I described the remarks he made.
The discarded credentials.
The handcuffs.
And the attempt to open the briefing case.
The prosecutor asked whether I had physically resisted.
โNo.โ
โDid you threaten to use your position to avoid a traffic citation?โ
โNo.โ
โDid you tell Sergeant Devlin you were above the law?โ
โNo.โ
I took a breath.
โI acknowledged the speeding concern and was prepared to address it through lawful procedures.โ
The prosecutor nodded.
Then asked what frightened me most.
For several seconds, I remained silent.
I looked toward the courtroom gallery.
My mother sat near the back.
Zora beside her.
Teresa Wilkins attended as an observer.
Lila Ortiz waited outside because she was scheduled to testify separately.
I looked toward Devlin.
Then answered.
โThat he had decided nothing I said could be true.โ
The courtroom became quiet.
I continued.
โHe was armed. I was restrained. I had complied with the instructions I understood. But he treated every attempt at clarification as another reason to become angry.โ
My voice tightened.
โThe danger was that he appeared unwilling to consider evidence that contradicted his assumptions.โ
For several seconds, the courtroom remained still.
Then I added.
โAnd I want to make something clear. My title did not create my right to lawful treatment.โ
I looked toward the judge.
โThat right existed before anyone knew my name.โ
The prosecutor paused.
Then nodded.
When the defense questioned me, the attorney asked whether I believed federal officials should be exempt from ordinary traffic enforcement.
I answered immediately.
โNo.โ
He asked whether I had been traveling faster than the posted limit.
โYes.โ
He asked whether an officer could have legitimate safety concerns upon learning a driver possessed a weapon.
โYes.โ
Then he suggested that Devlin's actions might have been reasonable under the circumstances.
I took a breath.
โSafety concerns can justify appropriate precautions. They do not eliminate the obligation to assess information, use reasonable force, and document events accurately.โ
The attorney continued.
He questioned my recollection of the pressure on my wrists.
The exact words spoken.
The sequence of events.
I answered as carefully as I could.
When I didn't remember a precise detail, I said so.
When the recordings established something more clearly than my own memory, I acknowledged that.
I wasn't there to win an argument.
I was there to tell the truth.