Captain Zach Russo's Office

[A. Blackburn]

'Furthermore, why did you bring out the dog in the first place? If you had just left him in your unit this wouldn't have been an issue. Yes, you also told me you were getting the dog but before I could say anything to tell you not to do that you gave me the update I wanted on the scene and walked away. So, what happened here?'

[J. Patterson]

Z ‘ i grabbed ajax after i gave you an update because  protests involveing cinderblocks rarely stay peaceful and we werent in riot gear,yes the brick had been dropped but ajax was another layer of officer safety and the crowd was only getting more restless it never got violent hell not even hands on but i figured we would of been better safe then sorry at the moment as outnumbered like we were sirs, should i of waited a second yes i should of i hadent planned on getting the dog out at all’ *i pause for a second collecting my thoughts* ‘did i think i mighta been able to  wait for extra orders or specifics at the time no not with as many laborers on scene ‘ *i adress andrew specifically with the last part opting to break down my explanation as the scene played out and then turn and address zack whos now standing pissed saying i just lied to him* ‘ my dog is trained to follow commands as you know he can also pick up on how i posture myself or talk  review my dashcam footage there was a protester in a group in flannel  he would be probabky just in the edge of the frame  when i retrived ajax i had him on me heel and extremly short leaded i gave him two commands they were Ajax heel,ajax watch em, he focused on a group of protestors as you can see in my report  i  dubbed the ‘flannel crew’  the one eho had grabbed the brick was in that group k9s are trained to guard there handlers  flannel grouo were behaveing somewhat threatened,ajax  picked up on it and started barking  in response basically warning thst group that if they kept threatening me he would defend me if it came to it  per k9 training any deputy near that group would of if i allowed ajax the lead length would of been bitten if they made an overtly agressive act  i  while trying to calm the crowd  repeatidky told then to disperse, my dog would only bite if i comanded him to or he himself was attacked i never once said ill sick the dog on anybody. * i pause  thinking i mighta inadvertently threatened  afterall but at the time it was more of a warning like whats on the door of 231* ‘ i went on to tell the man that repeadidky personally challenged me that if he kept provokeing ajax to bite him  my dog was probably going to based on how he was starting to come up off his front paws the man proceded to keep harassing me  after i out myself infront of my dog bodyblocking him from the challenger, per k9 training i did everything right once ajax was out to ensure nobody got harmed, had i given ajax more lead im confidant had the harassmen kept going my dog would of bit that man  instead i had his harness any more and id  of had to carry and hold my dog, i worked with a shepard in the national guard i know the breed  he was stresses cause hes young and im still working on a few things with him there incredabky orotective breeds of dogs,i saw one lay on a grenade in iraq for its handler ‘

Edited February 21, 2020 by Vanguard
Phones are hard and i dont want to make 14554544543;567754 replys after myself

[P.Hernandez 3]

I come back into the room after eating my noodle cup. I go to step on the ladder and lose my balance. I accidentally step on the yelling man's desk and leave a boot print on a piece of paper to avoid falling. I use my inspection camera to look through the air duct. The smoke damper had triggered at some point and was locked closed. It should be an easy fix. I get off the ladder and reposition it, and take down a bunch of the ceiling tiles. One cracks and breaks in half, sending ceiling tile particles everywhere. 

I cycle the reset on the damper and it opens slowly. I hop off the ladder and turn the thermostat on. The building's over powered AC system floods the duct with high speed air and floods the room with a year's worth of settled dust, filling the room with a visible haze of particles. All of the yelling men start sneezing. 

"I am done. It works. I tell supervisor to get you new ceiling tile. Have good day señors." 

I turn around and leave. I hope is almost Modelo time.   

 

[Z. Russo]

*Before I can say anything the public works guy comes back and climbs his ladder. In the process he leaves a large boot print on the desk on some budget paperwork. He continues to climb the ladder making noise and dust. After flooding the room with dust we all start sneezing but the air conditioner is fixed.*

"I am done. It works. I tell supervisor to get you new ceiling tile. Have good day señors." 

'Fucking great, I have a Sergeant who just caused a public relations nightmare that set community relations back 10 years and now I have a fucking broken ceiling that will never get fixed,'

*I sit back down.*

'You never said anything about self defense. And while I was on scene I received a complaint about you from someone who wasn't directly involved. Explain to me right now why I shouldn't reassign you to admin and never have you work the street again. Because at this point you need to stop defending yourself and accept that you fucked up.'

[J. Patterson]

P* as zack sits down i gather my thoughts ignoreing the guy who had been working in his office i brush what dust little as it is  from my uniform gathering what im going to say being careful  with how i word it* ‘im a solid officer a respectable and liked person ive owned the fact that i screwed up and want to renew the trust and faith you put in me when you welcomed me into your department i know my screw up has not only tarnished the departnent but also tarnished  the friendship id like to say we have,i also have an idea of how much pressure your probabky under to resolve my mistake ill admit i over reacted a touch i shouldent of and keeping me on the street ill prove to you that i wont make said fuckup again of course i know that the job comes before whatever friendshio you have for me i cant tell you not to assign me to a desk’ * i pause looking directly at zach my eyes then slowly drift to andrew* ‘ all i can tell you sir is if you give  me a chance there wont be another article about a vicious police dog being sicced on protesters, cause if if i ever get to that point  ill retire or relinquish  said roll as a dog handler  and you wont have a problem to reassign’  * i pause a second time breifer* ‘ i fucked up ill do whatever in my power to unfuck said fuckup and repair whatever damage i may have caused the department i just need the chance to’

Edited February 22, 2020 by Vanguard

[Z. Russo]

'Here's how were going to handle this.'

*Leaning back.*

'As of right now your on the desk for the rest of the week. In your office doing admin, You will write a letter to the union apologizing. Next week rolls around your going to be officer friendly. You will be the model of community relations, Making media appearances and visiting schools to show the dog off. You will be an ambassador for our department. And so help me god if i ever have another issue with you in any capacity I will bury your career. I will fuck you so hard on behalf of the department and you will thank me for it. Do I make myself clear.'

*My phone buzzes and I see a missed call from Burke.*

'Dismissed, Now I have to get yelled at because of you.'

[J. Patterson]

‘Crystal sir’ * i move to turn and depart the second im outta  outta the office i breath a sigh of relief forgetting to even bring up  the fact that sense the issue happened i had been getting  hostile calls as well    bringing up a point which i left in my report of the incident that we need body cameras   Espically now adays  with the  Court of Social Media constantly in sesson i opt to walk out of the building as i had left my jeep here when i started shift  i know im not a bad cop but i see zacks side aswell so i opt to take a few minutes and give my wife a call filling her in*

Edited February 22, 2020 by Vanguard

[A. Blackburn]

*Getting up from my chair I say nothing as leave the office and let Russo talk with Burke over the phone.*

[Z. Russo]

*As Blackburn and Patterson leave the room.*

'I'm friends with these people? I thought you just worked for me.'

*I say loud enough for both to hear.*

[Z. Russo]

*Walking into my office I set my coffee down and I sit down at my desk, After starting my computer up 3 tabs open up. Google, My department email and the Shiloh County Chronicle. As the page opens for the Chronicle I the word Sheriff's department catches my eye. I read the slam piece and I am furious. I pick up my desk phone and dial the platoon commanders office.*

'BLACKBURN MY OFFICE NOW!'

*I slam the phone down and I am fuming.*

[A. Blackburn]

*By the tone of his voice it's time to get yelled at and this time I don't know why.  Not bothering to knock I just enter Russo's office and take a seat in the first seat I come to.*

[Z. Russo]

*Blackburn walks in. I stand up at my desk.*

'Did you read this article? Its slamming us. Partiality slamming me. This anti cop piece of shit sympathizes with the fucking junkies overdosing in south river. Saying we don't fucking do enough!'

*I slam my fist down on the desk.*

'Its not my fault these fucking ADAs refuse to prosecute anything less then Tony Montana. I already got called from the commissioner for that idiot at the protest with the dog. So my job is already in jeopardy because these junkies can't overdose quietly. I already had 3 homicides and 6 shootings in southriver and its not even March and and this anti cop piece of shit wants me to stop all drug crime in south river with nothing more then hugs.'

[A. Blackburn]

*Before I can respond by saying that I haven't read the article he's talking about Russo goes into his rant.*

'Yeah, I haven't read that yet.  So fucking media again.'

[Z. Russo]

'Read it, We need to make it look like were proactive. I am not losing my command over some fucking college liberal who's been to school for a year or two and knows hes seen it all bragging how he knows how the junkies feel cold and the slums got so much soul. I want you to get the fuck out there and get me some visible results. I want to be on twitter tonight with a picture of enough confiscated guns and drugs to fund a 3rd world army.

*Sitting down. After almost feeling lightheaded.*

What have I always told you, What is the way I've ran operations since I got here.'

'Uniformed patrol is the backbone of this department'

'And that being said would I put someone in charge of our most valuable resource that I didn't 100 percent trust'

'No sir'

'And you know shit travels downhill so as a captain I trust my lieutenant to get this fixed before your reporting to a new captain after Burke castrates me and gives me a do nothing position in emergency management.'

[A. Blackburn]

'Alright, I'll go read the article and see what the Detectives are up to.  See if they have any leads on anything.'

*Getting up from my seat I wait to see if I'm dismissed or if there's anything else.*

[Z. Russo]

'Yeah go do that, come down on them as hard as this came down on us.'

*I rest back into the chair.*

'I can't wait to get the phone call from Burke.'

[A. Blackburn]

*With a simple nod I leave the office and head on over to see what the detectives are doing.*

[W. Burke]

*At the SCSD parking lot, I park in a spot labelled Captain. Commissioner, I outrank whoever it is. I walk to the front desk and, even though I have a pass to enter, I stop and check with the front desk.*

'Good evening Commissioner. Card not working?'

'No, I thought I'd say hi, and see if you can call Captain Russo for me. I'd like to see him if he's in.'

'Sure, let me call up.'

*The desk officer says while dialing the 4 digit extension.*

[Z. Russo]

*The desk officer calls up and lets me know I have the Commissioner waiting for, Great.*

'Send him up.'

*I take a sip of coffee as I wait for him.*

[W. Burke]

*Despite having the ability and authority to have just walked right up, I elect instead to wait, give him warning. Once I'm given the nod, I buzz myself in, walking straight to his office.*

'Captain. Good to see you. I just was on my way to see the sheriff, but wanted to stop by. I need someone to head up my mass shooting task force. And 50-81 needs a new driver. You're about to get both I think.' *I maintain my even, jovial tone as I stare him down. 'What. The. Fish eating FUCK is happening with you division? Do you know how many fucking phone calls I've gotten since this story? What is the ERT doing? Well, we're about to meet with the sheriff to see if we can find some fucking police for this town! Jesus Christ Zach. What the hell is happening?!'

[Z. Russo]

*I feel personally insulted that Burke is doubting my ability to lead my division.*

'I know, Me and Blackburn are working on it. Recruitment is down so I'm short on numbers, My men are getting fucked because south Fort Shannon is a war zone. I'm deploying general investigations down there to assist with Narco. That's how stretched thin we are. My guys are running around from hot job to hot job that we don't have time to do any street level investigations. You want to get changes give me the bodies to make changes! Otherwise you should be in community affairs ripping Lieutenant Gloser a new asshole or how about ADA Cheng aka Mr Plea Bargain.'

*I lean back in my chair.*

'Burke we've worked together how many years. For fucks sakes you were at my wedding. You know how I work, and you've never had a problem with the way I work before. My guy fucked up and he was at the TV station this morning rectifying it. But the problem we have right now is that new reporter, He's anti cop and he's going to do everything he can to make us look bad. That article was digging up shit, South Fort Shannon was like that since we were back on patrol and if you look at numbers and compstat my guys do work down there, and this guy is being a shit stirrer.'

[W. Burke]

'Well, you gotta work together with your community affairs guy, get something sorted out. This is getting ridiculous. They're going to eat you alive, and you need to get out in front of this. You know you can't stop the drug usage. That's impossible. Do something to get in front of it. Quite frankly, I don't really care at this point. I'm being eaten alive every day, and it seems the main story is always someone from your division. We need to get this under control. We can't arrest them all in South Fort Shannon, so let's reduce crime there, or move it out of your jurisdiction. He's got a hate boner for you, let's give him no where to stick it. '

[Z. Russo]

'Yes sir.'

*Atleast I still get my command. Thats what I was worried about.*

'Me and the CA guys will get together and start putting a positive spin on street ops right away.'

[A.DeVito]

*I walk into the station, still annoyed by the fact I now have extra paperwork because of this fuck. But thinking of that old run makes me think of Russo and I decide to pop by his office - since I'm at the station anyways. I walk up to his open door and knock on the doorframe.*

'Hey.'

[Z. Russo]

'Hey stranger. I saw you down in roll call but because of this shit with the media I really didn't get a chance to welcome you back.'