Isaiah raised one hand slightly. “My credentials are inside my jacket. I will remove them with two fingers.”
Voss’s hand snapped toward his firearm. “Do not reach.”
Isaiah froze instantly. “Then you remove them.”
“What credentials?”
“The credentials relevant to where I am going this morning.”
Voss narrowed his eyes. “Where are you going?”
Isaiah looked past him toward the clock visible inside Teresa’s store. “Police headquarters.”
The officer laughed. “For what?”
Isaiah answered, “My first day.”
Several people in the crowd exchanged looks. Voss did not understand.
Isaiah said, “Left interior pocket.”
Voss stepped forward, reached into the jacket, and pulled out a black leather credential case. He flipped it open.
The gold shield caught the morning sun.
ISAIAH WARREN
CHIEF OF POLICE
NORTHGATE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Everything in Voss’s face disappeared at once. He stared at the badge, then at Isaiah’s swelling cheek, then at the broken sunglasses, then at the phones pointed toward him.
Cameron stopped narrating for almost two seconds. “Wait.”
He looked toward his livestream screen. “The man Officer Voss just slapped is Northgate’s incoming police chief.”
Teresa covered her mouth. Marjorie closed her eyes briefly.
Then she said, “That explains why city cars have been circling headquarters all morning.”
Voss took one step backward. “Sir.”
Isaiah’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.
“Do not call me that because you saw a badge.”
Voss swallowed. “Chief, I didn’t know.”
Isaiah closed the credential case. “That is the problem.”
“No, I mean if I had known who you were—”
“You would have behaved differently.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“It is exactly what you’re saying.”
Voss opened his mouth again. Isaiah raised one hand.
“Stop helping yourself.”
The crowd went quiet. Isaiah pointed toward the officer’s chest camera.
“Is your body camera recording?”
Voss looked down. The indicator remained dark.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Battery issue.”
Isaiah looked toward the cruiser. “Then preserve the vehicle system.”
Voss stared at him.
Isaiah took the officer’s shoulder microphone gently without pulling it free. “Dispatch, this is Chief-designate Isaiah Warren at Jefferson and Twelfth.”
The dispatcher did not respond for a second. Then, “Chief Warren?”
“Yes.” Isaiah’s eyes remained on Voss.
“Send an uninvolved patrol supervisor, Professional Standards, and medical personnel. Officer Raymond Voss is to be relieved of public-contact duties immediately pending investigation into unauthorized search, use of force, body-camera noncompliance, and possible civil-rights violations.”
Voss looked stunned. “Chief, please.”
Isaiah continued into the radio. “Do not alter or delete any associated digital records. Preserve dispatch audio, vehicle GPS, dash video, CAD entries, and all camera audit logs.”
The dispatcher answered, “Copy.”