Black and Blue Ch. 05

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

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Part 27 - WILDCAT SPEAR

Hearing Kelly Carnes's proclamations of lawlessness, I provided the 'appropriate' response.

I hit the break button on my Police radio, then said "Break break break! All units, this is Commander Troy. Prepare to reclaim the illegally-occupied zone. First option is beanbags and rubber bullets, but on my authority, you are authorized to use lethal force if confronted by lethal force. Arrest anyone you can, we have space for hundreds. Media reporters are not exempt; I say again, Media reporters are not exempt and are to be arrested if they are inside the zone. Codeword is imminent; I say again, codeword is imminent."

"What the hell are you doing, you son of a bitch?!" yelled Kelly Carnes. "This is a Police-free zone! It's to protect these people from your brutality!"

"That's right!" yelled Bettina. "You are are not welcome there!"

"Place Carnes under arrest," I said, "for sedition and inciting to riot." Detectives Julia Rodriguez and Joan Laurer moved swiftly to implement my instructions, and Kelly Carnes was not fast enough to evade them. A successful arrest was made, and Carnes was hauled off to Police Headquarters and taken through full booking.

I turned to Bettina and said loudly "There is not one inch of this County that is a Police-free zone, and I'm going to demonstrate that to you. Please make sure to document what the Town & County Police do to rioters that act violently and unlawfully."

"All units are ready, sir." said Teresa. "Shall I give the code word?"

"I'm pulling rank, and doing it myself." I said. I took up my radio, hit the break button, and said into it: "All units, this is Commander Troy. Warrior Spear! I say again, Warrior Spear! Execute, execute, execute."

"May God damn you to hell!" Bettina spat at me as an armored paddywagon suddenly rolled up and crashed through the barricades the thugs had set up. Tear gas canisters were thrown into the crowd of demonstrators. TCPD Officers poured into the breach, and attacked those demonstrators trying to hold the position as they coughed and retched in the tear gas atmosphere. Many of them were knocked down and zip-tied, and other protesters began running east down Jefferson Drive and into the side streets.

But that demonstration was just for Bettina's cameras. The main assault on the 'Police-free zone' came from the east. The water cannon paddywagon was used where MLK Jr. Drive intersected University Avenue to drive the protesters back, followed by tear gas and beanbags fired from shotguns.

More Police and other deputized Agents of the Law poured into the breach, their chemical masks (actually, most of them were BOW Enterprises's five-minute air masks) obscuring their identities. It would seeeeem that there were more of them than the total number of Police and Deputies we had on the payroll.

And that was true... there were more. Where did they come from? I knew that that was where Sheriff Griswold had been the last couple of days. He'd been deputizing these American Patriots.

They were the Guardians of Justice M.C.

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

Bettina and her crew were told that if they entered the former 'Police-free zone', they'd be arrested and charged with sedition and inciting to riot. As the Police moved in, someone came up to me and said "There's a KXTC news van and crew up ahead. Inside the zone."

"Good." I said. I took my M79 grenade launcher (Author's note: 'Summer In The County', Ch. 02.) and went up to where I could see the news van. I was surrounded by nervous Police Officers that were dedicated to my personal safety.

*POOMP!* *WHIZZZZZZ!* *POP!*

The tear gas grenade exploded in front of Lester Holder and the camera crew by the van. I saw thugs running away from the back of the vehicle, and I knew I'd just broken up a 'strategy session' between the perps and their hand-in-glove Media allies.

*POOMP!* *WHIZZZZZZ!* *POP!*

As another tear gas canister exploded, spewing CS spray all over the van, they began yelling "Stop shooting! We're the Press!"

*POOMP!* *WHIZZZZZZ!* *POP!*

"Stop shooting! We're the *cough* Press!" yelled Lester Holder.

*POOMP!* *WHIZZZZZZ!* *POP!*

I tried to hit him with that shot, and barely missed. The gas grenade exploded on contact with the ground just to his side, spraying him with CS agent and obscuring him for a moment.

"Beanbags!" I ordered. Teresa and the Detectives with me got their beanbag shotguns ready.

"Stop! We're the Press!" the crew said, walking towards us with their Press IDs in their hands, their arms extended to show us.

"Fire at will!" I ordered. A barrage of beanbags battered the KXTC employees, knocking them down. The shots fired after that first volley went over them, and pummeled Lester Holder, who was violently vomiting from the tear gas.

"Place them under arrest.' I said. My orders were enthusiastically followed...

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

I'd had the main force come in from the east because there were more residences there than on the more industrial west side, and I wanted to keep the perps from setting fire to those buildings. It worked; the only buildings set on fire were a couple of stores and a storage shed on one of the industrial sites. The TCFD was able to arrive and quickly douse the flames. A few agitators tried to rush the Firefighters, and got the full blast from the water hoses in their faces, knocking them down. The Police followed up to make arrests.

Demonstrators tried to run down side streets outside the zone, hoping to escape. They found their routes blocked off. Those that did not surrender were fired upon with beanbags and rubber bullets. But as they realized that we were not going not going to let them escape, that we intended to capture them and take them to jail, some began organizing into groups and fighting back, using locks on chains, tire irons, and even a few crowbars(!) to attack the Police. They were engaged in personal combat, and they were pummeled. Those that used crowbars were tagged; they would be receiving my personal attention later on.

Police drones recorded everything. We would be looking for the leaders of the perps. Jacquez Wilson eluded capture, but we rounded up a number of perps that facial rec would show had been photographed 'consulting' with Lester Holder earlier.

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News." sobbed the redheaded reporterette at 11:30pm, Thursday, May 15th. Tears were running down her face, and not from CS gas.

"It's over." Bettina wailed. "The Town & County Police have crushed the peaceful protesters, and reclaimed the 'Police-free zone' that was meant to create dialogue and understanding of the frustrations of Blacks at the way the Police have treated them. And now Commander Donald Troy has ruthlessly destroyed them, and every bit of hope they had left..."

Meanwhile, Mayor Allgood was being interviewed by Catrina Pierce of KFXU, with KSB and other news agencies in attendance. He said "The Police acted in as restrained a way as they possibly could, using non-lethal force to break up the illegal 'Police-free zone'. They have arrested hundreds of agitators, and we'll be working with the FBI to determine who the leaders are so that we can charge them with high crimes such as sedition."

"And you allowed this?" asked a stunned reporterette.

"We enforce the rule of Law in this Town and County!" the Mayor said with alacrity. "And you better believe I support the Police and approve of their actions to restore law and order tonight. Unlike the squeamish Democrat politicians in the City that have failed to support their Police, and where innocent people are being killed, we've acted decisively and correctly to end the violent protests and save innocent lives!"

"This was a peaceful protest!" yelled one black man, who was a reporter from out of State. "Your Police just violently crushed black people peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights!"

"That's a load of crap!" I yelled as I came up next to Daniel. "We've got it on video. And like the Mayor said, we enforce the law to keep innocents from dying. There are so far no reported deaths here. The City's spineless politicians can't say that about the unchecked violence there!"

"Just another white cop attacking innocent blacks that dare to raise their voices." snarled the black reporter. I went forward and fronted him.

"PUT THE GODDAMNED RACE CARD BACK IN YOUR POCKET, AND GO BACK TO WHEREVER THE HELL YOU CAME FROM!" I yelled right into his face.

I went on: "This is not about black and white, or even black and blue! This is about protecting the innocent from the violent! And I'm going to do that, no matter what color the criminals are!"

"The only violence I see is cracker cops beating down blacks yet again." snarled the reporter.

"Then open your blind eyes, you racist reporter!" I yelled into his face. Just then, Theo Washington and Kevin Buchannan appeared.

"Get that racist reporter out of here." Theo said. Buchannan was in front of me, but was slowly backing up, 'nudging' me towards the safety of other Officers.

"I get the hint, Kevin." I said quietly, and I heard Buchannan chuckle. Still, he and Theo escorted me and the Mayor back to the safety of our lines...

Part 28 - Aftermath

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News." said the exhausted-looking redheaded MILF reporterette from the corner of Jefferson and Riverside at 7:00am, Friday, May 15th. "Journalists were the primary targets of the Town & County Police offensive against peaceful protesters!"

Bettina: "What started as peaceful protests during the day, dissolved into a violent clash with Police after the protesters attempted to create a 'Police-free zone' as night fell. Police Commander Donald Troy lost no time in ordering the 'Police-free zone' to be breached and smashed, and he made sure his shock troops focused on journalists covering the protests."

Bettina: "The TCPD made clear its hostile intent towards the Press by physically assaulting reporters and camera crews as well as verbally intimidating them. Our colleague Lester Holder, who is black, was repeatedly fired upon with tear gas and beanbags fired from shotguns by TCPD Officers that invaded the Police-free zone just hours after it had been established. Mr. Holder had to be rushed to University Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released."

Bettina: "In several places, reporters and camera crews shouted that they were the Press, and showed their credentials. The TCPD's Stormtrooper seemed to take special delight in using violent force to injure and arrest reporters. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing what two or three cameras had videotaped, that the TCPD was ignoring the Press's claims of being the press, as Bettina said "As you can see, the Police made every effort to prevent journalists from just doing our jobs, and treated journalists as if they were the marchers. At least twelve journalists and camerapersons were arrested after the Police used excessive force on them..."

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

"Penis Holder was arrested." I said as we drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room. "How is it he was taken to the Hospital? And how did he manage to get released?"

Teresa said "He was complaining of having trouble breathing, even after the tear gas had cleared. Unlike rogue elements of the New York Police Department, when someone says they can't breathe, we do the right thing. Some Officers took Holder to the E.R. at University Hospital, where he bitched up a storm about the tear gas and the bruises he got from the beanbags."

Teresa: "Dr. Morgan ran tests, and said Holder wasn't having a heart attack or anything, so the breathing problems were likely residual issues from the tear gas. They didn't admit him as a patient, but they watched him in the E.R. area for an hour. Then Burt West came in and took Holder out, and West had an order from Judge Nance releasing Holder. So our Officers let West take Holder home."

I nodded. "And all Bettina talked about was how her fellow journalists were attacked. Not a word about the agitators's insurrections and violence, nor of people being assaulted by them, nor of the fires the criminals set. Nope, just those poor, poor journalists being picked on by the mean ol' TCPD. Geez... I've never seen a bunch of more arrogant, self-centered pieces of shit in my life."

To change the subject, Tanya Muscone asked "How many arrests did we end up with?"

Sheriff Griswold said "We had exactly 420 arrests, far less than 'Sturgis on the Square'." (Author's note: 'The Four Boxes of Liberty', Ch. 06.) "About 50 of them showed they lived inside the zone, and Judge Watts let them go. Everyone else that identified themselves and were from this County were given a warning citation and won't have to appear in Court, unless they try something like this again. Those that weren't from this County, and those that refused to identify themselves or otherwise cooperate with Police were remanded without bail for the time being."

Chief Moynahan said "Have we gotten everyone's statements? Everyone's?"

"Yes sir." said Tanya Muscone enthusiastically. "Our deputized GOJMC friends also gave their statements, and slept in the gym here until everyone was done. They left an hour ago. And just about every Officer has submitted at least a preliminary Police report, with three exceptions... Sheriff Griswold, Commander Croyle, and you, Chief Moynahan."

Teresa gave us a guilty look that resembled my dog Buddy when he knew he'd done something wrong. The Chief did not bat an eyelash.

"You got yours in, Crowbar?" asked the Sheriff, and he sounded surprised.

"Yes sir." I said. "Well, a preliminary one, which I said I would 'advise and extend' later today."

"So what's the plan?" asked the Sheriff.

"We're identifying the leaders and separating them from the others." I said. "We're going to meet with Tanya's favorite FBI Agent and his team about who they want to take custody of and have further conversations with. The rest of them will be processed, then be at the mercy of the Court system."

"You're giving some of them to the FBI?" the Chief asked, his voice skeptical, and a bit worried. "Do they have habeas corpus for any of this?"

I replied "If any show up on the FBI's databases as being involved in riots or violent demonstrations in the past, or have ties to domestic terror groups like some of these so-called 'Climate Change' Environmentalist Wacko groups really are, then I'll be happy to let the Feds have conversations with them... at their facilities."

"I want to be inforrrrmed of whoever you in-tennnnnd to give to the Feds." said the Chief. "In fact, I want to sign off on them before custody is transferrrrred."

"No problem, sir." I said. "The last thing is that we're evaluating to see if the agitators try any crap around here again. We're on heightened alert and the dusk-to-dawn curfew is still in force until we can assess the threat level as diminished."

"We do have one other issue." said Cindy Ross. "The USDOJ Civil Rights Division. My sources tell me that Gwen Munson and Lionel Carmela have already filed complaints about last night, and word is that Jocelyn Moran and Ava Hinds are on the way... with a lot of Federal Agents."

"Let not your heart be troubled." I said cryptically. When everyone looked at me, I just said "The aforementioned FBI already has plans to deal with Jocelyn Moran. And that's all I'll say for now..."

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

It is amazing to me at times how an example of courage and leadership leads to other similar examples.

As my three Angels and I watched before the Angels Meeting, Catrina Pierce was reporting for KFXU: "Over five hundred arrests were made, and arraignments were held at County Jail by Superior Court Judge Rodney K. Watts. However, a few persons that were arrested were taken to Police Headquarters and booked, and will face arraignment this morning. Those persons include Town & County Councilwoman Kelly Carnes, who was outside the Police-free zone when she was arrested... one moment..."

We looked up to see 'BREAKING NEWS!' on the screen. Then Priya Ajmani's lovely face appeared on the screen. She looked a bit silly in a Police helmet and armor that didn't fit her well.

"This is Priya Ajmani, Fox Eight News, reporting from Midtown!" she said. "The Midtown Police have just begun an operation to recover those parts of Midtown that were considered part of the Police-free zone! There has been sporadic gunfire, and plumes of smoke and tear gas can be seen in sections of Inner Midtown, where the Police-free zone was established!"

Priya: "Chief Frank Soltis gave the order to assert Police authority in the Police-free zone after learning that the Town & County Police destroyed a similar zone in their County last night. State Representative Tasheeka Harris of Inner Midtown is furious, and has demanded the USDOJ Civil Rights Division investigate the Midtown Police, Chief Soltis, and the Midtown Mayor and City Council Members for permitting Police brutality against People of Color..."

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

Sheriff Griswold had come into my office, and said: "Val called me, and said Frank Soltis acted on his own after seeing what we did last night. And their Mayor and Council down there are frozen in place... they're not coming out in support of him, but they won't promise to fire him or go after the Police."

I said: "And that has Tasheeka Harris twisted up in knots?"

"She is pissed, and like no one's ever seen her before." replied Griswold. "Now the City is the hotspot, and attention is diverted from Tasheeka Harris's personal plans and agenda. And, of course, there's attention here for our very fast action to interdict the demonstrators. A lot of cities in America that have let stuff like this fester, that have supported the criminals over the Police and let their cities burn... are looking pretty embarrassed right now."

"No sir." I said. "They'll just double down on the hatred. They'll condemn us, accuse us of Police brutality, and double down on demanding (air quotes) 'community Policing' and other such stuff."

"What exactly is (air quotes) 'community Policing'?" asked Teresa.

"What we've been doing up here for years, but they won't give us credit for it." replied the Sheriff, with a lot of acid in his voice. "Creating relationships with the communities we serve, particularly the Black Community. Having our Officers get to know the districts they patrol, and the people in them. Having dialogue with our Citizens."

"Yes sir." I said "That's the gist of it. And advocates of it will say the goal is to create partnerships with the community to police their areas. Neighborhood watches, things like that. But then it began evolving into an idea of fewer Police, and of those remaining, more of them of minority ethnicities. The theory is that people will report more crimes if they trust the Police more."