The Deposition of Alfred Wiggins, Jr.*,
transcribed by
Copley Court Reporting, Inc.
October 27, 2008
This interview features:
Q: Mr. Jim Cox, Esq., Attorney for the defendants.
A: Mister Al: The Plaintiff.
Part One
Q. Do you recall going to Bridgewater State College on April 15, '04?
A. Oh, yes.
Q. What class did you have, if any?
A. I forget the name of the class, but I had a class that was taught by Professor [Zuwallack.]
Q. Do you recall what time your class started that day?
A. I'm thinking mid-morning, 10:00 or 10:30.
Q. How did you get to college that day?
A. I drove.
Q. Did you and your wife generally drive separately?
A. Separately, yes.
Q. So tell me what happened that day.
A. I took my -- actually, I was wearing this jacket. I took my homework, and I had a briefcase, a black briefcase, my homework in a folder and a bottle of water, and coffee, parked in the commuter parking lot where I always parked. I went to the library.
I got to the table where my group was, we studied in groups, and the head of my group told me that the professor wanted to meet [with me]. The professor tells me that the police want to talk to me, and that the chief was upstairs waiting for me. And I noted that the professor looked nervous, but I didn't give it any credence.
Anyway, I go to the third floor, and [Bridgewater State College Campus Police] Chief Tillinghast, and [a couple of his officers] were waiting for me. The chief introduced himself. He introduced his men. And I asked him if he had received my phone call because I had called [him]. I had left a message for him; I had some concerns about some things I had seen on campus. And he said no, but he wanted to talk to me because my wife had some concerns.
So I think we were at the rail. And he said my wife was worried about me, and she thought I should go to the hospital. Now, it seemed strange because I've talked with enough law enforcement officers, just talking to them, to where I know a vague statement when I hear it. And I didn't understand until he told me that he didn't want anybody else to hear what we were talking about. And that's when I believed that something went very wrong, something very serious had happened. And I believed that something had either happened to my wife or my child or both.
So, he said he was prepared to take me over to the hospital in his squad car, his men were prepared to take me to the hospital. And I said okay.
So, we're going back down the stairs. And as I'm going down the stairs, I was talking to the chief about a number of things. But after we got off the stairs, we're walking toward the entrance of the library. And I guess I must have been caught up in what I was saying because I didn't notice that the chief and his two men had formed a phalanx behind me. So I'm walking, here is the door to the library, I'm walking, and here the chief and his two men, they're in line. And I'm walking.
That strange feeling hit me again. I stopped, and I turned around, and I asked them, "Am I being arrested? Am I...charged with a crime?" And he said, "No, no, we're just taking you to the hospital." I smiled, and I said okay.
So I go outside with them. And as I get ready to get into the squad car, the chief tells me it's standard procedure to put people, I'm not exactly sure how he phrased this, but he told me it was standard procedure that I be put in handcuffs or something to that effect. Either way, he told me I was going to have to be put in handcuffs.
So I knew I had been tricked.