BOISE, Idaho — Federal prosecutors are presenting more evidence and witnesses Tuesday in the trial of Joseph Hoadley, the former Caldwell Police officer accused of using force in a way that violated a man's civil rights in 2017. Hoadley is also accused of witness tampering and falsifying a report about the incident.
Jury selection, opening statements and the first witness testimony took place Monday. The U.S. Attorney's Office called Caldwell Police Lt. Joseph Cardwell to the stand. Cardwell was supervised by Hoadley in the Caldwell P.D. Investigations Division. His testimony supported the prosecution's claim that Hoadley showed other officers video of him punching arrestees in the head, and then bragging about it.
KTVB's Alexandra Duggan and Morgan Romero are in the courtroom to report on the trial, and are posting live updates on Twitter. The live blog from Day 1 of the trial is posted here. Updates for Tuesday, Day 2, are posted below, with the most recent listed first:
4:48 p.m.: Peterson asks Ibarra if he had an excessive force complaint filed against him. Ibarra recounts that yes he did; he went hands-on with a kid and their mom. Ibarra says the mom and kid attacked him. Other officers showed up at the scene. Peterson asks Ibarra if Hoadley was out to get him/have him fired after incident with BH? Ibarra said he believed so.
4:35 p.m.: Peterson is going back to the incident where Ibarra was having a relationship with a female employee at his school, again. "Were you concerned she might make false accusations against you?" "No."
4:32 p.m.: Peterson is now asking about the March 30, 2017, incident where Hoadley allegedly hit BH in the face. "It wasn't addressed until June," Ibarra said.
4:29 p.m.: Peterson is inquiring about a time when Ibarra deployed a taser. He asked if "you agitated the situation." He only un-holstered his taser, never deployed it, he said. "Would you say displaying a taser to resolve a dispute requires discipline?" "Yes, he threatened me." Ibarra said he became aggressive, was yelling racial slurs at him, took his shirt off. So Ibarra un-holstered the taser. Ibarra said he felt he was the one in the right when displaying the taser since the man was yelling racial slurs at him. Peterson keeps pressing on this. Ibarra said Hoadley inquired why he showed his taser. Ibarra said he felt threatened. Hoadley said "you're ok." Peterson seems unaware this happened.
4:25 p.m.: Peterson is cross-examining Ibarra now. Ibarra says that he used to be an SRO at Caldwell High School. Peterson inquires about Ibarra being "fired" for being involved with "a female that worked at the high school." Ibarra said he was transferred, not fired. When he was transferred, he was under supervision of Hoadley.
4:20 p.m.: Basically Ibarra said he got pushed out of the department because all of his supervisors opened up an investigation into him, in what he thinks was retaliation for reporting what Hoadley allegedly did that day.
4:05 p.m.: Ibarra says supervisors told him to leave it alone; he felt he'd be retaliated against if he didn't drop it. After this incident he says every call he went on was questioned. Then higher ups were investigating Ibarra for allegations of excessive force against him. So he left CPD.
4:03 p.m.: Eddie Ibarra, the former Caldwell lieutenant, tried to report the incident, but his supervisor, Devin Riley, told him Ibarra "was trying to ruin (Hoadley's) career" and to leave it alone. "I felt like I was going to be retaliated against if I continued," Ibarra said.
4:00 p.m.: Ibarra said Matthews and Hoadley called him in, and Hoadley said: you didn't see anything, did you? Ibarra basically got the memo and responded that he didn't see anything.
3:57 p.m.: Ibarra says he didn't feel BH resisting.
3:57 p.m.: Ibarra said Hoadley was escorting BH to the front, Ibarra walked over to assist, said BH was handcuffed. "I looked to the side to my right and then I heard Hoadley say 'stop resisting', and then I heard a loud bang, I turned and I see Hoadley strike BH." BH said he looked at Ibarra and said "You saw him punch me right?"
3:55 p.m.: Ibarra was the only officer who saw this alleged altercation happen. He said he stayed out front the entire time while Hoadley and Walker went into the home. He said he "didn't know if it was legal or not" for them to enter, so he stayed out there and waited to see.
3:54 p.m.: Now turning to March 30, 2017. Ibarra responded to BH's home after a 911 hang-up call. He didn't go inside the house because the officers were making entry and he wasn't sure if it was legal for them to do so, so he decided to stay outside.
3:45 p.m.: Hoadley was a patrol lieutenant at the time in 2016-17, so all patrol officers answered to him. Now the government is asking about Sgt. Adam Matthews, who was Ibarra's supervisor between '16-'17.
3:41 p.m.: Ibarra was a Caldwell PD officer between 2005-2017. He reported to Hoadley in 2016 and 2017.
3:39 p.m.: U.S. attorneys call next witness: Eddie Ibarra. He was the officer who was with Hoadley when they escorted BH during the incident in 2017 -- and the only officer who saw the altercation unfold. He is now a security officer at a hotel in Las Vegas.
3:29 p.m.: After this 2017 incident, BH never filed a complaint against Hoadley for excessive force.
3:18 p.m.: Peterson cross-examining BH. He is pointing out that BH kept denying 911 call to his house was made, which spurred police response, despite police telling him repeatedly it did, in fact, happen.
3:08 p.m.: BH now testifying. He says Hoadley told him he wasn't doing a good job taking care of his mom, so he responded that Hoadley wasn't good at being a police officer. Got to the sidewalk, says Hoadley hit him in the face, which caused him to go to the ground. BH says he felt pain in his chin.
2:50 p.m.: Government seeking to rest its case tomorrow (Wednesday).
2:34 p.m.: U.S. attorney is calling the man who they say Hoadley allegedly punched in the head "BH."
2:32 p.m.: Prosecutor: In your experience have you encountered a situation where you needed to strike someone in the head who was handcuffed behind their back? Winfield: No.
2:11 p.m.: Peterson points out -- Caldwell P.D. policy says best general rule for use of reasonable force is: use only the amount of force necessary to effect the arrest or control the situation.
*"USA" refers to U.S. attorney.
1:53 p.m.: Winfield is discussing how supervisors must investigate information entered in IAPro, where use-of-force incidents are documented.
1:40 p.m.: Winfield testifies that under Caldwell P.D. policy, any time there's use of force, the officer is required to notify immediate supervisor and write up a report about it. this applies to all ranks, he says. In 2017, Hoadley would have had to notify Capt. Riley.
1:28 p.m.: Next witness: Lt. Doug Winfield, one of three current lieutenants at the Caldwell Police Dept. Winfield oversees patrol.
1:26 p.m.: Prosecution asked Webb if he has ever advised people he was training to hit someone in the head who was handcuffed. Webb said no. On to next witness, Doug Winfield, a lieutenant with the Caldwell Police Department.
12:21 p.m.: "Neither the assault on K.W. or B.H. were documented in Defendant Hoadley’s body camera nor was either instance reviewed or documented pursuant to the CPD’s internal use-of-force program and policy," the government wrote in its 404(b) filing.
12:16 p.m.: Peterson is trying to make a point that officers leaving without their body cam doesn't make them criminal or malicious in nature.
12:13 p.m.: Peterson points out that each department has its own policies around filling out excessive-force narratives. Through his training, he says, Webb is providing best practices to make sure use of force reports are full and accurate.
12:11 p.m.: When officer uses excessive force, Webb confirms this could create civil liability and public relations issue for the department. That's why he trains supervisors to take care of these things.
12:10 p.m.: Peterson: Fair to say not every overreaction (by an officer) amounts to excessive force? Webb: Yes.
12:03 p.m.: Webb says officer doesn't have to wait for person who's detained to escape to do anything, but there has to be resistance; can use this force to attempt to distract the person and keep them from getting away; can also place someone on the ground and pin them there to control them and inhibit mobility to prohibit them from escaping.
11:59 a.m.: In force continuum section of Webb's presentation, there is something called "focused blows" to use on "threats."
11:54 a.m.: In force continuum, there is something called "focused blows," which allows for serious physical control of a threat.
11:53 a.m.: Important to note this training, according to Webb, includes blows to someone to control them physically if they don't cooperate. However, Webb said, this is only if an officer believes its a life or death situation. No evidence to indicate that Hoadley allegedly felt his life was in danger when allegedly hitting "B.H." just yet -- but we will wait for the defense to present that if that was the case.
11:34 a.m.: Hoadley was not wearing a body camera at the time this altercation happened. Defense argues he did not use excessive force (only appropriate force) given the situation, and therefore couldn't have given false information in his report.
11:33 a.m.: Reminder: former Lt. Hoadley is accused of using abusive use of force in 2017 + then falsifying a report about the alleged incident.
Hoadley was not wearing a body camera at the time this altercation happened. Defense argues he did not use excessive force (only appropriate force) given the situation, and therefore couldn't have given false information in his report.
11:28 a.m.: Webb advises in training not to let "little things" like this slide. Also instructs trainees how to properly document use of force. Advise document relevant material used to justify officers' actions for use of force.
Tells officers to document use of force very thoroughly, justify why they chose that level of force. Advises officers to explain the threat that led to them using force. Must put that in documentation
11:22 a.m.: Webb going over different levels of use of force. Supervisors are "quality control" on police force and show up on scene to make sure officers are behaving properly. This is why supervisors receive different training, Webb says. They serve as "mentors, diplomats" for the department.
10:51 a.m.: Mr. Howard Webb presented a PowerPoint on "Supervisor's Role in Managing the Use of Force Incident" in 2014 to Caldwell PD. Hoadley attended this training.
10:43 a.m.: Took a recess and now a use of force expert witness is on the stand. USA calls Howard Webb, he is a law enforcement trainer. He founded a use-of-force program in Oregon and then became a director for these programs so he went around the country monthly to train other officers.
10:08 a.m.: Nichols says she provided records to FBI agent O'Neill, including the roster for the POST Basic academy session that included Hoadley's name.
9:56 a.m.: Gregory says he didn't have problems with Chief Wyant or Capt. Riley. Witness is released.
9:56 a.m.: Peterson (Hoadley's attorney) asks Gregory if it was surprising that Hoadley had close relationships with Riley and other higher-ups. Gregory says no.
9:50 a.m.: Prosecutor asking who oversees chief of police. At the time of the alleged misconduct, it was Garret Nancolas, who was mayor of Caldwell.
9:44 a.m.: In cross-examination, Peterson asks: "You could have gone to Lt. Seevers (Gregory's supervisor), but you didn't, did you?" Gregory's reply: "No."
9:41 a.m.: At the time Gregory went to the Street Crimes Unit in 2016, Hoadley was a patrol lieutenant.
9:40 a.m.: Chuck Peterson (for the defense) is asking about a 911 hang-up call, most likely referring to the hang-up call that happened when Hoadley allegedly punched "B.H." in the head.
9:33 a.m.: Gregory said the former witness, Cardwell, approached him about seeing the video of Hoadley allegedly punching a man in handcuffs. Gregory went to the FBI in 2021 to report the misconduct. He went with Cardwell to do this.
9:28 a.m.: Gregory also attended the NW gang conference in Spokane with Hoadley. Gregory confirms Bendawald and Hoadley were close friends.
9:27 a.m.: Josh Gregory was on the Caldwell P.D. Street Crimes Unit as a sergeant, same unit as then-lieutenant Hoadley. Hoadley was ranked above Gregory, but was not his supervisor.
9:24 a.m.: Gregory worked for Caldwell Police Dept. from 2007-2021. He's emotional when discussing leaving CPD.
9:23 a.m.: USA calling first witness today, second in total -- Josh Gregory, who helped the former witness file a complaint against Hoadley and other CPD officers with the FBI.
9:01 a.m.: The government will call a use-of-force expert as a witness; that expert trained Hoadley.
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