Day 4: Tennant Takes The Stand

“Catch,” then-Lt. Rahgue Tennant claimed he told his ​“hysterical” wife as he ​“lobbed” a ​“very empty” Lysol can that she had just thrown at him back in her general direction.

By ​“accident,” that can hit her in the head — causing a cut and bruising that over time turned into a black eye, and that ultimately led to his arrest for assault.

Tennant offered that version of events Thursday afternoon during three hours on the witness stand in his own criminal jury trial in a fifth-floor courtroom at 235 Church St.

The state has charged the 48-year-old retired former top cop, who once served as the district manager for New Haven’s Dixwell neighborhood, with three domestic-violence felony and misdemeanor counts after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife, holding his family hostage, and threatening to shoot up his East Shore home in 2018.

On Thursday, Tennant made his case directly to the jury for why he should not be found guilty of these charges.

Through his answers to questions posed by defense attorney Rick Silverstein and by state prosecutor Jason Germain, he sought to portray himself as more victim than aggressor in his now-dissolved former marriage. 

Tennant’s testimony on Thursday served as a mirror image to that offered by his ex-wife during her time before the court on Monday and Tuesday.

She described him as controlling and abusive. He described her as jealous and intensely unhappy. 

She described him as choking and punching her multiple times in the run-up to the events that led to his arrest. He denied ever being violent — and instead claimed that she was the one who frequently threw objects at him during arguments.

And she said that on Aug. 30, 2018, Tennant had hurled a Lysol can at her head as she prepared him dinner while he berated her about the cleanliness of their East Shore home. He claimed that she initiated the fight — and that he never intended to cause her any harm. 

He also denied ever holding his family hostage, loading bullets into a magazine while his AR15 lay before him on the bed, and threatening to hurt himself or others. 

Did you strike your then-wife multiple times with a closed fist in June 2018? Silverstein asked his client on the witness stand.

“No,” Tennant said. ​“I used to box” while growing up in a tough stretch of North Philadelphia. ​“If I were to hit her with a closed fist? Then, come on.”

What would be the result if you hit your then-wife with a closed first? Silverstein asked.

“Damage,” Tennant replied.

So, according to Tennant, what exactly did happen on Aug. 30, 2018, the day the state claims the alleged assault took place? 

In response to Silverstein’s questioning, Tennant said that he returned home from a motorcycle ride that night and, upon walking in the door, was confronted by his then-wife.

“She started accusing me of cheating on her,” he said. ​“She was angry. She was hysterical.”

That’s when she started throwing ​“many items” at him, Tennant claimed. Those included cups, shoes, and a Lysol can. 

He said the Lysol can hit him in the head. (During her own cross-examination on Tuesday, Tennant’s ex-wife denied that she threw anything at her then-husband that night.)

Holding his head where the can had hit him, Tennant said he picked up that same Lysol can and ​“I flung it at her. I lobbed it at her.” When he ​“lobbed” the can in his ex-wife’s direction, Tennant claimed, he told her to ​“catch.”

Initially, he said, ​“I wasn’t even aware if it hit her or not.” Then he saw it had caused a scratch and left ​“a little blood” on her head.

He said his then-wife went into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, came back out, and said to him, ​“I got you now, motherfucker.”

Objection, state prosecutor Kelly Davis interjected. 

Sustained, state Superior Court Judge Jon Alander ruled, in just one instance among many Thursday afternoon where he reprimanded the former top cop for offering hearsay evidence — that is, saying what other people allegedly said — while on the witness stand.

“Mr. Tennant,” Alander said with exasperation after his third time cutting short the witness-defendant’s testimony, ​“I’ve already admonished you that you are not allowed to say” what your ex-wife said unless if directly asked about that by a lawyer and if the judge OKs the question.

Was it your intention to hurt your ex-wife when you ​“lobbed” that can? Silverstein asked.

“It wasn’t my intention,” Tennant replied. He said he asked her that night if she wanted him to take her to the hospital. She turned that offer down, he said, and so they didn’t go.

Where the three children during this time of the fight? Silverstein asked.

Asleep in their bedroom, Tennant replied.

Tennant said he took that week off from work because his aunt — who was like a ​“second mother” to him — had passed away from terminal cancer. He planned to go down to Philadelphia later in the week to attend her funeral.

“Did you prevent your wife from leaving” the house at any time that week? Silverstein asked.

No, Tennant replied.

“Did you threaten her during that week?”

No.

“Did she threaten you?”

Yes.

Since his arrest nearly four years ago, Tennant said, he hasn’t seen his three kids once.

“Would you like to see your children again?” Silverstein asked.

Yes, he replied.

Then state prosecutor Germain got a chance to question Tennant under cross-examination.

When you threw the Lysol can at her on Aug. 30, 2018, Germain asked, the can hit her in the head and caused a cut and a bruise, correct?

“I didn’t throw it,” Tennant said about the can. ​“I lobbed it.” He acknowledged that the can caused a cut to her head and a ​“small amount of blood. A little bit. It wasn’t that much.”

If the injury didn’t look serious, Germain asked, why ask your ex-wife if she wanted to go to the hospital?

“She was hysterical,” Tennant replied. ​“Because of the way she was acting. She was continuing to holler and scream.”

Tennant told Germain that he found out from his then-wife on Sept. 6, 2018 that a social worker from the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) had visited their East Shore home earlier in the day. He denied that he found out by surveilling the Ring doorbell camera, which he said he had installed prior to these incidents and not during that same week.

“I thought it was a joke at first,” he said about the domestic violence claims that the DCF social worker he spoke to over the phone that afternoon told him she had to investigate. He said he never told her or anyone else at DCF that they couldn’t come to his home.

Did you buy an extended high-capacity magazine for your AR15 rifle that same week? Germain asked.

“I couldn’t recall,” Tennant replied. ​“I had a lot of ammunition, as most police officers do.” He said that he ​“possibly” could have bought such a magazine that week.

Did you load them that week? Germain asked.

“They’re always loaded,” Tennant said. 

Tennant told the court that his marriage had gone downhill after the birth of his and his then-wife’s third and final child in 2016. He said she desperately wanted to move back to Philadelphia, while he wanted to try to keep climbing the ranks at the New Haven Police Department. And he said she frequently accused him of infidelity, though with no particular person.

Time and again, he said on Thursday, he was ​“not surprised” by how events played out between Aug. 30 and Sept. 6, 2018, and by his ultimate arrest under what he claimed were untrue allegations of assault.

Not Handcuffed, & Driven to 1 Union

While Tennant said that his wife never accused him of having an affair with anyone in particular, Tennant’s ex-wife did testify on Monday that there is in fact a specific individual she believes her husband cheated on her with.

That person is retired former New Haven Police Officer Jillian Knox. Tennant’s ex-wife testified on Monday that Tennant admitted to her during a 2017 argument that they had that he had slept with Knox.

On Thursday afternoon, Knox took the stand in Tennant’s trial as a witness called by the defense.

She denied ever having had an affair with Tennant. (During his own time on the witness stand Thursday, Tennant also denied ever having had an affair with Knox.)

Instead, Knox said, she has been a very close friend of Tennant for 20 years. ​“He’s my brother,” she said with affection.

Knox spent most of her time at the witness stand Thursday telling the court about the night of Tennant’s arrest on Sept. 6, 2018. 

Knox said that that she was in a car outside of Tennant’s home with then-Assistant Police Chief Otoniel Reyes, then-Lt. Herb Sharpe, and three other officers, including Elias Mendez and John Healy. 

Knox said that she was not on duty that night. Instead, she was there because of her close friendship with Tennant. (Over the course of the trial, both Tennant and his ex-wife testified to how Tennant and Reyes were also very close friends.)

She said that she called Tennant that night and, after they spoke over the phone, he came out of his house and into the officer-filled vehicle.

Both Knox and Tennant made clear to the court that Tennant was not handcuffed when he came out of his East Shore house unarmed. Instead, he sat in the front seat of the car as Reyes drove to the police headquarters at 1 Union Ave.

When they got to police headquarters, Knox said, Tennant and the other offices went into then-Chief Anthony Campbell’s conference room. ​“Reyes kissed Rahgue on the cheek,” Knox said.

Do you think that Tennant should be here in court today? state prosecutor Davis asked during cross-examination.

“He should not be here today,” Knox replied.

By around 4:20 p.m. Thursday, the defense wrapped up its case — meaning that the evidence presentation portion of the trial is now over. Both the prosecution and the defense are scheduled to present closing arguments to the jury on Friday morning, and then the jurors will have to decide whether or not Tennant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for the three charges he faces.

See below for previous articles about Rahgue Tennant’s arrest and criminal case.

• Trial Day 3: Rick Silverstein Goes For Broke
• Ex-Top Cop Trial, Day 2: Police-Domestic Violence Risks Take Center Stage
• Ex-Top Cop Trial, Day 1: Alleged Domestic Abuse History Revealed
• Slow Start To Picking Ex-Cop’s Jury
• Ex-Top Cop Gambles On Trial
• Ex-Top Cop Seeks Diversionary Program
• Top Cop Retires, Heads To Trial
• Top Cop Rejects Battering Plea Deal
• Arrested Top Cop Keeps Running Out Clock
• Top Cop Benefits As Case Drags On
• Top Cop’s Domestic Violence Case Continued Again
• Accused Wife-Beating Top Cop Staying Sober
• Top Cop Domestic Violence Case Continued
• Cop’s Alleged Threats, Violence Detailed
• Cops Suspend Lt. After Armed Standoff