| From: | angliss@********.edu (Brian Angliss) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | The hearing, again |
| Date: | Mon, 7 Oct 1996 09:58:43 -0700 |
amazing
that there's so many fraggin witnesses. And I should have Marshall Qoph's
testimony up in a day or two.
+++++ Begin Trideo record, International Police Hearing S57-01 +++++
Clerk: All rise.
Commander Drake, Lt. Rachel Mizikar, Lt. Gerry Burr, and the clerk all stand
while the panel walks in. Sir Harold Burns is looking very tired but still
distinguished. Miyamoto Okyoshu also appears as if the travails of the
hearing are finally wearing him down some. Chief Eric Skinwalker, however,
appears as solid and stolid as always. And Rep. Thomas Lang looks more and
more triumphant as the days go on.
Cleak: Be seated.
Burns: Well, then, where were we?
Clerk: We were just about to call another witness, Sir.
Burns: I know that. It was a rhetorical question.
Clerk: Sorry, sir.
Burns: Call the next witness, then.
Clerk: The Panel calls Jose Montoya.
The camera turns again, as it has for all the witnesses at this point, and
faces the rear door as it opens to admit Lt. Colonel Jose Montoya, acting
head of InterPol's Special Branch. He is wearing his black dress uniform,
just like all the other InterPol officers present. On it are several ribbons
and commendations for various acts of heroism and selflessness, and a very
new rank insignia. He walks forward, stands behind the witness table, and
waits while the clerk comes forward.
Clerk: State your name and rank for the record.
Jose: Jose Montoya, Lt. Colonel and acting head of Special Branch, InterPol.
Clerk: Repeat after me, sir. I, Jose Montoya, do solemnly swear....
Jose: I, Jose Montoya, do solemnly swear.
Clerk: To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so
help me God.
Jose: To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so
help me God.
Clerk: Please be seated, sir.
Burns: Well, whose turn is it this time?
Lt. Burr, Prosecution: Mine, sir. Lt. Col. Montoya, you are currently the
acting head of Special Branch. Why is that?
Jose: I'm not sure I understand the question. Could you be more specific?
Prosecution: Certainly. Could you please tell me why you are the acting
head of Special Branch and not someone else more qualified?
Jose: Because Commander Drake promoted me and gave me his command as his
last action before turning himself in.
Prosecution: Why is that, sir?
Jose: Because he feels that I am the best qualified to lead Special Branch.
Prosecution: He told you that himself?
Jose: Yes.
Prosecution: What, if you know, do you posses that qualifies you to lead
Special Branch? Any particular skills or abilities?
Jose: Nothing that I'm aware of, except that I believe as ferverently about
Special Branch's mission and duties as Commander Drake does.
Prosecution: Would you say that would be enough?
Jose: Enough to put me over the top in an equal race, yes.
Prosecution: But not enough were someone else well ahead of you in, say,
skills or abilities?
Jose: You'd have to ask Commander Drake about that.
Prosecution: But I'm asking you, sir.
Jose: Probably not, then.
Prosecution: Were you aware that there were several individuals who have
much greater skills in administration and management than you who were being
groomed by the Council and Enforcement Branch to replace Commander Drake when
he retired?
Jose: Commander Drake did tell me that, yes.
Prosecution: Did you feel inclined at the time to ask why he was ignoring
them and going to you?
Jose: No, I did not.
Prosecution: I see. Sir, is it possible that Commander Drake wanted to keep
control of Special Branch in the hands of those individuals who were a
product of it's specific doctrine?
Jose: I'd like to think that's precisely why he did it, but I know
different.
Prosecution: Really? In what way?
Jose: Commander Drake told me at one of our meetings that the individuals
who were being groomed for his position were, if I remember the term
correctly, "megacorporate stoodges."
Prosecution: Are you saying that Commander Drake accused them of being on
the payroll of any of several megacorporations?
Jose: He suspected it, but never said anything which could be construed as a
direct accusation.
Prosecution: I see. Did Commander Drake ever tell you why he suspected
this?
Jose: No, he did not.
Prosecution: Very well. Lt. Col. Montoya, has Commander Drake told you that
you are next in line for command of Special Branch when he retires?
Jose: Not precisely, no. He has told me that I have been designated as his
successor, officially and according to Section 43 of the Special Branch
charter, upon his leaving the position, through voluntary or involuntary
means. He has pointed out to me repeatedly that he does not expect to live
to a ripe old age.
Prosecution: And why is that?
Jose: He feels that he has made too many enemies who see him as an
impediment to thier doing anything that they want. He led me to believe that
these enemies were corporate, national, private, and even internal to
InterPol.
Prosecution: And he felt that someone would remove him, perhaps even kill
him, when he became too much of a problem?
Jose: Yes. Various people have tried that already, and some have come very,
very close in the process.
Prosecution: So you are designated Commander Drake's successor. You are, I
hope, aware that his official sanction of you does not automatically mean
that you would be placed in command of Special Branch?
Jose: Of course.
Prosecution: One thing still puzzles me, though. Why would you be
designated his, well, heir if you didn't have any real skills in that
department?
Jose: Well, I do have some skill in command or else I wouldn't have been
placed in command of one of Commander Drake's special units. And I also
believe that Commander Drake thinks that I can learn anything which I don't
already know.
Prosecution: Indeed. While we're on the topic, why are you in charge of the
Montoya sniper unit?
Jose: Because I am an expert sniper, Lt.
Prosecution: Yet the records show that you have only rarely expressed more
than a passing interest in most sniper weapons, and had, until the pursuit of
Mr. Lynch, not even drawn a weapon from stores larger than an SMG and
standard sidearm. Why is that, sir?
Jose: Because, until recently, Commander Drake had restricted my use of
rifles to the shooting range.
Prosecution: Really? Why?
Jose: Your increduality is forced, Lt. Burr. Commander Drake's restrictions
on my weapon use is well documented, as is his rescinding those restrictions.
The reason is that I am an expert sniper with a past. I wasn't, after all,
always a cop.
Prosecution: Really, sir?
Defense: Objection, Sir. Prosecution is attempting to turn the focus of
this hearing from Commander Drake to Lt. Colonel Montoya.
Prosecution: I am attempting to ascertain certain of Commander Drake's
motives and his sudden change of heart, which I have not yet had a chance to
bring up.
Burns: Overrulled. But keep it quick, Lt. Burr. I'm a tired old man, and
all the more crochety for not sleeping well last night.
Prosecution: Of course, Sir. Lt. Col. Montoya, what were you before you
were a cop?
Jose: I'm sorry, Lt. Burr, but because of Special Branch Charter Sections 65
c and d, I am not required to answer that.
Prosecution: Sir, I put the question before the Panel. You have the power
to force the answer if you wish.
Burns: Very well. Councilman Okyoshu?
Okyoshu: Hai, he must answer the question.
Lang: I concur.
Skinwalker: I do not agree. Lt. Col. Montoya does not have to answer the
question.
Burns: And as I am allowed a vote, I concur with Chief Skinwalker. Lt.
Colonel Montoya, you are not required to answer that question. Lt. Burr,
either retract the question or rephrase it.
Prosecution: Very well, honored panel members. Lt. Colonel Montoya, what
were the reasons for Commander Drake's placing weapons restrictions on you?
Jose: He felt that my prior history, which I will not discuss, was such that
I was potentially dangerous with rifles. He felt that this potential should
be limited at all costs, but in a manner which would still enable me to give
the benefit of my experience to others. Thus I acted as a spotter and
commander of the sniper unit.
Prosecution: So there were very valid reasons, related to your supposed
sniper skills, to restrict your access to rifles?
Jose: Yes.
Prosecution: Yet Commander Drake released those same restrictions the day
before he named you as his successor, correct?
Jose: Yes.
Prosecution: Why is that?
Jose: Because it would have been counterproductive to have me remain
restricted.
Prosecution: And what did you do as soon as you were released from his
restrictions?
Jose: I immediately dived into the shooting range to practice and regain my
skills with sniper rifles.
Prosecution: And the Barret 121 in particular, correct?
Jose: Yes. I am an expert in using that particular weapon, while only
extremly skilled in others.
Prosecution: I see. And after your restrictions had been released, what
positions did you fulfill?
Jose: I immediately began carrying a rifle with me when we were setting up
for Mr. Lynch. In some cases, two rifles. One for non-lethal ammunition,
the other for lethal in the event that Commander Drake had ordered us into a
weapons-free situation.
Prosecution: And what were the two rifles, sir?
Jose: The non-lethal rifle was usually a Walther WA-2100 loaded with gel
rounds. The lethal rifle was always a Barret 121, for pure stoping power.
Prosecution: Always the same rifle?
Jose: Yes.
Prosecution: Why is that?
Jose: Because.... Lt. Burr, that question again relates directly to my past
and I am not required to answer it.
Burns: Lt. Colonel Montoya, I am not inclined to allow you that way out this
time. Answer the question.
Jose: Yes, sir. Because that particular rifle is mine.
Prosecution: Yours, sir?
Jose: Yes. It had been in my possesion before I joined InterPol.
Prosecution: I begin to see, but since I have been disallowed from asking
too direct questions, I will desist. Sir, you were the individual who shot
Mr. Lynch, correct?
Jose: In the leg, yes.
Prosecution: Were you aware at the time that Marshall Qoph had ordered that
Mr. Lynch be killed?
Jose: I was.
Prosecution: And yet you did not shoot to kill. Why is that, sir?
Jose: Because Commander Drake's orders, as my direct superior, took
precedence. In addition, by ordering me to shoot to wound, Commander Drake
was knowingly disobeying a direct order from a superior, while not passing
that responsiblity down the chain of command to me.
Prosecution: So you knew that, by ordering you to shoot to wound, Commander
Drake was disobeying a direct order?
Jose: I just said that, didn't I?
Prosecution: Thank you, sir! One final question: Does Commander Drake have
a file of Special Branch personnel; a file outside the normal InterPol
procedures?
Jose: No, sir, he does not.
Prosecution: Are you very sure of that?
Jose: Of course. He's not in command anymore, thus I have that file now.
Prosecution: (laughs) I see, sir. But he did at one point, correct?
Jose: Yes.
Prosecution: No more questions.
Burns: I call a 10 minute recess.
<pause>
Burns: Lt. Col. Montoya, may I remind you that you are still under oath.
Jose: I understand, sir.
Burns: Excellent. Lt. Mizikar, your witness.
Lt. Mizikar, Defense: Sir, how long have you been under Commander Drake's
direct command now?
Jose: For the last 5 years. Ever since he formed his special units and he
gave me command of the sniper unit.
Defense: In that time, have you ever known the Commander to be dishonest, or
to act without any sense of honor or integrity?
Jose: I have not.
Defense: And in that time, has the Commander ever ordered you to perform
tasks which were personally degrading or unethical?
Jose: Unethical, no. However, the nature of under-cover operations
sometimes requires that a cop do things that he or she finds personally
distasteful.
Defense: Of course. In that time, has Commander Drake ever asked you or
your team to assassinate anyone.
Jose: No, he has not.
Defense: And why is that, sir?
Jose: Because to do so would run counter to his personal ethics and to the
spirit of the InterPol charter.
Defense: How so?
Jose: InterPol exists to bring some justice to those who break the laws and
escape across national jurisdictional lines.
Defense: Mr. Lynch said much the same thing in his testimony.
Jose: I'm not surprised, although I suspect that he and I, and Commander
Drake as well, would disagree as to the correctness of our various methods to
bringing people to justice.
Defense: I'm sure you are correct, sir. Commander Drake never asked you or
your team to assassinate anyone. Has he ever ordered you to kill someone?
Jose: If you are asking about assassinating again, then the answer is still
no. However, if you mean to kill someone if they became dangerous, then yes,
he has.
Defense: Could you give me an example, sir?
Jose: Of course. When the Commander arrested Dr. Jackson, my unit was on
the site. Commander Drake ordered us to be ready to kill Dr. Jackson should
he appear to pose an immediate threat to the lives of our arresting agents.
As Dr. Jackson accepted his arrest more or less without incident, his death
was not necessary.
Defense: I see. Are situations like this common for Special Branch?
Jose: In my experience, no. We are trained to kill only in defense of
ourselves or our fellow InterPol agents. There have been some unfortunate
incidents, but the individuals responsible were always disciplined, in
several cases the agent was brought up on manslaughter or murder charges.
Defense: How do you think that this differs from normal police operations,
if at all?
Jose: Very little, actually. From my experience, normal police, and indeed
the rest of InterPol as well, treat killing suspects or criminals as highly
undesirable. After all, a dead suspect or criminal cannot be sentenced or
tried for his or her crimes. Of course, this is under the ideal situations.
Defense: What do you mean by that, sir?
Jose: All police are human beings, Lt. If a criminal kills a cop, then they
want some measure of revenge. The percentages of criminals accused of
killing a cop reaching trial are very low. And there are always corrupt
cops who kill criminals because thier real employers fear what they would
say if allowed to go to trial.
Defense: Do you personally feel that there are individuals in InterPol who
fit that description?
Prosecution: Objection, sir. Irrelevant to the hearing.
Burns: Overruled, Lt. Burr. Since the charges of corruption within InterPol
have been repeated by several of the most important witnesses so far, I am
inclined to allow questions of this sort from now on. But don't let that
stop you from objecting.
Prosecution: Of course, sir.
Defense: Lt. Col. Montoya?
Jose: Of course. I would like to believe that there are fewer corrupt
individuals within InterPol's heirarchy than within, say, Lone Star's, but I
have no doubt that there are some. Police are always targets, and police
with InterPol's level of power and responsibility even more so.
Defense: Sir, you said earlier that you knew that Commander Drake was
disobeying a direct order from Marshall Qoph when he ordered you to fire to
wound Mr. Lynch. You also said that you followed the Commander's orders
because he is your direct superior and that you knew that he was attempting
to limit your responsibility. If Marshall Qoph had removed Commander Drake
from command and ordered you to kill Mr. Lynch, would you have done so?
Jose: No, I would not have.
Defense: Why not, sir?
Jose: Because to do so would violate the Special Branch charter and would go
against my personal integrity and ethics.
Defense: How is that?
Jose: I personally have no qualms with killing a dangerous criminal who had
severely injured or killed a fellow agent. I would prefer that the criminal
go to trial, but if the only way to save the life of a friend was to kill the
criminal, I would do so. If Mr. Lynch had, at any time, killed an InterPol
agent, and I had been ordered to kill him, he would likely not have had a
bullet in his leg, but rather his skull. However, Mr. Lynch is an honorable
man, in his own way. He follows his conscience, however much I personally
dislike his means and methods, or how illegal they truly are. Mr. Lynch
deserves to face a trial by jury for his crimes, not summary execution. For
those reasons, I would not have fired, nor would I have allowed anyone under
my command to do so.
Defense: Even at risk of removal from your position?
Jose: Lieutenant, Marshall Qoph could have held his pistol against my head
and told me to do it or die, and I would not have fired. Death is not
necessarily worse than sacrificing your integrity.
Defense: Thank you, sir. A couple more questions, if you don't mind. Why
do you think that your arrest of Mr. Lynch took so long to accomplish?
Jose: Because Mr. Lynch and his associates are highly trained professionals.
Being able to operate outside the law allows them several more degrees of
freedom than Special Branch agents enjoy.
Defense: Why do you think that Commander Drake disobeyed the orders by
Marshall Qoph?
Jose: Commander Drake would be the best person to answer that question, Lt.
Defense: I assure you that I will ask it of him. But I would still like to
hear your impressions, sir.
Jose: I believe that he refused to follow the orders because he felt that
they were wrong, and that they were politically motivated.
Defense: Thank you, Lt. Col. Montoya. No more questions.
Burns: Lt. Col. Montoya, do you have any last comments or observations you
wish to add before the panel?
Jose: I do, sir. I believe that the entire Lynch debacle was politically
motivated rather than motivated by good sense. Mr. Lynch is a dangerous
criminal, and wanted by more nations than I can easily remember. But his
crimes have always been carefully carried out. He has always targeted those
individuals he believed most responsible for whatever it was he was pursuing
them for. Yet Special Branch was ordered by the Council itself to pursue
him, and the council was convinced to do so by a nation who is not a
signatory of the InterPol charter, under the pretense that said nation would
become a signatory.
Special Branch was originally formed because so much of the rest of InterPol
was political at the time. I feel that it still is. Yet Section 96 allows
for the politicians to control Special Branch whenever they feel like it.
Commander Drake's cooperation with the orders was specifically because he
knew that he would be replaced with a political appointment if he was removed
for disobeying a direct order. Yet he fought against the orders as best he
could, while still obeying the letter of his orders and following his
conscience.
Commander Drake is facing this disciplinary hearing not because he disobeyed
orders, but because he disobeyed the politics behind those orders. And
because he has the audacity to be an ethical and uncorruptable officer of the
law.
Burns: Is that all, Lt. Col. Montoya?
Jose: It is, sir.
Burns: Very well. Witness is dismissed......
+++++ End Trideo record +++++ ]<<<<<
-- Trideo Pirate <09:54:42/10-07-57>
