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A Black and White Killing, The Case That Shook America; How I got the Confession Thrown Out of Court · Murders to Music: Crime Scene to Music Scene (Streamline Events and Entertainment)

• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Murders to Music podcast in another typical Tuesday episode.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: On this episode, I want to talk about a case that actually shook America, a case that got international attention, a case that ended up with a two-part BBC docuseries called A Black and White Killing the Case that Shook America.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you about the case from Shook America.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you about the case from the inside out.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about the details, I'm going to talk about things that occurred during the interviews and at the end of it, I'm going to tell you about a way that I screwed up in this case, which resulted in a killer's confession getting thrown out of court.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you about it because I got nothing to hide from and life happens.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: This is what we got going on.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: So this was late.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: This was a typical Wednesday.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Actually.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: This happened on August 10th 2016.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: And on that day, there was a young man named Larnell Bruce.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Larnell Bruce was a black male, 19 years old, who was hanging out in the city of Gresham, and he was hanging out with some friends in front of a convenience store.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: It's what occurred next.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Over the next 15, 20 minutes, it's going to affect the city in a way that has never been affected.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: In fact, it affected the state of Oregon in a way that had never been done before.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: So on that morning of August 10th 2016, larnell Bruce is standing outside of a 7-Eleven store.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: That 7-Eleven store is in a part of town called Rockwood.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Rockwood is our high crime area for the city.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: Rockwood takes about 80% of our police resources, about 80% of the time, and it's the type of area where you can be a collateral victim just for walking down the street.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: If there was a place in our city, if there was a place in the city of Portland in, therefore, the state of Oregon, where it was a high crime area, where there was a chance you could become a victim just for standing on a street corner, it would be in this part of town.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Him, just for standing on a street corner, it would be in this part of town.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: So on this early, early morning of August 10th, larnell is standing outside the 7-Eleven with a few of his friends, and the friends that are there are transient in nature.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: They're not people who will call the police, they're not people that want to cooperate with the police.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: They kind of got their own thing going.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: You know it's a mixed crowd, it's black, it's white, it's not a racial thing, but I can tell you this case ends up being a racial, a racial case.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: So he's there with a mixed crowd and about that time a red Jeep pulls into the parking lot.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: That red Jeep is driven by a man named Russell Courtier, who's about 37, 38 years old.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: Now, what Larnell doesn't know is that Russell, the driver of the Jeep, is the leader of the European kindred white supremacy prison gang and he's got a hat on that says EK for European kindred.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: He's got a tattoo on the back of his cap that says EK for European kindred.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: He is the leader, he is a godfather of the European Kindred prison gang.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: And this prison gang, it's important to note, was actually originated in Oregon prisons because the city of Portland was a prejudicial city way back when.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: There are still signs out on the street in downtown Portland that say no blacks allowed.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: It was a city that was ran by whites.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: That is something that, over the years, has continued to plague the city and has continued to fester through the prison systems, which results in when you get inside, you have to choose.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: You have to be in some lane.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: You either have to be with the whites, with the blacks, with Hispanics, whatever that.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Whatever that lane is you choose, and in this case, larnell not only chose a lane, but he chose to be a leader in that lane of the European kindred white supremacy prison gang.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Now, what Russell didn't know is, prior to his arrival at the 7-Eleven, larnell had been standing outside trying to sell a knife, a machete if you will, and this is a large Gerber style knife you take into the woods hunting with you or camping.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: See, larnell had been standing there asking patrons hey, do you want to buy this for 10 bucks?
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Do you want to buy this for 10 bucks?
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: And people have been turning him down.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: So here comes Russell.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: Russell pulls up to the front, he gets out to go into the 7-Eleven and Larnell, like everybody else he's been asking hey, you want to buy this?
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Well, when Russell hears that he doesn't have a whole lot of love for Larnell just on the face of this.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: So Russell didn't listen, didn't process and basically said hey, I ain't got nothing for you, move on, go away.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Well, arnell's like go screw yourself.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: You know, and before you know it, the two were in a heated verbal exchange.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Well, that heated verbal exchange turns into a physical altercation and that physical altercation ends up sending Russell Courtier through the plate glass window that's just outside that 7-Eleven.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: You know, you walk up to the 7-Eleven, to the left and the right of the doors of the plate glass window.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Well, in this case, the one on the left has now got a body imprint in it where Russell Courtier was put into that window.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: From there the fight continues.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: The fist fight continues, but at the end of the day Larnell Bruce is getting the upper hand on Russell Courtier.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: That means the 19-year-old is kicking the ass of the 38-year-old white supremacy gang member.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: They go out into the parking lot, they circle this Jeep.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: They're fighting.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: All this is captured on video.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: They circle, they fight.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: When Russell Courtier gets to the back of the Jeep, he grabs something out of the Jeep, ends up being a can of glass cleaner and kind of holds it up and postures with it.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: The fight continues and then the fight's over.
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: At the end of the fight, larnell Bruce kicked Russell Courtier's ass, but the fight was over.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: Marnell Bruce and his group of friends remember that mixed group.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: They started to walk away.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: They started to walk away to the east.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Now it's important at this point for me to tell you what this scene looks like.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: The 7-Eleven sits at a T intersection.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: It sits on the left-hand side of the T.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: On the inside of the T, there's a street a main street, burn side that runs parallel to the front of the store.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: There's a side street, 188th Avenue, that runs to the north and the south, on the east side of the 7-Eleven.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: So it sits there on the inside of that T of the 7-Eleven.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: So it sits there on the inside of that T.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Lornell Bruce and company walk from the parking lot of the 7-Eleven, they're walking towards the east and they cross over 188th Avenue.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: They are clearly separating themselves from the fight.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: They want nothing to do with it.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: They're done, it's over.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Russell Courtier, he can't leave well enough alone, because not only did he get his butt kicked by somebody half his age who is black, he got his butt kicked while he was wearing his European kindred hat and he had his tattoo showing he's a leader of this gang.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: This cannot be happening to him.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: And he got his butt kicked in front of his girlfriend.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: You see his girlfriend, colleen Hunt.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: She was sitting in the front passenger seat of this Jeep.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: In fact it was her Jeep and she watched this entire fight go down.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: So there's a lot of stuff stacked against Russell Courtier's ego and pride right now.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: So Russell Courtier gets into the Jeep and he backs up and he's now pointing his Jeep to the east towards Larnell Bruce and his group of friends.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: That's when witnesses hear Colleen Hunt yelling run him over, baby, get him, get him baby.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: And that's when Russell Courtier hits the gas.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: He charges out across the street, doesn't even stop entering a roadway from a non-roadway for you traffic cops out there.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: It goes right across the street into the parking lot and he's chasing Lauren L Bruce.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: Now the crowd of people separate, they all start to scatter left and right, but Lauren L Bruce is left, running right down the middle.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: That's when Russell's chasing him.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Russell chases him.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: They make a hard left around a light pole.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: So it's very obvious that Russell Courtier's actions are focused on Larnell Bruce, a big figure.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Eight through the parking lot and they end up headed back towards the west.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: Now they're headed back towards 188th Avenue.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: When Larnell gets to 188th Avenue he takes a right-hand turn.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: Now he's running northbound on 188th.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: But what 188th Avenue has is an apartment complex on both sides lined by a fence.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: It is literally fenced off on both sides and Larnell Bruce has no exit.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: He has nowhere to go but straight down the street.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: He can't scale these fences, doesn't have time.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: He's getting chased by somebody in a car.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: All this is captured on video from the side of the 7-Eleven.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: Based on the speed estimates that were done on the video, when Russell hit Larnell Bruce with that Jeep, hit him square in the back.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: The impact was between 50 and 56 miles per hour.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: That impact sent Larnell Bruce up and over the front of the car and down onto the ground.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: Russell Courtier didn't stop.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: He didn't stop to render aid.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: He didn't stop to finish the fight.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: He assumed that Larnell Bruce was dead and the fight was over and Russell Courtier continued northbound, sped away northbound 180th Avenue.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: As you can imagine, witnesses are calling the 911.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: We're getting a bunch of reports of this and the police arrive.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Well, witnesses were able to put out a description of this Jeep.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Now, this Jeep is a 70s model, red Jeep, black, soft top.
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: Many of the windows either don't roll up or don't roll down, or broken.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: You can imagine what a 70s POS Jeep looks like.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: That's what this looks like.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Well, it's early in the morning, shortly after midnight 1 am on August 10th 2016.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: There's not a ton of these Jeeps out rolling right, so, as officers are responding in to this scene, one of them intercepts a red Jeep that matches the description.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: He turns around on it and makes a traffic stop on that red Jeep and identifies Russell Courtier not only as the driver of that vehicle, but of the person who was involved in the altercation of the 7-Eleven.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: Seven minutes after the first 911 call came in, russell Courtier was taken into custody.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: His girlfriend, colleen Hunt she, was also taken into custody.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: Both of them were brought to the police department.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: His Jeep was impounded and the crime scene was set up.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: Let's go back to the crime scene.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Back at the crime scene, larnell Bruce had suffered some serious trauma.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Larnell Bruce had been taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: The crime scene was established and I was called.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: You see, I was on call that night and it was my job to come in and respond to any major crimes that occurred within the city.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: But as we look at this, the police department doesn't know if this is going to be a homicide.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: Is this a traffic crash that occurred and, as a result, vehicle versus pedestrian?
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: And this is not even a major crime.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Where know, where do we?
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Where do we put our resources?
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: Well, they called me and I'm glad that they did, because I got to get involved in this case.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: I responded from my house and as I'm responding, I'm going through the mental checklist as I come across the 205 bridge.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: My mental checklist is what resources do I need?
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: My mental checklist is what resources do I need?
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Is this a traffic call?
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Is this even a murder?
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: The information I was getting was sketchy and kind of half-ass, because the people on scene don't really know what's going on.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: I know that I've got two people in custody.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Who are they?
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: Are they involved?
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: What's the backstory on this?
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Right, because everything I've told you so far I don't know.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: All I know is hey, turnage, somebody was hit by a Jeep.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: We got two people in custody.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: Looks like there was a fight.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: The Jeep is being seized at the scene for a search warrant and I need you to come and take this.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: So when I arrived on scene, I get on scene and I can see there's police tape, yellow police tape, everywhere.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: They've got the entire parking lot of the 7-Eleven cordoned off.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: They got the major intersection cordoned off and I can see.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: If I look northbound from Burnside on 188th, I can see there's red police tape up there.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: The difference between yellow police tape and red police tape yellow police tape is going to be an outside perimeter.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Red police tape means that's the hot zone, that's the inside perimeter, that is where the crime occurred.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: So as I talked to the officers on scene, I learned that there are several witnesses around who don't want to be involved, don't want to say anything and are trying to get out of there.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: So, as I prioritize what it is that I'm going to do, I want to talk to these witnesses and figure out what what Larnell Bruce's friends saw and heard during this situation.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: So I activate a recorder, a digital recorder, and that ends up being key in this, because that testimony during the recorded interviews on that early morning hours is ultimately what helped convict this case.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: So I go and talk to these friends and they tell me the story that I've already relayed to you.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: They tell me he's out there trying to sell this $10 hatchet or knife whatever it was, machete that he wasn't getting any luck.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: That this white dude shows up, larnell tries to sell it to him.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Before you know it, a fight breaks out, the fight is over, larnell Bruce won the fight.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: Everybody's high-fiving thinking it's done.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this Jeep is chasing everybody down.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: They one of the witnesses uh, multiple witnesses actually said that they heard a female voice from inside the Jeep screaming run him over, get him, get him, get him baby.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: And they knew at that point that the Jeep's whole intention was to run down and hit Larnell Bruce and their estimate that you know, based on the speed the Jeep was going, there was only going to be one result and that was going to be likely death.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: So they all ran for their lives when that Jeep focused on Larnell Bruce, when that Jeep focused on Lornell Bruce.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: So after the interviews were done, they were all able to exit stage left and go do whatever it is that they do.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: That's when I'm looking at this crime scene, you know, and a lot of times we'll have a partner on these cases and people to come in.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: But really this is pretty simple.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: We've got a fight that occurred.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: It's on video.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: We got witnesses who saw it, both dependent and independent witnesses, meaning friends of Larnell Bruce and the civilians that were standing around that aren't friends of them.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: They all give good statements.
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: We got a pretty simple crime scene.
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: So we got an impact area which is captured on video.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: We have a area where the Jeep is being held, so we have to write a search warrant for that and we got two people in custody.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: There's not a whole lot to this.
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: I've done a lot more complicated cases.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: So I ended up not calling a partner in on this case right away.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: So we get into the office and I start the paperwork process of writing search warrants and all of that warrants and all that and then I realized that I needed some help.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: So I called in my buddy another detective and he helped write some paperwork and he wrote the paperwork on this case and the warrants while I did the bulk of the investigation.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: As we continue this investigation, I go in and I talk to Russell Courtier.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: Russell Courtier is the driver of the Jeep, remember, and he's the one that's in custody.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: So I go talk to Russell and Russell's like hey, man, you know and this is paraphrased right For any testimony any lawyers listening involved in this case?
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: I'm paraphrasing this for the purpose of the podcast Uh, you get over yourself.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: Uh, you get over yourself.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: So here's what happens.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: In short, courtier says hey, dude, uh, you know, you know who I am, you know my history.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: I'm like, bro, I don't know anything about you.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: I did.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: I knew that he was the leader of the European kindred and he's like you know, you know I can't talk to you.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's just you know, that's just what it is.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: I'm like, well, dude, here's the deal.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: I'm only getting one side of the story.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: I'd love to get your side of the story.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: And, uh, you know, I want to hear what happened, I want to hear how this whole thing rolled out.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: He's like, bro, I can't talk to you.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: You know I'm gonna need a lawyer.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: I'm like, all right, his thing.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: So then I go talk to Colleen Hunt.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Colleen Hunt, in short, says I show up there that Russell has some conversation with a black kid near the front door.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Before I know it, there's a fight that breaks out.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: I really don't know what it is, but I know that, um, I know that, uh, russell was getting his butt kicked.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: Uh, the fight was over.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: The group of people, including the black kid, walk away.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Russell gets back into the car and he's upset and he's mad and he goes and he chases these guys down and ultimately hits the dude.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: All right, cool.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: So did you say anything?
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: Uh, I don't know.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: I might've said, you know, I.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: And she's like I can't really remember what I said.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: Maybe I said something, maybe I didn't, I don't know.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: And I said well, what, what's his tie to the European kindred?
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: She's like, oh, he's a leader of the European kindred, her cell.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: As the case develops, I talked to the hospital and I realized that the people at the hospital, the nursing and medical staff, say that Larnell Bruce has likely suffered life-ending injuries and is not going to make it.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: So now I have to do something with Larnell, sorry, with Russell and Colleen, because they can't sit in my cell forever.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: So I go out there and, based on the evidence at the scene and the witness statements, uh, I, I feel good about Colleen Hunt being a you know conspiracy conspirator to this crime and I feel good about Russell Courtier being the driver of the car.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: So my intent is to send them both to jail.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: And right now it's going to be for assault, but likely elevating to, or attempted murder, but likely elevating to murder in the future.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: So I go in and I tell Russell hey, dude, here's the deal.
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: You're going to go to jail tonight.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: What am I going to jail for?
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Right now it's attempted murder, but I spoke to the hospital staff and the hospital staff says he's likely going to die.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: So your charges can change in the future, but either way, we're going to get you packaged, I'm going to get.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: He's like Holy shit, no hold on a second murder.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: Uh, man, I'll talk to you.
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you what's going on and I'm like all right, earlier you told me you didn't want to talk without a lawyer.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: You told me you want to talk now.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you now.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: You know, murder, that's huge and I'm willing to talk.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: Okay, so I take him into the back of the interview room, go through this whole thing.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: I re-explain everything I just explained to you guys.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: He's like absolutely, I want to talk.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: I reread him as Miranda Yep, I want to talk to you.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: So I interview him and he says so, he, he still.
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: Yep, I get into this fight, I, I, I'm leaving and I hit the guy on accident and you know, whatever he says, um, it's, it's.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: He makes a confession, but at the end of the day, it's not.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: His confession isn't more damning to him than the physical evidence and the investigation.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: So he plays it off, he soft sells it and we move on with life.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: So I send him off to jail.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: Now I have to go find Mr Bruce's family and when I go find Mr Bruce's family I give them a call and I remember.
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: You know, I was talking to my therapist this week and there's a few cases in my career that I will always remember, and then the other hundred plus I can't honestly remember the victim's names.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: They all run together.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: This is a case I will always remember.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: So when I speak to the parents the father I explained to him what's going on.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: He needs to meet me at the hospital.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: So we meet at the hospital.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: When I arrive he's there and I haven't told them that these are life ending injuries yet.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: So I go into the room and, um, mr Bruce, I know Bruce is laying in his hospital bed and he's unconscious, obviously, and you know it's just a matter of time.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: And I went in and I spoke to his dad and his dad is a very big man.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: Um, I love his dad to death.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: His dad's a great dude.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: I love the family Um, they're good, good people.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: And, uh, his dad's a big man and I told his dad.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: I said you know, mr Bruce, I've spoken to the hospital staff and your son is not likely to survive these injuries.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: These are going to be life-ending injuries, it's just a matter of time.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: And the dad exploded with emotion and punched a glass wall that was there.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: There's a glass wall sliding doors between the attached bathroom of the ICU and the ICU.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: You know the door slide about one inch panes of glass each and he punched him and put his fist through him.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: That's a lot of pressure and I remember thinking in that moment back to when my son was born and they told me that he wasn't going to survive and that he that I couldn't fly on the plane with him out of Alaska down to Portland.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: And I did a whole episode on that.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: You can check back on that.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: There's an earlier podcast where I speak to my son justice.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: I think it's episode number four or somewhere in that, in that area.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: But I remember that, that feeling that I had in the neonatal intensive care unit back in 2005, when they told me my son wasn't going to live and I couldn't get on the plane with him to fly him to Portland, and when I arrived in Portland, he would likely be dead.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: I had that same surge of emotion and I wanted to tear that place apart.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: So in that moment all I could do was give dad a hug.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: I'm a cop and I'm supposed to stop nonsense.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: This isn't nonsense, this is real life.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: This is the way people respond in traumatic situations and it was that little bit of life experience I had that probably changed the way I reacted in that moment and I remember that hug forever.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: Um and uh, yeah.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Ultimately, a couple of days later, three days later, mr Larnell Bruce died from his injuries and this turned from an attempted murder case into a murder case.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Through the investigation and the investigative steps that we took next, we were able to secure search warrants for that Jeep.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: We were able to collect that can of glass cleaner, that can of glass cleaner.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: We were able to do a vehicle autopsy, where we take the vehicle apart to show that there either are or are not any mechanical defects that might have caused an accelerator to stick or the brakes to not work, and in this case the vehicle was running like it should.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: There was nothing to contribute to the actions of Mr Courtier that night.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: To the actions of Mr Courtier that night we're able to continue interviews with Ms Colleen Hunt and got more statements from Colleen.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Ultimately, this led to a case that would shake the nation and become a worldwide media frenzy.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: And here's why Because, based on the history that Mr Courtier has with the European kindred gang set and the fact that Larnell Bruce was a black 19 year old kid, let's take the kid out of it, let's take the 19.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Let's just go black.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Let's take the kid out of it, let's take the 19.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Let's just go black.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: We have white versus black here.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: This was charged out as a racial crime, and rightfully so.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: This was charged as a racial crime.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: Morgan's crime for racist stuff had been charged in conjunction with a murder, saying that the murder was perpetrated by the color of the victim's skin.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: That was huge.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: It caught a lot of attention, from the New York Post to the LA Times, all the way across the board Europe, all the way across the board Europe.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: So much so that the BBC came over and participated in the trial.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: They spent two weeks in Oregon filming, interviewing, talking to people around the state, getting into the black history of the state, getting into the prejudiced nature of the city of Portland from times of past, going downtown finding those plaques that say whites, only, no blacks allowed.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Going and talking to the Ku Klux Klan that is still in Oregon, and they were able to put this docuseries together and the culmination, the climax of it was obviously this investigation.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: That's why they were doing it.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: But they were able to get to the roots of the European kindred, how it got started.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: They were able to get to the roots of the Ku Klux Klan.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: They were able to get to the roots of the families involved in this.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Where did Russell Courtier come from?
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Where did Larnell Bruce come from?
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: They were able to get in and dig in and get that information, that data.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Now I got to say they did a very good job of staying neutral.
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: I expected this docuseries to be highly biased on one side of the fence of the other, highly biased on one side of the fence of the other.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: The reporter did an amazing job and the producers did an amazing job of staying down the center.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: I was able to take them out to the crime scene and walk them through the crime scene, show them where everything occurred, the camera angles, where the window was broken.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: I was able to take them out and show them the hospital where the room was that we made this notification in.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: I got interviewed by them, I got to tell the story and ultimately they were part of the trial process.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: They were the only cameras allowed inside the courtroom for the trial process, so they were able to capture raw testimony Testimony of me, testimony of the trial process.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: So they were able to capture raw testimony testimony of me, testimony of the other witnesses.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: You remember those witnesses that uh were kind of were there that night.
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: I got a record, digital recording of well, they didn't necessarily want to participate in the trial, so we had to put um material witnesses worn out, material witness warrants out, meaning we had to get a warrant for their arrest and go find them and arrest them and hold them in custody until they came to the trial.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: In my entire career, that's the only time we'd ever had to do that.
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Ultimately, the testimony came and went.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: I had to testify about the interview that I did and here's what I learned.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: So he tells me I don't want to talk to you.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: No problem, I understand.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: Miranda, you have the right to remain silent.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Anything you say can and will be used against you in court of law.
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: You have the right to speak to an attorney and have an attorney present with you while you're being questioned.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: You can decide any anytime to exercise your rights and not answer any questions.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Do you understand your rights?
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: I get that in the four corners of what I just said.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: When I went back to that jail cell and said, hey, here's the deal.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: It is going to be attempt murder today.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: It could be murder tomorrow.
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: It when his status changes.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: My intent on doing that was to inform him as to what was coming.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: So it's attempt to murder today, but when he sees murder tomorrow, he's not like that son of a bitch lied to me.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: My intent was to simply educate him on what was coming down the track.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Potentially, when he heard murder, he says I want to talk.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: Murder was the operative word that got him to have a conversation with me and we went back in to the interview room.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: I went through Miranda again.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: He says I understand, I want to talk to you.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: Okay, let's have a conversation.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: That's when he made these soft confessions.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: That was totally thrown out.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: And here's what I learned Miranda is not only what I just told you out, and here's what I learned, miranda is not only what I just told you, but it's any language the officer or detective uses that is likely to provoke further conversation.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: So that would be murder.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: You could be charged with murder at a later time.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Holy shit, murder Really, man, because I heard the word murder.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: That makes me want to talk to you.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: Had you not said murder, I would probably never want to speak to you again, but because you said murder, now I want to talk.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: That is a part of the statute or not the statute?
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: That is a part of the law, language that I didn't understand.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: So not only is it the typical Miranda warning you hear, but any words or conversation however it's worded, that the officer or detective uses is likely to provoke a conversation.
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: So as a result of that, the judge found that my interrogation, my interview, was in violation of Mr Courtier's rights and that got thrown out.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: At the end of the day, it didn't matter.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: We had overwhelming evidence, based on a unanimous jury vote, that Russell Courtier murdered Lauren L Bruce.
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: Not only did we get the conviction on murder, but we got conviction on the intimidation, which was the first time in Oregon's history those two have been convicted together, and conviction on failure to provide information stay at the seat of an accident.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: So that's how it ended up, you know, and one of the things that also happened during that process was uh, remember dad, dad was there in the and when they were transporting Russell Courtier into the courtroom, dad had to step outside because he needed fresh air, so he stepped into the hallway.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: We were all smart enough to realize that there may be an attack on Russell Courtier.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: There may be an attack on Russell Courtier.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: So as they parade Russell Courtier through the hallway to get him into the courtroom in his prison garb with handcuffs on, that's when dad attacks Russell.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: And he attacked him and we were ready for it and we all jumped on dad and separated that fight and we were able to get uh Russell cause, we have to protect Russell.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: So we had to get Russell into the courtroom and uh, get dad away from him.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: And dad turned around and punched a marble stone wall and broke it.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: And again, another moment where I couldn't relate to exactly what dad was going through.
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: But I can understand the passion or the emotion that you might have defending your child.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: At the end of the day, courtier was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 28 years to serve before the eligibility of parole.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: We were able to during the trial.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: The trials were run together and we had Colleen Hunt in there.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: We were going to do Colleen Hunt for the murder manslaughter as well for her or for murder for her participation in encouraging run him over, baby, get him, get him baby.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: The Jeep was hers, so all of that got her towards murder as well.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: About mid-trial, colleen Hunt saw the writing on the wall and chose to plead guilty to manslaughter.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: She was sentenced to a 10-year sentence in prison.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: At the end of it the BBC released their documentary.
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: It's called A Black and White Killing the Case that Shook America.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: That can be found on BBC.
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: It was bought by BBC America.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: You can find it out there if you just Google that.
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: You know this is just another one of those cases.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: That was a pretty standard case.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: It was a pretty standard Tuesday.
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: It's a day like no other and the phone ring, you go out, you deal with it.
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: In this case I had a partner very minimal input on the warrant side of things.
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: He was actually a drug cop that wrote some warrants for me.
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: This case was pretty much run by one person, start to finish three years, two convictions, life sentence.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: Unfortunately, a young man had to lose his life.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: Fortunately, I got to make friends with his family and meet them and help them in a time that they needed help, and I got to use my life skills based on just being a human being with my son, where I was able to respond and react to dad's behavior with love and compassion and a compassionate heart versus no pun intended, a black and white, legalistic heart and, uh, the only reason I tell this story.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: You know, I'm getting farther and farther away from reminiscing about what I used to do.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: This is not necessarily a war story, but I want to tell you guys.
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: I just want to share this story because I was talking to the therapist.
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: Like I said, there's only a couple cases that really stick out, this being one of two that I can think of, and this case was pretty significant in my life and I wanted to share this with you, and I got to meet some great people along the way.
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: So, ladies and gentlemen, this is the kind of stuff that happens out there in your streets every single day.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: So that's what I got.
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you guys enjoyed it.
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you got something out of it.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: Entertaining education provide value.
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you got something out of it.
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: Entertaining education provide value.
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you got something out of those two.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Stand by for some more snapshots coming out at you.
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: And, ladies and gentlemen, that is the Murders to Music podcast.