Jury decides Tischler, Murray, village not liable for violating Hillary's Fourth Amendment rights

Jun. 10—ALBANY — Jurors in Oral "Nick" Hillary's federal civil trial decided former Potsdam Police Chief Edward F. Tischler and current Chief Mark R. Murray are not liable for Fourth Amendment violations and were justified in detaining Mr. Hillary for six hours without a warrant while investigating the Oct. 24, 2011, murder of 12-year-old Garrett J. Phillips.

Mr. Hillary, a former Clarkson University men's soccer coach, had sued the village for alleged unlawful detention on Oct. 26, 2011, two days into the murder probe. Mr. Hillary had previously been in a relationship with Garrett's mother, Tandy L. Cyrus, and lived with them for a time. He was charged with the boy's murder in May 2014 and acquitted after a three-week bench trial in September 2016.

At the time, Mr. Murray was a lieutenant and the lead case investigator, and Mr. Tischler was chief. The village would have been liable if Mr. Tischler was liable, who as chief was an official municipal policymaker at the time. The jury also had the option to find Mr. Tischler and Mr. Murray not liable, but the village liable.

Mr. Tischler retired as chief in early 2012 and is now a St. Lawrence County district attorney investigator. Mr. Murray was promoted to chief in 2017.

Mr. Hillary was represented by Brett H. Klein of New York City and Mani C. Tafari of Melville. The defendants were represented by Gregg T. Johnson and Hannah H. Hage of Clifton Park. Judge Gary L. Sharpe presided over the case in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in the James T. Foley Courthouse in Albany.

The Fourth Amendment protects people from "unreasonable searches and seizures." Judge Sharpe had limited the scope of the trial to six hours between about 9:38 a.m. and 3:47 p.m. that Oct. 26. The jury had to decide if Mr. Murray and Mr. Tischler had enough information that would lead a "reasonable police officer" to detain Mr. Hillary on the day in question without a warrant, pending the issuance of one. The judge said the case "is not about who killed Garrett Phillips," whether or not police unfairly focused on Mr. Hillary as a sole suspect, or police tactics.

Jurors began deliberations on Thursday shortly after noon, and returned their verdict around 9:45 a.m. Friday morning.

Mr. Hillary said even though the jury didn't find in his favor, he feels the truth came out regarding his involvement in Garrett's murder.

"A huge thank you to my legal team for undertaking this magnitude of a task and shedding light on the world I've been living in," he said following the verdict. "Despite the verdict, this week has definitely provided me with the opportunity to clear my name."

"We especially thank his honor Gary Sharpe for his wisdom," Mr. Tafari said in a prepared statement on behalf of his client. "The battle Mr. Hillary has fought for the past 11 years will be beneficial to the citizens of St. Lawrence County who will feel more protected by their constitutional rights, especially the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments."

Mr. Murray and Mr. Tischler declined to comment after the verdict.

Jurors heard three days of testimony, most of which was from Mr. Murray and Mr. Tischler. Mr. Hillary also took the stand, as did Ms. Cyrus. Also testifying were Ian Fairlie, Mr. Hillary's assistant soccer coach in 2011, and state police investigator Gary P. Snell, who was part of the murder investigation and has since retired.

"I think the jury did their job, and we're glad to have this case done in a week," Mr. Johnson said. "My clients are credible. They told the truth. I think it's that simple."

Both Mr. Murray and Mr. Tischler described from the witness stand their reasons for suspecting Mr. Hillary that they say led to legally detaining him. They said they felt he was being deceptive in a videotaped interview in Mr. Murray's office that ended with Mr. Snell preventing Mr. Hillary from leaving. On the tape, Mr. Snell said Mr. Hillary would be held pending approval of a search warrant application that Mr. Murray was in the process of writing up to photograph his body.

Police said Garrett's murderer escaped the 100 Market St. scene by jumping out a rear second-story window. On the tape, Mr. Murray asks Mr. Hillary to lift his pant legs so they can check for signs of injury and he refuses. Mr. Hillary testified he refused because the tone of the interview changed, and he was getting scared because the seating arrangement had the two officers boxing him in from the door. Mr. Murray also said he felt Mr. Hillary was deceiving them by refusing to answer when his soccer practice was held on the night of the murder.

The plaintiffs had brought up witness statements the police had as of the morning of Oct. 26, 2011, that contradicted the police's timeline of Mr. Hillary's activities and whereabouts the day of the murder.

Ms. Hage said she believes that the argument was an "obfuscation."

"Timelines are imperfect. The human recollection that something occurred isn't always perfect to the minute," she said.

Mr. Johnson pointed to Mr. Fairlie's statement that Mr. Hillary was at his apartment at 5 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2011, that he later revised to 20 minutes later after examining his phone records.

"The witness they presented gives one timeline, then another starting 20 minutes later," he said.

The defense attorneys entered as evidence more than a dozen witness statements they said implied Mr. Hillary was somehow connected to the homicide. They also pointed to videotaped and written statements from Ms. Cyrus in which she said her relationship with Mr. Hillary had ended badly, he and Garrett didn't get along and he'd been trying to get back together with her. They also pointed to a statement from Ms. Cyrus on tape in Mr. Murray's office in which she says the only person she can think of who would hurt Garrett was Mr. Hillary.

Mr. Klein said evidence came to light that he said provides Mr. Hillary an alibi for the time Garrett was killed.

"It's been said sunlight is the best disinfectant and we're confident the courtroom was flooded with sunlight, despite the outcome of the narrow issue in this verdict," Mr. Klein said.

He pointed to a sworn written statement from Shannon Harris, who told police she heard a noise that sounded like a screen ripping sometime around 4:37 to 4:47 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2011. At the same time, Dale Rice, father of Garrett's friend and classmate Caleb "Teddy" Rice, told police he saw Mr. Hillary's vehicle on Leroy Street between 4:43 and 4:45 p.m. Marissa Vogel, a 100 Market St. resident who called police after hearing a thudding noise and cries for help from the apartment, told police there were several minutes during which first officer on the scene Mark D. Wentworth was inside her apartment with the door closed. The plaintiffs argued this gave whoever killed the boy ample time to walk out the front door, rather than jumping out the window.

Mr. Klein said the idea of Mr. Hillary being the perpetrator started with members of the Phillips family in Parishville who were friends with Mr. Snell. The defense also said the best witness to the crime, besides Garrett, was Ms. Cyrus.

"Tandy Cyrus testified at both the criminal and civil trials that she was nowhere near the crime scene at the time of Garrett's death," Mr. Tafari said.

The defense had used a statement from Garrett's uncle, Brian A. Phillips, to justify the police's actions. He told police he was on his way to pick up a prescription and saw Mr. Hillary driving toward Market Street near North Country Oil Change around the time of the murder. Mr. Klein pointed to a separate statement from Mr. Phillips's girlfriend at the time, postal carrier Elise Gardner, who said she saw Mr. Phillips on her postal route on Walnut Street at the time Mr. Phillips in his statement says he saw Mr. Hillary driving.

"There's no connection between Nick and the crime scene other than rumors, speculation and innuendo from people that didn't like him," Mr. Klein said.

When asked if they plan to appeal the case, Mr. Klein said, "we're evaluating all our options."

Mr. Johnson said if an appeal happens, he hopes that he'd continue to represent Mr. Murray and Mr. Tischler.