Page 1 of Proslo

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BETTY

“And when you responded to the call, what happened next?” Amos asked.

Pitkiss, the patrolman who’d responded to the 911 call sweet old Mrs. Titchmarsh had made upon hearing the ruckus, frowned. “My partner and I rolled up in front of the house. We could hear screaming and there was a cat trying to hide under the bush in front of the garage where the apartment was located. The door to the apartment was wide open and I ran up the stairs, calling out to alert everyone present that we were the police and they were to come out.”

“And for the record, your partner is Officer Lisa Romansky, correct?” Amos prodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“And did the defendant come out?”

“He did not. I therefore entered the premises via the open door with Lisa, I mean, Officer Romansky right behind.”

“And what did you see?”

“The defendant had Ms. Lewis pinned against her refrigerator, his arm across her throat. He was shouting quite loudly, calling her ungrateful and referring to her using an epithet. The apartment is a studio, so it’s all one big room and we could see that at some point during their altercation, her TV and lamp had ended up on the floor. She had a red mark on her face and a busted lip. I told him to let her go and to get onto the ground, hands on the back of his head.”

“And then what did he do?”

“He spun Ms. Lewis around and sort of pushed her at us. Lisa ran forward to catch her and that was when Mr. Dane charged at me.”

“And did he strike you?”

“Yes, sir. We both went down and my back hit the arm of the sofa. He jumped up and ran out the door, and Lisa and I ran after him. Lisa managed to tase him before he could open his car door.”

“I’d like to present Exhibit C, the body cam footage from Officer Pitkiss taken during the incident.” Amos pressed a remote and a TV screen began to play, showing everything Pitkiss had just described.

I glanced over at the members of the jury. Their expressions ranged from stony faced to outright angry.

“As the good members of the jury can see, both Officer Pitkiss’s testimony and Officer Romansky’s testimonies match, their body cams both showing that everything they have said is accurate. Moreover, we have had testimony from Mrs. Titchmarsh as to the problems she and her tenant have had with the defendant, with Ring camera footage showing several parts of the incident. We can see him pulling up, screaming, kicking the door in, and entering the property to assault Betty Lewis. We can see him kicking her cat out the door and down the stairs, and have the records from the veterinarian detailing the bruising that the cat was lucky enough to only escape with.

All this paints a terrible picture. Darryll Dane is a violent man who has no respect for property, no compassion towards animals or other human beings, and who shows a general contempt towards the law.”

“Objection, leading the jury,” Darryll’s defense attorney said.

“Sustained. Please confine those sort of remarks to your closing arguments,” Judge Reinholdt said.

“My apologies,” Amos replied to the judge. “This is such an emotionally impactful testimony and video, that I became carried away.”

“Try to contain yourself,” the judge advised wryly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Amos answered, ducking his head in apology. Then turning back to Officer Pitkiss, he said, “Thank you for your testimony. Is there anything else you feel we should know?”

Pitkiss threw Darryll a look of disgust. “Only that he kept kicking and screaming in the back of the squad car and it took six officers to take him inside the station. There’s footage available of that as well since cameras were rolling.”

Amos returned to his seat.

“I’m finished with this witness, Your Honor.”

“Do you wish to cross examine?” Judge Reinhold asked Darryll's defense.

He shook his head no.

“What!” Darryll shouted. “Aren’t you even gonna ask him why I was there! I told them! And if they hadn’t attacked me first with that Taser when all I was trying to do was leave -”

That's enough!” Judge Reinhold barked. “One more outburst from you and I will find you in contempt of court! Do you understand me? Or did the last time I gave you fourteen days for disrupting my courtroom not teach you a damned thing?”