Bush Direct

Question 0

What is your occupation?

Answer 0

I’ve been a police officer in the town of Martin’s Landing for around a decade now.

Question 1

Please introduce yourself to the court.

Answer 1

Absolutely. My name is Sam Bush.

Question 2

Sergeant, what kind of training did you receive to serve as a police officer?

Answer 2

I’m proud to say that I received my training with the United States Army 89th Military Police Brigade at Fort Hood.

Question 3

Have you received any additional education?

Answer 3

Yes, I’ve received extensive training from the Massachusetts State Police Academy in a variety of areas. My particular areas of expertise are crime scene investigation and the proper collection and documentation of evidence. This is called a the “chain of custody”.

Question 4

And what are your responsibilities as a police officer?

Answer 4

My primary responsibility is patrol duty: maintaining public order by responding to and investigating crimes. I also teach programs on gun safety and shooting to civilians who wish to get a gun license.

Question 5

Do you know the defendant, Stephanie Hardee?

Answer 5

Yes, I do.

Question 6

Could you identify her in the court today?

Answer 6

Certainly. She’s seated right over there, to the far left.

Question 7

Sergeant, how did you meet Ms. Hardee?

Answer 7

Ms. Hardee enrolled in a couple of my shooting classes.

Question 8

Which courses did Ms. Hardee enroll in?

Answer 8

Well, in July of 2012, she enrolled in and passed my Pistol Basics Course so that she could own and carry a handgun. She returned in August 2013 to enroll in an optional course on firearms called the Advanced Combat Exchange, or as I like to call it, ACE.

Question 9

Could you briefly describe your course in Advanced Combat Exchange to the court?

Answer 9

Absolutely. The ACE is a comprehensive six week optional class on the use of firearms. The primary lessons I try to impart on all my students, Ms. Hardee included, are advanced techniques of avoidance and escape–essentially, how to get out of a fight before pulling out your weapon in the first place.

Question 10

How did Ms. Hardee do in these classes?

Answer 10

Well, like I said, I try to teach my students to avoid pulling out their guns at all. But Ms. Hardee was…trigger happy. She purchased one of the most dangerous, decked out guns in the market and spent most of her time in my class practicing shooting exercises that weren’t even in the curriculum. She spent the most time doing an exercise that we call “The Drill”.

Question 11

Sergeant, what’s “The Drill?”

Answer 11

The Drill is an exercise in speed shooting in which the shooter takes three shots at a shooting target, as fast as they can.

Question 12

And how did Ms. Hardee typically perform in “The Drill”?

Answer 12

Ms. Hardee was a real sharpshooter. Other than her first shot, which always hit just a little high on the target, she could put every shot center mass.

Question 13

Sergeant, you mentioned Ms. Hardee’s gun earlier. What kind of gun was it?

Answer 13

It was a weapon she had purchased independently: a Lovett P226 three fifty seven sig, a semiautomatic handgun known pretty well for its deadly efficiency.

Question 14

Could you briefly describe the weapon to the court?

Answer 14

Certainly. In the force it’s called a “man-stopper”. Miss Hardee’s gun had all the features- a grip that projected a red laser dot onto the target for faster aiming and a combat finish to protect against rust and reduce glare. Ms. Hardee even paid a gunsmith to resistance on her trigger so that she could get her shots out faster.

Question 15

Did Ms. Hardee comment on her weapon to you?

Answer 15

Yes, Miss Hardee told me that her gun had the same caliber that the U.S. Secret Service uses. She said she wanted the “very best caliber for the very worst person.”

Question 16

Now, sergeant, I’d like to direct your attention to the night of August 2, 2014. Where were you?

Answer 16

I was on patrol duty in my marked cruiser as usual when I responded to a call from 18 Gazitzer Way–Ms. Hardee’s house–at approximately 9:00 pm.

Question 17

Could you briefly describe the scene at the house to the court?

Answer 17

Upon entering the house, I observed a deceased adult make slumped against the living room wall and surrounded by a splatter of blood. On the living room floor were three spent shell casings. Also, there was a shattered vase on the floor and the window to the left of the front door was shattered, with a bullet hole in the wall just to the left of the window.

Question 18

Did you note any witnesses at the scene?

Answer 18

Yes, I noted three. A juvenile- Hanna Kumar, Ms. Hardee’s granddaughter- was sobbing against the staircase while repeating “She didn’t have to shoot my Dad.” Martha Hockbird, Hanna’s cousin, was also present and attempting to console her. Ms. Hardee herself sat calmly in the couch with her three fifty seven sig within reach.

Question 19

What did you do?

Answer 19

As protocol, I secured Ms. Hardee’s weapon, placed her in handcuffs, and read her Miranda Rights while my colleagues arrived on the scene to interview Hockbird and Hanna. I interviewed Ms. Hardee.

Question 20

Sergeant, what did Hardee tell you?

Answer 20

Ms. Hardee identified the victim as Harry Kumar, Hanna’s father. According to Ms. Hardee, Kumar had unexpectedly forced his way into the home at 9:00 p.m. She said that Hanna ran from the room in fear. When Hanna refused to leave the house with him, he struck her with the baseball bat. Ms. Hardee stated that when Kumar then advanced towards her with the bat, she had no choice but to shoot.

Question 21

After Interviewing Hardee, did you collect any physical evidence?

Answer 21

Of course.

Question 22

What did you collect?

Answer 22

I inspected Ms. Hardee’s weapon to confirm that it was her Lovett P226. I also collected all bullet shell casings, the bullet that had penetrated the wall, and the glass window shards to send to the state crime lab. In addition, I swabbed the victim’s blood and photographed the scene extensively.

Question 23

Was Ms. Hardee’s account consistent with the physical evidence and accounts of other witnesses?

Answer 23

After some consideration of the facts, I concluded that it was not. In fact, both the physical evidence and the accounts of other witnesses contradicted Ms. Hardee’s story.

Question 24

How did the physical evidence clash with Hardee’s account?

Answer 24

First, Ms. Hardee stated that Kumar forced his way into the house. However, the front door showed absolutely no sign of forced entry- the door frame, lock, and doorknob were still intact and showed no signs of damage.

Question 25

Was this the only discovery between the physical evidence and Ms. Hardee’s version of the story?

Answer 25

No. Miss Hardee also stated that the shot was fired in self-defense from Kumar, who was just a few feet away from her. Yet the bullet casings discarded from Ms. Hardee’s gun were over five feet away from the victim.

Question 26

Sergeant, you also mentioned that the accounts of other witnesses clashed with Ms. Hardee’s account. What do you mean by this?

Answer 26

Well, Hanna, Ms. Hardee’s granddaughter, contradicted her on a number of key points. According to Hanna, Her father had never struck her violently with the bat, as Ms. Hardee claimed, and was not advancing towards Ms. Hardee but rather was defensively holding his hands in the air when Ms. Hardee shot him.

Question 27

Was this the only discrepancy between the accounts?

Answer 27

No; in fact, there were quite a number of places in which Ms. Hardee’s claims simply did not match up to the observations of her granddaughter.

Question 28

How did you respond to this information?

Answer 28

I returned to Ms. Hardee to reevaluate her account. Specifically, I needed to ask her whether she had her gun on her person when the victim arrived.

Question 29

Did Ms. Hardee answer your question?

Answer 29

No. At this point, Ms. Hardee became evasive. She paused when I asked the question and then attempted to change the subject.

Question 30

How did you respond?

Answer 30

Based on my review of the physical evidence, understanding of the witness’ different accounts, and experience with Ms. Hardee at the ACE class, I immediately re-secured her handcuffs and arrested her.