The Archangel Drones (11 page)

The ADA actually picked up, the sound of his voice surprising the defense lawyer. “Grossman.”

“Hey, Tony, this is Adam Barlow. I’m representing Jacob Chase, file number…”

“No need, Adam. I’ve got the folder right here in front of me. Looks like a pretty clear-cut case of evading, resisting, and obstructing to me. Do you want to plead it out?”

“The video we have tells a different story, Tony. I think we’ll take this one all the way,” Barlow replied, his voice growing icy cold.

There was a long pause, the word “video” causing the prosecutor to flip pages, giving him time to think. “I see here that the squad car’s dash camera was inoperable the morning of the arrest. You have a third party video?”

Barlow’s next statement sounded almost cheery. “Oh, yes, we do. And there isn’t a judge in the county that’s going to like what’s on it. The reason for my call is to give your office a heads up. I’m filing for dismissal today, and I want charges pressed against these officers.”

Again, the people’s lawyer scanned the file, his mind racing with the ramifications of Barlow’s words.
Not another one of those damn videos
, he was thinking.
Here we go again.

Not spotting any proverbial smoking guns within the meager police report, Tony replied, “I’d like to see this video, Counselor. Perhaps we could meet a few minutes before the arraignment outside Judge Pearson’s chambers.”

“Fine by me, Tony. I’ll show you the signed witness statements at the same time. I have a stack of them, and I intend to use them both to clear my client’s name and as evidence against the officers. I’ll bring you a set of copies.”

As soon as the defense attorney disconnected, Tony dialed his boss’s extension. “We’ve got a problem, and it’s Officer Marwick again,” he reported.

“What the hell has that gorilla done this time?” the perturbed District Attorney responded.

“Same as before, only this time the idiot did it in front of multiple witnesses… and a camera. Adam Barlow is on this like a pig on shit. He’s filing for dismissal today at the arraignment, and he means to show the judge the video.”

“Well, at least it isn’t on the internet… yet. Let me know how bad it is, and I’ll warn the chief what’s coming. Oh, and break out some of that new level four body armor. One of these days, that man’s going to shoot the messenger.”

The two attorneys met in the county courthouse, outside of District Court 11, in an area reserved for just such assemblies.

Barlow started with the video, noting the other lawyer grimace several times during its three-minute length. After it was over, Tony regained his composure quickly. “That doesn’t prove anything, Adam. Everybody knows that it never looks good when the cops have to use force to subdue a rowdy suspect.”

“He didn’t try to evade, Counselor. Just a few days prior to this incident, my client monopolized a basketball game in which the officer’s son was the on-court opponent. That’s the true reason why Marwick pulled Jacob Chase over. He saw the kid drive by and decided to get a little payback.”

“Bullshit,” Tony pushed back. “According to the officer, the kid didn’t pull over for a significant distance. He was clearly trying to evade, buy time to dump his stash of dope, or something. Everybody knows the cops hate a runner more than anything.”

“There was no evasion, sir. There was no high-speed chase. The kid pulled over in less than two blocks after the lights came on, and he kept the speedometer below the limit.”

The prosecutor shook his head, “Again, Adam, you’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s the kid’s word against a cop, and we both know that the judge is going to believe an officer of the law over any teenager, no matter how good his jump shot is.”

Adam shook his head, pointing at the computer where a new video started playing.

The second recording was in black and white, depicting an image of a small parking lot, with a street beyond. Digital numbers displayed the time and date in the lower, right hand corner.

A car appeared in the scene, a police cruiser riding its bumper, but the roof-mounted lights were not flashing. “This is a video from the storage unit business at the corner, less than three blocks from where Jacob’s car was stopped. You can clearly see the officer did not have his emergency lights engaged. He’s lying… again.”

Tony’s head snapped up at that last word, but he didn’t say anything.

“So, is the district attorney’s office willing to drop the charges against my client, or are you going to tarnish that fine establishment’s reputation even further by going in front of the judge?”

The less-experienced attorney didn’t respond at first, his eyes darting back to the computer screen. Adam gave the man more than ample time to respond before frowning with disappointment and closing the laptop. “You’re making a mistake, Tony. Instead of going after an innocent kid, your office should be out in front of this, dropping the charges against my client and filing a list of felony charges against those cops. That’s about the only way this county is going to avoid a massive public outcry. Who knows, Houston might become a Ferguson on steroids.”

The ADA shook his head. “Come on, Adam, be reasonable. You know there’s an election coming up, and there hasn’t been a district attorney elected in this city without the endorsement of the Police Officer’s Union for over 40 years. If we go after Marwick, the union will come after us. My boss isn’t going to go for that.”

Barlow’s eyes bored into the man across from him, a cloud of frost filling the room. He raised an accusing finger at the ADA and hissed, “That kid’s world has been shattered, Tony. He had a full boat scholarship to play ball at a good school, and our abusive police department has killed that dream. Everything he’s worked for… poof! Gone! That could have been my son… or yours… or anybody’s. He doesn’t come from a wealthy family. He’s definitely not some privileged brat. The medical bills alone are probably going to send his folks into bankruptcy. This excessive force has to stop, and we both know it.”

Tony didn’t like be lectured. “Now aren’t we just the high and mighty crusader for justice and morality?” the heated rebuttal began. “So we had a cop who stuck his toe over the line? It happens. These guys stick their asses up in the air like targets every single night. They see more shit in a week than most people see in a lifetime. They take risks to catch the bad guys, and then assholes like you and me let them go back on the streets to hurt more people. So yeah, they take a little retribution now and then, but overall, the system works. If we start hanging every cop who makes a mistake, that same system won’t work. We need those men and women in blue. Without them, society would fall apart, and if that happens, it won’t be a police officer roughing up your precious, fair-haired client – it will be a criminal who won’t let him off with a few bumps and bruises.”

Adam shook his head, having heard it all before. Reaching into a file folder, he produced a picture of Jacob’s knee, and shoved it across the table. “This is a few bruises and bumps? This is a toe over the line? Marwick is going to kill somebody, Tony, and we both know it. Will that constitute sticking a toe over the line as well?’”

A complete dismissal of the charges against Jacob was beyond Tony’s level of authority. “I’ll have to take this back to my superiors and mull it over. How about we ask the judge to reschedule the arraignment for a few days out?”

“Fine by me, but no more than 48 hours. My client is scheduled to leave the hospital day after tomorrow, and I want him going home with his parents, not back to the county jail.”

District Attorney Sanders grimaced as she scrutinized the video of Jacob Chase’s arrest. Her reaction, however, wasn’t due to the howling, misery-laced cries of the suspect, nor was she concerned about the officers’ behavior.

No, what bothered the county’s most powerful elected official was the potential public relations nightmare the video was sure to bring.

Barely 5’3” tall, thin framed, and often referred to as being “mousey” behind her back, the slender woman’s outward appearance gave few clues to the furnace of aspiration that burned within.

She’d joined the Harris County office as an associate after serving one post-graduation year clerking for a federal judge. Her degree from the University of Texas School of Law, complete with the designation of “summa cum laude” on her sheepskin, meant the legal world was the young graduate’s oyster. But she wasn’t interested in contract law, teaching, or hanging her shingle in the corporate world. 

Bypassing numerous offers from prestigious firms throughout the Lone Star State, she held fast to a seemingly insatiable desire to put criminals behind bars. She was passionate about defending the people.

Ferocious, unyielding, and deftly skilled in front of a jury, the young Ms. Sanders quickly made a name for herself throughout the legal community of the nation’s fourth largest city. When she had been elected for the first time 12 years ago, Karen Sanders had campaigned as an aggressive, “no holds barred” crime fighter.

She’d seen so much during those years. One of the most striking developments affecting her profession being the advancement of technology. Everything from forensics to investigation tools had been touched by the developments.

So much of the digital age was a positive for law enforcement. Social media, for example, provided insight into many a criminal’s mindset and was now commonly introduced at trials to prove a frame of reference or intent… sometimes even as evidence of a confession.

Innovations in communications interception made privacy a myth. Computer system forensics that could even retrieve the browsing history of the accused now played a role in the day-to-day prosecutions by her office. The police could track and retrace a suspect’s travels via cell phone towers. Cameras could read license plate numbers, placing a specific automobile at the scene of the crime. The availability of this information created a swirling, ever-expanding toolbox to be used for the people’s cause.

But, like most revolutions, there were negatives as well. Criminals had become skilled at manipulating technology at unprecedented levels, committing felonies ranging from identity theft to blocking critical police communications with portable radio jammers.

Of all the changes she’d seen impact her prosecutorial duties, the public distribution of citizens’ recordings from smartphone cameras was one of the most significant developments of the last five years.

Most video was helpful. Police dash cameras had been used countless times to convict criminals or exonerate officers of bogus charges. These days, it seemed like every business, ATM, city bus, and citizen was now equipped to capture historical events. Heck, just about every 10-year-old kid in America owned the kind of phone that fueled documentary filmmaker fantasies. The law enforcement agenda had profited tremendously from the availability of the feed. In the vast majority of cases such evidence was beneficial in putting criminals behind bars.

But not always.

A wave of online video had invaded what was once a private, seldom witnessed aspect of society - the policing of America.

The spectacle of cops interacting with citizens was exciting stuff, often worthy of cell phone recording. For many, the act was merely a “one upping” of rubbernecking a freeway accident during rush hour. True opportunists realized that news outlets would pay for video of major crime scenes. So would defense lawyers and their experts.

Karen could remember watching the Rodney King video in law school, her professor predicting that the event would shift law enforcement tactics and procedures across the country… and within a matter of just a few years at most. In the end, the prophecy had been incorrect… or at least ambitious in its fulfillment. Despite millions of cell phones being on the street and each generation able to record significantly better quality images, the threat of being taped had done little to modify the average street cop’s daily routine.