"Okay, Bliss - can I call you Bliss?"(The officer pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the table from the girl, seated himself. Shuffled papers.) "I'm Officer Davis. I just want to talk to you for a few minutes, if that's okay. Then you can go home... just as soon as your Mom gets here." (Officer Davis waited for response from the girl. The girl remained silent.) "Is that okay?"
(The girl did not acknowledge Officer Davis.)
"There was a boy. He was there with me. He told me it would be okay."
"We'll talk about the boy in a moment." (Officer Davis consulted his papers again.) "First, I want to go over what happened."
"There was a boy. He was there with me. He told me it would be okay."
"Can you tell me what happened, Bliss?"
(At this point, the girl appeared to be in some sort of catatonic state.)
"There was a boy. He was there with me. He told me it would be okay."
"Bliss, I need you to focus, okay? Tell me what happened tonight."
"There was a boy -"
"I know there was a boy - we'll talk about him in just a minute. But first, I want you to tell me what happened tonight. Okay?"
(Officer Davis paused his interrogation as the door opened to admit Tamara James, from Child Services. Ms. James approached Officer Davis.)
"Officer Davis, I'm Tamara James from Child Services and I have to ask that you stop this interrogation now."
"I'm just doing my job, Ma'am."
"I understand and I empathize, I really do. But I've been observing and it's quite obvious that the child is in shock and she's not going to be any help to you tonight."
"Oh, so are you a doctor now, too, Ms. James?"
"You don't need a medical degree to see the girl is suffering from shock - anyone could see that. She did, after all, witness a very traumatic event tonight. So I really must insist that you cease this interrogation now and allow me to take possession of the child until she can be reunited with her family."
"With all due respect, Ms. James, she's not an item you can 'take possession of.' She's a girl who witnessed a murder and we need her statement to put away the bastard who did it."
"I understand that, Officer Davis. But I also understand that you're not going to get anything further from her tonight. So, please, let me do my job - and I'll help you do yours."
- from the transcript of the interrogation of Bliss Hartwell, Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Child Psychologist Slain In His Woodland Park Office
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
By Barbara Jenkins
In what can only be called a senseless act, noted child psychologist Dr. Reid Hartwell was gunned down in his office early in the evening of May 23. Best known for his work with the younger victims of the Feltonville 8 rape cases, Dr. Hartwell was preparing to lock up his office for the night when the alleged shooter forced his way into the suite in the company of a minor child. In the argument that ensued, Dr. Hartwell was shot three times in the chest while the minor child and Dr. Hartwell's own daughter looked on. It is unclear, at this time, why Dr. Hartwell's daughter was present at the time of the shooting, but it is speculated that the doctor was planning to take his daughter out for a celebratory dinner to commemorate her acceptance into dance camp this summer.
