Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveDaniel Whitley - Direct/Cross
201 linesMR. LALLY: Yes. The Commonwealth would call Mr. Daniel Whitley to the stand.
COURT CLERK: [oath — partially unintelligible] ...the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
MR. WHITLEY: I do.
JUDGE CANNONE: Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon. Whenever you're ready, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Good afternoon, sir.
MR. WHITLEY: Good afternoon.
MR. LALLY: Could you please state your name and spell your last name for the record?
MR. WHITLEY: Daniel Whitley. W-H-I-T-L-E-Y.
MR. LALLY: And what do you do for a living?
MR. WHITLEY: I'm a paramedic firefighter with the town of Canton fire department.
MR. LALLY: And how long have you been a member of the Canton fire department?
MR. WHITLEY: I was hired in March of '06, and prior to that did per diem work with the Canton fire department.
MR. LALLY: Did you work within that same field in any other capacity for any other company?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes, correct. I worked for American Medical Response out of Brockton as an EMT — EMT intermediate — and a paramedic for five years.
MR. LALLY: And you're a certified paramedic, is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And how long have you held that certification?
MR. WHITLEY: It was — I believe November of 2006 that I got that certification.
MR. LALLY: And is there any sort of continuing educational component or recertification process that's involved with being certified?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes, we recertify every two years. We're required to hold a basic life support card, which is just generally CPR, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support, which is ACLS — it's more dealing with EKGs and how to— run resuscitations, cardiac arrest, things of that nature.
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, if I could turn your attention to January 28th into January 29th of 2022 — were you working with the Canton fire department on those dates?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: What kind of shift were you working?
MR. WHITLEY: A 24-hour shift, 8 a.m. to 8 a.m.
MR. LALLY: And where were you assigned on that particular day?
MR. WHITLEY: The P station — Station 2, the P station.
MR. LALLY: Where is that located within...?
MR. WHITLEY: The north side of town on Southmont Street.
MR. LALLY: And were you assigned to a specific duty?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes, I was assigned to Ambulance 2, um, with Jason Becker as — um, I was a field training officer at that point, and he was just finishing up his field training after he recently became certified as a paramedic.
MR. LALLY: And now at some point shortly after 6 a.m., were you aware of a call or dispatch in regard to Station House 1?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes, we had just returned from a previous call about 5:00 a.m. and heard the tones go off. Actually, we were in the day room — which is where we basically, it's the living room of a fire station — and we heard the tones go off, we heard the police going to Fairview Road, and we just kind of sat and were wondering what was going on there.
MR. LALLY: Now, you yourself — you and firefighter Becker — were you dispatched to a call as well, approximately 6:41 or 6:42 a.m.?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And at the time that you received that dispatch, what if anything were you aware of with regard to the prior call that the other ambulance went on?
MR. WHITLEY: So when the tones go off between the two stations we're able to hear what the dispatch complaint is — what they're going for — and it came in as, I believe, CPR in progress, in the snow, or something to that regard. So we knew it was a fairly serious call that Station 1 had gone to.
MR. LALLY: Now when you received your dispatch at approximately 6:42 a.m. or so, what was that call in regard to, and where did you respond?
MR. WHITLEY: We were dispatched for a Section 12.
MR. LALLY: And as far as your assignments within the ambulance between yourself and firefighter Becker with regard to this call, who was doing what?
MR. WHITLEY: I was driving. He's what we call the tech — the lead paramedic on the case. That's just generally how we operate.
MR. LALLY: And from your response — your driving from Station 2 to Fairview Road — what if anything would you observe or experience en route?
MR. WHITLEY: At that point it was snowing pretty heavily. We were coming down Chapman Street getting ready to take the right onto Fairview — we nearly slid off the road making the turn onto Fairview. It was snowing that heavily, and I don't believe the roads had been really plowed or treated or anything like that, so it was pretty slippery.
MR. LALLY: Now in addition to Ambulance 2 that you and firefighter Becker were in, what if any other vehicles or apparatus was dispatched to this call as well?
MR. WHITLEY: There was Engine 3, which is the District 1 engine, and at least two police cruisers, and then another gray SUV kind of further down from where we parked.
MR. LALLY: Now when you arrive in this area on Fairview Road, what if anything do you observe as far as who's there when you arrive?
MR. WHITLEY: When I got out, my lieutenant — Lieutenant Woodbury — and [unintelligible] were there and they were on the engine.
MR. LALLY: Is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: They were on the engine. Correct.
MR. LALLY: Now beyond the personnel from your department, you mentioned that there were some police officers there as well.
MR. WHITLEY: Yes — Meaney and Saraf — and then two other females, at least two other females.
MR. LALLY: And the other two females, where were they when you first got out of the...?
MR. WHITLEY: A few yards ahead of us — a few dozen yards ahead of us, I'd say.
MR. LALLY: And were there any other vehicles beyond first responders that you observed?
MR. WHITLEY: Just that other gray SUV.
MR. LALLY: And so I guess my question is, where were the two females that you observed in relation to the gray...?
MR. WHITLEY: Near it — maybe in front of it, maybe one was inside. There were three females there.
MR. LALLY: And at some point while you're on scene, you learn the identity of your patient, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what was the name of the patient?
MR. WHITLEY: Uh, Karen Read.
MR. LALLY: And you had some conversation with Karen Read that day, is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And do you see Karen Read in the courtroom?
MR. WHITLEY: I do.
MR. LALLY: Could you just describe where she's seated or an article of clothing that she's wearing?
MR. WHITLEY: She's seated right at that table right there.
MR. LALLY: I'm sorry — if you could just point as to where? Right here.
JUDGE CANNONE: I just ask the record reflect the identification. Okay.
MR. LALLY: Now when you first arrive on scene, who if anyone is the first person that you talk to?
MR. WHITLEY: Lieutenant Woodbury and [unintelligible].
MR. LALLY: And following that conversation, who if anyone do you speak to?
MR. WHITLEY: Um, probably briefly — I'm sorry, not Lieutenant — Officer Meaney and Officer Saraf.
MR. LALLY: Now following your conversation — well, let me ask you this. In general terms, when you respond to a call for a Section 12, what is sort of the protocol that you go through in regards to that?
MR. WHITLEY: Whether it's a Section 12 or any call, basically the lead tech generally takes over immediate patient care, goes over, assesses. Usually the partner will go over and try and find out background details — try to find out — not only — well, especially for a Section 12, you want to get — the tech will get, which is Jason's role — the patient's story, and then I'll get everyone else's story.
MR. LALLY: And at some point, you have a conversation with Miss Read as well?
MR. WHITLEY: Oh, yes.
MR. LALLY: And where is that in relation to vehicles on scene — where is — what is that initial conversation?
MR. WHITLEY: The initial conversation — she was very upset. She kept saying — so we had a Section 12 written, and that was to take her to the hospital because she made threats against her life, saying, "I don't want to live anymore — if my husband dies, I don't want to be alive anymore." And myself and Jason Becker and Lieutenant Woodbury were kind of like, well, that's seemingly more in the lines of normal grieving process after something traumatic happens to a loved one, whether they're going to die or not. We kind of didn't feel like it led to that level of a Section 12 to have her transported to the hospital.
MR. WHITLEY: So at that point I exited the ambulance and I went to speak with Officer Saraf, and I said, you know, this kind of doesn't — um, if we want her to be at the hospital, get a full [unintelligible] — we're going to need more than just "if my husband dies I want to die," because that seems just like normal grieving things to say. And so I went back to the ambulance; he went — I don't know where he went, I don't know whether it was a cruiser or what — but he came back, notified me that she — [unintelligible].
MR. LALLY: And from that conversation, did you receive more information and more clarity as to the statements of Miss Read?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes. He — Officer Saraf had said that —
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: So, not what he said, sir.
MR. WHITLEY: So we were informed that —
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm not sure — so you can't testify to what somebody else told you. You can, when there's no objection, regarding what Miss Read told you, okay. But you can't testify to what anybody else told you. So when I say "sustained," that means you have to stop, okay? And the lawyer will ask another question, okay?
MR. WHITLEY: Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. LALLY: So at some point, specific to your conversations with the defendant Miss Read, you describe sort of her demeanor — any observations you made in relation to that as you were speaking with her?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes, she was very upset. She kept asking if there was any chance — she kept asking us if we knew if the person Ambulance 1 had transported was alive or dead, and we could not speak to that. She asked if somebody could be alive in the snow without a jacket for many hours. And at that point we were just trying to give her any hope that whomever Ambulance 1 had transported was still alive, and we kind of just talked about far-off hypothermia cases where, you know, kids have fallen in rivers and been submerged for many minutes, maybe even hours, and survived with no neurological deficits. So we were just trying to give us some sort of hope on the way to the hospital that there was a chance that her husband could be alive.
MR. LALLY: Now at this point, what if anything did you know about the relationship between your patient — the defendant Miss Read — and the patient from Ambulance 1 who had been transported?
MR. WHITLEY: She identified him as her husband.
MR. LALLY: And is that something she said once, or more?
MR. WHITLEY: Many, many times.
MR. LALLY: Now she asked you some questions about his status, and you made specific reference to his clothing — is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: The only thing I recall is asking if he could have survived without a jacket.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as these conversations that you had with Miss Read, where did they occur in relation to the ambulance?
MR. WHITLEY: They were in the back of the ambulance.
MR. LALLY: And who if anyone was present in the back of the ambulance beyond yourself?
MR. WHITLEY: Jason Becker.
MR. LALLY: And with reference to — you mentioned that firefighter Becker was sort of the lead paramedic or the lead tech on this — is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So from his role and your role, what are some of the differences in the duties and responsibilities — in what we'll call it...?
MR. WHITLEY: So for any Section 12, our department policy is there will be two EMTs — paramedics — ...firefighters with the — during transport at all times. That's both for our safety and the patient's safety. So that's why it wasn't just two EMTs or paramedics driving to the hospital. I was in back with Jason, and [unintelligible] was driving.
MR. LALLY: Now, as far as — you testified earlier about observations of her being upset or distraught, is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Was that consistent throughout your interaction with her, or no?
MR. WHITLEY: She — there would be episodes where she would go from crying in her hands to all of a sudden perking up. She was crying about having to take care of kids, saying she couldn't do it, and I was saying, "You can do this. It's not as hard as it seems." She kept saying, "I can't take care of these kids. They're not my kids and they're not his kids." That's when I figured out who ambulance one transported. And I was saying, "Well, it seems like you have a good support system — people who came and helped you in a blizzard to help come find your husband." She asked me if I knew Kerry Roberts. I said I did. She said, "Anybody who knows Kerry Roberts wouldn't say those things." And that kind of took me back a bit.
MR. WHITLEY: It seemed strange to say something like that after you were just crying because your husband was dead. I was just kind of surprised.
MR. LALLY: If I could take you back within that just for a minute — so you had testified that during her description, you sort of realized who was the patient in ambulance one. Is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what if anything made you realize, or who did you think it was?
MR. WHITLEY: So I live in and grew up in the Ponkapoag neighborhood of Canton, and Mr. O'Keefe was known for taking on his niece and nephew after — I'm sorry, I'm not sure positive of the relationship, but I believe it was his sister and his brother-in-law passed away. And it was something people admired him for, people looked up to him for. I also moved into the Ponkapoag neighborhood back after living outside of Canton for a few years. They lived diagonally across from me. I never had any sort of interaction with him or anything. When I moved in, my wife was probably about six months pregnant and I had two toddlers, so I was pretty busy and I figured he was pretty busy. I never even had a chance to introduce myself or anything before he moved to Meadows, which is how I kind of figured out—
MR. YANNETTI: I object to this line of questioning.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay. Sustained. Next question.
MR. LALLY: Now, you had also mentioned during your conversation with the defendant that she had said some things about Kerry Roberts, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And how is it that you know Kerry Roberts?
MR. WHITLEY: Well, Kerry lives around the corner from me.
MR. YANNETTI: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: No, I'll allow that. Next question, please.
MR. LALLY: How long had you known Kerry Roberts?
MR. WHITLEY: Just from moving back into the neighborhood. She would run the neighborhood block party, and she put out that she would like the fire truck there on the neighborhood Facebook page, so I volunteered to bring the fire truck to the neighborhood block party.
MR. LALLY: And was Miss Roberts on scene on Fairview when you arrived in your ambulance?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. LALLY: So she was one of the other females along with the defendant?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Now, with reference to when you brought up the support system and included Miss Roberts within that, what if anything did the defendant say about this?
MR. YANNETTI: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. Next question, please.
MR. LALLY: Now, this conversation that you had with the defendant in the ambulance — about how long a period of time are we talking?
MR. WHITLEY: 20, 25 minutes.
MR. LALLY: And beyond what you've already testified to, what did that conversation consist of, or what was the tone and tenor of that conversation?
MR. WHITLEY: Again, we were just trying to give her any support. She — once we were getting closer to the hospital, we kept—
MR. YANNETTI: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: So the tone and tenor — what can you tell us about that? That's admissible. Mr. Yannetti — go ahead.
MR. WHITLEY: The tone — she would go from being almost despondent — then when she asked me if I knew Kerry Roberts, the only tone I can use to describe it was snarky.
MR. YANNETTI: Objection. Move to strike.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'll strike that.
MR. LALLY: Now, you transported to Good Samaritan, is that correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And during the transport, where are you in relation to Miss Read — from Fairview to Good Samaritan?
MR. WHITLEY: I'm sorry, I don't understand.
MR. LALLY: During the transport, Miss Read is where within the—
MR. WHITLEY: I believe — so we have what we call a tech bench, which is a long bench. There's the ambulance stretcher, and then next to the ambulance stretcher is what we call the CPR seat, and that's where Miss Read sat. And then I was in what we call the airway seat, which is basically like a captain's chair behind the stretcher.
MR. LALLY: And in addition to yourself and the defendant, who if anyone else was in the back of the ambulance at that time during transport?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes — during transport it was just me, Jason Becker, and Miss Read.
MR. LALLY: So yourself along with firefighter Becker in the back, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Who was driving?
MR. WHITLEY: [unintelligible]
MR. LALLY: Now, when you arrived at Good Samaritan, what if anything happened?
MR. WHITLEY: Miss Read was asking to be able to see John, and I made the decision that I would run ahead to see if that was in the realm of possibility with the emergency room physician there. So I ran ahead. I came into — they call it the code room at Good Sam — and I asked if the wife could see the husband. The ER doctor asked if she would be upset if she was allowed to or not, and I said she's going to be upset — I believe she's going to be upset either way. He was asking if she would get in the way of the resuscitation efforts, and I said it's possible, she's very upset.
MR. LALLY: And so once you arrived at the hospital with the patient, where do you go along with Miss—
MR. WHITLEY: We escorted her down to — we call it the psych hall or the behavioral hall — at Good Sam.
MR. LALLY: And about how long was it after you escorted her into the hospital that you stayed with her?
MR. WHITLEY: At least 10 minutes.
MR. LALLY: And during those 10 minutes, how would you describe her behavior or demeanor during that time?
MR. YANNETTI: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: No, he can testify to that.
MR. WHITLEY: She was giving the nurses a hard time about having to get into a johnny — about having to submit a urine sample. Even the [unintelligible] went to the physician who was in the code room to see if she could not have to wear a johnny, and the ER doc said no — if she's in the psych hall, she's a psych patient, needs to be in a johnny. So at that point there was just a nurse and a tech. We don't usually leave a psych patient with just a single nurse and a tech, so we decided to wait until security had gotten there before we left.
MR. LALLY: May I have one moment?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: Nothing further at this time. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. Mr. Yannetti.
MR. YANNETTI: Thank you. Good afternoon, sir.
MR. WHITLEY: Good afternoon.
MR. YANNETTI: So, Mr. Whitley, when you showed up, you learned that Karen Read was the patient that you were to deal with, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: And it was your expectation that she would be going to the hospital, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: One of the things that you do when you transport somebody to the hospital is you try to get a medical history, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Yep.
MR. YANNETTI: Why is that important?
MR. WHITLEY: Generally we get pertinent medical history to pass on to the hospital, so if something were to happen where the patient wasn't able to describe their past medical history, it gets passed on to the next caregiver — which would be the nurses and doctors at the hospital.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. More information is always better than less information, correct?
MR. WHITLEY: I would say so.
MR. YANNETTI: And with regard to Miss Read, did you take a medical history from her?
MR. WHITLEY: I assume Jason did.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. Did you learn the results of that medical history?
MR. WHITLEY: You'd have to refer to Jason's report.
MR. YANNETTI: Have a moment?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Mr. Whitley, I'm going to show you two documents, with your permission. One would be Jason Becker's report, and the other is a police report from Sergeant Yuri Bukhenik. I'm going to give you the second page of that. So let's do them one at a time.
MR. WHITLEY: Sure.
MR. YANNETTI: And when I approach you, I'm going to hand this to you, and I just ask you to look at it silently by yourself, okay? And then look up at me when you're done. Okay? I'm going to collect that from you, if you don't mind. The first report — was Jason Becker's report included in it?
MR. WHITLEY: Yep.
MR. YANNETTI: Having reviewed those documents, does that refresh your memory as to the medical history that was taken?
MR. WHITLEY: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: And what can you tell us about that?
MR. WHITLEY: Just — multiple sclerosis.
MR. YANNETTI: What is multiple sclerosis?
MR. WHITLEY: I believe it's a neurodegenerative disease where the myelin sheathing of the — trying to think of the word here, but—
MR. YANNETTI: I don't mean to put you on the spot.
MR. WHITLEY: No, I understand. It's a disease — it's a disease that's progressive, and— ...has neurological muscle control things involved with it.
MR. YANNETTI: And when you say "progressive," that means it gets worse over time?
MR. WHITLEY: As I understand it.
MR. YANNETTI: And that was the medical history you got from K— correct?
MR. WHITLEY: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: I have nothing further. All right, sir, you are all set. Thank you, Mr. Whitley.