Black and Blue Ch. 04

Bettina: "Just to be clear, Amber... Commander Troy physically beat up a Town & County Police Officer? And what did Commander Troy have to say about his abusive actions?"

Amber: "Yes, Bettina. It seems that Commander Troy's Police brutality doesn't just stop with blacks and women in his custody, and he's now beating up his own Officers! The Police Department has refused to comment, citing the ongoing investigation, and of course Commander Troy has refused to respond to KXTC's repeated requests for comment."

"Thank you for that excellent report, Amber!" said a smiling Bettina as the feed came back to her. "And now let's go to trusted political reporter Lester Holder for breaking news on other incidents between blacks and Police. Lester!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Lester Holder as he appeared on screen, with a screen showing the skyline of The City in the background. "Yesterday afternoon, a white City Police Officer shot and killed and unarmed black man in front of his son! According to eyewitnesses and other reports, the white Police Officer, identified as Sergeant Thomas Chauvin, an 18-year-veteran of the City Police Department, ordered the victim, Kenneth Taylor, to get down on his knees. Mr. Taylor's hands were in the air, but he refused to drop to his knees in front of his son, and Sergeant Chauvin immediately shot Taylor twice in the chest, killing him."

Penis Holder: "Sources tell Channel Two News that the Black Community considers an order by white Police Officers to a black man to get on his knees, especially in front of others, to be racist and demeaning. Furthermore, according to eyewitnesses, Mr. Taylor was just walking down the street with his son and had done nothing wrong to warrant being accosted by Police in the first place. And finally, no weapon of any kind was found on Mr. Taylor's person nor on his young son."

Holder: "Additionally, several eyewitnesses videoed the event. Some have posted it to YouTube, while others sent their footage to our affiliate KSB and other Media outlets. KSB News is reporting that the City Police Department is attempting to get Court Orders to have the videos removed and prevent the Media from showing you what you have the right to know..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"And there it is." I said as we drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room. The Sheriff was not in attendance.

"There's what?" asked the Chief as I got my Police iPhone out.

"The pattern we need, Chief." I said. "Paulina can go to Judge Watts and get a warrant to investigate McCombs's finances."

"Hold off on that." ordered the Chief. "Don't send that text." I looked up at him in sheer disbelief.

"Sir?" I asked incredulously.

"Why not, Chief?" asked an equally shocked Teresa Croyle.

"Bee-cauuuuse, Mr. Crowbarrrr," said the Chief, looking at me and ignoring Teresa, "we need to be verrry careful what we doooo, here. McCombs's case is in the Inspector General's hands---"

"Not the attempted murder charge, Chief!" Teresa Croyle said, interrupting the Chief. "And there's no reason why Paulina can't get a warrant, be it for us or the I.G."

"Mr. Crowbarrrr," said the Chief, getting up, "fortify your coffee mug if you like, and join me in my office. The rest of youuuuu... can go to your dooo-tees. No Press statements, please..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Have a seat, Commander." the Chief said as he went behind his desk and took his seat. "And be adviiiised that this is not a friendly conversation, but a formal meeting." I nodded and sat down.

"First," said the Chief, "you need to understand something, Commander. The McCombs incidents, all of them, from the locker room altercation with Buchannan to the incident on the street, are in the hands of the Inspector General's Office now. And that is because of your involvement in them. You are not under investigation by the I.G., but I felt it best that the I.G. take it out of our Internal Affairs's hands. So you are off the case, at least as far as directly investigating McCombs, even for the attempted murder charge."

"Second," said the Chief, before I could protest, "as I've heard you say a few times, we have to 'keep abreast of the tactical situation at all times'. What that means in the here and now is that while you averted a serious incident, a similar incident was not averted in the City. This could be the match that lights the fuuuuuze of the powder keg that has been building up between the Black and the Bluuuue... and as you have so rightly pointed out, the Media is going to be all over it."

"Third," said the Chief, "the Union has formally grieved you. That won't stop us from pressing the criminal charges against McCombs, but if they win the grievance they could force us to drop the insubordination charges, which are our avenuuuuue to stripping McCombs of his badge and thereby protecting the TCPD from worse legal damage than we may already be innnnnn."

After a pause, the Chief said, "I'm sure we'll be having meee-tings about this sooooon. You can goooo." As I stood up, the Chief said "Oh, do me a favor, and send Commander Ross in here."

I peered at the Chief, then said "Don't do it, Chief."

"Excuse me?" the Chief said, looking up at me in surprise.

"Don't ask Commander Ross to 'unofficially' (air quotes) intervene with Commander Croyle over what you perceived to be her insubordination in there. Teresa is my Officer, under my direct chain-of-command. If you have a problem with her, you come to me, and I'll handle it."

The Chief looked at me, utterly stunned. "I think I know now where young Carulllll gets her mind-reading abilities. How did you know that was what I was going to doooooo?"

I flashed a brief half-smile, then said "Oh, I'm nowhere near Carole's level of insight, but I do make observations, Chief. And you are much easier to read than you realize."

"Get out of my office." ordered the Chief. I executed that order as fast as I could...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise." said Catrina Pierce. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Meredith Peller. Let's go right to the news, Meredith."

"Yes, we have several fast-breaking stories for you." said Meredith Peller. "Fox Eight News has learned that Town & County Police Sergeant McCombs, who is white, allegedly accosted an unarmed black man and his son near Al Sharpton Elementary School. Sergeant McCombs ordered the man to get on his knees even though the man's hands were up in the air."

Catrina: "When the man did not comply with Sergeant McCombs's order to get on his knees, which many blacks consider to be racist and demeaning, McCombs allegedly was pulling the trigger to shoot the man when Police Commander Troy intervened, knocking the gun off target with a crowbar blow. Commander Troy then knocked the gun out of Sergeant McCombs's hand, and arrested McCombs."

Meredith: "The Police Union does not agree with Commander Troy's version of the incident, though Officer-cams and dashcams of several Officers show Sergeant McCombs's and Commander Troy's actions to be as described in the official Police reports submitted to Internal Affairs. The Union has formally grieved Commander Troy's actions and Sergeant McCombs's arrest, saying that Sergeant McCombs was acting properly and for the safety of the child and other Officers when Commander Troy physically assaulted Sergeant McCombs without provocation."

Catrina; "The Union also grieved Commander Troy for allegedly preventing Officers from acquiring Union representation during questioning for other incidents. Officer McElwane reported to the Union that several Officers attempted to question him over a separate incident even after Officer McElwane asked for a Union rep."

Meredith: "And a very similar incident to that of Sergeant McCombs occurred in the City over the weekend, with disastrously worse results. An unarmed black man was shot in front of his young son by a white Police Officer after the Officer and his partner stopped them as they walked along a street in the Ferguson Park district. The City Police issued a statement saying that the incident is under investigation, but that the Police appeared to have acted properly. The man was struck twice in the chest, and died at the scene---"

"I have to interrupt you, Meredith." said Catrina, appearing to listen into her earpiece. "There is breaking news from our Fox Midtown affiliate! They are reporting that there was an Officer-involved shooting in the Inner Midtown District."

Meredith: "We're getting that across the wires now. Four Officers, three white and one black, executed a no-knock warrant on a home suspected of being a drug distribution center. Based on new intel information, they went to the home, rammed the door, and burst inside. The man of the house, who was black and also a known drug distributor, fired at the Officers, striking one in the leg. The Officers returned fire, missing him, but perforating his live-in girlfriend, who was black and a former EMT in this County before 'The Purge', as the Fire Department here still calls it."

Catrina: "The Midtown Police issued a statement saying that the incident is under investigation, but that the Officers appear to have acted correctly in raiding the home, and that the warrant was legitimate..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Oh my God." Tanya P. Muscone whispered as she, Teresa, and I watched in my office to start the Angels Meeting. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Sure looks like it." I said. "That incident in Midtown may be real, but the one in the City is wayyyy too close to the one here to be a coincidence."

Teresa said: "I noticed Bettina's report this morning did not give the details of the McCombs incident, as if she's trying to hide how identical those incidents are."

"But the Fox 8 report did give the details." Tanya said.

I said "I have a feeling that the people who watch KSB and KXTC don't watch KFXU like we do, and vice versa. But the real question is going to be the reaction by the Black Community, especially to that shooting in The City."

"Where is Ferguson Park?" Tanya asked.

"South of the Airport, stretching towards the City Center." I said. "It's not the worst district in the City, but it's northwest border is with The Badlands, which are southwest of City Airport, and one of the worst areas of the City, along with the City Railyards. The Badlands are Maxine Watts's old district, and likely hers again after the November elections."

"Figures you'd know." said Teresa.

"Definitely comes in handy when I'm working with the SBI or FBI in some way." I said. "And speaking of the FBI..."

"Way ahead of you." Tanya said. "I'm going to call my husband and see what the Federal perspective on all this is."

"We can just ask Cindy." Teresa said cattily. "Maybe Tim Jenkins talked in his sleep about it."

"Tanya, you go on ahead and call Jack. Teresa, stay here." I said. Tanya drove out, and I turned on Teresa: "Look, that's going to be problem enough as it is, so lay off, willya?"

"Yes sir." Teresa said. Then she peered at me and said "How do you feel about all that? Cindy's pregnant by a guy she really likes, even if she won't admit how much she likes him, and I think she's happy about it, the pregnancy. Her mother Maggie and her sister Molly sure are."

I said, more quietly than I really needed to be: "I think she's happy about the pregnancy. But she's just beginning to realize that there's going to be a lot of issues for her with Callie, and Cindy has a lot of mixed feelings right now."

Teresa peered at me again, then said "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you have more of Carole's vision than you're letting on." I shook my head vigorously in disagreement.

"I'm good, but I'm not that good." I said. "I actually have to see something with my eyes--- oh, shit..." I went into a reverie.

Part 23 - More Fuses Lit

10:00am, Monday, May 11th. I'd been invited to a meeting in the Mayor's Office, and it was the kind of invitation I could not refuse. Also there were Commander Ross, Chief Moynahan, I.G. Horace S. Wellman, City Attorney Dennis Garland, D.A. Miriam Walters, and of course Mayor Daniel Allgood, the People's Choice.

"Thank you all for coming." Mayor Allgood said as we sat in the Conference Room by his office. "I want to touch base with all of you on this McCombs thing with regard to what has happened in other cities. Where do we stand on everything?"

Chief Moynahan said "I've talked to Chief Soltis in Midtown and Captain Masters of City I.A., both of whom were with me in the Midtown P.D. In the Midtown incident, Soltis is fully backing his Police Officers, and says they acted properly, especially since the perp fired the first shot and wounded an Officer. The problem therrrre is State Rep Tasheeka Harris, who is already trying to use the incident to gin up racial disss-corrrrd."

Moynahan: "In the City, it's a whole different ballgame, and a lot, lot worrrse. 'Coldiron' says that not only did the white Officer shoot the unarmed black man in cold blood and without provocation, it was videoed by a number of people with cellphones, and they are giving or selling that video to the Press and posting it to YouTuuuuuube."

Moynahan: "And City Mayor, Lucian Phelps, and their City Council, which is more like the State Legislature than our wonderful little Council body, has condemned the Officer and come out strongly against the Police in general. Their Police Commissioner, Whitney 'Buck' Savage, is coming under fire from the Media as well as the politicians, and is considering resigning."

Moynahan: "And that's on top of the unrest that is beginning to occurrrrr, which appears to be organic and spontaneous, as opposed to be ginned up like the Media and professional agitators do herrrrrre."

Mayor Allgood said "It helped a lot that Commander Troy stopped McCombs from murdering that man in our County, but we'll get to that in a minute. Don, you have anything from your Statewide contacts?"

I replied "I talked to Detective Nell Bell in Midtown. They're happy that Chief Soltis has his Police Force's back, but are worried that the politicians are as spineless as cooked spaghetti, and might do to them what the City politicians are doing to their Police Force. And I talked to SBI Inspector Britt Maxwell as well as Director Curly Goodwin, and they confirmed what the Chief just said about the seriousness of the situation in the City, and the Police there are being prevented from preparing to respond to any violent riots."

Cindy said "I talked to Special Agent Tim Jenkins of the FBI. He said that Southport is relatively calm right now, but if violence breaks out elsewhere, the Police there are not fully equipped to handle major violence if it breaks out there. Midtown could go either way, but if Chief Soltis does the right thing, he could end problems before they start up. And Tim agrees with what y'all have said about the City. He thinks The Badlands are going to burn."

"Do you have anything, Ms. Walters?" asked Mayor Allgood.

"Yes." said D.A. Miriam Walters. "I have contacts, sources if you will, that have contacts in the US DOJ. I'm hearing that Ava Hinds and Jocelyn Moran may already be here in this County or somewhere nearby, and that Hinds is hoping the Police do something to quell any demonstrations that start up here, so she can come in and have Commander Troy arrested. And worse, and I'm not making this up: my source said that Jocelyn Moran has told others that she intends to tell the Federal Marshals sent to arrest Don to shoot to kill first and don't bother asking questions later."

"She's already tried that once." Daniel Allgood said. (Author's note: 'The Guardians of Justice', Ch. 03-04.)

"Just telling you what I've heard." Miriam Walters said.

"And we appreciate it." I said. "Now that we know, we can burn that bridge... and Moran's racist ass... when the time comes."

"Okay," said Mayor Allgood, "let's move on to the next part of the meeting, which is why IG Wellman and City Attorney Garland are here. Horace?"

"Thank you, Daniel." said Horace S. Wellman, brother of University President Sidney P. Wellman. "The investigation of Sergeant McCombs, and to a lesser extent Officer Hendricks, is pretty cut-and-dried. I'll be recommending McCombs's termination by the end of the week."

Wellman: "The problem is that the Union wants to take it to a Board of Inquest... and they want to subject you to the Inquest, Don, not McCombs."

"Are they crazy?" Chief Moynahan spluttered. "Well, yes, they are, but do they really want to take Commander Troy to the Inquest Board?"

"Yes, Chief." said I.G. Wellman. "They know I'm not going to find against Commander Troy in any way; hell, I might recommend him for a citation for saving an innocent man's life. But they are hell-bent on doing this, since they know the rank-and-file are taking Don's side over McCombs and won't strike over this."

I said "Let me ask a clarifying question: is it more gunning for me... or just protecting McCombs? In other words, if it had been Commander Croyle, or Lieutenant Rudistan, or Officer Buchannan that had done what I did to stop McCombs, would they be pursuing their grievance with the same fervor as they are for me?"

"I hadn't thought of that." the Chief said thoughtfully. The Green Crowbar nodded vigorously in agreement.


Wellman said "I'm not sure, Don. They're working hard to fight the insubordination charges, so it may just be that you outranked him. They're saying that you telling McCombs to stand down put other Officers in danger of their lives."

"Do they really expect that to hold up?" Cindy Ross asked. "The man was unarmed, his hands were in the air, his son was right by him, other Officers were there, yadda yadda yadda."

Chief Moynahan said "I knowwwww that the Yuun-yunnn often will protect and fight for bad Officerrrs, but this..."

"I have an idea of what it might be." said City Attorney Dennis Garland. "Mr. Wellman, if you find that Sergeant McCombs was wrong in his actions as well as insubordinate, what happens to his indemnity as a Police Officer?"

"That will depend on the outcome of all the various proceedings." said Wellman. "But in all likelihood he will lose his indemnity."

"And I'm gunning for that." I said with alacrity. "I want him terminated and stripped of his indemnity."

"And that may be the problem, Commander." said Garland. "Right now, we have a really bad problem that the TCPD can be sued by that man, because he was twice accosted at gunpoint by white Officers, and the second time nearly murdered."

"No way." I said. "The TCPD got calls of child abductions, upon which we had to act. That's in evidence. We responded, and Buchannan was part of the first response. He's black, and he acted totally properly. And he said McElwane did nothing wrong, either. The second time, McCombs was out of control, and I did what I had to do to prevent an innocent man from being murdered. So how can the TCPD be at fault?"

"Because Sergeant McCombs is a Town & County Police Officer." said Dennis Garland. "Take the name out of it. You had two white Town & County Police Officers on separate occasions tell a black man to go to his knees in front of the man's son. You had a Town & County Police Officer call a black man the n-word. You had a Town & County Police Officer point his loaded, chambered service weapon with the safety off at the unarmed black man. You had a Town & County Police Officer fire his weapon at that unarmed man."

"And the Officers were responding to abduction calls." I replied. "What are we supposed to ignore those? And you had a Town & County Police Officer involve himself to defuse the situation in the first incident. And you had one Town & County Police Officer be insubordinate to a superior Officer, which strips him right there of his being part of this Police Force. And then a Town & County Police Officer intervened to prevent the unarmed man from being murdered. Does none of that count for anything?"