Consequences Ch. 03

Jonathan looked a little more heavy-lidded as he said "I don't know. I don't think your leadership is, and you don't tolerate much. But that Sergeant tried to kill that unarmed black man, and the USDOJ wants to put the TCPD under a Consent Decree, anyway. They wouldn't do that unless there was a problem."

"Unless they were doing that just to get at me," I said, "for taking down Mitt Willis, Edward Blassingame, and their dirty kids. And we're fighting the USDOJ all the way; they're going to have to prove we're institutionally racist, and I don't think they can."

I then leaned back in my chair and said "I asked those questions because I remember the help you gave us with Charlie Griswold, and how you worked well with us, the Police, during that time. I also remember your service to our Nation in the Navy. To be honest, Chief... you are the last person I expected to see in my Headquarters this night, much less arrested for participating in unrest that was becoming violent."

"It's not personal to you, Commander." said Jonathan Davis. "But I've come to realize that my People have to stand up, and speak out against Police brutality that is common throughout the Nation. And I have to speak out myself. And don't tell me you understand. You cannot understand. You're white, and you're a cop."

"From the perspective of being black, you're right." I said. "I'm not black, and I cannot understand, from that perspective. I'll never be 'woke', from that perspective." Then I leaned closer and said "But I do understand some things. I have a mixed-race daughter as well as other children that I am trying to raise not hating people because of the way they were born... despite the hatred being spewed at her."

"And I also understand from another perspective... one I thought you shared with me: respect for the Constitution." I said. "Oh, it's not perfect, but its the best thing people of any skin color can possibly have on this earth today. You served and protected our Nation under that Constitution for over two decades, and I'm trying to serve it now. So I don't understand why you're working with people who want to destroy it, and destroy the rights and freedoms of all Individuals living in this land under it. Make me understand that."

"Like I said, Commander Troy." Jonathan replied. "I know you personally are not a racist, and I know you love your daughter like all your other children. But you are serving a Police Force, as is that man I thought was my son. You are serving a Police Force that has brought the hammer down against my People, who are crying out for Justice, who are crying out to stop our People from being gunned down in the street, or forced to their knees in subjugation."

"No one's perfect." I said. "And not to give myself airs, but give me a little bit of credit for cleaning out what was a really bad mess a few years ago."

I then said. "And while I understand and respect your desire to speak up for Justice for All, I definitely don't respect you working with people whose desires are to commit violence, harm innocents, and implement anarchy and Socialism upon an unwilling people. Racism is bad, Mr. Davis, but I contend that the brutality of Socialism in the destruction of Individual Freedom of people of all colors and ethnicities is even worse... much, much worse."

Jonathan seemed to be moved a little bit by my words, then he 'hardened his heart' and said "I'll tell you what I told my son, Commander. No man can serve two masters. You cannot serve the true cause of Justice, and continue to wear the uniform of a Police Officer. You cannot say you understand or respect the plight of People of Color, and at the same time wear a Police badge and carry a Police gun."

Jonathan: "And that's why I want my son to leave the Police Force. You're going to do what you're going to do, Commander Troy, but don't drag my son into it. Don't force him to make a a choice he will come to regret."

"Your son is an outstanding Police Officer and a highly respected leader of my Detective Corps." I replied. "His decisions and choices regarding that are entirely his own. What to do about you, however, Mr. Davis, is my decision and choice to make..."

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

"As we surrounded the perps," Teresa said when she joined me in my office at 11:30pm, "a lot of them dropped whatever they were carrying or was in their pockets. We found 24 cigarette lighters, 32 padlocks, 28 lengths of chain, six Molotov cocktails, four tire irons... and three crowbars."

"How dare they." I said flatly. "Okay, any other activity tonight?"

"A group of people in black 'Black Lives Matter' shirts were congregating in the parking lot of the 'Jasmine' club as well as nearby parking lots of other businesses." Teresa said. "They acted like they were waiting for something, then started dispersing. I think they were expecting to find that Media van that we forced to leave, and there were no other Media vans in the area, so they left."

"No reason to set fire to anything and go to jail if the Media's not there to record it so everyone can see it." I said.

"Sir," said Teresa, "if I may ask again... you asked a question about how things went, and I don't think I gave the answer you wanted. Can you tell me what you were thinking at the time?"

"Iron Wolf is figuring Iron Crowbar out." I said with a half-grin. "Seriously, you're right... what I was getting at was the scope of tonights unrest. What was it versus your expectations?"

The Iron Wolf connected the dots with a nod of her head, then said "I get it now... it was relatively tame. I was thinking we'd have multiple riots in multiple locations, stretching our forces thin. Maybe they'd even try again for a 'Police-free zone'. Instead, we got one point of trouble, and we were ready for it, and we handled it."

"Exactly." I said. "I agree... it was almost nothing. And after the trial's hung jury, I really thought they'd use that as an excuse to go off on us."

Teresa said "Maybe they thought we were ready with overwhelming force, like we showed when we crushed the Police-free zone."

I said "In a related question... how is the processing going at County Jail?"

Teresa said "We arrested the KXTC people at the scene and forced them to show their IDs and Press IDs, which we photographed. Then we let them go. About half of the perps we arrested showed their IDs, and if they had no priors they were let go. The FBI took custody of six people and hauled them away, saying they showed up on their national databases. We just waved goodbye to them and let them have those perps. In the end, we have 22 arrested, charged, and held without bail for being repeat offenders or for parole violations. That's not counting Jonathan Davis."

"Hmmm," I mused, "twenty-two... martyrs."

"Huh? What?" Teresa said. But she received no reply. I was in a full-blown reverie...

Part 14 - Chess Moves

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, June 22d, from atop the building at Riverside and College, with the Courthouse in the distant background. "Social Justice groups are condemning the Town & County Police use of excessive force against peaceful protesters!"

Bettina began: "A peaceful group of mostly blacks, that were demonstrating outside the Courthouse in response to the failure of a Jury to convict TCPD Sergeant McCombs, were surrounded by Police and forced to drop to their knees. Everyone inside the ring, including KXTC reporters just doing their jobs and reporting to you what you have a right to know, were arrested."

Bettina: "Twenty-two people are being held without bail, and black civic leaders have dubbed them the 'Juneteenth 22', as they were arrested last Friday, which is an important anniversary date for People of Color. Those civic leaders as well as Social Justice groups are demanding the 'Juneteenth 22' be released immediately with all charges dropped."

Bettina: "And in other news, Channel Two News has learned that Assistant District Attorney Paulina Patterson has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against District Attorney Miriam Walters! Let's go to trusted political reporter Lester Holder for more on this explosive story. Lester!"

"That's right, Bettina!" Lester 'Penis' Holder, reporting from the parking lot of George Floyd Elementary School on the southside of Town. "Paulina Patterson, who has made her career out of prosecuting blacks and asking for lengthy prison sentences, resorted to using the race card after D.A. Miriam Walters took steps to demote Patterson after she, Patterson, totally botched the McCombs trial."

Penis Holder: "That trial resulted in a hung jury for the white Police Officer, despite audio and videotape that clearly proved Officer McCombs used the n-word in attempting to kill an unarmed black man in front of his minor son. D.A. Walters responded to a request for comment from KXTC Channel Two News, saying that she was 'reassigning' Patterson for Patterson's poor performance in that trial, as well as an overall attitude of insubordination and substandard performance."

Bettina: "Lester, ADA Franklin Washington, who is running for Harry Nance's Superior Court seat, has also made claims of racist actions by D.A. Walters. Any more on that?"

Holder: "All I know, Bettina, is that it's pretty hypocritical for Paulina Patterson, who sold out to The Man in using her office to crush blacks accused of minor crimes, and who spread her legs for a white Police Officer and had a halfbreed child by him, to now be whining that she's been racially discriminated against."

The feed went back to Bettina, who said "And let's go to trusted reporter Amber Harris for more on the fallout of the McCombs trial. Amber!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Amber Harris, who was in the secure parking lot behind the Courthouse complex. "Channel Two News has learned that the District Attorney's Office will not retry Sergeant McCombs on the attempted murder charges, and will defer a decision on the lesser charges to the US DOJ, who must decide whether or not to charge Sergeant McCombs with a hate crime for using the n-word during his otherwise lawful stop of an unarmed black man..."

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

Monday, June 22d. Four years ago on this date was my final confrontation with the Consultant of Crime. It seemed like just a short time ago... and like a lifetime ago. It was the day of the helicopter crash that damaged my back (Author's note: 'A Tiny Slip', Ch. 02-03.), which was further damaged by being shot on that spot as well as the Slender Man's destruction of it. (Author's note: 'Film Noir', Ch. 02; 'Return of the Slender Man', Ch. 02-03.)

And for what did I endure all that pain for all this time? A rabidly dishonest Mainstream Media, that hypocritically contradicts itself as well as outright lies and about the facts... not to mention the brutal, racist attacks on my daughter and her mother.

"We didn't order anyone to their knees." Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle hissed angrily. "We ordered them to lie prone on the ground."

"They forgot to mention all the weapons and other illegal objects recovered at the scene, either." said Captain Tanya Muscone, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"And they somehow missed Jonathan Davis's arrest." growled Sheriff Griswold. "I'm sure they'd have mentioned that if they knew who his son is."

"They know." I said. "And the reason they didn't report it is because there is no formal record of his arrest."

"Uh oh." said Deputy Chief Cindy Ross. "What did you do?"

"What I'm legally entitled to do." I said. "I dropped the charges, though they hadn't been filed yet, and I walked Mr. Davis out the jail side entrance and told him that he was free to go, and that he should return to Valley Villages and stay there."

"What's Jerome going to say about that when he finds out?" asked Tanya.

"I told him already." I replied. "He was a bit ticked off about it, but I told him that I did not release Jonathan on Jerome's account, which is true. I released him in appreciation of his over two decades of military service to the Nation, and also in remembrance of the help Jonathan gave us with Charlie Griswold."

"Good." said the Sheriff. "I was going to do that, release him on account of how much he helped Charlie, but I see you beat me to it... as usual."

"Mr. Davis didn't show any hatred of Police when he was helping us with your son, Sheriff." said Teresa. "Anyone have an idea of what happened to him?" Everyone who was anyone knew the question was directed at me.

"I don't think anything 'happened' (air quotes) to him." I replied. "I think he's harbored certain sentiments for a long time, but didn't let them really come out until this recent unrest all over the State and the Nation. He never wanted Jerome to go to the Police Academy, but we all thought, and maybe he told himself, that it was because he wanted Jerome to go into the Navy."

Tanya said "Jerome told me his dad told him that he, Jonathan, was impressed with us, Jerome's associates. So maybe he's always disliked the Police, thought better of it when he got to know us, but reverted when he saw all the crap the Media has been ginning up on TV." Most of us nodded in agreement.

"Changing the subject," said Cindy, "Penis Holder must have vertigo, the way he spins like a top on whose side he supports. By rights, he should be ardently supporting Paulina's racial complaint... but instead, he attacks her and defends Miriam."

"And takes his cheap shots at Tasha, too." I said, my voice low and menacing, which caused the Chief to peer at me.

I then said "Look, there is one thing the rabid Left, including their Media allies, hates more than white Conservatives... and that's black Conservatives, which Paulina is. Remember how viciously the Left attacked Clarence Thomas, even ginned up false sexual harassment complaints against him? Having a black Conservative SCOTUS Justice to look up to was worse for the Left's agenda than just about anything else."

"I don't disagree, Crowbar." said the Sheriff. "But I think with that slug Holder, it's personal. You've heard that adage 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? For right now, Holder considers himself to be on Walters's side, and that Walters is your enemy." I nodded.

Cindy said "Apparently Miriam thinks so, too. She gave that statement to KXTC when they called for comment. And let me add this, just for those of you in this room, who I'm trusting not to let get out of this room: I talked with Jenna Stiles yesterday. Miriam called her and asked if Jenna was interested in returning to the Town & County D.A.'s Office. Jenna demurred, and Miriam asked if there were others that might be interested... like Glenn Alberts."

"Glenn Alberts?" I said, with sardonic disbelief in my voice. Then I mused: "She's clutching at straws."

"Why is that?" asked Chief Moynahan.

"He's the guy who ran that failed defense of the University in the Jan Camp case." I said "The University's boosters and alumni hate her immeasurably, and he's a fairly close second place. He comes here, and he'll be run out of Town on a rail... or worse."

I noticed the Sheriff's face become thoughtful as I said that. Now what is our Iron Klingon thinking now? I wondered to myself...

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise." said Catrina Pierce at 8:00am, Monday, June 22d. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Meredith Peller. Hello, Meredith!"

"Hello Catrina, hello everyone." said Meredith Peller. "Here's what's in the news: over a hundred arrests were made Friday when 'Juneteenth' demonstrations turned violent. Police surrounded dozens of demonstrators near the Courthouse, and moved in to arrest them. After the arrests were made, Police found 24 cigarette lighters, 32 padlocks, 28 lengths of chain, six Molotov cocktails, four tire irons, and three crowbars that had been dropped by the alleged agitators."

Catrina: "After the arrested suspects were processed at County Jail, Judge Rodney K. Watts held Night Court there, and ordered 22 of them held without bail for having participated in violent protests in the recent past or for parole violations."

Meredith: "Local black civil rights leaders are demanding meetings with the Mayor and the Police Chief to discuss the situation. When contacted by KFXU for reply, Mayor Daniel Allgood issued a statement saying he had no interest in meeting with the civil rights leaders, and that the arrests were a Police matter. Police Chief Sean Moynahan said that the Police acted properly and would continue to do so when met with unlawful, violent actions, and that 'meetings' were not going to change that."

Catrina: "There were no other significant acts of violence, even though the news was received that Sergeant McCombs's trial ended in a hung jury, and also with Friday being 'Juneteenth', which Blacks say is an anniversary of an Emancipation Day centuries ago."

Meredith: "And in other news, Assistant District Attorney Paulina Patterson filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against District Attorney Miriam Walters after D.A. Walters attempted to demote Ms. Patterson. Ms. Walters claims the 'reassignment' was not race-based, and was due to Ms. Patterson's poor performance prosecuting the McCombs trial, which ended in a hung jury."

Catrina: "However, ADA Franklin Washington, who took leave from the D.A.'s Office to run for the Judicial seat currently held by Harry R. Nance, supported Ms. Patterson's claims of chronic, institutional racism by D.A. Walters, and that Ms. Patterson's action was long overdue."

Meredith: "You know, I'd like to ask ADA Washington why he didn't file a complaint, and much earlier, if he felt that way."

Catrina: "Maybe because it was this last action by D.A. Walters, demoting Ms. Patterson, that was the final straw. And it was an actual action that could be complained about."

Meredith: "And D.A. Walters has a point, there. The prosecution of that case was pretty bad. My opinion, there, but I'm not alone in thinking it."

Catrina: "Wow... how quickly we're forgetting Ms. Patterson's prosecution of Peter Blassingame in the Stephen Henry/Wendy Withers case. She not only got a conviction, she got the Death Penalty for Blassingame." (Author's note: 'Unresolved'; 'Vox Populi Vox Dei'.)

Meredith: "But that was Commander Donald Troy that solved that case."

Catrina: "Sure, he and the TCPD did the Detective work. But it was ADA Paulina Patterson that prosecuted it, and prosecuted it very, very well."

Meredith: "Okay let's go to break. When we return, we'll have more on the arrests of what black civic leaders are calling the 'Juneteenth 22'..."

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

"Wow." said Teresa as we watched in my office before the Angels meeting. "They were almost arguing, there."

Tanya said: "Meredith was all but taking up Walters's side, while Catrina was taking up for Paulina and Franklin."

I said "Yeah, that was... interesting. Catrina is the more conservative of the two, yet Meredith was taking Walters side... like Lester Holder was on the KXTC newscast."

As the KFXU newscast came back on, I noticed Teresa squirming in her chair. "Potty's right down the hall." I said, meaning it as a joke.

"I just realized something." Teresa said. "I think I understand now what you meant about those arrested people being 'martyrs'."

"It's about time, Iron Wolf." I said. "Share with the entire class."

Teresa explained to Cindy and Tanya about our earlier conversation, then said "The Media has already given them a nickname... the 'Juneteenth 22'. The so-called black leadership is already trying to make them... martyrs, to use your term, Don... and the Media is happily going along with it."