WORCESTER— The lawyer for a city woman who claims a state trooper's vindictiveness spurred criminal charges filed against her argued in court yesterday for the release of internal affairs records involving the trooper.
Nicole M. Procida, lawyer for Tanika Fontanez, maintained in a Central District Court hearing that an internal affairs investigation conducted by state police into allegations against Trooper Danielle Pires contains interviews and statements that will help her client's defense.
Ms. Fontanez is charged with allegedly assaulting Trooper Pires on Jan. 19 in the city. The defendant denies the accusation.
Worcester police and state police arrived at the 88 Houghton St. apartment of Ms. Fontanez that day. Ms. Procida told the court that Trooper Pires radioed the incident into dispatchers as an "OT," designating that a law enforcement officer was involved in a life-threatening situation. Ms. Procida said she was told of the "OT" call during a discussion with state police Detective Lt. Debra A. Simon of the state police internal affairs unit.
It was one of several allegations cited by Ms. Procida yesterday in court and in an affidavit she has filed.
Ms. Fontanez, a Worcester resident, was charged in February with assault and battery on a police officer.
Preceding the alleged assault was another alleged confrontation between Trooper Pires' daughter and two friends of Ms. Fontanez at a nearby gas station. Ms. Fontanez and her two friends, Jaarmil S. Tharpe and Kaamil Jenkins, who are brothers, deny any wrongdoing in either of the Jan. 19 incidents.
The two brothers are in court charged with robbing Desire Pires, the trooper's daughter. The three defendants are to return to court on Nov. 30.
Underlying the legal issues is a long-standing feud between the three defendants and Trooper Pires and her daughter. Desire Pires was dating the father of Ms. Fontanez's two children, Bernard A.D. Johnson, who was shot and killed in Somerville last summer. He was shot after leaving the home of a relative of the Pires family.
At the time of his death, Mr. Johnson was on a Worcester police watch list of criminals. Pires family members said Mr. Johnson had proposed to Desire Pires, 19 at the time, the night he was killed.
LaDonna J. Hatton, chief counsel for the state police, argued in court that the internal affairs records should not be released. She maintained the internal affairs probe is ongoing. She also argued the records being sought do not address whether or not a crime was committed by Ms. Fontanez.
Judge David Ricciardone said he will review the motion.
"We are trying to get these documents to show Trooper Pires is not a credible witness and is not telling the truth," Ms. Procida said after court.
A Worcester police report filed in court states that at about 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 city police were called and told two patrons at the Mobil station at 334 Grafton St. had been robbed and that one of the victims was Desire Pires. When they arrived at the station, officers encountered Trooper Pires, who said she was not at the gas station at the time of the reported robbery but was near enough to get there quickly.
The trooper allegedly told police she had followed two suspects, later identified as Mr. Tharpe and Mr. Jenkins, to a nearby apartment on Houghton Street, went inside and was attacked by one of the men and Ms. Fontanez. Trooper Pires said she returned to her vehicle and called for help, which resulted in both state police and city police going to the scene.
Trooper Pires alleged she was assaulted by Ms. Fontanez inside the building.
In her affidavit filed earlier this month, Ms. Procida said she learned from Lt. Simon that a trooper is not authorized to respond to an apartment or investigate criminal acts in which a family member is the alleged victim.
State police told a Telegram & Gazette reporter earlier this year that it was their understanding that Trooper Pires responded as a parent and not in an official capacity. Ms. Procida maintains Trooper Pires repeatedly identified herself as a police officer throughout the episode.
Photographs and items belonging to Mr. Johnson were allegedly taken from the Houghton Street apartment, according to Ms. Procida. She claims once they were returned, the photographs of Mr. Johnson were marked "taken by Trooper Pires" on the back.
Ms. Procida further alleges that after a story about the incident and investigation of the trooper ran in the Telegram & Gazette in March, a lawyer called her. Christopher Brown, based in Boston, allegedly asked if an iPod was missing from the apartment, which was the case.
"He then informed me that Trooper Pires had told her fiance, Douglas Brioso, that she, in fact, took an iPod from `civilians that had problems with her daughter,'" Ms. Procida wrote in her affidavit.
The state police lawyer did not respond to allegations contained in the affidavit. No witnesses were called to the stand.
Trooper Pires, who became a state police officer in August 2002, has served in the Holden barracks and with the department's public affairs section. She is working in the office of diversity and equal opportunity in the recruitment office based in Framingham, according to state police, and has made public appearances to discuss opportunities for women in law enforcement.
In 2005, she donated a kidney to a lifelong friend.
The allegation: Ms. Fontanez is charged with assaulting Trooper Danielle Pires on Jan. 19 in the city. She denies the accusation.
Complications: Underlying the legal issues is a long-standing feud between the three defendants and Trooper Pires and her daughter.
The claims: State police told a Telegram & Gazette reporter earlier this year that it was their understanding that Trooper Pires responded as a parent and not in an official capacity. Ms. Procida maintains Trooper Pires repeatedly identified herself as a police officer throughout the episode.
The response: LaDonna J. Hatton, chief counsel for the state police, argued in court that the internal affairs records should not be released. She maintained the internal affairs probe is ongoing.
The quote: `We are trying to get these documents to show Trooper Pires is not a credible witness and is not telling the truth.' - Nicole M. Procida, lawyer for Tanika Fontanez
Posted by: Sniper
Don't ALL cops love OT ??? This whole thing still sounds like a bunch of bullsheeeat
Posted by: Tuna
WOW what a mess
Posted by: dcs2244
Came on the job in 2002...served with Public Affairs...'nuff said...BS flag on the play.
Happy Consolidation.
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