Accused

What was the label Mr. Ferguson used with you?” she asked.
“The description Mr. Ferguson used was a rear choke.”
“And in regards to Mr. Szallai… how did he describe it?”
“A rear naked choke.”
On cross-examination, Suder began by playing back the recording that Ramirez made of his interview with Beau, who never used the phrase “rear choke.”
“Officer Ramirez, isn’t it true, contrary to what you just testified to, that Beau Ferguson never told you that Tommy Harris had the man in a rear choke?”
“That’s true,” Ramirez admitted.
“Throughout the entire time at the scene, Mr. Ferguson repeatedly referred to the standing position as a bear hug?”
“That’s correct.”

While it was within his constitutional rights, by taking the Fifth Beau had created the impression that he—and, by extension, Tommy—had something to hide. This was a blow to Tommy, made worse by the fact that he didn’t see it coming. He only found out that Beau had taken the Fifth when Beau’s lawyer informed Suder. “Tommy was shocked,” a family friend present at the courthouse that day says. “It was stunning. Beau created the appearance that they had done something wrong.”

But when Bolin called Beau Ferguson, he exercised his right not to incriminate himself as protected by the Fifth Amendment. Working with his lawyer, Beau took this legal tact for several reasons. His original statement to Officer Pavlock contained false information because it was based on assumption, not fact. By sending texts to Lauren, he opened himself to allegations of witness tampering. More to the point, since he participated in the physical altercation, he too was vulnerable to an indictment. Finally, he may have had past legal woes himself. Perhaps he had served those two years in a Thai prison he liked to tell people about.