“I’m saying there’s video.”
The bald deputy twisted her wrist higher.
Pain ran from her thumb into her forearm.
She inhaled sharply.
“Stop.”
“Stop resisting.”
“I’m not resisting.”
The young man’s voice came from behind them.
“She’s not resisting.”
Both deputies turned.
The young man still held the phone upright.
The blond deputy started walking toward him.
The Black trucker saw the change before anyone spoke.
His shoulders widened.
Hands away from the belt.
Jaw pushed forward.
Not walking to ask.
Walking to dominate.
The young man did not retreat.
The deputy stopped perhaps four feet from him.
“You want to be arrested too?”
“For recording?”
“For obstruction.”
“I haven’t obstructed anything.”
The deputy raised his hand toward the phone.
“Turn it off.”
“No.”
The deputy slapped at it.
The young man moved faster.
He pulled the phone backward.
The deputy’s palm missed the device and struck the young man’s wrist.
The camera lurched but remained recording.
The young man took one step sideways.
The deputy reached again.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
The bald deputy shouted from beside the truck.
“Just take it.”
The trucker’s eyes widened.
The young man looked past the blond deputy.
Directly at the Black trucker.
Then toward the two broken pieces of plastic on the asphalt.
Then back at the deputy.
“All right.”
The deputy smirked.
Finally.
The young man lowered his filming hand slightly.
With his left hand, he reached inside the lightweight jacket.
The blond deputy’s right hand dropped instinctively toward his holster.
“Hands where I can see them.”
The young man stopped.
“You told me to give you something.”
“Slow.”
The young man moved very slowly.
He pulled out a narrow black credential wallet.
Opened it.
Held it at chest height.
The blond deputy stared.
The young man spoke in the same flat voice he had used for the entire stop.
“State Inspector General.”
The highway noise seemed to disappear.
The bald deputy loosened his grip on the Black trucker without realizing it.
The young man lifted the credential slightly higher.
His phone remained recording in the other hand.
“You are currently being documented as part of an active misconduct investigation.”
The blond deputy stared at the badge.
Then at the phone.
Then behind the young man toward the frontage road.
For the first time since the stop began, fear entered his face.
The Black trucker saw it instantly.
The young investigator continued.
“Keep your hands away from my phone.”
The deputy looked around.
“What investigation?”
The young man did not answer.
The blond deputy pointed toward the Black trucker.