Barber Transcript

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
IN AND FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
JAMES P. CHASSE, JR.; JAMES P. CHASSE; )

LINDA GERBER; and MARK CHASSE, )
individually and in his Capacity as )
Personal Representative of the ESTATE
OF JAMES P. CHASSE, JR.;
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Plaintiffs, )
v. )
) Case No. :
CHRISTOPHER HUMPHREYS; KYLE NICE; CITY ) CV-07-0189-HU
OF PORTLAND; CITY OF PORTLAND JOHN )
DOE FIREFIGHTERS/PARAMEDICS; PORTLAND )
POLICE BUREAU and OTHER PORTLAND JOHN )
and JAVE DOE OFFICIALS; BRET BURTON; 1
MULTNOMAH COUNTY; MULTNOMAH COUNTY )
JOHN and JANE DOE DEPUTY SHERIFFS and )
MEDICAL PERSONNEL; MULTNOMAH COUNTY 1
JOHN and JANE DOE SHERIFF'S OFFICE and )
OTHER OFFICIALS; TRI-COUNTY )
METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT 1
OF OREGON; and AMERICAN MEDICAL )
RESPONSE NORTHWEST, INC., )
)
Defendants. )
DEPOSITION OF
JESSE BARBER
Taken in behalf of Defendant
August 4, 2008
1211 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland, Oregon
Priscilla (Pia) Harris, CSR-RPR
Court Reporter
400 Columb~a,Su~te140
Vancouver, WA 98660
SC O~ UhRmT &R &E PkOhRmT aE ~R ,S h ~ . 121 SW Morr~sonSt, Su~te850
Portland, OR 97204
13601
, , 695 5554 15031
. . 223 4040
Fox (360) 695-1737 www.slreporting.com slinc@qwestoffice.net
Jesse Barber, 8/4/2008 Chasse v. Humphreys, et a1
APPEARANCES:
For the Plaintiffs: THOMAS M. STEENSON
Attorney at Law
Suite 500
815 SW Second Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204
For the Defendant
Humphreys, Nice, City
of Portland: JAMES G. RICE
Attorney at Law
Suite 430
1221 SW Fourth Avenue
For the Defendant
Multnomah County: SUSAN M DUNAWAY
Attorney at Law
Suite 500
501 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
For the Defendant AMR: JEAN 0. BACK

Attorney at Law
Suite 1900
1211 SW Fifth Avenue
Also Present: KARI FURNANZ
INDEX
EXAMINATION BY: PAGE NO.
MS . DUNAWAY 3,44
MR. RICE 22,42
MS. BACK 35,46
MR. STEENSON 38
EXHIBITS
(None)
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1 PORTLAND, OREGON; MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2008

2 1:00 P.M.
3 * * *
4 JESSE BARBER
5 called as a witness on behalf of the Defendant,
6 having first been sworn by the Notary,
7 testifies as follows:
8
9 EXAMINATION
10 BY MS. DUNAWAY:
11 Q Hi Jesse, my name is Susan Dunaway, I
12 represent Multnomah County. Have you ever had your
13 deposition taken before?
14 A NO.
15 (Z You haven't. Have you spoken with anybody
16 about having your deposition taken?
17 A Yeah, I spoke to Tom Steenson.
18 Q Did Mr. Steenson generally tell you what a
19 deposition is all about?
20 A Yes.
21 Q So you understand that what you are saying
22 here is under oath, and that if you are called at
23 trial to testify and you testify inconsistent with
24 what you say now, that that can be pointed out to the
25 court and to the jury?

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1 A Yes.
2 Q Are you on any particular medication today
3 that would - -
4 A No.
5 Q - - interfere with your - - and one ground
6 rule is that, for the court reporter's sake, let me

7 finish my question first, and then answer, because she
can't take down your words and my words at the same
time .
The other caveat is that you have to
actually answer, don't -- you can't respond by shaking
your head or nodding your head.
A Sure.
Q And it's best not to say yeah or nah or

those kinds of things, but actually respond with yes
or no.
A Yes.
Q Did you have a sufficient amount of sleep

last night to be able to understand my questions and
to be able to comprehend them?
A Yes.
Q Is there any impediment that you can think

of that would interfere with your ability to
understand my questions today?
A NO.

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Q If you don't understand my questions, will

you let me know right away instead of trying to --
don't guess, try to answer my questions. I want you

to do that.
But if you don't understand my question, let
me know and I will try to rephrase it.
A Sure.
Q First of all, what is your full name?

A Jesse Lawrence Barber.
Q And that's B-A-R-B-E-R?

A Yes.
Q What is your date of birth?

A .
Q And where do you live?

A Here in Portland.
Q And what is your address?

A
Q And what about a phone number?

A .
Q ~ n where
d do you work, presently work?
A At a restaurant, Decarli.
Q Excuse me?
A Decarli Restaurant.
Q Can you spell that?

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A D-E-C-A-R-L-I.
Q Where is that located?

A Beaverton.
Q How long have you worked there?

A Two months.
Q And where did you work previous to that?

A ClarkLewis Restaurant.
Q And where is that?

A 1001 Southwest Water Street, downtown, just
across the river.
Q Where were you working in September of '06?

A At Bluehour Restaurant.
Q And how long had you been working at the

Bluehour in September of '06?
A I don't remember.
Q Were you working between the hours of five
and six on September 17th?
A No.
Q Do you understand kind of generally what the

nature of this case is about?
A Generally.
Q Generally. So you understand that kind of

the underlying incident here occurred September 17th,
2006, between five and 6:30, roughly?
A Yes.

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Q The reason why you were subpoenaed is

because earlier this year I - - I sent questions to the
plaintiff's attorney, okay?
In response to two specific questions, which
I will read to you, he indicated that you were
somebody who could - - who had knowledge and could
answer these questions for me. Okay?
The first question I asked of the
plaintiff's attorney was, Please list and describe
with particularity each and every action or admission
by Deputy Burton and/or any Multnomah County employee
which you believe was taken because of James P.
Chasse, Jr.'s disability.
That's the first question that Mr. Steenson,
in responding to that question, said that you had some
information about. Okay? Or you were a witness.
So I guess my first question to you is: Did
you know James Chasse?
A No.
Q You did not. And you were not present at

the time of the underlying incident?
A I don't know what you mean by "underlying
incident.
Q You weren't present at the Bluehour, or in

that general vicinity, between five and six on

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September 17th?
A I was sitting out there, yes.
Q You weren't working but you were at the

Bluehour?
A Yes.
Q Where were you?

A On the patio.
Q On the patio. What were you doing?

A Eating dinner with my family.
Q How is it, then, that you were not

interviewed by the police?
A I don't know.
Q Did anybody, immediately following the
incident, talk to you, any police officer talk to you
immediately following the incident?
A No.
Q Which family members were you eating with?

A My mother, my father and my sister and a
friend of hers.
Q And what are their names and phone numbers?

A My father is Lawrence Barber, and his phone
number is and my mother is
Christine Barber, and the same phone number.
Q And your sister?

A Is it all right if I look at my phone? I
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don't remember her phone number.
Q Sure, that would be fine.

A Leah Barber.
Q L-E-A-H?
A Yes. You know, I don't even have my
sister's phone number in here. That's embarrassing.
Sorry. She lives at the same household with my
parents.
Q You were looking for her cellphone number?

A Yes.
Q So then you actually are an eyewitness to

what happened to Mr. Chasse on September 17th; is that
correct?
A Yes.
Q My understanding is that there were seven

tables outside the Bluehour on the patio. Starting
with 1 being the table closest to Everett, 7 being the
farthest away, which table were you sitting at?
A I don't remember for sure.
Q Do you recall -- I'm assuming with those
tables that four people can sit at the tables, then?
A Yes.
Q Were you in the chair that was facing north,

south, east or west?
A West - - west.

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Q So you were facing 13th?

A I was facing 13th with my back to the
restaurant.
Q What was - - when was the first time that you

became aware that something was happening?
A I heard a yell from the 13th area.
Q From 13th Street?

A Yeah. Yes.
Q And were you able to identify who was

yelling?
A A homeless man, would appear to be a
homeless man.
Q What made you think he was homeless?

A Disheveled, beard, dirty. The nature of
him, I guess. He looked very -- I guess I don't have
the word besides homeless.
Q Unkempt?
A Unkempt. Thank you.
Q What did you hear or see next?

A He was running almost straight at us. He
was coming from 13th - - or from Everett up to 13th and
rounding that corner, and two police officers, or
three police officers jumped on him right there.
Q Okay. So was it on the sidewalk or in the

street on 13th?

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A In the street on 13th.
Q Is your recollection that all three of the

police officers jumped him at the same moment?
A I don t remember.
Q When you were looking at them, were you
seeing the face of Mr. Chasse and faces of the three
officers then?
A Yes.
Q Okay. What did you see next?

A The three officers on the ground. I looked
away for a moment, there was an elbow to Mr. Chasse's
back, and they had him kind of hogtied, almost. And
more officers started showing up, and Mr. Chasse was
resisting and screaming for help.
Q How loudly?
A Very loudly. As loud as he could scream.
Q Okay. Were the police officers saying

anything?
A Nothing that I could hear from where I was.
Q The only thing you could hear was

Mr. Chasse?
A Yes.
Q Are you testifying that the police officers

were not saying anything, or are you testifying that
you couldn't hear - -

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1 A I couldn't hear.
Q Okay, go on.
A The police officers, it looked like one of
them was by Mr. Chasse. And I'm not sure on the order
of the next couple of - - it's been a while, but
Mr. Chasse was punched a couple of times and kicked by
the police officers.
Q Were you able to see who punched Mr. Chasse?

A No.
Q Which officer?
A No.
Q So you saw punches, but either - - I'm not
sure whether you're saying that you couldn't see who
was doing the punching or you can't remember.
A I can't remember.
Q All you remember is that there were punches?
A Yes.
Q Do you remember how many?
A Two.
Q And you said there was a kick?

A There was a kick.
22 Q A kick. Okay. Do you remember who did the
23 kicking?
24 A I don't.
25 Q Do you remember which - - which part of

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Mr. Chasse's body was punched?
A Not for sure, no.
Q Do you remember which part of Mr. Chasse's

body was kicked?
A His head.
Q Were you able to see, was it the right side

of his head or the left side of his head?
A I don't know.
MR. STEENSON: Objection; argumentative.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) Were you able to see

whether it was the right side of his head, or the
left side of his head?
MR. STEENSON: Same.
THE WITNESS: I don't remember.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) You don't remember if it

was the right side or the left side?
MR. STEENSON: Same.
THE WITNESS: I don't remember.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) You can go ahead. Even

though Mr. Steenson is objecting, you can go ahead
and actually answer the questions, he just needs to
do that to make a record.
A Yes.
Q Did he explain that to you?

A NO.
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Q Okay. You saw two punches and one kick,

you're not sure which part of Mr. Chassersbody. And
then what happened next?
A He was tazed.
Q Were you able to see where Mr. Chasse was

tazed?
A No.
Q Were you able to see, or do you recall which

one of the three police officers did the tazing?
A There were more than three police officers
at this point, and no.
Q So where were -- you said there were more

than three at this point?
A Yes.
Q Where were the other officers besides the

three --
A They were - -
Q - - originals?
A Everyone was crowded around Mr. Chasse.
Q Were they crowded around Mr. Chasse before

or after the tazing?
A Before.
Q So were they standing in front of

Mr. Chasse?
A They were standing around him.

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Q Around him. Were you, during this period of

time, still able to see Mr. Chasse?
A Yes.
Q So were they standing on either side of

Mr. Chasse?
A Scattered.
Q Scattered. Okay.
A Scattered.
Q Okay. But you can't recall which part of

Mr. Chasse's body was tazed?
A No.
Q Could you see the taser?

A I saw the taser.
Q Do you recall the colors of the uniforms of
the three original police officers?
A Blue and green.
Q Do you recall which color - - what color of

uniform the officer had on who used the taser?
A No.
Q During this next phase where we're past the

punches, okay, we're into the taser phase, did you
hear the police officers saying anything?
A I didn't. You can't hear them. I was too
far away.
Q So were you closer to the seventh table than

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the first table?

A No, I was closer to the first.
Q Closer to the first. But you were too far

away to hear the police?
A Yes.
Q During that period of time, did you hear

Mr. Chasse saying anything?
A He was still screaming.
Q No distinguishable words?
A NO.
Q What happened next after the taser?

A Paramedics showed up, and Mr. Chasse at some
point went limp. And they were checking for a pulse
and doing like a very -- a checkup, I believe is what
it looked like. They had their finger to his neck
like so (indicating) and were patting him down and
searching him, and the paramedics were looking over
him.
Q Do you remember what else they did, if

anything?
21 A No.
22 Q So they - - basically they checked his pulse.
23 Did you see any equipment?
24 A They had like a fishing box, is what it
25 looked like.

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Q Like a tackle box?

A Yeah, like a tackle box. And they had --
that's all I remember.
Q Did they take anything out of the tackle

box?
A I don't remember.
Q What were the - - if you know, what were the

original three police officers doing while the
paramedics were there?
A I don't remember.
Q Were you observing them during that period

of time?
A I was observing the whole crowd.
Q Were your parents observing all of this?
A Yes.
Q And your sister, was she observing it?

A I think so, yes.
Q Have you spoken with your parents and your

sister since this happened about this incident?
A Yes.
Q And where do your parents live?

A Eugene, Oregon.
Q And your sister?

A Eugene.
25 Q I'm assuming at some point everybody leaves;

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right?
A Yes.
Q How long, if you can recall, were the

paramedics there?
A When the paramedics showed up and had put --
had gone from checking Mr. Chasse up to putting him in

the police vehicle, we got up and left.
Q Do you recall how Mr. Chasse was transported

from the street to the police car?
A No.
Q No recollection at all?
A No recollection.
Q Do you recall whether or not Mr. Chasse

walked to the police car?
A NO.
Q What actions, if any, do you think the

officer in the green took because Mr. Chasse was
disabled?
THE WITNESS: I don't know.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) Do you have any personal

knowledge regarding whether or not Mr. Chasse, Jr.
was disabled?
A No.
Q Do you have any personal knowledge as to
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whether or not - - I can represent to you that the
officer in green who was there, that his name was
Deputy Burton.
Do you have any knowledge as to whether or
not, personal knowledge, as to whether or not Deputy
Burton had any knowledge concerning any disability
that Mr. Chasse might have had?
A No.
Q Do you have any personal knowledge regarding

whether or not there was any other Multnomah County
employee who would have any knowledge that Mr. Chasse
was disabled?
A No.
Q Has anyone ever told you that Mr. Chasse was

mentally ill?
A The paper.
Q How was it that you got in touch with - - or

Mr. Steenson got in touch with you?
A Private investigator, I think.
Q And was that David Halloran?

A That sounds - -
Q Does that sound familiar?

A I'm not sure.
Q You don't recall the name?

A I don't.

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1 Q Have you ever filed a claim based on the
2 ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act?
3 A No.
4 Q Has anybody in your family, to the best of
5 your knowledge, filed a claim?
6 A No.
7 Q Do you personally have any disabilities?
8 A No.
9 Q Does anybody in your family have any
10 disabilities?
11 MR. STEENSON: This seems like really
12 evasive personal kinds of things you're asking the
13 witness. It's up to him whether he wants to answer.
14 Q (By Ms. Dunaway) Does anybody in your
15 family have any disabilities?
16 A Not that I know of.
17 Q As you look back on that event, were there
18 certain actions that, as you're watching it, you're
19 thinking that the - - I wish that the police had taken
20 actions other than what they took?
21 A Yes.
22 Q What actions do you think they should have
23 taken?
24 A A gentler approach.
25 Q And explain that answer.

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A Kicking a man with several other people on

top of him seems excessive.
Q So the kick bothered you --

A Yes.
Q - - is what you're saying? Okay.

Anything else?
A And the being punched.
Q And the two punches bothered you?

A Yes.
Q Did you - - as you were watching that, did

you have any personal knowledge at the time regarding
why Mr. Chasse was being stopped?
A No.
Q Now, there are two actions that you're

saying that you wish the police hadn't taken. What
actions, in your opinion, should they have taken?
MR. STEENSON: Objection; calls for
speculation.
THE WITNESS: I don't know. I'm not a
police officer, I can't - -
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) And again, you have no

personal knowledge regarding Mr. Chasse at all?
A No.
Q And no personal knowledge regarding his

ability - - his - - any potential disabilities or proven

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disabilities of Mr. Chasse?

A No.
Q And no knowledge regarding any knowledge

that Deputy Burton or any Multnomah County employee
had or did not have regarding any disability of
Mr. Chasse?
A. No.
MS. DUNAWAY: That's all I have.
EXAMINATION
BY MR. RICE:
Q Mr. Barber, my name is Jim Rice. I work for

the City of Portland, I'm a lawyer for them. I'm
going to ask you some questions that I think perhaps
pertain to this matter. Again, the same rules are in
effect as Ms. Dunaway spoke of.
Do you understand that?
A Yes.
Q Did you have a chance to graduate from high

school?
A Yes.
Q Where did you graduate from?

A Sheldon High School.
Q You grew up in Eugene?

A Yes.

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Q Where do your parents live?

A Where?
Q Yes, what's their address?

A 1330 Lincoln Street.
Q How tall are you?

A Six-foot.
Q Did you have a chance to have any formal

education beyond high school?
A Yes.
Q And where did you go after high school?

A Lane Community College and the Western
Culinary Institute here in Portland.
Q When you were at Lane Community College, did

your studies focus in a particular area?
A Psychology.
Q Did you end up with -- is it an AA degree

when you graduated from Lane Community College?
A I'm not sure.
Q Did you get a degree from there?

A I did not.
Q And I assume at some point in time you
transferred into the culinary world?
A Yes.
Q When you go to Western, do they give you a

certificate or degree, or how does that work?

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A It's an AA.
Q When did you get that?

A 2003, '4.
Q School is a pretty broad area. When you

were studying, did you have a focus of any kind within
psychology?
A NO.
Q Before you came here today, did you review

any documents or look at photographs or watch a video,
anything like that?
A No. I talked with the lawyer and he went
over my statement that I gave him.
Q And when you gave that statement, did you
write something out, or did you talk to somebody?
A I talked to somebody.
Q Did you get a copy of that statement?
A I don ' t remember.
Q Do you know how - - first of all, there were

some other individuals at Bluehour that were on the
patio that day who worked there. You're aware of
that?
A Yes.
Q Did you talk to any of those people about

what you had seen?
A Yes.

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Q And who did you talk to?

A Jamie. I don't remember his last name.
Q Marquez?
A That sounds right. And there was another
guy, tall and skinny, and I don't remember his name.
Q Have you spoken to anybody from the Chasse

family?
A No.
Q And aside from the one investigator, have

you talked to anybody else other than Mr. Steenson?
A My family, my girlfriend.
Q And in remembering things, when you talked

to your family about it, did you notice or think that
they remembered anything differently from what you had
observed?
A I'm not sure.
Q My understanding is what called you to

looked towards where Mr. Chasse was there was a
yelling noise of some kind?
A Yes.
Q Do you recall who made the yelling noise?

A No.
Q And when you turned to look there, is the

first thing you saw was the officers coming into
contact with Mr. Chasse?

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A No.
Q Was he moving before that?

A Yes.
Q How far did you see him traverse? Maybe how

many steps? What would be the best way for you to
describe that?
A Half the distance between a block.
Q And were the police following him at that

time?
A Yes.
Q Were they all together in one group?

A Yes.
Q And they ultimately - - did you see them

actually make the first contact with him?
A Yes.
Q How would you describe that?

A A tackle, like a football.
Q And did one officer tackle him, or did more

than officer do that?
A I don't remember.
Q And did you play football at Sheldon?

A No.
Q Did you go to Sheldon football games?

A Yes.
Q Tackling can mean more than one thing. It's

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usually knocking someone off the ground. There's a

variety of ways of doing that. Can you describe, if
you remember, what the tackle looked like?
A The officers or officer jumping at the
sprinting Mr. Chasse.
Q And do you know what part of Mr. Chasse's

body came in contact with the officer?
A His back or his legs. I don't know.
Q And what part of the officer's body came

into contact with Mr. Chasse?
A I don't remember.
Q Did you see Mr. Chasse fall?

A Yes.
Q Did he fall to the side or forward? How

would you describe that?
A Forward.
Q Did you see when he came - - how he came into

contact with the ground?
A I don't remember.
Q Would it be correct to say you don't
remember how his hands were positioned when he came in
contact with the ground?
A Yes.
Q What happened to the officers who were

following Mr. Chasse as Mr. Chasse fell to the ground?

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A They went down with him.
Q Did they all go down at the same time?

A I don't remember.
Q Do you remember whether or not any of the
officers landed on Mr. Chasse?
A Yes.
Q And what do you remember about that?

A The officer was on top of Mr. - - he was just
on him.
Q So there was one officer that fell on

Mr. Chasse?
A Jumped on, fell.
Q Landed on him somehow?

A Landed on him somehow.
Q And what did the other two officers do when

that occurred?
A They were all on the ground at some point.
I don't know.
Q When the other officers were on the ground,

were they besides Mr. Chasse or were they on top of
Mr. Chasse?
A I don't remember.
Q You indicated Mr. Chasse was yelling as he

was interacting with the officers?
A Yes.

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1 Q Were there - - was he making word sounds or a
2 noise? How would you describe that?
A He was yelling help and just screaming.
Q Did he say the word "helpn more than once?

A Yes.
Q And this may have been asked of you. At

that time, could you hear anything the officers were
saying to Mr. Chasse?
A No.
Q How about anything they were saying to each

other?
A No.
Q Am I correct you saw one of the officers

bitten by Mr. Chasse?
A Yes.
Q And when that occurred, do you know what

part of the officer was bitten?
A His arm, his forearm.
Q And when the bite happened, was there any

response by the officers?
A Pulled back.
Q He pulled his arm back?

A Yes.
Q And what happened after that?

A To his arm?

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Q Yes.
A He - - I don't remember until the paramedics
came up.
Q In what proximity to the officers being --
the officer being bitten was the punching that you

saw? Did the punching happen before or did it happen
afterwards?
A Right afterwards.
Q And how about the kick?

A I don't remember.
Q One officer kicked Mr. Chasse; is that
right?
A Yes.
Q And was he holding on to Mr. Chasse when he

kicked him, or was he completely free of Mr. Chasse?
A I don't remember.
Q Did Mr. Chasse make any different response
when he was struck by the officer?
A I don't remember.
Q And how about when he was kicked?
A I don't remember.
Q Mr. Chasse was tazered, you observed, at one
point?
A Yes.
Q What was his reaction to the taser?

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
31
A He - - just no other reaction besides

screaming and kicking.
Q Were you familiar with tasers at that time?
A Vaguely.
Q Did you see the taser actually come into

contact with Mr. Chasse's body?
A No.
Q When Mr. Chasse was resisting the officers,

was - - what was the position of his body? Was he
lying on his back, lying on his stomach, lying on his
side?
A He stayed on his stomach most of the time.
Q Did he ever go off of his stomach?

A To be examined by the paramedics, he was off
of his stomach. And I couldn't tell you beyond or how
he got there.
Q When the paramedics showed up, had
Mr. Chasse been handcuffed?
A He had been zip tied.
Q What do you mean by "zip tied"?

A His hands and one of his feet were together.
Q Were his hands in front of his body or

behind his body?
A Behind, I believe.
Q And when he was in that position, was he on

( 3 6 0 ) 695-5554 ** ( 5 0 3 ) 223-4040
32
his back? on his side? on his stomach?

A I don't remember.
Q You indicated when the paramedics showed up,

Mr. Chasse went limp. When the paramedics first
showed up, did you actually see them arrive?
A Yes.
Q How many vehicles did the paramedics come

in, if you remember?
A One.
Q Did anyone else come other than police

officers and the one paramedic vehicle?
A I don't remember.
Q And when the paramedics came out, what did
they do?
A Examined Mr. Chasse.
Q Did you see them speaking to anyone before

they examined Mr. Chasse?
A I don't remember.
Q There was a crowd of people around Bluehour
at this time; is that right?
A Yes.
Q You indicated to me there were some of your

then coworkers at Bluehour there?
A Yes.
Q Did you recognize anybody else who was there

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
33
that day?
A NO.
Q Your - -
A My family.
(1 I meant anyone besides your family or who

you've told us about.
Did I understand your earlier answer you had
not seen Mr. Chasse before that day, that you recall?
A Yes.
Q That ' s right?

A That is correct.
Q Do you know the names of any of the police

officers who were there that day?
A No.
Q Did you recognize any of them from either

work or just being around the area?
A No.
Q Have you had any contact with Mayor Potter

about this?
A I don't know.
Q The mayor of the city?

A Oh, no.
Q How about Chief Sizer, the head of the

police department?
A NO.

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
34
Q Have you talked to any of the officers about

this?
A No.
Q Did you make a complaint or report of any

kind about this incident?
A No.
Q Did you take any pictures that day?

A No.
Q Have you watched any video about this

incident?
A No.
Q You indicate at one point you have gained

some information from the media about this?
A Yes.
Q What are your sources of news?

A It was in the Oregonian, I believe, a time
ago. I don't remember. Just a brief thing.
Q Do you have any experience or training with

Marshall Arts, boxing, anything like that?
A NO.
Q Wrestling?
A NO.
Q Have you had any interactions with the

police department in Portland?
A I've gotten tickets and - - yes.

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
35
Q You're talking traffic tickets?

A Yeah.
(Z Anything out of the ordinary, other than

being stopped by a police officer and having a
citation issued?
A NO.
Q Did the officers act inappropriate in any

way?
A No.
Q How about police officers from any other

jurisdiction?
A No.
Q Have you ever been convicted of a crime?

A NO.
MR. RICE: That's all the questions I have.
Thank you.
EXAMINATION
BY MS. BACK:
Q Hi, Mr. Barber, my name is Jean Back, and

I'm also an attorney. I represent the ambulance and
the company and the paramedics who were at the scene
on Northwest 13th'that day. I just have a few
questions for you just to clarify what you saw and
remember about their actions.

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
36
When you testified, what do you remember - -

first of all, I just want to hear from your own words
what you remember about the paramedics arriving at the
scene.
A Just anything in general?
Q Just, yeah, start with your observations

about the cars that drove up and then go from there,
just your own -- and I'll ask you questions when
you're done.
A I remember an ambulance. I remember several
paramedics in blue. I remember them checking
Mr. Chasse. And that's - - I mean, I don't remember a
whole lot about it.
Q Do you remember how many - - how many
paramedics do you remember seeing?
A I don1t remember.
Q Do you remember whether they were male or

female?
A I remember one male.
Q One male. And you stated that you don't

remember seeing or hearing them have any conversations
with the police officers when they got to the scene?
A I don't remember.
Q Were you able to overhear anything that was

said when the paramedics got there?

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
37
A No.
Q And then when you testified that you

observed them examine Mr. Chasse, can you tell me
everything that you remember seeing in terms of what
they did when they examined Mr. Chasse?
A I remember one of them reaching down and
checking his pulse and looking over - - just looking at
him. And I don't really remember anything else.
Q You had previously testified that you

remembered them patting him down or - -
A Yeah.
(Z What do you remember about that?

A Just -- kind of just check - - I don't know.
I don't recall. They just were touching him.
Q They were touching him. Where do you

remember them touching him?
A His arm and leg and looking at his head
and - -
Q Okay. And do you remember seeing them do

anything with that tackle box that - -
A I don t remember.
Q Do you remember whether they hooked him
up -- have you ever had your pulse taken before?
A Yes.
Q Do you remember whether they used a cuff on

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
38
him and took his pulse?
A I don't remember.
Q Do you remember - - did you watch after the

paramedics - - when the paramedics had finished with
him, did you --
A They had sprayed the police officer that had

gotten bitten with something on his arm.
Q And after they examined Mr. Chasse, do you

remember seeing whether the paramedics and the police
were having any sort of conversation?
A They were standing around together. I
couldn't hear anything. It looked like they were
chatting. I couldn't really tell.
Q Do you remember seeing the paramedics hand

any sort of papers to the police?
A No, I don't remember.
Q And do - - strike that.

MS. BACK: I don't think I have any further
19 questions.
20
21 EXAMINATION
22 BY MR. STEENSON:
23 Q I have a few questions.
24 Tom Steenson, the attorney for the family.
25 Do you recall that you spoke with David

(360) 695-5554 * * (503) 223-4040
39
Halloran, the investigator for the family, within a

couple of weeks of the time that Mr. Chasse died?
A Yes.
Q Do you agree your memory was probably a

little better then than it is today as to what
happened?
A Yes.
Q You indicated that Mr. Chasse yelled help

more than once. Do you remember that he yelled
something like help me, or help me, as he was running
down the street?
A I don't remember today.
Q Do you remember that when he was yelling for

help on the ground, that he also said, I can't
breathe?
A I don't remember that today.
Q Do you recall that one of the officers

punched Mr. Chasse with a closed fist twice and
slapped him with an open hand about five times?
A I do remember the closed fist twice.
Q Do you remember the open hand slapping - -

A No.
Q - - Mr. Chasse a couple of times?

A I don't.
Q Do you remember that two of the punches, or
Schrnitt & Lehmann, Inc.

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
Jesse Barber, 8/4/2008 Chasse v. Hurnphreys, et a1
40
1 the two that you can recall here today, hitting him in
2 the face?
3 A I don't remember where they hit him.
4 Q Do you recall, sitting here today, whether
5 the kick was to the back of Mr. Chassetshead?
6 A Yeah, it was to his head.
7 Q Do you remember whether it was to the back
8 of his head or not?
9 A I don't remember if it was the back or not.
10 Q Do you remember telling Mr. Halloran that
11 there were other strikes or punches that landed in
12 Mr. Chasse's upper torso area?
13 A Not today, no.
14 Q Do you recall today that Mr. Chasse appeared
15 to have urinated on himself because he was wet around
16 the crotch area?
17 A Yes.
18 MR. RICE: Objection; speculative.
19 Q (By Mr. Steenson) Do you recall whether
20 the officers looked for a pulse on Mr. Chasse by
21 feeling his wrist, or perhaps his neck?
22 A Yes.
23 Q Did they have difficulty finding a pulse, or
24 could you tell?
25 MR. RICE: Objection; speculative.

(360) 695-5554 * * (503) 223-4040
41
THE WITNESS: I don't know.
Q (By Mr. Steenson) Did you hear any officer

last night, whether it was - - excuse me. Let me
rephrase.
Did you hear any officer, whether it was the
first three involved and the ones that showed up
later, ever mentioning drugs or talking about drugs?
A Not any officers, no.
Q When Mr. Chasse was on the ground yelling

help me, were the paramedics there?
A I don't remember.
(Z And I'm not clear from the record, or what
you've said here today what you recall today about
when Mr. Chasse went limp. Was that before or after
the paramedics were there?
A It was before the paramedics - - you know, I
don't remember for sure.
Q Did you ever notice any change in

Mr. Chasse's skin color?
A No, I don't remember.
Q Could you tell whether Mr. Chasse was

breathing at some point or not breathing at some
point?
A No.
Q Do you recall, sitting here today, that you

(360) 695-5554 * f (503) 223-4040
42
noticed one of the police officers laughing while
Mr. Chasse was on the ground?
A I don't remember, no.
Q Your parent's phone number is (541)607-9661?

A 0601.
MR. STEENSON: Thank you. That's all I
have.
FURTHER EXAMINATION
BY MR. RICE:
Q I have a couple of follow-up questions,

Mr. Barber.
Mr. Steenson talked about Mr. Chasse being
wet. Do you recall that?
A Yes.
Q Do you know when Mr. Chasse became wet?

A After being tazed.
Q Did you see him - - his pants actually change

color, or how would you know that that's what caused
him to be tazed (sic)?
A They were dark pants and then got much
darker around there.
Q And when you were looking at Mr. Chasse,

were you looking at him from behind or from the front?
A Originally it was the front, and then got
Schrnitt & Lehmann, I n c .

(360) 695-5554 * * (503) 223-4040
43
turned over by paramedics and just moved around.
Q And when he was initially coming at you, you

only saw him from the front; is that right?
A Correct.
Q And are you sure, as you sit here today,

that his pants couldn't have been wet on the front
side when he came toward you?
A I don't remember.
Q Mr. Steenson asked you if any officer talked

you to about drugs and you said no. Did anyone talk
about drugs that day?
A There were people on the patio that were
observing apparently the crazy looking homeless person
and talking, assuming that he was just being chased by
the police because he was strung out or high or
something.
Q Sort of speculation by people in the crowd.

Is that what it sounded like to you?
A Yes.
Q Did you yourself ever talk to a police

officer that day on the scene?
A No.
MR. RICE: That's all the questions I have.
///
///
(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
1 FURTHER EXAMINATION
2 BY MS. DUNAWAY:
3 Q I just have a couple more.
4 Did you yourself think that there was a
5 possibility that Mr. Chasse was high on drugs or
6 strung out?
7 A Yes.
8 Q But apparently - - how long do you think
9 this - - from the time Mr. Chasse is taken to the
10 ground to when he's under control, do you have any
11 idea how long that took?
12 A No.
13 Q Was it more than a minute?
14 A Yes
15 Q Was it less than five minutes?

16 A It was more than five minutes.
17 Q More than five minutes. More than seven?
A I would just be guessing at that point. It
was a while.
Q At least more than five?

A Yes.
Q Did it appear to you that the police

officers were trying to get Mr. Chasse under control?
MR. STEENSON: Objection; speculation.
THE WITNESS: Yes.

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
45
(Z (By Ms. Dunaway) So as you are sitting
there and you see this going on, in your mind,
you're thinking, These police officers are trying to
get this man under control?
A Yes.
Q And during that period of time that you're

watching this, between the time that everyone goes
down on the ground and Mr. Chasse is actually
handcuffed, or I think you said flex cuffed, was there
any period of time, other than when I think you said
that he went limp or something happened to stop the
fight, during the rest of that period of time, was
Mr. Chasse actively resisting?
MR. STEENSON: Objection; argumentative;
assumes facts not in evidence; vague.
THE WITNESS: Yes.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) So was Mr. Chasse

resisting what the police officers were doing?
MR. STEENSON: Objection; vague.
THE WITNESS: Yes.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) Okay. In what way?

Describe to me how Mr. Chasse was resisting.
A He was struggling and moving around and
trying to - - just trying to move and get away.
Q So if the police officers had ahold on him,

(360) 695-5554 * * (503) 223-4040
46
he was trying to pull away from the hold?
A Yes, and screaming.
Q And screaming?
A Yes.
Q And so between the time of everybody going

down and the handcuffing, would you describe that
situation as being somewhat out of control?
THE WITNESS: Yes.
Q (By Ms. Dunaway) Until finally Mr. Chasse

was put in handcuffs, then did the situation seem to
be under control?
A No, he was - - he was - - whenever he was
cognizant he was screaming.
MS. DUNAWAY: That's all I have.
FURTHER EXAMINATION
BY MS. BACK:
Q I have just a couple of more questions for

you. So after you saw him go limp, did you then see
him move around again at that point?
A He came to.
Q He came to. And when you say you saw him go

limp, could you see whether he was conscious or not at
that point?

(360) 695-5554 ** (503) 223-4040
47
A I don't remember.
Q And when you say that he went limp, what do
you mean by that?
A Like he wasn't conscious, I guess.
Q Did he just stop moving?

A Yeah.
Q And then at what point after that did he

start moving again?
A I don't remember.
Q You don't remember. Was he moving when the

paramedics were there?
A I don't remember.
Q Could you see his face when the paramedics

were there?
A No.
Q So you don't know whether his eyes were open

or closed?
A NO.
Q And again, you couldn't hear anything that

was said?
A Couldn't hear anything.
MS. BACK: That's all I have.
(This deposition was concluded at 2 : 0 0 p.m.)

(Signature waived.)

(360) 695-5554 * * (503) 2 2 3 - 4 0 4 0
48
REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE
2 STATE OF WASHINGTON )
) ss.
3 COUNTY OF CLARK )
5 I, PRISCILLA (PIA) HARRIS, a Certified

6 Shorthand Reporter for Oregon, do hereby certify that,
7 pursuant to stipulation of counsel for the respective
8 parties hereinbefore set forth, JESSE BARBER,
9 personally appeared before me at the time and place
10 set forth in the caption hereof; that at said time and
11 place I reported in Stenotype all testimony adduced
12 and other oral proceedings had in the foregoing
13 matter; that thereafter my notes were reduced to
14 typewriting under my direction; and that the foregoing
15 transcript, pages 1 to 47, both inclusive, constitutes
16 a full, true and accurate record of all such testimony
17 adduced and oral proceedings had, and of the whole
18 thereof.
19 WITNESS my hand and CSR stamp at Vancouver,
20 Washington, this 6th day of October 2 0 0 8 .
21
22
PR IS
Registered Professional Reporter
Certified Shorthand Reporter
OR CSR NO. 0 1 - 0 3 7 7
WA CSR No. 2 9 6 3

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

IN AND FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

JAMES P. CHASSE, JR.; JAMES P. CHASSE; )

For the Defendant AMR: JEAN 0. BACK

Also Present: KARI FURNANZ

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

1 PORTLAND, OREGON; MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2008

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

6 rule is that, for the court reporter's sake, let me

Q And it's best not to say yeah or nah or

Q Did you have a sufficient amount of sleep

Q Is there any impediment that you can think

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

Q If you don't understand my questions, will

don't guess, try to answer my questions. I want you

Q First of all, what is your full name?

Q And that's B-A-R-B-E-R?

Q What is your date of birth?

Q And where do you live?

Q And what is your address?

Q And what about a phone number?

Q Can you spell that?

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

Q Where is that located?

Q How long have you worked there?

Q And where did you work previous to that?

Q And where is that?

Q Where were you working in September of '06?

Q And how long had you been working at the

Q Do you understand kind of generally what the

Q Generally. So you understand that kind of

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

Q The reason why you were subpoenaed is

Q You did not. And you were not present at

Q You weren't present at the Bluehour, or in

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

Q You weren't working but you were at the

Q Where were you?

Q On the patio. What were you doing?

Q How is it, then, that you were not

Q Which family members were you eating with?

Q And what are their names and phone numbers?

Q And your sister?

Schmitt & Lehrnann, Inc.

don't remember her phone number.

Q Sure, that would be fine.

Q You were looking for her cellphone number?

Q So then you actually are an eyewitness to

Q My understanding is that there were seven

Q Were you in the chair that was facing north,

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

Q So you were facing 13th?

Q What was - - when was the first time that you

Q From 13th Street?

Q And were you able to identify who was

Q What made you think he was homeless?

Q What did you hear or see next?

Q Okay. So was it on the sidewalk or in the

Schmitt & Lehmann, Inc.

A In the street on 13th.

Q Is your recollection that all three of the

Q Okay. What did you see next?

Q Okay. Were the police officers saying

Q The only thing you could hear was