Melissa Bailey Photo
Tarese Scruggs & Delorise MacFadden, the case’s two key witnesses.
Not only did off-duty cops fire weapons outside a bar on Upper State Street and then flee the scene — one of them lied about it when asked by a superior, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
That charge emerges in the affidavit submitted for the arrest of Lawrence Burns. He was one of three city cops arrested Friday for an incident the previous Sunday outside Christopher Martin’s restaurant, in which, while off-duty and after drinking, two of the three allegedly fired multiple gunshots into the air at 2:37 a.m.
Click here for a story about that case and the arrests.
Click here to read the affidavit as obtained and reported by the Register’s Bill Kaempffer.
The affidavit describes how two passersby, Tarese Scruggs & Delorise MacFadden, heard the shots, flagged down the cops, and pointed right to the three officers allegedly involved in the incident. Then the officers allegedly left the scene.
According to the affidavit, the first officer to stop them asked what was going on. Burns allegedly replied: “It’s nothing. It’s 55s.” That’s cop code talk for “fireworks.” According to the affidavit, the cop told the three to stay put — but they then fled.
The affidavit records a subsequent phone conversation between Burns and Sgt. Steven Teague around 3 a.m.:
Burns: “What’s up Sarge?”
Teague: “You need to come back to State Street because we need to talk about what happened.”
Burns: “What about State Street, what happened?”
Teague: “Well you were just on State Street and I need you to come back so we can talk about what happened.”
Burns: “Naw I wasn’t on State Street Sarge.”
Teague: “You weren’t here just five minutes ago?”
Burns: “Nope, I wasn’t on State Street.”
Teague: “Are you sure you wanna tell me you weren’t on State Street?”
Burns: “Naw Sarge, why, what’s up?”
Teague: “I’m gonna ask you again, were you on State Street ten minutes ago?”
Burns: “No, no, I was on State Street maybe an hour and half ago.”
Teague: “Where are you headed?”
Burns: “I’m on my way home.”
Teague: “Where is that?”
Burns: “Middletown.”
Teague: “Well, I need to talk to you so if I have to I will come to your house, what’s your address, I will come and speak to you.”
Burns: “Well, I’m not going home.”
Teague: “Well where are you going?”
Burns: “I don’t know where I’m going.”
Teague: “If that’s how you wanna handle it, that’s fine.”
Conversation over. Case just beginning.
The three arrested cops, who haven’t publicly told their side of the story yet, have a April 20 court date scheduled for arraignment.