Commonwealth v. Read — Trial ArchiveKelly Dever - Direct/Redirect/Recross/Re-redirect/Re-recross
645 linesCOURT OFFICER: Okay. Step up — face the jury. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
MS. DEVER: I do.
MR. JACKSON: Good morning. Morning. Morning, ma'am. May I inquire?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Good morning. Could you state your name and spell your last name for the jurors, please?
MS. DEVER: Kelly Dever, last name D-E-V-E-R.
MR. JACKSON: And what do you do for a living, presently?
MS. DEVER: I'm a police officer.
MR. JACKSON: Where are you employed?
MS. DEVER: Boston Police.
MR. JACKSON: How long have you been employed with the Boston Police Department?
MS. DEVER: Two years and a little over two months.
MR. JACKSON: Where did you work before that?
MS. DEVER: I worked for the Canton Police.
MR. JACKSON: Were you a sworn officer at that time?
MS. DEVER: At what time?
MR. JACKSON: When you were employed by the Canton Police Department.
MS. DEVER: Yes, I was.
MR. JACKSON: As a sworn police officer?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. What was your duty assignment in January of 2022?
MS. DEVER: I was a patrol officer.
MR. JACKSON: You're familiar with the case that's presently before the bench.
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: In some capacity?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Commonwealth versus Karen Read?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you ever prepare any kind of report based on any of your conduct or your connection with this case, if there was any connection with this case while you were a Canton Police officer?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Were you ever interviewed by any member of the Canton Police Department in furtherance of their investigation related to the death of John O'Keefe?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Were you ever interviewed by the Massachusetts State Police — let me finish the question — in furtherance of their investigation into the death of John O'Keefe?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Were you ever interviewed by either the Canton Police Department or the Massachusetts State Police with regard to any of your observations on January 28th or January 29th, 2022?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: And you never wrote a report about your observations or any observations that you had on January 28th or January 29th, 2022. Correct?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: That was a double negative. Let me try that a different way. Did you ever write a report about your observations related to January 28th, 2022? January 29th, 2022?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you.
MS. DEVER: As a matter of fact, the first time you were ever interviewed in connection with anything having to do with this case or this investigation related to the death of John O'Keefe was by a separate law enforcement agency — not the Massachusetts State Police, not the Canton Police Department. Correct? Yes.
MR. JACKSON: That was in August of 2023. Is that right?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Do you remember the exact date?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: August 9th, 2023. Does that sound about right?
MS. DEVER: I know it was the summer of 2023.
MR. JACKSON: So, do you think it would refresh your recollection to take a look at a report of that interview?
MS. DEVER: Yes, because I've never seen it before.
MR. JACKSON: Just insofar as the date is concerned, may I approach?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you. Take a look at the bottom of that page, just glance at that, and tell me — once you familiarize yourself with that face page of that report.
MS. DEVER: Okay.
MR. JACKSON: May I approach?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Do you have that date in mind?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Does that refresh your recollection that it was August 9th, 2023?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. I want to direct your attention, Officer Dever, to January 28th, 2022. Where were you working? What was your duty assignment on that day? January 28th, moving into January 29th.
MS. DEVER: Well, three and a half years later, I remember I was on patrol. I don't remember anything further about this night.
MR. JACKSON: Did you work overnight, like a late shift going into the morning of January 29th?
MS. DEVER: That was my assigned shift. So, yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Who else was working with you on that particular day, if you recall?
MS. DEVER: Sergeant Goode, Officer Mullaney, Officer Saraf, and Officer Pascarelli.
MR. JACKSON: And what generally was your assignment when you went into work that night on January 28th, patrol? At some point either that evening or the early
MR. JACKSON: morning hours of January 29th, did you note that a call came in related to a person found in the snow, unresponsive in the snow?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Tell me about that — the nature of the call and where were you?
MS. DEVER: I was in my cruiser. A call came in that said person in a snowbank, something along those lines. Immediately followed by that transmission, my sergeant requested that I come to take over dispatch.
MR. JACKSON: Is that Sergeant Goode?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Did you in fact respond back to Canton PD to take over dispatch?
MS. DEVER: Yes. So, I was already in the parking lot of the Canton police while this took place. So, I was already at the station.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know whether or not Sergeant Goode, and or any of the others, responded to the location while you stayed back to handle dispatch at the police department?
MS. DEVER: Yes, that's why I went inside so he could respond.
MR. JACKSON: Were you aware that Sergeant Goode — did you have any knowledge at that time that Sergeant Goode was familiar with or knew who Brian Albert was?
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know who Brian Albert was at that time?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Do you now, because of this case?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: I spoke over you. I'm so sorry. Based on this case, are you familiar with the name?
MS. DEVER: The name?
MR. JACKSON: Yes.
MS. DEVER: Okay.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know Kevin Albert?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: The detective Kevin Albert?
MS. DEVER: Yes, I did. Correct.
MR. JACKSON: How did you know Kevin Albert?
MS. DEVER: He was a detective for the Canton police.
MR. JACKSON: Were you aware of his relationship to Brian Albert at that time?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Are you now aware of his relationship with Brian Albert?
MS. DEVER: Yes. From the media.
MR. JACKSON: And what is that relationship as you know it?
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know Brian Higgins at that time?
MS. DEVER: Yes, in passing.
MR. JACKSON: I'm not asking if you were social friends. Asking if you knew who he was.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: How'd you know who Brian Higgins was?
MS. DEVER: He had an office in the Canton police.
MR. JACKSON: Was he a sworn police officer?
MS. DEVER: Not for us.
MR. JACKSON: Is he a sworn federal agent?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Worked for ATF?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. How long had you known and been familiar with Brian Higgins? Say, for instance, by sight — to be able to recognize who he was?
MS. DEVER: Sometime during 2020 is when I was probably first familiarized with him, because that's when I was employed with the Canton Police Department first.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Pass him in the hallways — hi, things like that?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Understood. Did you know him by sight?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Could you recognize him if you saw him two and a half years later?
MS. DEVER: No. But at the time, yes.
MR. JACKSON: I'm not asking you about right now. I'm asking you back in January 2022. Could you recognize him by sight?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you know who Kenneth Berkowitz was?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Who's Kenneth Berkowitz?
MS. DEVER: He was the chief of the Canton police. Obviously very familiar with him.
MR. JACKSON: He was your boss, correct?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: When Sergeant Goode instructed you to take over dispatch, explain what that meant.
MS. DEVER: It meant I walked inside and I sat down in a dispatch room.
MR. JACKSON: Describe the dispatch room. What did that array look like?
MS. DEVER: There was chairs and computers, monitors. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Does the dispatch area also have monitors of internal security camera footage?
MS. DEVER: I know there was camera screens, but I don't know if they were on TVs or computers or where in dispatch they were. I don't recollect where they were or how they would be accessed. They were in the room somewhere. I can't be more specific. I don't remember.
MR. JACKSON: But you do recall seeing that there were monitors that were showing different views of internal security camera footage of Canton PD. Correct?
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: The specifics?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Were there?
MS. DEVER: Yes. I don't know what you mean by specifics.
MR. JACKSON: I'm asking you, were there monitors that you could look at that showed security camera footage from inside Canton PD? Different areas, hallways, corridors, offices, the Sallyport, for instance.
MS. DEVER: So — two and a half years since I —
JUDGE CANNONE: You keep saying "two and a half years later." Let her finish her answer and then ask a question.
MR. JACKSON: Sure.
MS. DEVER: Years since I've been in that room. They were somewhere in the room. Where cameras were in the Canton Police Department, I don't recall. The media has provided me information since this case took place and I can't speak on what's my recollection and what's been media provided. There are cameras. I don't know where — from my memory, that's where they are.
MR. JACKSON: So has the media informed you that there were internal security monitors at the dispatch location?
JUDGE CANNONE: Objection sustained. Next question.
MR. JACKSON: What do you recall from the dispatch room, as you put it? What do you recall being there in terms of monitors?
MS. DEVER: I remember there was a computer screen that had information about current calls and then there was a 911 screen next to that. Those are the two computers that I would been positioned in front of during this time as a dispatch officer.
MR. JACKSON: By the way, you were a sworn officer at that time, correct? Uniform, badge, gun, the whole works, right?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Had you ever been in the Sallyport at Canton PD?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: What's the Sallyport?
MS. DEVER: A Sallyport is a garage, essentially.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. You're aware that the Sallyport garage had a camera, a security camera?
MS. DEVER: It would make sense because that's where we bring prisoners to drop them off.
MR. JACKSON: Well, more than just make sense — I'm asking you. Do you recall that it had cameras that serviced the Sallyport garage? Security cameras.
MS. DEVER: It's where we brought prisoners, so there would be cameras. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. You're saying there would be cameras. I'm asking you, were there cameras?
MS. DEVER: According to the media, yes, I've seen the footage, so yes, there were cameras.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. So, hold on. I'm going to strike that, Officer. You have to answer the question based on your own independent recollection. And if you don't have it, tell us — you can't reference what you know from the media.
MS. DEVER: All right. There were cameras in the Sallyport.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you, Officer Dever. Do you want to be here tonight?
MS. DEVER: I have no relation to this case.
MR. JACKSON: I didn't ask you that. I asked you if you want to be here tonight.
MR. BRENNAN: Objection. This isn't direct.
JUDGE CANNONE: It's your witness. She can — no comments, just questions.
MR. JACKSON: I understand that. Do you want to be here today?
MS. DEVER: No. I am put on the stand in a murder trial. I don't know why I'm here. I have no connection to this case.
MR. JACKSON: You have no idea why you're here. You've never talked to me.
MS. DEVER: Nobody on the defense seems to talk to me since prior to the first trial. So, I don't have any idea why I'm here.
MR. JACKSON: No clue whatsoever, as you sit here, why you might have been called to the stand?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Are you uncomfortable testifying?
MS. DEVER: No. It's part of my job.
MR. JACKSON: You're a professional police officer, correct?
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: That means you're a professional witness to a certain degree.
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: In the crimes that you've testified on, you've been on the stand before?
MS. DEVER: Yes, I have been.
MR. JACKSON: And you understand the oath?
MS. DEVER: Yes, I do.
MR. JACKSON: What is that oath?
MS. DEVER: The oath is to tell the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth.
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: I'll rephrase. That oath — when you raise your right hand as a witness —
MR. LALLY: I'm objecting.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to sustain that.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you, your Honor. May I inquire?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you. you had access to back on January 29th — did it show the footage from one of the other Sallyport garage cameras?
MS. DEVER: Can you rephrase the question?
MR. JACKSON: Sure. It was a little bit clunky on my part. Did one of the monitors that you looked at, that you had access to at the dispatch area, did it show the video footage or the video feed from the Sallyport garage?
MS. DEVER: So, I already said I don't remember where in dispatch the screen with the cameras was. There was a camera in the Sallyport. So if I'm going to make the assumption, then yes, of course — but now that's an assumption.
MR. JACKSON: I'm not asking you for an assumption now. I'm asking you — okay, now we've talked about the camera; the other side of the camera is the feed — do you recall whether or not there was footage that you could see on a monitor in the dispatch area that showed the Sallyport?
MS. DEVER: I'm going to go with yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay — for that clarification, how long — so, I don't know what that means. What do you mean you're going to go with yes? Is your answer yes?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you. What time about did you take over the dispatch desk that morning?
MS. DEVER: Immediately following when the 911 call came in. Would have been 6ish in the morning.
MR. JACKSON: Is that — does that sound about right? I don't —
MS. DEVER: Sometime — I would say towards the later of my shift, but it was the middle of winter and dark out, so I don't know if it was four, five, six.
MR. JACKSON: Understood. But it was still dark out?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Once you took over the dispatch desk, did you stay there even past your normal shift ending to support the investigation that was ongoing?
MS. DEVER: Not to support the investigation — I was just on overtime.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. So you stayed past your normal end time of your shift that day?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: On overtime, you stayed into the afternoon?
MS. DEVER: Correct. I believe the shift ended at 3:45 p.m. for the Canton police.
MR. JACKSON: But you stayed past your ending shift time.
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: I'm sorry. I'll rephrase it. Did you stay past your ending shift time?
MS. DEVER: For my regular shift, yes, because I was on overtime on the day shift.
MR. JACKSON: Did you observe anything unusual that stood out in your mind that occurred — pardon me — in the Sallyport while you were on that shift?
MS. DEVER: So, we've discussed this previously. I can't make that statement on the stand because I've been provided information released by the defense that it was not a memory, that it was a distorted memory. Therefore, I can't state it because at this point, it would be a lie. I cannot make that statement that you're wanting me to make on the stand because I've been advised that that would be a lie. Miss
MR. JACKSON: Miss Dever, I've never asked you to make a statement one way or the other on the stand. I'm asking you an open-ended question. Okay. Did you — prior — let me ask a question. Did you observe something in the Sallyport garage on January 29th, 2022 that you found unusual that stuck out in your mind?
MS. DEVER: Given factual information that makes it so I know I did not. So the answer is no.
MR. JACKSON: Correct. Do you remember being interviewed on August 9th, 2023?
MS. DEVER: I do.
MR. JACKSON: That was by a separate law enforcement agency.
MS. DEVER: Correct. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Two separate law enforcement agents. Is that right?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: And you were advised during the course of that interview on August 29th of something.
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. JACKSON: Can you refer? I'm sorry. August 9th.
MS. DEVER: So, what was I advised of? Can you rephrase that?
MR. JACKSON: Sure. Were you advised that lying to those officers would be a crime?
MS. DEVER: So, it was a willing conversation. I've spoken with their legal team because of the fact I was providing factual information that showed a statement of mine was a false memory. It was not a lie. Therefore, I made it in good faith and I retracted given information that it could not be accurate.
MR. JACKSON: Miss Dever, did you understand my question?
MS. DEVER: Yes, I did. You threatened to charge me with perjury during our phone call prior to the first trial if I didn't lie on the stand right now. I'm telling you I did not see anything factually. I've been provided evidence by a timeline that it is not correct.
MR. JACKSON: Miss Dever, my question is this. Were you advised that it was a crime to lie to those law enforcement agents? Yes or no?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: They never told you. They never admonished you that it would be a crime to lie to them.
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained as to form, Mr. Jackson.
MR. JACKSON: Sure. Did they advise you of anything? Any consequences of lying to them?
MS. DEVER: So, we had a willing conversation.
MR. JACKSON: Yes or no?
MS. DEVER: I don't recall.
MR. JACKSON: Okay, there's your answer. You don't recall if they advised you of anything?
MS. DEVER: No, because it wasn't — as a trained law enforcement agent —
JUDGE CANNONE: Go ahead and ask a question. But both of you, only one at a time.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Understood. As a trained law enforcement officer, are you aware that it's a crime to lie to certain other law enforcement agents?
MS. DEVER: When you have intent to lie? Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. So you knew that when you spoke to these law enforcement officers, correct?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you tell these law enforcement officers that you in fact saw Brian Higgins and Chief Berkowitz go into the Sallyport with the SUV? May I finish my question?
JUDGE CANNONE: He can finish this question. Go ahead.
MR. JACKSON: Did you tell those law enforcement agents on August 9th, 2023 that you saw Brian Higgins and Chief Berkowitz go into the Sallyport together and alone with the SUV for a wildly long time?
MS. DEVER: That was my recollection at the time.
MR. JACKSON: So you did say that — at the time, that is what you recollected.
MS. DEVER: Okay.
PARENTHETICAL: [pause]
MR. JACKSON: You and I spoke, along with Mr. Yannetti and Miss Little, on a conference call last year sometime. You remember that?
MR. JACKSON: Did you indicate that you noted — let me have just a moment.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Between the time that you were interviewed on August 9th, 2023 and when we spoke — sometime in, maybe it was April or so of last year. Does that sound about right?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you have any conversation with any other party about your potential involvement in this case?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Did you have a conversation with anybody in the commissioner's office at Boston Police Department?
MS. DEVER: Not about anything malicious.
MR. JACKSON: I didn't use the word malicious. Why do you say malicious?
MS. DEVER: I had a conversation, but it was my department saying regardless of what I need to say on the stand, they support me.
MR. JACKSON: You were asked to go to the commissioner's office, correct?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: How long had you been on the Boston Police Department at the time that you were invited to go up to Commissioner Michael Cox's office?
MS. DEVER: It had to have been before the first trial. And I know it was when the agency released information to outside people.
MR. JACKSON: That's not my question.
MS. DEVER: Okay. So, I don't recall.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. You don't recall how long you had been on the force generally at the time that you were called up to the commissioner's office on the Boston Police Department?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Was it five years, two years, two months? Give me a ballpark.
MS. DEVER: So, I've been on the department for two years and two months. I would say somewhere in the range of a year.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Did you find it unusual — would you call yourself a rookie back then?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you find it unusual that a rookie police officer would be called up to the commissioner's office personally to discuss a matter?
MS. DEVER: It was a reflection of how good of a leader he is. It was not anything that I found unusual given the fact he is someone who wanted to show support for his officer.
MR. JACKSON: So all of your — I'm guessing all of your training class or all of your entry classes at Boston, they've all gone up to the commissioner's office as well.
MS. DEVER: I don't know anyone else who's been in this particular circumstance.
MR. JACKSON: You don't know any — do you know anybody else who's been called up to the commissioner's office at your level at the Boston Police Department?
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Do you know of any of your colleagues with your level of experience that have been called up to the commissioner's office for a specific incident?
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Now, when you went up to the commissioner's office, did you respond to his indication that he wanted to see you open his office?
MS. DEVER: It wasn't a direct line of contact from him.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Did you respond? Did you ultimately go? That's what I mean by respond. Did you go to his office?
MS. DEVER: He's my boss, so yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. And who else was in that office?
MS. DEVER: Me and him. The two of us — general counsel for the Boston Police Department. No, it's just me and him.
MR. JACKSON: Did you — the conversation that we had last year, did you say that general legal counsel for the Boston Police Department was also there?
MS. DEVER: Not during that conversation.
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Next question.
MR. JACKSON: Sure. Was there another time that you went to the commissioner's office where general legal counsel was there?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Have you ever met general legal counsel from the Boston Police Department?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Was it in the commissioner's office?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: When was it?
MS. DEVER: During my conversation with the agents.
MR. JACKSON: You took a lawyer with you to talk to this other law enforcement agency.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to see you inside.
MR. JACKSON: May I continue, your honor?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you, Officer Dever. When we left off, I was asking you about the meeting at the commissioner's office. And I want to clear this up. Was general legal counsel in that office or not when you had a meeting with the commissioner, Michael Cox?
MS. DEVER: No, it was just me and the commissioner.
MR. JACKSON: At some point, did the commissioner say to you that Boston Police Department — in so far as your connection to this case is concerned — Boston Police Department fully supports you?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did he also say "do the right thing"? That's a direct quote.
MS. DEVER: So I can't recollect if he said a direct quote two years ago.
MR. JACKSON: A year ago, when you talked to us — the defense — did you tell the defense that when you were called up to the commissioner's office, he told you two things? Commissioner Cox told you: number one, Boston Police Department supports you; and, Officer Dever, do the right thing.
MS. DEVER: So he said my name correctly. He said "Deborah" — and that's my mistake.
JUDGE CANNONE: Let's go ahead and answer, please.
MS. DEVER: Yes. And he said nothing with the intent of guiding me one way or the other.
MR. JACKSON: What his intent was, madam — I asked you what he said to you. What were his words to you?
MS. DEVER: That he supports me and just wanted me to tell the truth up here, and his words were "do the right thing."
MR. JACKSON: Correct.
MS. DEVER: I don't recall.
MR. JACKSON: How many other times have you testified in a court of law during the course of your job? Two dozen? Three dozen?
MS. DEVER: Actually, testified — probably a ballpark dozen times.
MR. JACKSON: In any of those other cases, has Commissioner Michael Cox called you up to his office to discuss your testimony in any of those cases? Yes or no?
MS. DEVER: That's not a yes or no answer.
MR. JACKSON: Well, yes, it actually is, Miss Dever.
JUDGE CANNONE: No, no comments.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Just — you understand the question?
MS. DEVER: The question, yes — the implication — the question is, in any of those — don't, don't —
MR. JACKSON: I'm asking you an open-ended question. In any of those cases, Officer Dever — not including this one — has Commissioner Michael Cox ordered you up to his office to discuss your testimony?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: Thank you.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Mr. Brennan.
MR. BRENNAN: Good morning.
MS. DEVER: Good morning, sir.
MR. BRENNAN: My name's Hank Brennan. We have never met before.
MS. DEVER: Correct.
MR. BRENNAN: Have you ever spoken to me before?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: The defense team — Attorney Jackson — asked you some questions this morning.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: It sounds like you've met them before.
MS. DEVER: Only by phone call.
MR. BRENNAN: How many times have you spoken to Attorney Jackson or anybody on the defense team before today?
MS. DEVER: Prior to the first trial, it was one phone call where we discussed the case. Outside of that, there may have been one other phone call before the first trial, but it wasn't a discussion of the case. And then prior to this trial, I received a phone call that said, "Confirm you will be available for one of these days."
MR. BRENNAN: Other than confirming you'd be available, was there any discussion before this trial with anybody on the defense?
MS. DEVER: Not about this case. No.
MR. BRENNAN: So the conversation, the substantive conversation was before the past event last year.
MS. DEVER: Yes. A year and a few months ago.
MR. BRENNAN: You worked at the Canton Police Department.
MS. DEVER: Yes, I did.
MR. BRENNAN: You were a police officer.
MS. DEVER: Yes, I was.
MR. BRENNAN: And it sounds like on January 29th, 2022, at some point you were asked to attend the desk.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: The desk is at the front of the police department where you see people coming in and out of the police station.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: There's glass windows. That night, did you have any difficulty with your memory of the specific things that you saw that night?
MS. DEVER: I was never on the scene. I never spoke to a witness. I never met a victim. I never spoke with a suspect. This was just a random shift for me three and a half years ago at a desk that I wasn't asked to recollect for over a year and a half after the occurrences of that night.
MR. BRENNAN: Did law enforcement — not the state police or Canton police — did law enforcement ask you about your memory sometime after that night?
MS. DEVER: The agents asked me about a year and a half later. It was the August of 2023 meeting. So actually a year and eight months later was the first time I ever spoke about this case.
MR. BRENNAN: When they spoke to you — — a year and eight months later, did you suggest or share or tell them that you might have seen Chief Berkowitz and Mr. Higgins near the Sallyport area?
MS. DEVER: I told them on the day of that I saw that. I didn't make any indications it was anything bad. I just said I saw them, and it was in good faith that I believed I saw that. That was the extent of that comment.
MR. BRENNAN: So you had told them you believed you saw Mr. Berkowitz and Mr. Higgins in the Sallyport area that day on January 29th during your day shift.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Did you then learn any information that helped you remember when your shift ended that day?
MS. DEVER: So I know my shift ended at 3:45 p.m. So I — — know that I left then. That wasn't ever one of my questions. The defense released a timeline right prior to the first trial that the vehicle on that day did not arrive in the Sallyport until about an hour and a half after I left. Meaning it is not possible that I saw that.
MR. BRENNAN: When you saw this information, did you think about your memory?
MS. DEVER: So when I saw that information, it made it clear to me that there was a distortion of the timeline and the false memory I created — I provided in good faith, but I retracted it immediately upon being provided evidence that it was not possible.
MR. BRENNAN: Who did you retract it to? Who did you tell?
MS. DEVER: So I told the defense team — — prior to the first trial. I also contacted the agents. The agents assured me —
MR. BRENNAN: Not what they said, but what you thought — not what they said to you, but did they threaten to put you in jail when you told them about your mistake?
MS. DEVER: No. I even spoke with the legal team and they said that I made a comment in good faith. There was absolutely no way that I could be charged with anything of being malicious.
MR. BRENNAN: Before we get to your conversation with the defense team — now I wasn't there in that conversation, was I?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: Have you ever shared that conversation with me?
MS. DEVER: I've never shared it with anyone.
MR. BRENNAN: Before we get to that, you seem a — — bit anxious to me. Are you anxious?
MS. DEVER: Confused as to why I'm here, but anxious now.
MR. BRENNAN: Have you received any negative pushback because of you sharing your memory?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to allow that.
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: Have you received any unwarranted attention from the public or media?
MS. DEVER: Not to my knowledge, but I didn't go digging to find it.
MR. BRENNAN: Well, you mentioned the media sent you something. What did they send you?
MS. DEVER: So I've seen things in the media. No media has ever been directed for me to find it. It's just this case is unavoidable as a local person on the internet who sees things that get shared. So inevitably —
MR. BRENNAN: — you were contacted by the defense.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Prior to the first trial, you mentioned that somebody had suggested you be charged with perjury.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Who did that?
MS. DEVER: One of the male members of the defense team.
MR. BRENNAN: Why did they say that to you?
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. BRENNAN: What were you discussing when you were threatened with perjury?
MS. DEVER: They were essentially telling me what they were looking for me to say on the stand.
MR. BRENNAN: What were they looking for you to say?
MS. DEVER: They were looking for me to say that I saw Higgins and Berkowitz in the garage with the car.
MR. BRENNAN: Did you share with them that that wasn't an accurate memory?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: How did they respond?
MS. DEVER: They became very aggressive, raised — — their voices, and the one word that I can very definitely remember is they said that they would charge me with perjury.
MR. BRENNAN: What did they want you to say?
MS. DEVER: They wanted me to say that statement, although I knew at that point it was not an accurate statement given the timeline.
MR. BRENNAN: How many times were you threatened?
MS. DEVER: At least once during the phone call, but once you say it once, it was enough.
MR. BRENNAN: What else happened during that phone call? Tell us the tenor of it. Tell us the content of it.
MS. DEVER: That was essentially the thing I remember most because I understood that was what they wanted me to provide for the trial. I was never called for the — — first trial. Therefore, I'm not exactly sure what else there is for me to say when the one thing that they wanted on the stand is factually not correct and cannot be provided.
MR. BRENNAN: When they threatened to charge you with perjury — [unintelligible] —
MS. DEVER: — disappointment that legal counsel would go that route with someone who is from a factual timeline saying something is incorrect. There was no retracting based on emotion. It was very clear given the timeline it could not be correct.
MR. BRENNAN: Now you work for Boston Police Department.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: And by the way, when you were at Canton, did you ever talk to anybody about [unintelligible] planting evidence or — — doing anything like that?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: And this conspiracy theory came out a year and a half later.
MS. DEVER: I was gone.
MR. BRENNAN: Did anybody from Canton ever try to suggest to you that you should or shouldn't say something to help a side of the case?
MS. DEVER: No, because I was never spoken to until far after I left.
MR. BRENNAN: Did you ever see anybody in this case, or anytime you were with Canton, doing something improper and tampering with evidence?
MS. DEVER: Not in this case or any case.
MR. BRENNAN: If you had, would you have reported it?
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. Strike. I'll strike that.
MR. BRENNAN: Ladies and gentlemen — so you transferred to the Boston Police Department. Has anybody from the Boston Police Department ever suggested that — — you should shape your testimony one way or another?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: Has anybody from Boston Police Department given you any rewards or favors for [unintelligible] the defense position?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: Has anybody ever suggested that you should say anything whatsoever that would be unhelpful to the defense?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: Has the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office ever encouraged you to testify in any way other than the truth?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: When you spoke to the Boston Police Department, did he in any way ever tell you to shape your testimony?
MS. DEVER: Not at all.
MR. BRENNAN: When you met with the Boston Police Department commissioner, did he ever ask you the substance of what your testimony — — would or wouldn't be under oath?
MS. DEVER: He made it very clear he did not want to discuss the case at all.
MR. BRENNAN: When you spoke to the people at the Boston Police Department, have they ever weighed in in any way on what they think you should or shouldn't say?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: As you're testifying here today, are you under any tension, under influence, stress, threat?
MS. DEVER: There is discomfort with the way that there's attempting to guide what my testimony is, but I don't feel any need to fall into it because I'm here to speak the truth on the stand. That's my livelihood.
MR. BRENNAN: When you were threatened with perjury, how long was that conversation?
MS. DEVER: I believe it was just about an hour on — — the phone. My phone log on my physical phone would not go back far enough for me to be able to retrieve the date or the time that that phone call took place.
PARENTHETICAL: [Counsel approach bench]
MR. BRENNAN: That conversation lasted an hour approximately. How?
MS. DEVER: Not on a good note in the slightest. I remember it was a pretty hasty hangup on both ends.
MR. BRENNAN: Thank you for your time.
MR. JACKSON: Was it a male voice on that phone call who threatened to charge you with perjury?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: You're a police officer, correct?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Who charges people with crimes?
MS. DEVER: If a crime is committed, there can be a report of it. — court system. So the district attorney, the ADAs — that's who pursues it in a court setting.
MR. JACKSON: Have you ever seen a defense attorney charge anybody with a crime?
MS. DEVER: So you can seek out reporting someone for it.
MR. JACKSON: Have you ever seen a defense attorney charge someone with a crime, ma'am?
MS. DEVER: Personally, no.
MR. JACKSON: Right. Fact of the matter is, nobody ever threatened you with perjury, did they?
MS. DEVER: Oh, they did. Yes. I contacted the FBI regarding it.
MR. JACKSON: Oh, did you?
MS. DEVER: I did.
MR. JACKSON: You have a report?
MS. DEVER: I have an email conversation where I sent the two questions I had. She responded, "I will pass these along." I was contacted by their legal team. They reassured me — — perjury was not applicable because I made a statement in good faith. Upon further information, I retracted it, corrected it, and made it clear that I could no longer say it because I knew that it was not a clear reflection of the events that took place.
MR. JACKSON: That's a mouthful. My question is, do you have a report from the FBI saying that you reported that someone on the defense team threatened to charge you with perjury? Report to that effect?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: No. Your job as a police officer is to be objective, isn't it?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: You're not supposed to take an adversarial position against one side or — the other.
MS. DEVER: Correct. I don't. Just right down the middle.
MR. JACKSON: Just the facts as you know them.
MS. DEVER: Correct. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: You feel like you're being unbiased in your testimony here today in front of these jurors.
MS. DEVER: I'm telling the truth.
MR. JACKSON: You think you're being fair to both sides?
MS. DEVER: All I have to do is tell the truth. If it's not perceived to be fair, that's someone else's opinion.
MR. JACKSON: Let's talk about that truth for a second. What you told those law enforcement agents on August 9th, 2023 was quote, "You recalled seeing Higgins at the station later that day on Saturday. Dever thought it was also weird that Higgins and Chief Ken Berkowitz were by themselves in the Sallyport of the police department, by themselves while Karen Read's car was parked inside. Higgins was a witness and present at the gathering where O'Keefe was found dead outside and then he was in the presence of important evidence. You were sitting at dispatch by yourself and saw on the camera outside of the Sallyport when they walked in."
MR. BRENNAN: Objection to the entire reading.
JUDGE CANNONE: So beyond the scope, so you have to keep it.
MR. JACKSON: There's more to the statement, your honor. Do you remember making that statement to the officers?
MS. DEVER: My recollection at the time was that. So yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay, great. Did you go on to say — speaking of being truthful, did you go
MR. BRENNAN: On to say — I'm objecting.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right. So you have to ask differently, but I need to see you for a minute with this and bring that with you, please.
MR. JACKSON: May I inquire?
JUDGE CANNONE: Yes. Thank you.
MR. JACKSON: Officer Dever, did you go on to say in that interview, quote, "You never saw them leave, them being Brian Higgins and Chief Ken Berkowitz, you never saw them leave, but you recalled thinking to yourself that they were in the Sallyport for a wildly long time together in there." End quote. Did you say that?
MS. DEVER: That was my recollection at the time.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. So, yes. Have you ever heard of — by the way, you indicated under questioning by Mr. Brennan that you knew what they wanted from me — meaning the defense — what they wanted from me.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: You understand that?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Do you remember on that phone call that we read directly from the exact same report that I just read from? You remember that?
MS. DEVER: And I told you the same thing then.
PARENTHETICAL: [unclear:]
MR. JACKSON: Like you can't remember my name. I don't remember. I can remember your name is different. Okay. So, the answer is I don't remember.
MR. JACKSON: That's not the question.
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: My question is, just answer my question. Officer Dever, did we read to you the exact same thing that I just read to you on that phone call?
JUDGE CANNONE: No comments.
MR. JACKSON: More than that, judge.
JUDGE CANNONE: I think we — All right. So, no comments, just questions, please.
MR. JACKSON: Do you recall us telling you that we were looking for the truth —
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to allow it.
MR. JACKSON: That we were looking for the truth?
MS. DEVER: Which I gave you. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Did you also say on that phone call something to the effect of, "I know you're going to tear me a new one because I'm changing my testimony"?
MS. DEVER: No, but you're trying to do that.
MR. JACKSON: Did you say "I know you're going to tear me a new one"?
MS. DEVER: It's what you're trying to do.
MR. JACKSON: So, yes. Actually, what you said was "you're going to tear me a new asshole." Didn't —
MS. DEVER: I don't recall that. So, that's putting words in my mouth.
MR. JACKSON: I'm not — I'm asking you if you remember saying that during that phone call. "I know you're going to tear me a new asshole."
MS. DEVER: I don't recall.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. But you do remember saying something to the effect of, "I know you're going to tear me a new one," right?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Okay. Have you ever heard of something called the blue wall of silence?
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Do you think it's important for police officers to protect one another in the field and out?
MR. BRENNAN: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. JACKSON: Have you spoken with anyone — not Mr. Brennan, he's covered that — spoken with anyone from the district attorney's office about your involvement in this case, ever?
MS. DEVER: No. Never. Unless you're going to provide a person — I've never talked to any of these people.
MR. JACKSON: Have you talked to anyone at the DA's office at all in any regard?
MS. DEVER: Not to my recollection.
MR. JACKSON: How about indirectly?
MS. DEVER: Not to my knowledge.
MR. JACKSON: Are you friends with any people that you're aware of that are connected to this case? Are you personal friends — girlfriends, boyfriends, personal friends — with anyone that's connected with this case? Other people who've been on the witness stand?
MS. DEVER: One person. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Who's that?
MS. DEVER: Sarah Levinson.
MR. JACKSON: How long have you known Sarah?
MS. DEVER: We became friends in middle school.
MR. JACKSON: Do you watch any of the trial?
MS. DEVER: This trial? Clips in passing, but no — it's six hours a day. I work during the day shift. No.
MR. JACKSON: So, you've seen some of the footage of the goings on in this case.
MS. DEVER: Correct. Yes. Nothing — nothing with her. I did not watch her testimony.
MR. JACKSON: Were you aware there was a sequestration order?
MS. DEVER: I don't know what that means. So, no.
MR. JACKSON: You're a sworn peace officer. You don't know what sequestration means?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: In terms of witnesses, not watching the proceedings in order to affect their testimony?
MS. DEVER: No, I wasn't aware.
MR. JACKSON: But you did tune in to the case.
MS. DEVER: Correct. In small clips. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: And you did in fact on August 9th, 2023 have a wholesome conversation with two sworn police officers about your memory of what you saw, your observations on January 29th, 2022.
MS. DEVER: Correct. I don't know if they're police officers necessarily, but yes.
MR. JACKSON: Law enforcement agents. How about that?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: And that conversation is reflected in this piece of paper that I just read to you.
MS. DEVER: Correct. Yes.
MR. JACKSON: Thanks. That's all I have.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. BRENNAN: Were you subpoenaed by the Commonwealth in this case?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: You were subpoenaed by the defense.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Did they tell you that there was a sequestration order or that you shouldn't watch any of the footage? Did they fairly inform you about what the ground rules were?
MS. DEVER: No. And I wasn't part of the first trial, so I had no idea about anything to do with this trial.
MR. BRENNAN: When you spoke to those law enforcement officers back in 2023, do you know that they made a report where you had informed them that you knew Sarah Levinson, and that report had been provided to the defense a long time ago? Did you know that?
MS. DEVER: Yes, I informed them very clearly.
MR. BRENNAN: So the question about whether you know Sarah Levinson, that's no secret in your world, is it?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. BRENNAN: That isn't a secret, is it?
MS. DEVER: Not at all.
MR. BRENNAN: That's something you were open and candid about.
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Do you understand that regardless of what you say, it doesn't matter as long as it's the truth? Do you understand that?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: The Commonwealth is in no way asking you to accommodate it or please it in any way. Do you understand that?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: If there was something that may be perceived by others as adverse to the Commonwealth, you understand we would want you to tell that if it was the truth, don't you?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained.
MR. BRENNAN: The Commonwealth has never intimated, suggested, or advised you to say anything other than the truth. Have they?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: Have you been given any consideration or reward because you remedied your memory?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: After being shown the evidence that you left that day, January 29, 2022 at 3:45, and learning that the defendant's car did not get to the Sallyport at 5:30 or so p.m., is there any way you could have seen Mr. Berkowitz and Mr. Higgins in the Sallyport with the defendant's car that night before you left for work?
MS. DEVER: There is no way.
MR. BRENNAN: Understanding you made a mistake, was the defense receptive to your explanation that you made a mistake?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: Sustained. Enough.
MR. BRENNAN: Did the defense pressure you when you told them you were going to come into this court and tell the truth about your mistake?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: No, allow it. Can you rephrase it?
MR. BRENNAN: Yes. When you told the defense you had made a mistake about your memory, did they pressure you?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: Did they pressure you to say something other than the truth?
MS. DEVER: Yes, they wanted me to repeat a lie — at that point, given it would have been with malicious intent to repeat it.
MR. BRENNAN: Understanding a lawyer has no power to charge with contempt, does that change the reality of whether or not you were threatened? Let me ask it a different way. You were asked questions about whether or not you knew who could take out charges for a crime. Yes. Yes. Okay. Regardless of whether an attorney has that power, were you threatened that there would be a charge of perjury if you didn't comply with the defense wishes in this case?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. BRENNAN: And knowing you were going to come into court, given this experience you had with the defense — is that why you felt like they were going to tear you a new one? Is that the phrase we used?
MS. DEVER: Yes, because they did not want me to tell the truth. So I told them that, knowing they were kind of trying to eat me alive into repeating something that is not the truth.
MR. BRENNAN: Rather than come in here and be attacked, wouldn't it have been easier just to say what you had earlier thought was true?
MR. JACKSON: Objection.
JUDGE CANNONE: I'm going to allow that.
MR. BRENNAN: Wouldn't it be easier just to come in and accommodate them rather than be threatened?
MS. DEVER: Well, of course.
MR. BRENNAN: So, why did you come in here?
MS. DEVER: My entire job revolves around what I say on the stand right now. If I were to lie, I lose my job. I lose everything. I'm here to tell the truth. I cannot lie while sitting on this stand.
MR. BRENNAN: Thank you.
MR. JACKSON: One question.
JUDGE CANNONE: Okay.
MR. JACKSON: Your entire job revolves around what you say on the witness stand. Is that what you just testified to?
MS. DEVER: Yes.
MR. JACKSON: And if you agree that what you said to those two law enforcement agents on August 9th, 2023, you would be implicating not one but two police officers, law enforcement officers. Correct? If you agreed with what you
MR. JACKSON: said in August of 2023 on this witness stand, you would be implicating two officers, fellow officers. Correct?
MS. DEVER: So, I'm confused as to what you're asking.
MR. JACKSON: You would be implicating if you agreed with me. You have not agreed that that was the truth. You've now indicated that what you told to law enforcement agents in August of 2023 was a lie.
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. JACKSON: If you agreed with that statement here on the witness stand, you would be implicating two officers as having been in the Sallyport weirdly for a wildly long time with the SUV, implicating not one but two fellow officers. Correct. That's what you would be doing.
MS. DEVER: It's not possible. I said, if you agreed —
MR. JACKSON: — with that, would you be implicating the reputations of two officers?
MS. DEVER: If I was to lie, then yes.
MR. JACKSON: And your entire job revolves around what you say on that witness stand. That's what you said. Correct.
MS. DEVER: I'm still —
MR. JACKSON: That's what you just said, Officer Dever. Correct.
MS. DEVER: Yes. To that question.
MR. JACKSON: That's all I have.
MR. BRENNAN: When you spoke to those agents, you didn't implicate Chief Berkowitz and Mr. Higgins with doing anything criminal, did you?
MS. DEVER: No, they were friends. That's why Higgins had an office there.
MR. BRENNAN: You didn't implicate them ever suggesting they had tampered with evidence, did you?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: You never implicated them, saying that they had framed anybody, did you?
MS. DEVER: No.
MR. BRENNAN: So, when you talked to those agents, did you ever suggest that Mr. Higgins and Mr. Berkowitz did anything to touch or tamper with the defendant's license at all?
MS. DEVER: No. Never. No.
MR. BRENNAN: Is there anybody you're protecting?
MS. DEVER: I have no one to protect.
MR. BRENNAN: Do you need to protect anybody?
MS. DEVER: No.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, Officer Dever. You are all set.
MS. DEVER: Thank you, your honor.
JUDGE CANNONE: All right, jurors will take our morning recess. 20
COURT OFFICER: All rise, please. Close your notebooks and follow —