"You should've cooperated."
Then he struck the mirror.
And the morning changed forever.
The captain's first order was not to arrest anyone.
It was to preserve the scene.
He instructed the deputies to move away from the Rolls-Royce, directed another responding supervisor to keep the public walkway clear, and requested that the damaged vehicle be photographed before anything was moved.
Then he turned toward the state investigator.
"Would you like medical assistance?"
"My shoulder needs to be documented. I'm not seriously injured as far as I can tell."
He nodded.
"We'll arrange that."
She looked toward the older deputy.
"I also need his body-camera recording preserved, along with the younger deputy's."
The captain glanced at the two men.
"Both cameras were assigned and required to be operating."
The investigator studied him.
"That's not the same as confirming the recordings exist."
He swallowed.
"You're right."
She continued.
"I need the relevant dispatch traffic preserved too, including the message he received before attempting to enter my vehicle."
The older deputy immediately spoke.
"We got a legitimate vehicle alert!"
The captain turned sharply.
"Nobody asked you to explain anything yet."
The deputy's face reddened.
"Sir, I'm trying to tell you—"
"You'll have an opportunity to give a full account through the proper process."
The captain's voice remained firm.
"Right now, you will stop interfering with the preservation of this scene."
The younger deputy shifted his weight.
For the first time since the incident began, his smug expression was gone.
The investigator looked toward the courthouse fountain.
The young man who had recorded the encounter stood nearby, holding his phone.
She recognized that he appeared nervous.
The older deputy had threatened him earlier.
Now he was watching several uniformed officers gather around the scene.
She turned toward the captain.
"Please make sure witnesses aren't pressured to delete their recordings."
The captain nodded.
"Agreed."
Then she approached the young man, stopping several feet away.
"Excuse me. Were you recording?"
He nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Are you comfortable keeping the original file until an investigator can arrange to preserve it properly?"
The young man looked toward the deputies.