SERGEANT ASHLEY KOHEN faced five uniformed police officers seated as an Initial Board of Inquiry in the headquarters conference room. An electric fan moved the hot and humid air, but didn’t eliminate the smell of body sweat. Her back ached as she sat at attention and wondered how much more of this crap she'd have to take.
Captain Flynn continued, "Then what did you do?"
"I called dispatch and reported officer down."
"Did you render aid and assistance?"
"Yes, but I couldn't revive Officer Saviano."
"Was he dead?"
Sergeant Kohen hesitated. She must now repeat the obvious results of the shooting, yet again. "Yes sir, he was dead. Three shots in the center mass at close range. Dead. Not moving. Not breathing. Lifeless, like not alive anymore."
"Calm down, Sergeant. We're about done here." Captain Flynn turned to the other four officers on the board. "Any more questions?"
A lieutenant at the end of the table nodded. "Sergeant, you say there was a witness to this incident?"
Ashley Kohen recalled the vivid image of the frightened store owner's thin body slammed against a wall by Saviano’s big fist. The officer's other hand, clutching a wad of money, pounding the shopkeeper's bloody face again and again.
"Yes, sir. Like I already said. While on my way to work I heard dispatch make the call, and I responded because I was in the vicinity.” Ashley strained to keep her composure “The store owner, Mr. Lee Chan, called in the robbery before Officer Saviano arrived. He said the officer would rob him. It had happened before. Mr. Chan gave a statement to the Professional Standards Unit explaining the entire incident."
Captain Flynn picked up the digital recorder lying on the table in front of Ashley. "If there are no further questions, I call this Initial Board of Inquiry adjourned." He snapped the recorder off.
Sergeant Kohen felt a release of tension in her body. She could go home, sort out what happened, and get on with her life. The last time she'd felt this tormented she was a little girl in school. Because the boys bullied her on the playground, she came home crying every day. Her mother told her, "Ashley, when they knock you down and kick you, reach up and grab their foot and twist it until it hurts." Ashley never forgot her advice.
She hesitated in front of the windows of the conference room. Down below the night-lights of Chicago outlined the buildings and lit the constant movement of life on the streets. It had been a rough day for her in the Windy City.
Captain Flynn remained after the others left. With his head down, he moved close and whispered, “My boss, Commander Morgan, is outside. Sorry, I can’t help you.”
Commander Morgan, a square-shouldered man with a protruding belly straining the gold button of his uniform, stood blocking her exit from the room. "Kohen, the Chief wants to see you upstairs. Right now."
“See me, tonight, this late?”
“That’s what I said, sergeant.” Morgan glanced at her breasts, and shook his head. ”Such a pity. With so many men crowded together at headquarters, a good-looking woman was a tasty diversion.”
Ashley straightened and took a deep breath. “What do you mean ‘was’?”
“I mean Saviano wasn’t the greatest cop working the streets, but he was one of us, and one of the Chief’s oldest friends.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you’ve had a good run. Too bad it has to end.”
Ashley’s voice hardened. “Armed robbery and assault is a crime, even if the perpetrator wears a uniform and works for the Chicago Police Department. I did what every cop is sworn to do.”
Morgan scowled. “The Chief’s waiting. Follow me.”
Captain Flynn, helpless to intervene, watched as the two disappeared down the hallway.