Two officers were out on patrol in Altoona, Pennsylvania, last December when they were told to check out a report that the man who’d just shot a health insurance executive on a Manhattan street was sitting in the back of their local McDonald’s.
“10-4,” Patrolman Joseph Detwiler responded over the radio, with a hint of sarcasm. Asked about his tone in a New York courtroom this month, Detwiler said “I did not think it was going to be the person they thought it was.”
A year later, the officers from that small Rust Belt police department now find themselves at the center of one of the most highly publicized trials in a decade. And the strength of the case against Luigi Mangione may hang on how well they did their jobs that day.
Mangione’s defense attorneys argue the officers illegally searched and interrogated him, and a judge should toss the evidence they gathered that day – including a gun, silencer, and hand-written “manifesto.” Prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office say police did nothing wrong and the evidence ties Mangione to the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“It doesn't matter whether it's the most rural of police departments or one of the biggest police departments in the country,” said Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School and director of its criminal defense clinic. “All police officers have to follow the constitution and respect all of our individual constitutional rights.”
Mangione’s defense team has focused on what they argue are two main violations during the suppression hearings.
Miranda rights
Body camera footage played in court shows police did not read Mangione his Miranda rights until about 20 minutes after approaching him.
In that time, Mangione told officers he was homeless and that his name was Mark Rosario. Defense attorneys argue that police obtained those statements through an unlawful interrogation and a judge should suppress them.
While those statements aren’t key to proving Mangione was the shooter, experts say they could help at trial.
“ Using a false name shows what we call a ‘consciousness of guilt,’” said Gary Galperin, a former senior prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office. “Why are you trying to hide your real identity unless you are up to no good, basically."
Backpack
More crucial to the prosecution’s case is the evidence police say they recovered from Mangione’s backpack. This includes a handgun, loaded magazine, silencer, notebook, electronics, and a hand-drawn map of Pennsylvania and Ohio that said, “Keep momentum, FBI slower overnight.”
To-do list and hand drawn map Altoona, Penn. police say they found in Luigi Mangione's backpack.
Defense attorneys argued all of this material was gathered through an illegal warrantless search.
Body camera footage shown in court this month shows police began searching the backpack in the McDonald’s shortly after cuffing Mangione. As Officers Christy Wasser and Stephen Fox begin rifling through the bag on the video, one of their superiors, Corporal Garrett Trent, can be heard saying they should continue the search “back at the station.”
Wasser says she wants to make sure there’s not a bomb in the bag. She says she doesn’t want to “pull a Moser” – a reference she explained in court was to another Altoona police officer who apparently once brought a bomb back to the police station.
Wasser soon finds a loaded magazine wrapped in a pair of wet Hanes underwear.
“Damn dude,” Fox can be heard saying. “It’s f—ing him. 100%.”
Later in the video a group of officers argue over whether they need a warrant to continue searching the backpack. While one says they should “play it safe” because of the severity of the allegations, Fox argues the search is covered as “incident to arrest.”
“Search incident to arrest” is a legal exception allowing police to search a suspect’s belongings without a warrant. Altoona police argue it applies in this case because they believed there could be a bomb.
Defense attorneys say police manufactured the bomb threat to justify their warrantless search of the backpack. Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, grilled Wasser on cross examination, asking why she didn’t clear the McDonald’s if she truly believed there might be an explosive in the backpack.
Back side of to-do list and hand drawn map Altoona, Penn. police say they found in Luigi Mangione's backpack.
“Isn’t it true you were actually searching this backpack because you thought he was the NYC shooter,” Agnifilo asked.
“No,” Wasser replied. “We search all people after arrest.”
Agnifilo asked Wasser why she exclaimed “awesome” while searching the bag back at the station.
“I think it’s awesome and I was very proud of our department,” Wasser said.
The NYPD honored members of the Altoona police department for their actions while bringing in Mangione last year. Officer Detwiler, who first responded to the 911 call, was made an honorary NYPD detective in a ceremony.
Now, if Manhattan judge Gregory Carro sides with the defense, legal experts say the Altoona police department’s conduct could jeopardize the New York case.
The defense attorneys “certainly have a good faith argument,” said Galperin, the former Manhattan prosecutor. “ The question for the prosecution, in the worst case scenario, if all the physical evidence is suppressed, is whether they have enough evidence to go forward.”
But Galperin said the defense has a steep hill to climb. The vast majority of suppression motions are denied.
Galperin said arrests are chaotic and stressful – especially in the case of an alleged high-profile fugitive.
“ Not every single step has to be perfect,” Galperin said. “The question is, did it overall comport with the law.”
