"With your boot?"
"Yes."
"Did you threaten to tow it because of the damage?"
Malloy's expression tightened.
"I had concerns about its condition."
Harlan looked at him.
"The damage you had just caused."
Malloy remained silent.
Harlan took off his glasses.
"Have you watched the video?"
"Not the entire thing."
"Why not?"
"Because I know what happened."
Harlan leaned forward.
"Then you need to stop assuming everyone else will accept your memory over the recording."
Malloy looked offended.
"You're supposed to be my attorney."
"I am."
"Then defend me."
"I'm trying to understand what can be defended."
The words irritated Malloy more than any accusation.
For years, he had relied on the idea that officials would trust his account.
His reports were official.
His position carried authority.
His supervisors knew him.
He had never needed to explain every decision in detail.
Now his attorney was asking him questions that sounded suspiciously like the ones Naomi Brooks had asked on the road.
Harlan opened another page.
"Did you tell her that complaints against you never accomplish anything?"
Malloy stared.
"That was just talk."
"Did you say it?"
"Yes."
Harlan exhaled.
"Do you understand how that statement might be interpreted when investigators examine your prior complaint history?"
Malloy crossed his arms.
"Everybody knows people complain."
Harlan looked at him.
"Not everybody boasts that nothing happens when they do."
Malloy said nothing.
Then he leaned forward.
"Look. She turned out to be some important Navy officer. That made everybody panic."
Harlan's expression hardened.
"Her rank isn't the central issue."
Malloy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the recording doesn't become harmless if she's a schoolteacher."
Malloy stared.
Harlan continued.
"You need to understand that before you say another word to an investigator."
The first independent review of the dashcam footage took place eleven days after the stop.
The reviewers were not assigned to Malloy's patrol district.
That separation had been requested because the incident involved allegations of deliberate property damage and destruction of identification.
Two analysts examined the original video files.
A third reviewed the associated audio.
The cruiser had been parked at an angle behind Naomi's sedan.
The front-facing camera did not capture every movement equally well.
For parts of the encounter, Malloy's body obscured his own hands.