During his first years on patrol, he was enthusiastic and relatively careful.
He learned traffic enforcement.
Responded to domestic disputes.
Assisted stranded motorists.
And occasionally earned praise for helping residents during emergencies.
But as the years passed, his behavior became more confrontational.
He developed a habit of treating ordinary questions as challenges.
When a driver asked why they had been stopped, he assumed they were being difficult.
When someone requested a supervisor, he interpreted it as an attempt to undermine his authority.
When residents recorded encounters, he became irritated.
He believed that people who had nothing to hide shouldn't question the police.
Several supervisors had warned him about his tone.
But formal consequences were rare.
His arrest numbers were relatively high.
He produced traffic citations.
He volunteered for difficult shifts.
And he rarely complained about overtime.
Those qualities made him useful to command staff who valued visible enforcement activity.
They also made it easier to overlook complaints.
The younger deputy had joined the department six years earlier.
He admired the older man.
He copied his language.
His mannerisms.
Even the way he stood during traffic stops.
He liked the sense of power that came from watching people become nervous when he approached.
Most residents cooperated.
Some because they respected law enforcement.
Others because they feared that questioning a deputy might make their situation worse.
The younger man rarely considered the difference.
He assumed obedience meant respect.
The older deputy reinforced that belief.
During quiet patrol shifts, he told stories about drivers who tried to argue their way out of tickets and residents who demanded to know their rights.
He often described such people as troublemakers.
The younger deputy laughed.
Over time, he stopped questioning the older man's judgment.
That loyalty mattered on the morning of the Rolls-Royce incident.
When the older deputy became aggressive, the younger one didn't intervene.
When the baton struck the mirror, he laughed.
When the woman stepped toward her damaged car, he shoved her away.
Later, during his administrative interview, he would claim he believed the woman posed a threat to the scene.
But the recording told a different story.