Poplawski Trial Days 1-2: WPXI's Courtroom Updates

PITTSBURGH,None — DAY 2

UPDATE: 7:00 p.m.- Day 2 ended at 7 p.m. with the assistant medical examiner on the stand explaining the autopsy results of Mayhle. Testimony continues on Wednesday.

UPDATE: 4:53 p.m.- Court takes an hour-long recess for dinner.

UPDATE: 4:38 p.m.- The jury listened to the audio recording of the hostage negotiator speaking to Poplawski. In the recording, Poplawski explained in detail whre he was in the house.

Police told him, "Richard, listen to what they tell you and put your arms up in the air."

While the tape was being played, Poplawski appeared to be shifting uncomfortably.

UPDATE: 4:25 p.m.- The 40-minute call between between police negotiator Craig Campbell and Poplawski is being played in court.

UPDATE: 4:02 p.m.- 911 shift commander Bob Sabo said he too spoke to Poplawski the day of the shootings. At 9:43 a.m. the call was transferred to him and Sabo said he asked Poplawski, "Why did this happen?"

Sabo said that Poplawski told him he was shot in the leg.

While the call was played in court, Sabo looked distraught and shook his head.

"If I kept him on the phone he could do no harm to another officer," Sabo said.

At one point Sabo said Poplawski told him, "I can still fight you guys if you want."

UPDATE: 3:32 p.m.- Cathy Cornell, Allegheny County 911 telecommunications operator for 26 years, said that April 4, 2009 was "one of the worst days in my work history."

While on the stand, Cornell said she took a call from Poplawski at 9:45 a.m.

The 911 call was played in court.

"I'm lying in a pool of blood. I'm low on ammo but I promise I won't shoot anymore police officers. I'm going to jail for the rest of my life," Poplawski can be heard saying in the recording.

UPDATE: 3:23 p.m.-Neighbor and former friend of Poplawski's, Michael Bogert, was called to the stand.

Bogert, 18, said he knew Poplawski for a few years through other people. He told the jury that he had seen Poplawski carry a concealed weapon on a holster once.

Bogert testified that he woke up that morning to a text about gunshots. He said he then called Poplawski and said:

Bogert: "Pops, what are you doing?" Poplawski: "Who is this?" Bogert: "It's Mike Bogert." Poplawski: "Oh, hey Mikey. What's going on? How have you been?" Bogert: "What are you doing man?" Poplawski: "I got shot and shot three cops. I'm probably going to bleed to death or go to jail for the rest of my life."

Bogert said when he asked Poplawski why he did it, Poplawski said he didn't know and hung up. Bogert said he made the phone shortly after 10 a.m. and could confirm Poplawski's voice on the other line.

UPDATE: 2:29 p.m. - Officer Joseph Novakowski was called to the stand. He has been a SWAT team member for six years.

Novakowski said he received a text message around 8:15 a.m. the morning of April 4, 2009 and met with fellow officers that morning about three blocks away from the scene.

Novakowski told the judge that Margaret Poplawski told him, "You should have killed my son. He's a cop killer. I can't believe he shot cops."

Defense attorney Lisa Middleman objected to the remarks, and the judge wanted to hear them before the jury did. He ruled that they were inadmissible.

UPDATE: 2:06 p.m. - Pittsburgh police SWAT officers testified after lunch that they were ready to shoot to stop the "target."

Detective William Friburger, trained as a counter sniper and known at the scene as sniper one, said he tried a number of times to take out the "target" despite the "target" firing at him as he was on the roof of a home across the street.

Fribuger said during a lull in the gunfight with Poplawski he tried to "get a look into the room." Friburger said he moved, but he didn't like his vantage point.

Friburger said he was trying to be unpredictable and said, "One police sniper tactic is to not be where they think you are."

While on the roof, Friburger said he saw the curtains move in Poplawski's bedroom and eventually a round was fired.

"That told me he was in the room and he probably could see me," Friburger said.

The presence of Poplawski's mother in the house complicated sniper attempts to shoot the "target," who was already suspected of killing three officers, Friburger testified.

Friburger also said he saw Poplawski's mother come through a garage door, look directly at him and motion her hands for him to go away. He was later told that Poplawski was negotiating his surrender but couldn't move well.

During cross-examination, Friburger was asked whether or not the barrel he shot was actually a gun poking out of the window. Poplawski's attorney also asked Friburger what path he took to get to his position.

Friburger explained that the last shot he heard was the one fired at him on the roof and Poplawski surrendered 30 minutes later.

UPDATE: 12:30 p.m. - Mescan testified that SWAT team sharpshooter William Friburger told him his weapon couldn't penetrate the brick wall of the house, so he tried to condense Poplawski's space by placing accurate fire into the bedroom wall.

"My attempt was to start pushing him to the window, knowing that if I could move him, either myself or another member of my team could get accurate fire on him," Friburger told Mescan.

Friburger said he was somewhat successful and that after seven or eight rounds he could see the barrel of Poplawski's gun coming through the window, pointed at the armored vehicle, Mescan said.

Mescan said Friburger told him he aimed at the weapon, shot it and caused it to fly to the back of the bedroom.

A lunch break has begun and will last until 1:35 p.m.

UPDATE: 12:14 p.m. - A SWAT team member testified that he arrived at the scene as an ambulance carrying Officer Kelly's body was pulling away. He said he grabbed his sniper rifle as the gunfire continues.

"I ran up the street, took a position on a porch, giving me an overlook of the situation," he said.

UPDATE: 11:14 a.m. - Channel 11 News clips were played in court. In the video, gunfire could be heard in the background.

UPDATE: 11:02 a.m. - Detective Steve Mescan is being questioned. He discussed the rolling rescue of Officer Kelly and another officer.

The rescue team tried to shout to officers Sciullo and Mayhle, hoping for a response, he said.

"We will assume they're alive until proven otherwise. As far as we were concerned, they were alive and we were going for them," said Mescan.

During testimony, it was revealed that an armored vehicle was shot at from a window above the Poplawski family's garage. Officers returned fire specifically to that window.

It was also revealed that the shootout lasted about 30 minutes.

"So much gunfire that the SWAT team actually ran out of ammo," said Mescan.

All of the gun battles initiated by Poplawski, witnesses said.

The armored vehicle provided cover as rescue crews pulled Mayhle's body to safety.

UPDATE: 9:50 a.m. - The prosecution is gearing up to play WPXI News coverage of the police shooting with anchors and retired reporter Stu Brown because it shows images and live sounds of heavy gunfire at the scene.

Also, prosecutors will play a recorded phone call between Poplawski and police negotiator Sgt. Craig Campbell. In the call, Poplawski can be heard saying, "I'm going to jail for the rest of my life..."

Before the jury came in to the courtroom on Tuesday, there was a heated debate between the judge and Prosecutor Mark Tranquilli. The judge approved a defense motion to edit out all racial comments before the jury hears the tape. Tranquilli got angry and shook his head in disgust, saying racial comments are critical to proving Poplawski's radical state of mind.

UPDATE: 7:58 a.m. - Day 2 of testimony is set to begin shortly.

DAY 1

UPDATE: 7:53 p.m. - Notes from testimony with EMS crew chief:

* Gunshots were being fired at 7:25 a.m. when EMS crew arrived. * The EMS crew did not receive Officer Kelly until 8:08 a.m.

"It takes a long time to get to the scene," said the EMS crew chief. "We aren't trained for this type of situation. We don't have the proper equipment."

* Getting to Kelly was delayed because he was under cover by a cop car. * The police van used to save the last two cops was not bullet proof. It was the same vehicle that picked up Officer Kelly. * CPR was done on Kelly. He was put on a stretcher and taken to the ambulance.

"He died of cardiovascular collapse," the EMS crew chief said.

* Kelly had no pulse and was not breathing when he reached the ambulance. Crews tried to give Kelly an IV, but it was unsuccessful.

Notes from testimony of Dr. Karl Williams, Chief Medical Examiner of Allegheny County

* Officer Kelly's cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. The manner was homicide. * Had three bullets in his lower extremity: two on his left leg and one in his bowel.

"None of those would be fatal, even though the femur was fractured significantly," said Williams.

* One specific bullet was said to be fatal, and unless Kelly had immediate medical attention, he would not survive.

"The bullet hit his right kidney, went through the liver, and into the lower lobe of his right lung," said Williams. "Besides the head or the heart, hitting three major organs is definitely considered a fatal injury."

Court will recess until 9 a.m. Tuesday.

UPDATE: 7:35 p.m. - Testimony is done for the day. It ended with testimony of EMS crew chief and a medical examiner's officer. The EMS chief was choked up in court when he recalled the effort to get to Officer Kelly.

UPDATE: 4:07 P.M. - Officer Tim McManaway testified saying Officer Kelly's last words were, "Please tell my wife and kids I love them."

UPDATE: 3:03 p.m. - Neighbor Michelle Ostrowski testified she took pictures from her second floor bedroom during the shooting. Her call, recorded by 911, was played in court.

UPDATE: 2:57 p.m. -Pittsburgh police Officer Wade Sarver testified that he was one of the first to arrive at the scene and took cover behind a tree. Sarver told the judge that he fired his .40 caliber semi-automatic gun, and struck Poplawski as he fired shots at Kelly, who was already down.

UPDATE: 2:57 p.m. - Pittsburgh police Officer Wade Sarver testified that he was one of the first to arrive at the scene and took cover behind a tree. Sarver told the judge that he fired his .40 caliber semi-automatic gun, and struck Poplawski as he fired shots at Kelly, who was already down.

"I believe I hit him [Poplawski] because the shooting stopped giving off and [we] had time to pull Kelly behind his SUV," Sarver said.

UPDATE: 12:20 p.m. - Judge Manning announced a lunch break. The case is set to resume at 1:25 p.m.

Alfred Lejpras testified he saw neighbor Richard Poplawski pumping rounds from a rifle into Officer Stephen Mayhle as the officer lay at the foot of Poplawski's porch steps in a pool of blood. He could see the rounds impacting Mayhle's body.

"I heard, 'Pop. Pop. Pop,' he said. "I saw a man standing on the porch and Officer Mayhle was down there on the ground."

He said Poplawski, wearing a long T-shirt and what he believed to be sweatpants, turned and stepped over Paul Sciullo's body in the front doorway as he reentered his house.

Lejpras said he yelled for his wife.

"I said, 'Somebody out there is killing police officers. Get back in the bedroom,'" he said.

Lejpras went through the house and locked all the doors, hearing more gunshots from outside. He returned to his bedroom window facing the street and said he saw Officer Eric Kelly lying on the ground behind a white sport utility vehicle.

Kelly's daughter, Tameka, tearfully testified that her father picked her up minutes earlier from the Heartland Nursing Home where she had just finished an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift. Eric Kelly, who typically picked her up from work and drove her home, had just finished working a night shift she said.

When they arrived at their house on Premier Street, about two blocks from the Poplawski home, they heard a series of gunshots, and her dad received a faint dispatch that she could not hear over his police radio.

"He just told me to get in the house," she sobbed. "He told me to lock the doors. He'd be back."

She last saw her father, who was off-duty and driving his personal vehicle, racing toward Fairfield Street.

The 911 audio recording was also played in court.

Margaret Poplawski: "Get up, and get out. I want him out."

Dispatcher: "OK. Does he have any weapons or anything?"

Margaret Poplawski: "Yes. They're all legal."

Dispatcher: "What does he, OK. He's not threatening you with anything?"

UPDATE: 11:50 a.m. - Poplawski's neighbor, JoAnn Devinney, who lives across the street, told the jury that when she opened her front door the morning of April 4, 2009, she saw two dead police officers on her neighbor's property.

One lay in the doorway to the Poplawski house and the second at the bottom of the front porch steps, face up, she said.

"I heard noises hitting against my house. I thought it was garbage cans because it was windy that day. My husband said, ‘That sounds like gunfire.' We opened the door and I saw two policemen. One was lying in the door and another officer was at the foot of the steps," Devinney testified.

Devinney said she saw Richard Poplawski standing in his mother's garage wearing a long white T-shirt with a long gun on his right side. His mother was next to him, wearing a pink bathrobe. Devinney assumed the officers were dead because they weren't moving and she saw blood.

As Devinney testified, Tranquilli presented a picture of the downed officers to the jury. The picture shows Sciullo, through the door, and Mayhle at the bottom of the porch steps, in a pool of blood. Several family members of the victims looked away when Tranquilli displayed the picture on the large courtroom screen for the jury.

Sciullo's parents and the widows of Mayhle and Kelly are seated in the first row of the courtroom gallery.

UPDATE: 11:35 a.m. - Allegheny County 911 call-taker Shannon Basa-Sabol told the jury this morning that she took the initial call from Margaret Poplawski, Richard Poplawski's mother, which precipitated the incident.

Basa-Sabol said Margaret Poplawski called 911 to say she wanted her son out of the house because he came home drunk the night before. When Basa-Sabol asked if there were weapons in the home, Margaret Poplawski said there were but they were all legal and that her son was not threatening her with any of them.

"I told her we'd send an officer and I sent the call to dispatch," Basa-Sabol testified.

When Basa-Sabol relayed the call to the police dispatcher, she typed in "no weapons" because she said her training had taught her that since no weapons were involved in the incident and no one was being threatened it was not necessary.

In the days after the shootings, 911 officials apologized to police for not notifying responding officers about the guns.

UPDATE: 10:30 a.m. - Prosecutor Mark Tranquilli called Poplawski a coward who gunned down three officers in cold blood. Officers were called to the Stanton Heights home after Poplawski's mother called to get him out of the house during an argument over puppies "tinkling" on the floor.

Poplawski heard his mother call 911. He proceeded to dress himself in a ballistic vest, loaded a 12-gauge shotgun with slugs and buckshot, loaded his .357 magnum revolver and put it in his leg holster. He loaded his AK-47 and waited for the officers to show up, Tranquilli said.

Officer Paul Sciullo was hit immediately with a shotgun blast, Tranquilli said. When Sciullo was down, Poplawski shot him again to make sure he was dead, the prosecutor said.

Officer Stephen Mayhle arrived and engaged Poplawski in a gun a battle that raged throughout the house, according to testimony. Poplawski's bulletproof vest stopped Mayhle's .40 caliber rounds.

Tranquilli told the jury they will play 911 tapes of Poplawski talking to negotiators where he jokes about what he did. Tranquilli told the jury the defense will try to tell them that Sciullo was hit with friendly fire, but the truth is it was after he was already dead.

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