NORTHAMPTON — The man who had the gun pointed at his chest told a jury Tuesday that he became increasingly wracked with anxiety that evening, to the point where he became sick to his stomach.
Peter Terapulsky was the first witness to take the stand in the trial of a former Pelham police chief, Edward Fleury, who allegedly trained his handgun on Terapulsky outside a Belchertown bar in August 2014.
“I didn’t see my life pass before my eyes,” Terapulsky testified, “but it’s certainly the first time I’ve stared down the barrel of a large semi-automatic handgun.”
Terapulsky’s primary concern was helping to calm the woman standing beside him, VFW manager Kimberlee Giverson, who was hysterical at the sight of the gun’s laser on the man’s chest, he said.
“It wasn’t until after Kim calmed down that I realized just how close I was to death or injury,” Terapulsky said.
Fleury, 58, has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, 21 counts of improper storage of a large-capacity firearm, and six counts of improper storage of a firearm. Police said they found various large-capacity firearms and more than one non-large-capacity firearm, all unsecured, when they searched his home Sept. 11, 2014, while looking for the handgun used in the Aug. 2 incident.
After his arrest Sept. 11, Fleury was originally charged in Eastern Hampshire District Court with assault with a dangerous weapon, stemming from the events at the bar. His case, however, was moved to Hampshire Superior Court after a grand jury indicted him Dec. 16, 2014.
On that August night in 2014, police said, Terapulsky, a friend of Fleury for more than two decades, met with the defendant at the VFW post in Belchertown, where the two drank and intended to discuss a business opportunity “involving firearm safety.”
Fleury served as Pelham police chief from 1991 to 2009, but resigned his post after an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself with a machine gun during a Westfield firearms exhibition that the former chief organized in 2008. Fleury was acquitted of manslaughter in connection with the boy’s death in 2011.
Under questioning from Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Matthew Thomas, Terapulsky testified Tuesday that he was outside the bar smoking and socializing with the bar manager, Giverson, as well as Fleury.
Moments later, Terapulsky said, Fleury drew his .40-caliber Glock handgun and pointed it at him, with the gun’s red laser trained on his chest. Terapulsky testified Tuesday that Fleury didn’t aim the gun at him for more than 2 seconds.
Under cross examination by attorney Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, Terapulsky said that, although he became alarmed, he never actually thought Fleury would intentionally shoot him.
“My first response was I thought it was incredibly inappropriate to do that,” Terapulsky said. “I did not think Ed was going to shoot me.”
Then Rodriguez-Ross asked: “You’ve gotten a lot of pressure to proceed on these charges, haven’t you?”
“I’m here because I … decided it was in the best interest of the commonwealth (and) of Ed,” the man replied. “I’m here because I feel a civic responsibility.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.