“I didn’t ask sustained.”
The Captain stopped.
“Total complaints.”
“I’d have to check.”
The Chief looked toward another commander.
“Anyone?”
A Deputy Chief opened tablet.
“Two hundred twelve.”
The Chief nodded.
“Sustained?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Exonerated?”
“Seventy-three.”
“Unfounded?”
“Forty-one.”
“Not sustained?”
“Sixty-eight.”
“Pending?”
“Two.”
The Chief looked back at senior Captain.
“What does two hundred twelve tell you?”
The Captain said:
“That most complaints lacked merit.”
The Chief tilted his head.
“That’s what twenty-eight sustained tells you.”
“Two hundred twelve tells you two hundred twelve people took enough time to complain.”
The Captain’s jaw tightened.
“You think volume means wrongdoing?”
“No.”
“I think volume means data.”
He opened folder.
“Central District complaint volume rose thirty-nine percent in two years while calls rose eight.”
The Captain looked at Deputy.
The Deputy looked down.
The Chief continued.
“What changed?”
The Captain answered:
“More proactive policing.”
“Define.”
“Street stops.”
“Gun interdiction.”
“Quality-of-life enforcement.”
“Who ordered increase?”
“I did.”
The cabin became quieter.
The Chief nodded.
“Good.”
The Captain seemed surprised.
The Chief continued.
“Then you’ll be able to explain outcomes.”
“What outcomes?”
“Gun recoveries per stop.”
“Arrests per stop.”
“Contraband per search.”
“Complaint ratio.”
“Racial distribution.”
The Captain’s face tightened.
“You've already reviewed.”
“Yes.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because reports tell me numbers.”
“I’m asking for your reasoning.”
The Captain sat back.
He felt suddenly as though the humiliation before takeoff had reversed.
Now he was the one being examined.
He said:
“Central District has high violent crime.”
The Chief nodded.
“It does.”
“Our officers go where crime is.”
“Of course.”
The Chief looked at him.
“Then if disparities track calls and outcomes, data will support you.”
The Captain said nothing.
The Chief opened folder again.
“Next question.”
For the remaining forty-eight minutes, he conducted the first command meeting of his administration inside the jet.
No shouting.
No accusations.
He asked.
They answered.
Sometimes.
He learned more from hesitation than numbers.
The younger Lieutenant said almost nothing.