The female agent turned toward me.
"Sir, are you able to walk?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
"Do you need medical assistance?"
I looked down.
My sleeve had been pulled out of place, and the upper part of my arm was beginning to swell. My shoulder ached from striking the car, and I could feel the pain becoming sharper as the initial adrenaline faded.
"I'd appreciate being checked."
She nodded.
"We'll arrange that."
Then she looked toward the two men.
The taller one was breathing heavily.
His face had gone pale.
I studied him.
A few minutes earlier, he'd been shouting about arresting me. Now he was standing beside a patrol vehicle with the expression of someone who had finally understood how little authority his uniform actually carried.
The contrast would have been almost funny if my arm hadn't hurt so badly.
The HOA president was still speaking.
She insisted that the men were authorized community officers.
She claimed the confrontation had been a routine enforcement visit.
She said I had resisted lawful instructions.
Then she pointed toward my car.
"He was refusing to leave!"
The female agent looked at the house.
Then toward me.
"Does he own this property?"
I answered before the president could.
"Yes. The recorded deed is in my name."
The president waved one hand.
"That doesn't matter. He's under HOA jurisdiction."
The agent's expression didn't change.
"Do you have a court order directing him to leave?"
The woman hesitated.
Then she bent to retrieve her clipboard.
"I have the paperwork."
The agent asked her to leave it where it was until the scene had been properly documented.
The president looked offended.
"This is an outrageous interference with community authority."
For the first time, I felt a brief flash of disbelief stronger than my pain.
She was standing beside two men who had just attacked an elderly homeowner while pretending to be police officers.
And she was still talking about community authority.
The female agent turned toward her.
"Ma'am, your association rules are not a substitute for lawful police authority."
The president opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
She looked toward the fallen baton.
Then at the federal agents' identification.
Finally, she seemed to understand that the usual intimidation tactics weren't going to work.
The responding medical personnel examined me near the front steps.