Llera v. LVMPD: DAY 3
Yesterday began with testimony from Colin Snyder, one of the other officers involved in Jorge’s murder, and then continued with testimony from Vernon Ferguson and the beginning of testimony from Andrew Locher. So far, all of the testimonies are full of holes, contradictions from earlier statements, and conflicts with what actually happened in the video of the events that took place leading up to Jorge’s murder.
Colin Snyder Testimony
The court session began with Colin Snyder, one of the first officers to approach Jorge that night, providing testimony and responding to cross-examination. During the testimony, he said that the arrest order was given by an officer, who was not John Squeo, so he began running down the stairs at Jorge to arrest him, but never saw him grab anything or have anything in his hands.
He said he stopped pursuing Jorge after reaching the bottom of the steps because he no longer perceived any reason to arrest him. A key part of the situation is that he never heard anybody yell “bean bag” before or after the bean bags were fired at Jorge. Still, he said that the area was well-lit and he was looking at Jorge the entire time.
During cross-examination between the defendant’s attorneys, Snyder said the following:
The light was behind Jorge, causing Snyder to see a silhouette, and his gas mask skewed his view.
He didn’t see Jorge’s rifle at all.
His attention was focused on walking down the steps, and his attention was diverted from Jorge.
Because he had a gas mask, he did not command Jorge, and he could not hear bean bags, but he was able to hear some commands given.
Jorge never attacked, never used profanity, and never appeared ready to use a weapon.
He claims he didn’t hear the command to “Get him” and arrest Jorge
He said Jorge was always outside the pillars in front of the courthouse
Bean bags supposedly can get people to comply without escalating to deadly force
Key callouts to point out were that Snyder never saw the rifle being used or saw Jorge posing a threat. His testimony also shows that there was very poor awareness by the officers to call out that bean bags were fired, and there were no clear commands or warnings given to Jorge before the other officers resorted to deadly force.
The jury was also allowed to pose some questions directly, asking:
“Why were you wearing a gas mask and not the other officers?”
“Squeo wasn’t wearing a mask so he could give verbal commands, but everyone else was.”
“How would you describe what you saw in the video of Jorge stopping?”
“It looked like a quick turn.”
“Did you feel Jorge was a threat?”
“No.”
Vernon Ferguson Testimony
Ferguson’s testimony was the longest part of the court session yesterday, as he was the officer who fired the first lethal shots at Jorge. He gave the background that his assignment was to serve in a vehicle convoy and monitor for violence and vandalism, saying that he was not typically a uniformed patrol officer. He gave his interview with the police department within 72 hours of Jorge’s murder.
Some of the claims he made during his testimony include:
He was aware of Nevada’s laws as an open carry state and acknowledged that it is not illegal to carry a gun.
He was trained to give verbal commands “when feasible”.
He heard about the Circus Circus shooting and was prepared to head there.
He heard 4 to 5 shots after exiting his vehicle.
He saw Jorge running with his rifle in his hand, he saw gun smoke, and he saw John Squeo running down the steps, screaming something he couldn’t hear.
Bean bag rounds create the same amount of gun smoke as a real gun
He saw Squeo with a weapon-lethal gun because of the color, but didn’t assume it was Squeo who fired the shots he heard.
He assumed Jorge fired shots despite not seeing him fire anything.
He didn’t see any officers point a gun at Jorge, didn’t see anyone on the floor who appeared to be shot, and didn’t see Jorge fall.
He said that he told another officer, “He’s got a rifle right there,” despite never mentioning the rifle in his initial statement he gave the court.
He never heard on the radio that there were bean bag rounds.
He agreed that it would have been helpful to distinguish that shots came from the other officers and not Jorge.
He didn’t give any commands until moving into the first lane of traffic, where he said, “Stop, Metro police, stop”.
He only gave one second after the warning, saying that Jorge turned to look at him and pointed his rifle.
He said he left his cover “to protect his fellow officers” because he “couldn’t let him get away”.
Ferguson was the one who fired the first lethal shot at Jorge before giving any commands. He claimed that he thought Jorge was going to shoot at him specifically, saying that Jorge somehow turned and raised his weapon in less than one second before running away (this is also a contradiction from his deposition, where he said two to three seconds).
While Ferguson was on the stand, the court was shown multiple videos of Jorge’s murder, from multiple angles, which the jury watched empathetically. Ferguson stated that his unit is not assigned to work with the public typically, so he didn’t wear a body camera, despite working the protests.
Ferguson said that he was familiar with the sound of both less lethal and lethal rounds. He also claimed that he was “scared” that he might shoot other officers, so he went into the street, also claiming that he was responsible for other protestors’ safety, despite firing lethal rounds at a peaceful protester who was running away.
He maintained that he “perceived he was about to be shot,” while saying that in the moment he assessed having a clear backdrop to shoot and looking at other factors around Jorge. Still, in the video, we never see Jorge turn his body or face Ferguson. It’s also very odd that Ferguson was able to take in all this information, but could not provide a warning, and his recollection of events is much different than the provided video.
During cross-examination with Jorge’s family’s attorney, Ferguson continued to offer questionable responses, making some of the following points:
Jorge running from the police made him the aggressor, in his mind.
He agreed that any person would run away from gunshots.
He didn’t hear the radio channel say “shots fired.”
He didn’t mention the rifle when saying, “He’s right there.”
During cross-examination with Attorney Galipo, Ferguson continued to contradict himself. Galipo also pointed out that a gun with a sling needed to be held to stay in place, but that it was also on the right side of Jorge’s body, despite the claim that he pointed the gun while turning left. Ferguson even began to turn red and became very short in his responses. He also said that he did not see Jorge’s satchel and was unable to see his hands, yet he believed that Jorge turned his head and pointed the rifle at him while running away in a full sprint.
The jury was also given the chance to ask questions of Ferguson, with his answers below:
“Is it possible to point a gun with a sling?”
“Yes”
”If you didn’t have tunnel vision, why couldn’t you see Jorge’s hand?
”I was focused on the barrel.”
”How heavy is the weapon?”
”5 to 6 pounds”
”At any time did you tell Jorge to drop the weapon?”
”No, there was not enough time.”
”How could you tell Jorge was involved in a crime?”
”He had some type of involvement because he was running.”
”Why did you get involved in this situation if you were going to Circus Circus?”
”It was our duty as officers.”
Locher’s Testimony
Andrew Locher was on the stand for the last portion of yesterday’s session. His time on the stand began with establishing context and background. He had been assigned to his unit since 2003 and had worked with the Sheriff’s department from 2016 to 2020. He trained officers on low-lethal weapons and identifying the color of the weapons. On the night of June 1, Locher was driving a white pickup truck as the final vehicle in the convoy.
Some key points from his testimony and responses to cross-examination include:
He trains officers to announce bean bags to avoid contagious fire “when feasible”.
One can tell the difference between bean bags and lethal rounds “on open range”.
He saw multiple people with rifles and guns during the protests and is not trained to shoot someone holding a gun, agreeing that it would be inappropriate to do so.
He heard the broadcast over the radio about the Circus Circus shooting and admitted he did not believe Jorge had anything to do with the shooting.
He heard reports of shots being fired and saw smoke in the air, and he assumed that Jorge had shot at officers.
He didn’t see Jorge before hearing bean bags, and after hearing bean bags, he didn’t see the weapon in Jorge’s hand.
He was about 200-230 feet from Jorge and didn’t hear any commands yelled.
He didn’t see Squeo shoot Jorge and only saw officers pursuing him.
He trains officers to take cover from a threat, but didn’t take cover and then prepared himself to shoot Jorge.
Jorge’s rifle was pointed down, and he didn’t see the rifle in both hands.
A key part of his testimony is that he never heard any verbal commands and never gave any himself. Despite not seeing Jorge with a rifle in hand, Locher assumed that Jorge fired at officers and aimed at Jorge, aware that the bullet could possibly kill him. He fired the fifth round as Jorge was already on the ground. He also admits that the rifle was still across Jorge’s body as he was falling.
Locher’s testimony ended the day and will continue today with the beginning of the fourth day of sessions.
Some Key Takeaways
Only two days into cross-examination and officer testimony, their testimonies have already been inconsistent between multiple officers and even contradict their own previous statements.
During the testimony, the officers watching seemed uncomfortable. Some of the officers even appeared uncomfortable during their own testimony, as Ferguson appeared to get red in the face while giving his side of the story.
Today’s session will involve the rest of Locher’s testimony and cross-examination, Emerton’s testimony, Fryman’s testimony, and possibly Officer Silvia.
Your Support Is Still Needed!
The trial is still expected to continue through at least the rest of the week and into next week. Each day is expected to start at 8:30am and end at 4pm. Court support is still important for showing that the community is behind Jorge and his family, so we continue to encourage as many people as possible to come out and offer their solidarity.
If you are able to make it, please note that phones and electronic devices like Apple Watches are completely banned from the courtroom, and attendees will have to pass through a metal detector upon entering the court, so it will be necessary to make alternate arrangements for your phone. If you’re able to support in other ways, both spreading the word and donations to More Than a Hashtag are appreciated and helpful for supporting our efforts and the logistics behind court support.
