New York Times — March 24, 1999
New York — All four police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Amadou Diallo have decided not to testify before the Bronx grand jury investigating the case, their lawyers said Tuesday.
The lawyer for one of the officers, Sean Carroll, announced a month ago that his client would not testify, but the other three officers had remained undecided until Tuesday. Their lawyers said that even though the officers wanted to tell the grand jury their version of events, they should not testify, in part because of the case's charged political atmosphere.
The officers have yet to explain their actions in the Feb. 4 incident to the police or to prosecutors. They fired a total of 41 shots at Diallo, an unarmed West African street peddler, in the vestibule of his Bronxn apartment building. Their lawyers have said that the officers believed Diallo had a gun.
The grand jury's term ends on Monday, and several lawyers connected to the case said they expected the jurors to decide before then whether to bring criminal charges against the four officers. But it could take a few days before the decision is made public. And if there are indictments, the charges will be kept under seal until the officers are brought into court and read the charges at their arraignments.
A month ago, Carroll's lawyer, Marvyn M. Kornberg, said he believed that the political pressures surrounding the case made it a foregone conclusion that the officers would be indicted, and that therefore his client would not testify.
The other defense lawyers expressed similar reservations Tuesday, and some expressed concerns that federal prosecutors who are monitoring the investigation might take over the case.
Stephen C. Worth, the lawyer representing Edward McMellon, said the unfavorable atmosphere surrounding the case made testifying inadvisable.
Steven Brounstein, who is representing Officer Kenneth Boss, said, « My client was anxious to testify, but on my advice he's not testifying. »
And James J. Culleton, who is representing Richard Murphy, said: « I don't think it's in my client's best interest to testify, despite the fact that I would love for his story to get out. There's been too much negative publicity. »
The lawyers were invited by Bronx prosecutors to have their clients testify Wednesday. Some seriously entertained the proposal; as recently as last week at least one of the lawyers talked with prosecutors about security arrangements at the courthouse, said a lawyer connected to the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Kornberg said he was pleased that the other officers had decided not to testify. « I think it's a very wise choice on the part of the other defendants, » he said. « It would be useless. Why tell your story to a grand jury where it's going to fall on deaf ears?»
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