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Footage comes to light

In the videos that follow — drawn from footage recorded at the Palmer police station on Feb. 27, 2016 — Detective Gregg Bigda and his partner, Luke Cournoyer, of the Springfield Police Department’s narcotics unit, question two teens who allegedly stole one of the unit’s undercover vehicles several hours earlier.

The boys were taken into custody after a foot chase in Palmer, after a Wilbraham officer who spotted the vehicle in that town began a pursuit.

Bigda, Cournoyer and four other Springfield officers arrived at the Palmer scene after a supervisor heard a scanner transmission about the Wilbraham vehicle pursuit in progress.

Bigda's questioning of the teens — which includes threats of violence and planting drug evidence — led to a 60-day suspension for the detective. The incident has also impacted a number of unrelated drug cases in which Bigda was to testify as a witness, as defense attorneys have used his threats to the boys as a way to challenge his credibility.

While the videos have been quoted by defense lawyers in court hearings — with statements included in coverage by The Republican and MassLive — the publication of the footage now offers the public its first look at what actually transpired between the detectives and the youths.

Additional coverage: Footage shows Springfield detective Gregg Bigda's threats to teen suspects; legal experts say some tactics cross line »

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Protecting privacy

The city and other entities denied public records requests filed by The Republican to obtain the footage, citing ongoing investigations.

The denials came after the U.S. attorney's and state attorney general's offices began investigating the matter in the wake of the newspaper's reporting.

A Hampden Superior Court judge in September agreed to seal the videos solely to protect the privacy of the juvenile suspects.

Before publishing the footage, The Republican edited the images and audio to shield the teens’ identities.

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About the videos

The Republican ultimately obtained footage from multiple cameras at the Palmer police station, spanning a time period from 4:09 a.m. to 6:27 a.m. on Feb. 27.

The videos that follow show three specific time periods:

5:09-5:15 a.m.: Bigda and Cournoyer question a 16-year-old in cell 4M.

5:16 to 5:28 a.m.: The detectives question another boy in cell 7J.

5:31 to 5:45 a.m.: The detectives return to cell 4M for further questioning of the 16-year-old suspect.

The videos are presented as a number of short segments that highlight moments defense attorneys have cited in court hearings as damaging to Bigda's credibility.

Also included is a single 32-minute video that combines the full segments from cells 4M and 7J.

Not included is footage of Cournoyer, alone, questioning a third boy for just over one minute at 6:01 a.m. The boy remains silent after Cournoyer tells the teen the others have already "dimed (him) out."

In the videos, Bigda is wearing a black jacket and jeans. Cournoyer is wearing a purple, hooded sweatshirt and khaki pants.

NOTE: The videos contain graphic language.

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At left is the 32-minute video showing three rounds of questioning involving two different suspects — one teenager in cell 4M, and one in cell 7J. The interrogations took place between 5:09 a.m. and 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 27, 2016.

The slides that follow offer shorter excerpts, presented chronologically.

NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

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NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.

Don't Edit

NOTE: Video contains graphic language.

The audio has been edited to remove references to full names and other potentially identifying information.