Ruth smiled faintly.
"I knew it looked expensive."
Several jurors smiled.
Then the prosecutor asked whether Ruth had threatened Garrett.
Her expression became serious.
"No."
"Did you enter the highway?"
"No."
"Did you approach him physically?"
"No."
"Then why do you believe he became angry with you?"
Ruth looked toward Garrett.
"Because I was watching."
The courtroom went silent.
She continued.
"He wanted everybody to pretend what he was doing was normal."
The prosecutor paused.
Then asked whether Ruth had been frightened when Garrett reached toward his weapon.
Ruth nodded.
"Very."
"Why didn't you stop recording?"
She considered the question.
Then answered in a voice so steady that I felt tears rising in my eyes.
"Because she couldn't protect herself from where she was sitting."
The defense attorney attempted to challenge Ruth's reliability.
He suggested that she had been too far away to hear everything.
She acknowledged that some statements were difficult to hear from her porch.
He asked whether she disliked the sheriff's department.
Ruth answered that she had called deputies for help on several occasions and had no general objection to law enforcement.
Then he asked whether she had wanted to make Garrett look bad.
Ruth studied him.
"Sir, I didn't put that baton in his hand."
Several people in the courtroom shifted.
The judge instructed everyone to remain quiet.
Ruth continued.
"I didn't make him smash the windshield. I didn't make him threaten me. I just recorded what he decided to do."
The defense attorney moved to another subject.
But I knew that answer had mattered.
Miles testified after Ruth.
His testimony was difficult.
He admitted that he had delayed intervening when Garrett first pulled me from the vehicle.
He described the threats Garrett made toward him.
He explained why he believed the initial stop lacked an established lawful basis.
And he confirmed that the registration returned valid before the property destruction occurred.
The prosecutor asked what Garrett said when Miles recommended checking my credentials.
Miles swallowed.
"He said she was lying."
"Did he have evidence supporting that conclusion?"
"Not that I knew of."
"Why did you call for emergency assistance?"
Miles looked toward me.
For a moment, he seemed ashamed.
Then he turned back toward the prosecutor.
"Because I believed somebody was going to get seriously hurt."
"Who?"
He took a breath.
"Special Agent Cole. The woman filming. Maybe anybody who tried to stop him."
The prosecutor continued.
"Did you fear your partner?"
Miles nodded.
"Yes."
"Did you believe he might retaliate against you?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you make the call?"
He was silent for several seconds.
Finally, he answered.
"Because the fact that I was afraid didn't make what he was doing lawful."
The prosecutor nodded.
Then played the recording of the radio transmission.