Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveJason Becker - Direct/Cross
272 linesJUDGE CANNONE: Your next witness, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Yes. Call Mr. Jason Becker to the stand.
COURT CLERK: Please face that Court... Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
JUDGE CANNONE: Whenever you're ready, Mr. Lally.
MR. LALLY: Thank you. Good afternoon, sir.
MR. BECKER: Good afternoon.
MR. LALLY: Could you please state your name and spell your last name?
MR. BECKER: First name is Jason, last name is Becker — B-E-C-K-E-R.
MR. LALLY: And what do you do for a living, sir?
MR. BECKER: I'm a firefighter paramedic with the Canton Fire Department.
MR. LALLY: And how long have you been a member of the Canton Fire Department?
MR. BECKER: Five and a half years.
MR. LALLY: And prior to that, what if any other employment did you have sort of within that same field?
MR. BECKER: I worked at [unintelligible] Ambulance and South Shore Hospital.
MR. LALLY: How long did you work at each of those respective positions?
MR. BECKER: [unintelligible] Ambulance was about five years, South Shore Hospital approximately three... ...years.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to South Shore Hospital, what is it that you did there?
MR. BECKER: I was a nursing assistant in the emergency room.
MR. LALLY: And with regard to your work as a firefighter paramedic with the Canton Fire Department, you are a certified paramedic?
MR. BECKER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And when did you first receive that certification?
MR. BECKER: October 2021.
MR. LALLY: And is that something that goes on in perpetuity, or is there a continuing education component or recertification?
MR. BECKER: Continuing education — you have to recertify every two years.
MR. LALLY: Now, sir, if I could turn your attention to January 28th, 2022, into... ...January 29th, 2022 — were you working on that occasion?
MR. BECKER: I was.
MR. LALLY: And where were you assigned? I'm sorry, what type of shift were you working?
MR. BECKER: 24-hour shift.
MR. LALLY: Like, what hour to what hour?
MR. BECKER: 8 a.m. to 8 a.m., 24 hours — so 8 a.m. on the 28th until 8 a.m. on the 29th.
MR. LALLY: Correct. And where were you assigned on that date?
MR. BECKER: I was at Canton Station 2, Ambulance 2.
MR. LALLY: And who, if anyone else, was assigned with you to Ambulance 2 at Station 2 on that day?
MR. BECKER: Firefighter Daniel Whitley.
MR. LALLY: Now, at some point when you were working on the 29th, shortly after 6 a.m. or so, did you become aware of a call for Station House Number 1?
MR. BECKER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what, if anything, were you aware of as far as that earlier call?
MR. BECKER: As far as [unintelligible], I believe it was upgraded eventually to CPR in progress.
MR. LALLY: Now, at some point following that, approximately 6:41 a.m. or so, did your Station House get a dispatch?
MR. BECKER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And what was the dispatch in regards to?
MR. BECKER: A psych eval, possible section 12.
MR. LALLY: And in addition to yourself and firefighter Whitley in Ambulance 2, what if any other vehicles or apparatus were dispatched by your department to that call?
MR. BECKER: Canton Engine 3.
MR. LALLY: And if you know, who was on Canton Engine 3 at that time?
MR. BECKER: Lieutenant Greg Woodbury, firefighter [unintelligible].
MR. LALLY: Now with regard to the ambulance that you were in with firefighter Whitley, let me ask you this — between calls, what if any sort of policy or protocol is there as far as who does what on a particular call?
MR. BECKER: We switch off.
MR. LALLY: And so on this particular call that you were dispatched to Fairview Road, what were each of your respective duties and responsibilities between yourself and firefighter Whitley?
MR. BECKER: Firefighter Whitley was the driver at that point, and it was my tech — that's what it's called — so the next patient would be mine.
MR. LALLY: And so as the lead tech on this, is that correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
PARENTHETICAL: [pause — reviewing Commonwealth's copy]
MR. LALLY: May we approach?
PARENTHETICAL: [bench conference]
MR. LALLY: sneezing heard in courtroom UNKNOWN: Bless you. UNKNOWN: Bless you.
MR. LALLY: So as far as the lead tech role, what if any duties or responsibilities do you have in regards to writing a report?
MR. BECKER: It's my report that'd be written.
MR. LALLY: May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. document shown to witness
MR. LALLY: The first report up here is the engine's, the second one would be mine — do you recognize the first few pages of that as the engine report and the last few as yours?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: And that's your report with relation to this dispatch and this call?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: May I approach again?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. LALLY: I want to introduce and admit these as the next exhibit — so both reports through this witness. Is there any objection?
JUDGE CANNONE: With that admission, I'll admit that as the next exhibit. Any objection? With the court's permission, can I return the report to the witness?
MR. LALLY: Yes. Yes, sir. When you first arrive in the area of 34 Fairview Road, what, if anything, is it that you first observe coming down the street or on scene?
MR. BECKER: Coming down the street I see police lights, the fire engine, and I believe one black SUV.
MR. LALLY: And where did you and the ambulance park in reference to those other vehicles?
MR. BECKER: I believe we parked — the fire engine was facing towards us, we parked — I don't recall where the police cruiser was, though.
MR. LALLY: And when you first arrived there, who, if anyone, is it that you first speak with when you get there?
MR. BECKER: When we got out of the ambulance, I passed Officer Saraf and Officer Mullaney. They briefed us, and then I walked over to the black SUV.
MR. LALLY: And when you walk over to the black SUV, who is it that you observe in that black SUV?
MR. BECKER: I saw two females.
MR. LALLY: And of those two females, do you see one of them in the courtroom today?
MR. BECKER: I do.
MR. LALLY: Could you just identify as to where she's seated or an article of clothing that she's wearing?
MR. BECKER: There, the jacket.
MR. LALLY: Let the record reflect the identification of the defendant.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. LALLY: Now, with respect to the defendant, Miss Read, where within the vehicle is she when you first come up to the vehicle?
MR. BECKER: When I remember, she was in the front passenger seat.
MR. LALLY: And what, if any, knowledge did you have as far as the defendant Miss Read and her relationship to the earlier call that Ambulance 1 had been dispatched to?
MR. BECKER: Very little. I think we had been briefed that she was the wife of the previous patient.
MR. LALLY: And was that something that she had stated, or something that somebody else stated? Where did that awareness come from?
MR. BECKER: I believe it was one of the Canton police officers that said it.
MR. LALLY: And so when you walk up to the car, what is it that you say to her? What opening conversation did you have with Miss Read?
MR. BECKER: I went up to the window and introduced myself and just kind of asked what was going on.
MR. LALLY: And how did she respond to that?
MR. BECKER: She was in shock, she was crying. She kind of told us that the statements she may have made — she didn't mean it — because of the current events that she had just gone through.
MR. LALLY: What, if anything, did she say about what she had gone through?
MR. BECKER: She had just done CPR on her husband.
MR. LALLY: And so she referred to him as her husband as well?
MR. BECKER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: And this conversation that you had at the side of the SUV — is that through the door, through the window?
MR. BECKER: From what I recall, it was through the window.
MR. LALLY: And at some point does the conversation move to the rig?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: About how long was the conversation at the vehicle before the conversation shifted to the rig?
MR. BECKER: Five to ten minutes.
MR. LALLY: And as far as your dispatch for a psych, or a section 12, correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Can you explain to the jury sort of that process, just in general terms first — as far as what is that process when you get on scene for a section 12?
MR. BECKER: Yes. We go on scene, we look at the environment, see what the environment is like, see if the patient's cooperative, uncooperative, what their demeanor is... ...if there's any obvious self-harm, if there's none, kind of go up and talk to them, get a report, and ask some basic triage questions.
MR. LALLY: And is that sort of the policy or protocol, or is that what you followed in this instance with Miss Read?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Now, beyond what she had indicated to you initially, what, if anything, was she asking you during the course of your conversation with her once you were in the ambulance?
MR. BECKER: She kept asking if he was dead, or could he be dead.
MR. LALLY: Is that something that she said once or more than once?
MR. BECKER: More than once.
MR. LALLY: And can you describe the tone of her voice when she was saying that?
MR. BECKER: It was pretty — it's kind of like a... — was a rapid kind of pressure speech. She was just a lot repetitive.
MR. LALLY: And as you were speaking with her, what if any observations did you make of her facial —
MR. BECKER: She had blood on her face and her neck and her mouth, neck and chin.
MR. LALLY: With regard to sort of any earlier suicidal statements, what if anything did she say in relation to that?
MR. BECKER: Uh, she said she made them because she just went through traumatic events seeing her husband dead, and she had no plan on acting on it.
MR. LALLY: Now pursuant to a section 12 call, what if anything are you doing as far as documentation goes, with respect to vital signs, things like that?
MR. BECKER: Well, it depends on the situation. Um, in a situation like Miss Read's, I just took a basic, a regular vital signs — pulse ox, heart rate — um, but for someone like a female, the psych assessment is more verbal.
MR. LALLY: And as far as any of those vital signs and things that you took, what if anything abnormal did you note in regard to that?
MR. BECKER: No, there's nothing — nothing too abnormal. Just the heart rate might have been a little bit high but within normal range.
JUDGE CANNONE: Could you please keep your voice up, sir?
MR. BECKER: Thank you, sorry. Uh, with the vital signs, the heart rate was a little high — was 98 — but it was nothing concerning.
MR. LALLY: During the time that you're having this conversation with her in the back of the ambulance, how would you describe her?
MR. BECKER: Uh, she would have periods of calmness and then other periods she would get agitated because she didn't want to go to the hospital, but all in all she was cooperative with us.
MR. LALLY: Now at some point she's cooperative and agrees to go, eventually?
MR. BECKER: Yes.
MR. LALLY: You say eventually — was there some conversation related to that?
MR. BECKER: We kind of mentioned — we basically explained what a section 12 is and unfortunately she'd have to come with us voluntarily or involuntarily.
MR. LALLY: So you're explaining the process to her, is that correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Eventually she agrees to go?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Correct. And as far as the transport goes, who if anyone is in the back of the ambulance with her during the transport period?
MR. BECKER: Uh, me and firefighter Whitley.
MR. LALLY: And who if anyone was driving the ambulance to the hospital?
MR. BECKER: Firefighter pk.
MR. LALLY: And which hospital did you transport Miss Read to?
MR. BECKER: We went to Good Samaritan Hospital.
MR. LALLY: Now during the course of transport to the hospital, what if anything else did Miss Read say with reference to — uh —
MR. BECKER: She was asking — she was talking about children. She was unsure and she didn't know if she'd be able to take care of them. She was just worried about that, she was worried about that.
MR. LALLY: She was worried about who would take care of the children if he was — he was dead?
MR. BECKER: Yeah.
PARENTHETICAL: [objection]
MR. LALLY: With regard to the sort of medical questions that you ask — from those medical questions, what if any questions would you typically ask someone with relation to consumption of alcohol as well?
MR. LALLY: And what if anything did she say about herself in reference to the children?
MR. BECKER: She didn't think that she could take care of him on her own.
MR. LALLY: Now as far as this other person — the patient from the earlier call — how did you identify that person in relationship to your patient?
MR. BECKER: She was calling him the husband.
MR. LALLY: Now with reference to Miss Read in this conversation, what if anything did she say in regard to the last time that she had spoken to who she called her husband?
MR. BECKER: She had said that they had gotten into an argument, that she was sad because that was the last thing she had said to him was the argument, but she didn't go into detail on what the argument was about or what was said.
MR. LALLY: Now with regard to — what if any further conversation did either yourself or firefighter Whitley have with her in regard to the children?
MR. BECKER: Yes — I don't recall.
MR. LALLY: The other female party that Miss Read was initially with in the vehicle when you first arrived — did you know who that was?
MR. BECKER: I don't know who she was.
MR. LALLY: And at any point in time subsequent to that, did you learn who she was?
MR. BECKER: I did.
MR. LALLY: And who did you learn her to be?
MR. BECKER: She was Kerry Roberts.
MR. LALLY: And with relation to your conversation with Miss Read on that day of January 29th, what if anything did you say about Miss Roberts?
MR. BECKER: We — probably as part of the psych assessment, I asked if she had taken any drugs or alcohol, and she had denied it. At that point she said she had not.
MR. LALLY: Correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: The observations that you testified to earlier in regard to her — and by her I mean Miss Read's demeanor — did that change at all during the course of your interaction with her, or was that consistent?
MR. BECKER: Well —
JUDGE CANNONE: It's a poorly phrased question.
MR. LALLY: I mean, let me try and rephrase it. So with regard to her demeanor throughout the course of your interaction with her, how would you describe that?
MR. BECKER: She was cooperative, then she would be calm, and then eventually she would kind of get a little agitated and repetitive with questions. But she seemed to stabilize.
MR. LALLY: Now with respect to the person she indicated was her husband, what if any questions did she ask either you or firefighter Whitley — or both — in relation to that?
MR. BECKER: She was asking if he was dead — "could he be dead, could he be dead" — and she said "could I have hit him."
MR. LALLY: Was that something she asked once or more than once?
MR. BECKER: It wasn't a lot. It was more of "could he be dead, could he be dead" — so somewhat repetitive. Is that correct?
MR. LALLY: Correct. Just one moment, your Honor.
MR. LALLY: Yes. Firefighter, just for my own clarification — you testified earlier that when you first arrived on scene and first spoke with Miss Read, she indicated that there were some statements that she did not mean. Correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Suicidal statements?
MR. BECKER: And so — exactly.
MR. LALLY: So my question is, that was in reference to the suicidal statements she had made prior to your arrival. Correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Not to any subsequent statements?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. LALLY: Nothing further.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, cross-examination.
MR. YANNETTI: Thank you, your Honor. Good afternoon, sir.
MR. BECKER: Good afternoon.
MR. YANNETTI: You and I have never met, right?
MR. BECKER: I believe so.
MR. YANNETTI: I wanted to go back to one piece of testimony that you offered on direct examination, if I may.
MR. BECKER: Sure.
MR. YANNETTI: You had — in response to a question from the prosecutor about the medical history and your question to Miss Read about whether she had had any alcohol to drink — I believe your answer today was she denied having drank alcohol.
MR. BECKER: At the time that she was — I mean, I — she could — I don't know if she drank alcohol before, but at that time I asked if she had any drugs or alcohol and she said no.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm sorry, I just didn't hear you. You need to keep your voice up, sir. Speak directly into the microphone.
MR. BECKER: I asked her if she had any drugs or alcohol and she said no.
MR. YANNETTI: Oh — had she taken any drugs or alcohol — she said no? Did you specify a time period?
MR. BECKER: Uh, I just assumed it to be the last few hours, for the reason why we were there.
MR. YANNETTI: Oh, I see. Okay — unsure if she had alcohol days prior, but for the reason why we were there?
MR. BECKER: Okay.
MR. YANNETTI: Um, so was it your understanding that the two of you had an understanding of what you were asking?
MR. BECKER: Sure.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. It's stricken. Ask the question differently, Yannetti.
MR. YANNETTI: Thank you, your Honor. All right, so I guess with regard to your intent and your state of mind when you were asking that question — you were asking "had you taken any drugs or alcohol within the last few hours" — that's what you meant to ask?
MR. LALLY: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. What did you specifically ask?
MR. BECKER: So when I ask a patient about any drugs or alcohol, I'm talking about at that point in time — an hour before, two hours before — not days before, weeks before.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. And this was at 6:40 in the morning, correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Did you smell any alcohol on her at that time?
MR. BECKER: I did not.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. You would agree that she did tell you at some point that she had had alcohol the night before, correct?
MR. BECKER: No.
MR. YANNETTI: All right, so — what's today — May 3rd of 2024, correct? And this happened back in January, on January 29th of 2022, correct? You were interviewed by Trooper Michael Proctor on February 14th of 2022 — do you recall that?
MR. BECKER: I recall meeting with him, yes.
MR. YANNETTI: And February 14th of 2022 would have been a little bit more than two weeks after January 29th of 2022, correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Your memory of what Karen Read told you about whether she had had anything to drink the night before would have been much better on February 14th of 2022 when you were talking to Trooper Michael Proctor than it would be today, correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Because your memory doesn't get better over time, correct?
MR. BECKER: Certain circumstances, sure.
MR. YANNETTI: And with regard to whether Karen had indicated that she took any drugs, you — told Trooper Proctor she said that she had not?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: Correct. With regard to whether she had had alcohol the night before, you told Trooper Proctor on February 14th of 2022 that she did consume alcohol last night, correct?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: All right, I'm going to call a sidebar on this. Please bring that with you.
MR. YANNETTI: Did you miss anything? Did you not hear? With your permission, I'll repeat the question.
MR. BECKER: Sure.
MR. YANNETTI: You told Trooper Proctor on February 14th of 2022 that Karen had told you that she did consume alcohol the previous night, correct?
MR. BECKER: If that's in his notes.
MR. YANNETTI: Well, is your memory exhausted as to whether you told him that?
MR. BECKER: I don't recall.
MR. YANNETTI: If you saw his report with your statements in it, would that refresh your memory?
MR. BECKER: Sure.
MR. YANNETTI: It's a two-page report. I'll give you both pages. I have highlighted a line on the second page, so I would direct you to that. May I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: And take your time reading it, sir. Please read it silently to yourself and look up at me when you're done.
MR. BECKER: So I did say—
JUDGE CANNONE: Mr. Becker, a couple of things. Wait for a question.
MR. BECKER: I'm sorry.
JUDGE CANNONE: But also you have to keep your voice up. I'm close to you and I'm having trouble hearing you. Most of the jurors are further away, and the way this works is I have to collect that from you and then ask you a question, okay?
MR. YANNETTI: Sir, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Having reviewed that document, does that refresh your memory as to whether or not Karen Read — or strike that. Having reviewed that report, does that refresh your memory as to the fact that you — does that refresh your memory?
MR. BECKER: It does.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay, and so did you tell Trooper Proctor on February 14th that Karen Read had told you on January 29th that she had consumed alcohol the night before?
MR. BECKER: Sure, yes.
MR. YANNETTI: Okay. Is it fair to say that when you were listening to her talk at times that her speech was very rapid?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: And particularly when she had said the words "you know, is he dead, is he dead," she would repeat it repetitively?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: And she was fixated on that?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: And with regard to the last interaction that she spoke about — with whom you thought she said her husband — she didn't give you any detail about that?
MR. BECKER: She did not.
MR. YANNETTI: You don't know whether it was an in-person communication—
MR. BECKER: That wasn't my position to ask more details about that.
MR. YANNETTI: And I'm not criticizing you, sir. I'm just trying to get to what your knowledge was in terms of information you got from her. So she didn't specify that it was an in-person communication?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: No. She didn't specify as to whether it was a phone conversation?
MR. BECKER: She did not.
MR. YANNETTI: She didn't specify whether it was a text message exchange back and forth?
MR. BECKER: She did not.
MR. YANNETTI: And she didn't specify whether it was an angry voicemail that she left?
MR. BECKER: Correct.
MR. YANNETTI: No further questions. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: Just one moment.
MR. LALLY: Okay, sorry. I have nothing further for this witness.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. All right, Mr. Becker — or firefighter Becker — you are all set, sir. Thank you very much.
MR. BECKER: That's okay. Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes, you can leave that right where it is. Thank you, sir. Your next witness, Mr. Lally?
MR. LALLY: Going to— May we approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Sure.
JUDGE CANNONE: It makes sense that rather than starting with another witness — I figure it's a Friday afternoon, it's been a long week for you all — we'll excuse you at this point. Please do not discuss this case with anyone. Don't do any independent research or investigation into this case. If you happen to see, hear, or read anything about this case, disregard it and let us know. And have a great weekend. Monday will be a full day. We'll see you first thing Monday morning.