1 American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting
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1 1 (INTERVIEW OF ALBERT L. HOFF, JR., #2016-0108, 08/09/16) 2 (The following may contain unintelligible or misunderstood 3 words due to the recording quality.) 4 5 CT = Special Agent Christopher Tissot 6 AH = Albert L. Hoff, Jr. 7 CT: My name is Christopher Tissot, Special Agent with 8 the Florida Department of Law Enforcement out of 9 Fort Myers. Today's date is currently August 9th, 10 2016, and the time is currently 11:12 p.m. This is 11 in reference to an incident which occurred at the 12 Punta Gorda Police Department, 1410 Tamiami Trail, 13 Punta Gorda, Florida. I will be taking a sworn, 14 taped statement from Albert Leroy Hoff, Jr., date of 15 birth August 12th, 1966, currently residing at 29235 16 Palm Shores Boulevard in Punta Gorda, Florida. Is 17 it okay if I call you Albert or would you -- 18 AH: Yes, sir. 19 CT: Okay. 20 AH: That's fine. 21 CT: All right. Before we begin I have to ask you, do 22 you know what perjury is? 23 AH: Yes, sir. 24 CT: In your own words, can you tell me what it is? 25 AH: Hmm. Pretty much not just telling the truth. 26 CT: Correct. Perjury is lying under oath. American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0656 2 1 AH: Uh-huh. 2 CT: And that could occur one or two way -- in a couple 3 of ways, excuse me: either telling an outright lie 4 or misleading me by leaving out all or part of 5 information, okay, in order to mislead the 6 investigation. In the state of Florida, if you're 7 found to have perjured yourself, it is a 8 misdemeanor. We tell everyone that. Okay? 9 AH: Right. 10 CT: Um, being a law enforcement officer, I'm empowered 11 to swear you in under oath. Okay? So would you 12 please raise your right hand? Do you swear and 13 affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and 14 nothing but the truth? 15 AH: Yes, sir. 16 CT: All right. Okay. If you would, please, um, just 17 start from the beginning when you got here tonight, 18 approximately what time, all the way to the very 19 end. Take your time. Just be detailed if you 20 would. 21 AH: Okay. Yeah. We got here a little bit early, uh, 22 about 5:15. The, uh, function was supposed to start 23 at 5:30. We did a little meet-and-greet out front 24 and then we were brought in -- into the facility, 25 uh, sat down. Uh, we were able to meet the, um -- American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0657 3 1 is it the sheriff or the Punta Gorda city -- 2 CT: You're talking about Chief? 3 AH: The chief. 4 CT: Okay. 5 AH: The chief, uh, Tom. And, uh, he did a little 6 presentation, went over some things. Um, then he 7 broke us up into three different groups and we were 8 able to tour certain areas of the facility; and then 9 we were able to go out where they had the, um, 10 police cruiser, bicycle, um, and -- and the, um, 11 patrol boat. 12 CT: Okay. 13 AH: And we was able to look and see how they were set up 14 and any questions and stuff that we had. And then, 15 um, they were gonna do a, uh, shoot-or-don't-shoot 16 scenario. Um, when we were first brought into the 17 building we were given pamphlets, and in some of the 18 pamphlets he had a business -- one of his business 19 cards in there and it either said "weapon," I 20 believe, or "Taser." 21 CT: Okay. 22 AH: There was two "weapon," um, business cards of his 23 and two "Taser" business cards of his, and, um, 24 those people were chosen to do the shoot-or-do-not- 25 shoot or the Taser, which we didn't get to. American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0658 4 1 Uh, so they were getting ready to do the drill, 2 I guess you would call it, as the shoot or don't 3 shoot. Um, they brought the first lady out and, uh, 4 there was a gentleman by a car and he was, like, 5 looking in the window and he had a hoodie on and a 6 mask. Um, and she was approaching him with, I 7 guess, not a real -- real gun but whatever the 8 officers use to practice with. He, um -- the Chief 9 explained to us that there was a real casing, 10 powder, and then it was a, um -- uh, detergent -- 11 CT: Okay. 12 AH: -- in -- in -- in the end of it. Um, so she went to 13 approach him as I guess she was instructed, because 14 she was instructed of the scenario I guess before 15 going over there -- 16 CT: Okay. 17 AH: -- um, and how to handle the weapon. And then the, 18 uh, gentleman with the hoodie and the mask on, he, 19 uh, got on his cellphone. I could barely hear what 20 he was saying, but I know he was saying something. 21 He slid the cellphone across the top of the car. He 22 walked around the front of the car and then it was 23 pap, pap, pap. And I was like, wow, what's going 24 on? It looked like he had a revolver in his hand. 25 And she was an elderly lady; and I seen her grab her American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0659 5 1 side, but I thought maybe she might have been having 2 a heart attack or something. 3 CT: Right. 4 AH: And then that's -- other than what somebody else 5 seen and mentioned to me about the blood on her 6 shoulder. 7 CT: Okay. 8 AH: Um, the Chief was in the crowd with us kind of just 9 talking, you know, and he had turned around and 10 immediately dropped everything, rushed over there. 11 Then everybody else, um, from the department rushed 12 over there. They tried to get EMS from next door 13 out there and we were ushered back into the 14 building. 15 CT: Okay. How many shots do you think you heard? 16 AH: I heard the first one and -- and it was just like a 17 regular shot, but then it was pap, pap. 18 CT: Okay. 19 AH: It might have been three. 20 CT: Okay. 21 AH: Three, but I can -- I mean four, but I definitely 22 know there was three. 23 CT: Okay. All right. So just going back, um, so 24 everybody's here. Um, the group eventually goes 25 outside and looks at the boats, the cars and all American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0660 6 1 that. Right? 2 AH: Yes, sir. 3 CT: Before you went to the scenario. 4 AH: Yes, sir. 5 CT: Did everyone go to the scenario together, the group? 6 AH: Um, pretty much. There were some stragglers, um, 7 but the, uh, Chief waited for everybody -- 8 CT: Okay. 9 AH: -- to get there so that they can all -- 10 CT: When did he explain the gun to you about -- you were 11 saying detergent and all that. When was that 12 explained? 13 AH: Um, that's when we were all in a group, before the 14 lady was taken away to -- 15 CT: Okay. So outside? 16 AH: Yeah, was taken outside. 17 CT: So now the scenario took place on the blacktop 18 outside, correct, in the back? 19 AH: Yes, sir. In the back, yes, sir. 20 CT: Right. How far were you, the spectators, 21 approximately from the scenario when it occurred? 22 AH: I was towards the back. I want to say I was a good 23 50 feet. So maybe the closet people might have been 24 40 feet. 25 CT: Okay. So you were in the back of the crowd now? American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0661 7 1 AH: Yeah, I was towards -- 2 CT: All right. 3 AH: -- the back of the crowd. 4 CT: So when you guys were out there, you said they took 5 Mary. Um, did -- did she already have the gun or 6 did they give her that gun when Chief Lewis was 7 telling you about it? I mean, when did -- do you 8 know when she got that -- that gun, when she was 9 given it? 10 AH: Um, yeah. Chief Lewis was telling us all about the 11 gun and explaining a little bit, um, to her -- 12 CT: Okay. 13 AH: -- about it and -- and to us -- 14 CT: Okay. 15 AH: -- of course, you know, that it was -- 16 CT: Okay. 17 AH: -- just like a real one that the officers do handle. 18 CT: Okay. 19 AH: Um, that the rounds weren't live. He had the clip 20 out -- 21 CT: Right. 22 AH: -- and showed us. 23 CT: I gotcha. 24 AH: And, um, then he gave it to another officer, and 25 then that officer and Mary walked away from the American High-Tech Transcription and Reporting, Inc. 0662 8 1 crowd. 2 CT: Where'd they go? 3 AH: Um, just probably 20 feet over from us.