came to these mileage calculations.
MR. PAUL: Yes. So when I got the directions — it showed we got from 34 Fairview Road to 1 Meadows Avenue, and when I put that address onto Google it gave me suggested routes, so I put each suggested route on there and the time it took. I did that with every direction — from 1 Meadows Avenue to Waterfall, Waterfall to 12 Country Lane, and 12 Country Lane to 1 Meadows Avenue, and then 1 Meadows Avenue to 345 Country Hill Drive, North Dighton. Um, so I did that for every single one, finding suggested routes — which is in all these boxes here — and then at the bottom here I did a total distance, and I did a minimum and the maximum distance. The minimum was 36.1 and a maximum of 38.8.
MR. LALLY: All right, so I'm going to ask you to take that down for a minute. I'll see counsel at sidebar.
MR. LALLY: And that gave you sort of three different routes to travel, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Um, and the minimum and the maximum was 2.2 to 2.6, correct?
MR. LALLY: Now, if you were to add that as an additional distance traveled — to the 36.1 to 38.8 that you had calculated — how much of a difference did that make between the two minimums and maximums?
MR. LALLY: And as far as your analysis that we're about to discuss — adding in that approximate 2-point-something miles — how much of a difference does that make to your analysis and ultimate conclusions in regard to the VCH — the vehicle control history data?
MR. PAUL: Um, as I'll go over later — but the 36 is just within the realm that she could have traveled 36. The odometer mileage is the odometer mileage, so 36 is 36 — that's what's on the vehicle. So within the realm of possibilities, the vehicle could have traveled 36 miles after the two triggers that are in this vehicle.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to that minimum and maximum — as far as 36.1 to 38.8 — what, if any, relationship does that have to the difference in the odometer readings that you observed between when you conducted the braking test and when you observed these two triggering events that you were talking about at the earlier mark?
MR. LALLY: And so I guess what I'm asking, sir, is — the 36 miles — is that within the range of the two triggering events that you were just talking about?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as within your report and your analysis, did you come up with some sort of label as far as these two different triggering events that you observed?
MR. LALLY: And that incorporated the mileage, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And that was again 12,629, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And as far as any further label that you put on it — how did you label them?
PARENTHETICAL: [unclear]
MR. PAUL: Um, so right here — this is the vehicle speeds. Um, the blue is just labeled because that's the speed zero — labeled with a light blue — is zero. So if I could read this: this starts from — shows that the vehicle is traveling at 9.9 miles per hour, um, it's slowing down to about zero right here, and then stops for that time, and then increases — backs up — it goes up to 6.2, and then slows back down to zero, and then back up to 1.7, to — I think it's 8.7 — I read that right.
MR. PAUL: Um, I labeled them as — when they occurred — one, 12,629-A, and the other one, 12,629-B.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to the A and B, which one occurred first?
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Another document, sir — ask that you finish reviewing it. Okay. And do you recognize that?
MR. LALLY: May I approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: [Exhibit] 593 — again, if I just have a moment.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: May I return this to the witness?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Yes, sir. With the document before you — what's now up on the screen — do you recognize that as what's now been marked as the next exhibit?
MR. LALLY: — could describe to the jury what these rows indicate as far as what information is there. And if you could, using the laser pointer, direct the jury's attention to what, if anything, of significance you observe in this as far as 12,629 miles, A.
MR. PAUL: Okay. So each row, starting from the top, is the vehicle trigger history time — which is the time that's recorded in the module itself, in the software, that gets recorded each time — and it's recorded in seconds. Um, this time is the time from the start of the key cycle, so it starts off with 62.8, and each one is incremented in approximately half-second increments, up to — let me show right here — where the trigger — this is what's called where the trigger happened. Um, so right here is where it kind of goes from 4.5 to 4.6, then goes up to five, then everything after that is about half-second increments from each other. Um, recorded 10 seconds of time, which is labeled in this one — total time of 10 seconds.
MR. PAUL: Um, and I'll — time from trigger — just kind of label it back — here's the trigger right here, and that's the time between each one.
MR. PAUL: Um, and next below, for miles per hour — this is the accelerator opening ratio, which is really where this trigger comes from, because the trigger is labeled as the accelerator pedal opening angle is medium to high, immediately after shifting to reverse.
MR. LALLY: All right, if I could stop you there just a second, sir — as far as the accelerator opening angle — can you explain to the jury what that term means and how that relates to the operation of the vehicle?
MR. PAUL: So the accelerator pedal is — you know, the part where they put their foot on and get the vehicle to go — the pedal. So this is showing how far the pedal was actually pressed by the operator of the vehicle. Um, and that gives you a percentage — so if it's zero, it's not pressed; 100%, it's all the way down. Um, so they label the trigger — I think 30% was medium to high — and this, in this way Toyota labels it. So that's where you'll see the trigger is around 31.5% um, and also shows, from the beginning, goes from zero and increases up to 50-and-a-half — 50.5% — and that's five seconds — that's only, you know, a little over a second past the trigger — it's up 50%, and then back off, and then back onto the accelerator again up to 34%.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as this data is concerned — the VCH data from the Toyota TechStream — what, if any, information are you able to glean as far as directionality — as far as forward, reverse, left, right — things like that from this data?
MR. PAUL: So on this label right here — shows the shift position signal. Um, one is forward and two is reverse. Um, so this right here is showing the vehicle was in drive and going forward, and then the vehicle got shifted into reverse, and then back to drive again.
MR. LALLY: Now, from your experience and from your training, when it comes to interpreting this type of data, do you have any opinion as to what type of maneuver or what type of actions the vehicle was taking during the course of this triggering event?
MR. PAUL: Um, yes. This depicts the vehicle slowing down and making a U-turn, um, because — there's also the other thing — it shows the steering wheel signal, and the steering wheel signal shows that she was turning left, and then right, then back left again, and also when she's on the brake —
MR. LALLY: Thank you, Miss Gilman. You can take that down. Your Honor, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes, sir.
MR. LALLY: A document that I just handed you now — do you recognize that?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize that to be?
MR. LALLY: So that's the second triggering event within this same mileage reading on the odometer, same key cycle?
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. Okay. Just one moment.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach the witness?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. And for the sake of taking the best use of our time, if they're in evidence, for the rest of this afternoon, both of you can then just go ahead and put them up, and not ask for permission.
MR. LALLY: Thank you, Miss Gilman. If I could — do you recognize what's up on the screen now?
MR. PAUL: I do. This is the VCH data chart from that — the mileage — the second triggering event as far as 12,629 miles B. Correct.
MR. LALLY: Correct. And again, this is in the same odometer range as well as the same key cycle as what was just up on the screen as far as 12,629 miles A?
MR. LALLY: Yes. This occurs after A — is that fair to say?
MR. LALLY: Now, similar to before, when it comes to this VCH data up on the screen, if you could, using the laser pointer, demonstrate to the jury what if anything of significance you note with respect to this data.
MR. PAUL: So for this one, same label as before. The vehicle control history time — if I can see that — the trigger time is 1,142.2 seconds after key cycle. And this one shows all the same thing: 10 seconds of data. And — let's go — so the vehicle speed on this one shows that she's slowing down. It's 13.7 miles per hour and gets down to zero. She's down to zero for a while, and then the vehicle speed increases up to 24.2 miles per hour at its max speed, then it goes down to 23.6 as the last two labels. And the accelerator pedal angle at this point at key trigger is 36.5, and increases up to 74.5%, and it stays around 74.5% — 74 — 73.5 and 74. Now, that's 74.5% as far as the pressure being applied to the accelerator pedal? Correct.
MR. LALLY: And with respect to that 74.5, that's about three-quarters down — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Now, with regard to this data from 12,629 miles B, what if anything are you able to tell from this data as far as when that occurred in relation to 12,629-A?
MR. PAUL: So they occurred approximately 8 minutes — so 12,629-A occurred 8 minutes prior to the other one, and they both occurred within the same odometer mileage.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the duration of the data that you were able to obtain from this one specifically — 12,629 miles B — what kind of duration of data are we looking at in this particular table or chart?
MR. LALLY: How long a period of time does this — so this is from the start of key cycle, or — this whole — just this one?
MR. LALLY: Okay. So this is 10 seconds of data. And with respect to that 10 seconds of data, as far as the 24.2 miles per hour — when does that occur within the 10 seconds of data for this particular event?
MR. PAUL: So the 24.2, as I'll point out, is right here — it's actually around the 9.9-second mark. Now, similar to the other charts for A that was up on the screen a moment before, there's — is there an indication as far as the accelerator pedal opening angle? Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what if any significance does that have, or what if anything does that indicate to you from this data?
MR. PAUL: It shows that the accelerator pedal angle went up to 74 and a half percent — so out of 100%, it went up to 74 and a half percent.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to directionality for this — what if any data is contained within this chart in respect to that?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so on the bottom row it shows the steering wheel signal — steering signal. Just shows: slowing down, zero, 0.59, 13.5, 13.5 — and I think it's 13.5, 0, 4.5. And that's the degrees of steering wheel angle — how far the steering wheel moves from left to right. So that's the degrees of steering wheel angle. Now, as far as when the vehicle is shifted from drive or neutral or park — or whatever it was — at some point, is there an indication in this data set as far as when the vehicle was placed into reverse? Yes.
MR. LALLY: And how far into this 10-second data set was the vehicle placed into reverse?
MR. LALLY: And so am I correct then that there is a 5-second difference between 4 seconds when it's placed in reverse and 9 seconds approximately when it achieves that 24.2 miles per hour?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the 74.5% pressure that's placed on the accelerator pedal — when is that recorded in seconds in relation to the 10-second data set in this table?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as this trigger is concerned, I understand from your testimony that the maximum speed is 24.2 — is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And what is the vehicle speed reported at the end of this 10-second data?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the vehicle being in different states — as far as drive, reverse, things of that nature — what if anything did you observe within this data set as far as how it is at the beginning, how it changes, what happens with regard to that in the data setting?
MR. PAUL: So this one shows that the vehicle was in drive — it starts off in drive, it's slowing down to zero, and it goes to zero, which is neutral, then it goes down, then it goes into reverse. So it's going straight, it stops, and it gets placed in reverse, and then it goes back — goes in reverse.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the reverse is concerned, you indicated there's also some steering angles that are recorded with this data?
MR. LALLY: And what if anything was recorded in this 10 seconds of data — specifically, I'm asking from the time that it goes to reverse to the end of the data set — what if anything do you observe with reference to the change in steering angle of the steering wheel?
MR. PAUL: It does not change much. It's only — I think the farthest it goes left is at 13.5 degrees. So that's only — I mean, if you think about it — a steering wheel, a full circle is 360 degrees, so 13.5 degrees is only — and it's still fairly straight, the vehicle, at 13.5 degrees. So from this data, this vehicle is backing up in the manner of about 5 seconds or so in a fairly straight line, and achieves a maximum speed of 24.2 miles per hour? Correct.
MR. LALLY: And even at the end of this data set, the vehicle is still traveling approximately 23.6 miles per hour?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the small deviations in the steering that you're testifying about — based on your training and experience, what if anything would cause that?
MR. PAUL: Well, the steering was obviously caused by the operator traveling only small amounts — about right up to here — so it's only the operator steering at those small deviations.
JUDGE CANNONE: You may.
MR. LALLY: approaching with another document Do you recognize that?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize that to be?
MR. PAUL: It's a more of a closer-up snippet of that document that I have attached to my report.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. Introduce — go ahead. Go ahead and publish it if you're inclined. If you want to put that up on the screen as this next exhibit, if you could, using the laser pointer, just direct the jury's attention to anything of significance you observe in this portion of the data.
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so I circled in — here — the drop from 24.2 to 23.6, and also the steering signal went from a left at 4.5 to a right 4.5, so positive to a negative. And also the same thing with the accelerator pedal opening ratio — kind of stays consistently 74%.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: [showing another document] Do you recognize that?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize that to be?
MR. PAUL: It's a vehicle control history distance chart that I calculated and attached to my report.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, may I approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. Okay. Go ahead and publish it if you're inclined. Do you recognize what's up on the screen? It has now been marked as Exhibit 596.
MR. LALLY: And again, if you could, using the laser pointer — let me ask you this first. As far as this table and this information up on the screen, I should have asked this before — how was this table created, and what if anything does this illustrate?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so this illustrates — from the chart of 12,629-B — I started from when the vehicle was placed into reverse and when it goes from zero and travels up to — travels up to 23.6. That's like the last part of that last chart we had.
MR. LALLY: And what if anything were you able to determine as far as distance traveled, and how were you able to determine that?
MR. PAUL: So I used the vehicle speeds and the time and calculated a distance that the vehicle traveled during this time.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the total distance traveled from zero to the 23.6 at the end — what was the total distance there?
MR. LALLY: And with respect to the vehicle's maximum speed — as far as 24.2 miles per hour that's reported within this data set — how much distance has the vehicle traveled prior to achieving that 24.2 miles per hour?
MR. LALLY: Thanks. May I approach, Mr. retrieve— Now, Trooper Paul, with regard to — based on your training and experience with respect to this type of data and crash reconstruction in general — this particular set of data from — what's the name again — from 12,629-B, what if any type of collision is that data set consistent with?
MR. LALLY: And why is it that your interpretation of that data you feel is consistent with the pedestrian?
MR. PAUL: It's the sudden change of speed — that 24.2 to 23.6 in a half second — while the accelerator pedal is still at a consistent 74%, and also the steering wheel angle — — goes left at 4.5 degrees and also goes right to 4.5 degrees, and then goes back to left after that. So right at that spot is something that's consistent with a pedestrian strike.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect to Mr. O'Keefe, the pedestrian in this collision, what if any data were you able to see or review in relation to your reconstruction analysis in this case? As far as Mr. O'Keefe, what if anything did you learn about his injuries?
MR. PAUL: Um, yeah, there were blunt force injuries — abrasions, lacerations, and blunt force injuries. And the injuries —
MR. LALLY: — that you observed, or that you were informed about — you learned this from the medical examiner, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And with respect to the injuries that Mr. O'Keefe was recorded as having sustained according to the medical examiner, what if any relationship did those injuries have in relation to a pedestrian collision?
MR. LALLY: As far as the injuries that you were informed by the medical examiner that Mr. O'Keefe sustained — what if any relationship did those injuries have in relation to a pedestrian collision?
MR. LALLY: And how so?
MR. PAUL: Due to — I mean, you break — — down each injury: the arm, the laceration of the arm from the tail light, the dent with the scratches for his hand — those are something that would be consistent with a strike in this particular case with a Lexus.
MR. LALLY: Now specifically with reference to this case, what if any analysis did you conduct with regard to kinematics?
MR. PAUL: Yes, I did a kinematics analysis in my report. Kinematics deals with the aspect of motion.
MR. LALLY: I'm sorry — if you could expound upon that just a little bit and explain to the jury sort of what a kinematics analysis is.
MR. PAUL: So a kinematics analysis — like I said — deals with the aspects of motion. Pedestrian crashes get kind of labeled — — in certain types of how they interact. So in this particular case I kind of labeled it as a forward projection crash with a sideswipe. And what I mean by forward projection: when a pedestrian gets struck by a vehicle, basically their principal impact forces are above the pedestrian's center of gravity — as in this case where you get the higher back of the vehicle. When you get struck by something like that it projects you forward in the direction of the vehicle. And in this situation where he gets more struck through the side of the vehicle on the tail light area — — that projects him forward and to the left, due to this being more of a sideswipe manner.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect to — you mentioned the height of the vehicle, as far as the shape of the back of the vehicle — what if any relationship does that have in regard to you labeling this as a forward projection sideswipe collision?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, due to it being, you know, pretty flat — it's not the front of the vehicle where you have the hood and the pedestrian standing above the hood — the back of the vehicle is pretty flat and it's pretty high up.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect — you also were made aware, through your review of the medical examiner report, that there was — — injury to the back of Mr. O'Keefe's head?
MR. LALLY: And based on your training, experience, and in particular collisions — what if any significance did that have in relation to your opinion as to how he interacted with the defendant's vehicle?
MR. PAUL: So yeah, when you look at the damage, he would have interacted with that left side of the vehicle, and when he got struck by the vehicle on the left side it would have caused his body to rotate — kind of counterclockwise — and then in that rotation he could turn onto his back, and his back could have struck the ground. I noted that there was asphalt curbing which could be somewhere he could have struck his head — — in there, or somewhere along the pavement, which would have caused damage. Most forward projection crashes have damage on both sides of the body.
MR. LALLY: Why is that?
MR. PAUL: Due to them getting projected forward — so they get hit from behind, they have damage to the back, and then when they get projected forward they get damage to the front. So in this case he got projected and got spun counterclockwise due to where he got impacted with the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: Now with regard to the vehicle speeds — kinematically speaking, from your analysis with respect to that — what if anything can you say in relation to, in general terms, as far as the — — pedestrian collision is concerned — how much of that vehicle speed would a pedestrian be assuming in the context of a pedestrian collision with forward projection?
MR. PAUL: Forward projection will have almost 100% speed post-impact. And more — like I said in this case — the fact that he didn't get 100%, like his center of mass didn't strike the vehicle, so he would not have been thrown at 100% of the vehicle speed post-impact. His right side would have sustained the vehicle speed and that would cause him to spin out. So as opposed to traditional forward projection — if he was right there in the middle of the vehicle he would have got — — projected forward, and his full body would have sustained the vehicle speed.
MR. LALLY: Is that abnormal as far as the sort of forward projection type of pedestrian collision? And what I'm going to ask is, specifically — not having any contact with sort of the underside/bumper of the vehicle, being run over or something like that — can you expound upon that a little?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, due to the sideswipe manner that projected him to the left, it wouldn't show that the car would have run over him and traveled over him — unlike traditional —
MR. LALLY: I'm going to ask you to slow down just a little bit.
MR. PAUL: Sorry. Yes, so due to the situation in this scene where he got projected to the left and his body rotated — it would have rotated away from the vehicle, and his body would not have traveled under the vehicle. As you see in most traditional forward projection crashes, the pedestrian will get knocked forward ahead of the vehicle, and that vehicle could possibly travel over that pedestrian.
MR. LALLY: So that is not what you found in this particular pedestrian collision, correct?
MR. LALLY: I know you've mentioned it a couple times, but if I could ask you to just expound a little bit — when you're talking about center of mass and how that relates between sort of a pedestrian and a vehicle in a pedestrian type —
MR. PAUL: So pedestrians — almost every object has a center of mass, pedestrians are the same. So a pedestrian's center of mass is essentially about half the body, and you would also put it down as around the chest area — just below the chest there would be a center of mass for a pedestrian — and they all range based on height and body shape.
MR. LALLY: And so where on someone's body typically would a center of mass be located?
MR. LALLY: Now if I could turn your attention back to February 1st of 2022 — when you were at the Canton Police Department — you mentioned, or you testified earlier, that at some point you went outside to an asphalt roadway surface and conducted some forward acceleration and rear acceleration braking tests, correct?
MR. LALLY: Now in addition to that, what if any other testing did you do with respect to that vehicle on that particular date in that location?
MR. PAUL: We did — we checked the cameras and back — we did a backup visibility analysis with the cameras and the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: And again, if you could — just in general terms first — just describe for the jury: when you say visibility analysis, typically speaking, what are you doing in a — — visibility analysis?
MR. PAUL: In the backup analysis we are trying to see what an operator would see in their vehicle. In this particular case we're trying to see if the operator of the vehicle would be able to see a pedestrian behind the vehicle. And also in this case where we have backup cameras, we're trying to look at the cameras and see what the cameras would pick up as we go into reverse.
MR. LALLY: And in fairness to the defendant, at this particular time when this visibility analysis was conducted, it was during the daytime, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Your understanding of the crash is that it occurred at night, correct?
MR. LALLY: Now as far as a visibility analysis, typically would you be looking to recreate as close as you can the conditions at the time that the collision occurred?
MR. LALLY: And why were you — were you able to do that in this case?
MR. LALLY: Why?
MR. PAUL: Due — it was most — like I said, it's mostly done when we're trying to see what an operator would see — a pedestrian — it's mostly done because it's an accident. But a lot of times when it's like an intentional act, we don't — visibility is not an issue. In this situation we were just more — we wanted to make sure that the cameras worked and — the backup sensors all worked the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as um this particular visibility analysis that was conducted in this case, how — if at all — was that memorialized?
MR. LALLY: My apologies, I'll get to that, sir. Okay, I can turn your attention just back to the [unintelligible] just for a moment.
JUDGE CANNONE: You may approach, yes.
MR. LALLY: Sir, I'm showing you a series of seven photographs. I ask you to look at those. First I'm just going to ask you generally if you recognize those.
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MR. PAUL: Uh, it's the inside of the vehicle. It appears to be — showing them taking out the infotainment system.
MR. LALLY: The what system?
MR. LALLY: And uh, the last photograph there, what if anything does that depict?
MR. LALLY: And uh, what if any involvement uh did you have in respect to this investigation in regard to the infotainment system?
MR. LALLY: The infotainment system in this vehicle. And uh, you indicated earlier in your testimony that you had training as it relates to uh Berla, correct?
MR. LALLY: And what if any relationship does Berla have with respect to uh the infotainment system?
MR. LALLY: And if you know, are you familiar with whether or not that was able to be accomplished in this particular case?
MR. LALLY: And do you know why not?
MR. PAUL: Uh, because they had to go to — I think Berla didn't have the equipment, so they went to a [unintelligible].
JUDGE CANNONE: You may approach, yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as those photographs, uh, they portray what you observed in the vehicle during the time that you were conducting your testing, yes.
MR. LALLY: You'd like to introduce the next seven exhibits. Any objection, Mr. Jackson?
MR. JACKSON: I'm sorry, I was writing a note — five photographs?
MR. LALLY: Seven. Seven.
MR. JACKSON: Seven. No, no objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: And with the court's permission, if I could just — Yes.
MR. LALLY: Now, Miss Gilman, if I could have uh the photograph labeled B2. And Trooper Paul, do you recognize what's up on the screen and is now marked as exhibit 597?
MR. LALLY: And what part of the vehicle are we looking at in this photograph?
MR. LALLY: And uh, if I could have B3. Trooper Paul, do you recognize what's now up on the screen, and it's marked as exhibit 598?
MR. LALLY: And if you could, using the laser pointer, direct the jury's attention to what if anything of significance you observe in this part of the photograph.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the infotainment system, uh, when you were operating that vehicle, uh, what if anything was displayed on that screen within the infotainment?
MR. PAUL: Um, if you were in drive it just had, you know, the radio navigation stuff, but if you're in reverse that's where the backup cameras and sensors would be.
MR. LALLY: And if I could have B4. Sorry. And Trooper Paul, do you recognize what's up on the screen as exhibit 599?
MR. LALLY: And what if anything are we looking at in this?
MR. PAUL: Um, that's the uh push button — — and start the ignition. So that's how this vehicle is started and stopped, essentially, is a push button start.
MR. LALLY: Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Do you recognize what's up on the screen as now marked as exhibit 601?
MR. LALLY: And if you could, using the laser pointer, direct the jury's attention — you observe?
MR. PAUL: Um, yes — the infotainment system. Um, it's on — showing satellite here, looks like it's set to navigation, just — coming. You can take that.
MR. LALLY: Now, if I could take you back just for a second to the VBOX data and the kinematics of what you were testifying about uh just a moment ago. Um, you had mentioned that with respect to the uh injury to the back of Mr. O'Keefe's head, that uh is consistent or could have been caused by striking his head on pavement or the curbing. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as uh your training and experience and pedestrian collision that you've responded to uh in investigating uh on prior occasions, um, as far as uh — weather — as far as the coldness of the ground uh being frozen, uh what if any impact uh did that have as far as in relation to the injuries to the back —
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as um the visibility analysis uh that you were conducting uh on February 1st, uh, you mentioned that that was memorialized uh with photographs as well as video. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And the video that was taken, sir, was that uh in the interior of the vehicle, exterior of the vehicle, or both?
MR. LALLY: Trooper Paul, yes — two discs, you recognize those?
MR. LALLY: And those are the uh recordings of the uh visibility — or the braking and acceleration tests from February 1st — both interior of the vehicle, exterior of the vehicle. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: May I approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. [No objection]
MR. LALLY: Before we get to those videos — Trooper Paul, may I approach again, your Honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So I'm showing you another series of [unintelligible] photographs. Look up when you're finished. And do you recognize what's depicted in those photographs, Trooper?
MR. LALLY: And what do you recognize those to be?
MR. LALLY: May I approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: No objection.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. And Miss Gilman, if I could have from this packet photograph 2612. Trooper, if you could uh please describe to the jury what we're looking at in this photograph that's now been marked as exhibit 606.
MR. PAUL: Um, yes, this is the view from uh the operator as it would turn around and look to the back of the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: And Miss Gilman, if I could have photograph 2616. And Trooper Paul, do you recognize what's up on the screen and has now been marked as exhibit 610?
MR. LALLY: And can you please describe to the jury what if anything we're looking at right here?
MR. PAUL: Yes, that's the view inside the vehicle, um, showing the infotainment system and the backup cameras on it.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as the backup cameras on this particular — vehicle, what kind of uh view was was able to be portrayed, or what did you observe on the screen when you place the vehicle on?
MR. PAUL: The first, um — yes, so this has a — a straight backup camera and also has a 360 overhead view of the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the cameras within this vehicle are concerned, are we talking about one single camera, or how many cameras are encapsulating this 360 degree camera angle view?
MR. LALLY: Now if you could, using the laser pointer, just draw the jury's attention — direct the jury's attention to where you're talking about as far as the screen is concerned, depicting that —
MR. PAUL: — camera angle view. Okay, so the one on the left, that's the uh backup camera, and the one in the middle here would be the 360 overhead camera.
MR. LALLY: Now, in addition to what's depicted on screen right now, as far as the vehicle on the 360 overhead, as the vehicle travels, uh, what if anything uh in addition is depicted on that particular portion of the screen?
MR. PAUL: As far as the 360 overhead, um, it shows a sensor, and — and then — and also that sensor shows up in the area where the um the object that it gets closer to.
MR. LALLY: And the sensor that you're talking about, how is that depicted on the screen?
MR. PAUL: Um, it's — it's a little red — like a blip, or — a little bar that would show up on on — — the camera itself.
MR. LALLY: And is that something that appears as you approach an object, uh, from either in front or behind, or something else?
MR. PAUL: Correct. As you approach the object, the bar will, you know, blink, and will get faster as you get closer to the object.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the system overall, in addition to the visual cues picked up on the screen, what if any auditory cues are also part of this system?
MR. PAUL: Um, it will beep at you, and it will — as you get closer to the object it will beep faster as you get closer to it.
MR. LALLY: And as far as uh getting closer to an object, the beeping that you're talking about — an increase in uh in speed or rapidity — is — that correct?
MR. LALLY: And how does it uh — what if anything does it do as far as the volume of uh of the the beeping?
MR. PAUL: That — um, I guess would increase, as it — it would get faster, so it gets faster and it gets louder as you get closer to —
MR. LALLY: Correct?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to sort of the middle of the screen here, um, up on the dashboard, uh, what if anything do you observe there — direct the jury's attention to what if any devices are up there right now.
MR. PAUL: Uh, yes, so right here — uh, this blue device, that's the VBOX Sport attached to the windshield. That's something that you attach to the vehicle, not necessarily something that was in the —
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, if I could have photograph 2618. Trooper Paul, if you could describe to the jury — or using the laser pointer, if you could draw the jury's attention to what if anything is significant to observe in this portion, or closer-up image, of the screen in the center.
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so this — yeah, this one on the left here is the backup camera and the one in the middle is the 360 overhead camera. The bars and lines are showing the path of the vehicle.
MR. LALLY: Just come in. You can take this down. May I have a moment? Yes. Now, Trooper Paul, as far as during this visibility analysis that you conducted — — you testified earlier that you were primarily concerned with sort of whether or not the cameras and the auditory and visual cues worked properly with this vehicle and this system. Correct?
MR. LALLY: And during the course of your running these sort of forward and back — reverse, acceleration, braking tests — as well as visibility analysis, what if anything did you observe with relation to the functionality of the cameras and the visual and auditory cues?
MR. LALLY: Now, when you were operating the vehicle on February 1st and you shifted the vehicle into reverse, what would then sort of occur with the screen in the center of the dash? It would change from, you know, the navigation to the backup cameras?
MR. LALLY: And how long a period of time did that take? As far as you shifted from drive to reverse on a number of different occasions while you were conducting your test, correct?
MR. LALLY: And so how long a period of time are we talking about between the time that you shift the vehicle from drive or another gear to reverse for those screens to then display both the rear backup camera and the 360 overhead view?
MR. LALLY: Now, at some point during the course of the visibility analysis — — specifically, what if anything did you place behind the vehicle during your visibility analysis?
MR. LALLY: And where did you place that in relation to the vehicle?
MR. LALLY: And as far as that punching bag dummy was concerned, about how far up off the ground was the top of that?
MR. LALLY: And with respect — your height — how tall are you?
PARENTHETICAL: [Video plays]
MR. LALLY: Coming in. You good? Pause there. All right. With respect to — just for orientation purposes — if you could explain to the jury sort of where we are in relation to the Canton Police Department and where it was that you conducted these tests.
MR. LALLY: So it was at least five foot six, if not taller. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And with respect to that — placing it behind the vehicle — after it was placed behind the vehicle, at some point were you inside of the vehicle?
MR. LALLY: And when you were inside of the vehicle and that was outside of the vehicle, what if any visual observations were you able to make with respect to its placement — and it's in the right rear passenger side of the vehicle, is that correct?
MR. LALLY: But what if any observations were you able to make with respect to that item, or exemplar, that was placed out?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the visibility analysis that was conducted — with respect to that — let me ask you this first. When I say "exemplar" — "exemplar pedestrian" — can you explain sort of what that term means and how it relates to a visibility analysis?
MR. PAUL: So an exemplar pedestrian is just like — say, we used a punching bag dummy. It was something that we use in place of a pedestrian to act like a pedestrian.
MR. LALLY: Now, when that exemplar pedestrian was placed in the rear passenger side area of the vehicle, what if any obstructions did you observe as far as just from a visual perspective — sort of turning your head, or looking, or cameras, or anything else — as far as where that exemplar was?
MR. LALLY: Now, if that exemplar was placed directly next to the vehicle versus feet away from the vehicle, what if any difference did you note as far as visibility was concerned?
PARENTHETICAL: [Video plays]
MR. LALLY: Thank you. With the Court's permission, Miss — may I publish the other video of the interior of the vehicle?
MR. PAUL: Yeah, so if it was placed right next to the vehicle, it would be blocked by the rear pillar of the vehicle. If you place it like five feet away, you would be able to see the dummy in the cameras and also in the side mirrors.
MR. LALLY: So at a distance of at least five feet, it was fully visible from where you sat in the vehicle?
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, if we could — I would ask — and I'm sorry, not sure what exhibit numbers they are — but the two videos that were just introduced.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, if I could have the exterior video first. For the record, they are 604 and 605.
MR. PAUL: Yes, so this is a view from the back of the Canton Police Department. So we are — as you look at the Canton Police Department, we would be on the left side of the Canton Police Department.
MR. LALLY: And as far as the vehicle in question, if you could, using the laser pointer, just direct attention to where that is and where it's going to be in relation to the camera angle.
MR. LALLY: For the record — if I could ask you, Trooper Paul, during this testing that you were conducting here — with the acceleration, reverse, braking, all of those — the highest speed you recorded during the course of that testing was 30 miles per hour. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And the highest speed that was contained within that VBOX data for the second — or the B — of those two data sets, what was the highest miles per hour there?
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the braking in this vehicle, what if anything — this vehicle had ABS brakes, anti-lock brake system? And with relation to an anti-lock brake system, or ABS, what if any relationship does that have with regard to braking and what is then visible on the pavement?
MR. LALLY: And why is that?
MR. PAUL: Due to the — when the brake is about to lock up, it transfers over to another tire. So it kind of rotates between tires, so the tires never fully lock up and slide across the pavement.
PARENTHETICAL: [Sidebar — approximately 9 minutes]
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. I appreciate your patience. You are unmuted. A few things. So I'm going to send you home for the day because the lawyers and I are staying in — I'm going to ask you to stay. Sometimes when we take these breaks — when I talk to the lawyers and then don't schedule you — it's because we have to do things in the case to facilitate getting this case to you now as efficiently as possible. Next week we will be in session here Monday. Tuesday is going to be a full day of the lawyers and I with witnesses to make sure that the case is ready for you to wrap up. So Tuesday you will be off. We'll be working. Wednesday is a federal holiday, so court is not in session on Wednesday we'll have a full day Thursday and half a day Friday.
MR. LALLY: Now, in relation to ABS not leaving marks on the pavement, what if any relationship does that have as far as the sound difference between ABS brakes and non-ABS brakes?
MR. PAUL: The sound would be different because you would hear a car sliding across the pavement, as opposed to just hard braking, engine slowing down.
MR. LALLY: As far as sort of screeching of braking and tire coming to a stop — what would you expect to hear with respect to ABS brakes?
MR. LALLY: And just — if you press here —
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Just pause. Again, Trooper Paul, with reference to what's up on the screen — if you could, just using the laser pointer, direct the jury's attention to the screen in the center of the dashboard and just as far as what different parts of the screen are visible here.
MR. LALLY: And as far as this particular portion of the interior of the vehicle — are we looking at what was done with regard to acceleration or braking tests, or are we looking at visibility?
MR. LALLY: If you could, please. Close there. Could I ask you to just bring it back? Trooper Paul, as far as this — this is a closer-up image of the screen that was visible on the center of the dash of the vehicle. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: And if you could, using the laser pointer — may be a little difficult to see — if you could, using the laser pointer, direct the jury's attention to what if anything you observe on this screen while the vehicle is in reverse.
MR. LALLY: Correct. If you could, direct the jury's attention to what if anything you observe on this screen as the vehicle is in reverse with the exemplar pedestrian behind.
MR. PAUL: Yes, so this screen has now changed to a park assist screen and it now shows a sensor for the back of the vehicle — and also, same here, the sensor starts popping up in a yellow line farther behind the vehicle, then in the actual camera view. The actual camera view shows — that's where our punching bag dummy was — and also shows where the sensor backs up to, on the bottom here.
MR. LALLY: Miss Gilman, for the record, this is about 34 seconds in. Now, Trooper Paul, at some point over the course of your investigation, or the course of this case, did you become aware of Ring videos from Mr. O'Keefe's residence at 1 Meadows Avenue?
MR. LALLY: And specifically, have you had occasion to see a video depicting the defendant backing out of the garage as snow was coming down?
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to allow it.
MR. LALLY: Your Honor, with the Court's permission, if I could publish to the jury — with the witness on the stand — exhibit 6, video number 3.
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Approach.
JUDGE CANNONE: It's a little different than we looked at, but I am assured that we are still on schedule to getting the case to you folks to begin your deliberations sometime that last week in the month. Okay, so we appreciate everybody's patience. I appreciate the lawyers now really trying to work to get this case to you as efficiently as possible. So those cautions: do not discuss this case with anyone. Don't do any independent research or investigation into this case. If you happen to see, hear, read anything about this case, please disregard it and let us know. We will see you on Monday. Monday will be a full day. Have a great weekend. Thank you very much.
COURT OFFICER: All rise for the jury.