The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 122 Assistant Prosecutor
Perhaps there's something more to this than meets the eye.

For example, the person who called the police might be highly intelligent and have a precise grasp of the African American woman's personality traits, or they might have secretly done something to provoke her.

Then he deliberately swerved to stage an accident while overtaking, intentionally cutting off the car, causing the African American woman to be unable to brake in time and crash straight into him.

But regardless of the verbal attacks, the videos of throwing things and the car crash have become evidence to identify the African American woman.

Thinking of this, Eric turned back and scrutinized the person who had called the police.

The image of her pale face and terrified expression from their first meeting flashed through his mind; he realized he was probably overthinking it.

"."

“I need to see your driver’s license, ma’am.” Annie was still arguing with the African American woman, stalling for time.

"Hey! Officer!" The African American woman seemed too lazy to talk to Annie and looked directly at Eric who was walking towards her.

But before she could speak, Eric interrupted her, leaving her completely stunned.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, you'll have to come with us to the police station."

“NO!” The African American woman refused on the spot and walked towards her car.

"I won't go with you!"

Eric gave Annie a look.

Annie took a deep breath and immediately blocked the African American woman's path: "Sorry, you have to come with us!"

"NONONONO! I don't want to! I don't want to go with you!"

Despite what the African American woman said, Annie still stepped forward with the handcuffs.

Another chaotic scene erupted, escalating into a fierce physical confrontation.
It took Annie a lot of effort to get the African American woman into the back seat. Her forehead was covered in sweat, which showed how much effort it had taken.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Eric smiled.

Annie couldn't help but roll her eyes. This despicable man had been watching the whole thing. Even so, when she looked at the African American woman sitting in the back seat of the police car, she breathed a sigh of relief and felt a rare sense of accomplishment.

During the month she patrolled with Officer Ruhr, she spent her time writing fines or handling police reports about arguments, and never experienced what it was like to arrest criminals herself.

In just one morning, he personally handcuffed two suspects.

"Officer, I'm not feeling well and I need to go to the hospital. No! I have an appointment, and the doctor wants me to come over for a check-up now!" Even after being shoved into the police car, the African American woman continued to showcase her rap talent.

"You can go check the security footage at Starbucks. I'm not satisfied. She even yelled at me. Why are you treating me like this?"

Eric calmly interrupted, "Madam, we've reviewed the surveillance footage. You did have an argument, but it was purely verbal and doesn't constitute a crime."
Throwing things at her and running her over with your car constitutes serious assault, OK?

"Under Section 836 of the California Code of Criminal Procedure, I am now arresting you on suspicion of assault. You have the right to remain silent."

"NO!" However, the African American woman was still somewhat unconvinced.

"Officer, I really need to go to the hospital."

Eric smirked. "With your heightened state and your fierce resistance just now, you don't look like you need to go to the hospital at all."

“There are doctors at the police station. I’ll have them examine you first, so we’ll talk about it once we get to the police station.”

Ignoring the African American woman, Eric simply closed the door to isolate her, telling Annie to continue to meet with the person who called the police, take a statement, record their identity, license plate number, address, contact information, etc., and then tell her to go home and wait for the police station to contact her.

After completing this step, he drove away under the watchful eyes of the spectators at Starbucks and the person who called the police.

"10-A-11 Calling the dispatch center, code 24, mission complete."

When the report reached the dispatch center, Abby smiled slightly and tapped the keyboard:
"Roger that!"

------------------

inside the car.

The African American woman behind him was still rapping non-stop. Eric closed the window to shut out her rap, then suddenly remembered that Annie was studying law. He picked up his coffee, took a sip, and asked her a question.

What charges do you think she will face?

“Yes, aggravated assault, reckless driving, and endangering a child,” Annie replied. “Oh, no wonder you studied law,” Eric laughed, explaining when he saw Annie’s surprised look, as if asking, “How did you know?”

“Daves told me you’re a graduate of Yale Law School (YLS). So I’m still curious, why did you decide to become a patrol officer?”

Annie paused for a moment. She noticed the difference in Eric's tone. Before, there had been a teasing undertone, but this time, she could tell that Eric was genuinely curious.
“I don’t want to be a patrol officer, but I need to experience it to enhance my understanding of cases.”

Eric raised an eyebrow.

Annie continued, "For example, how do you collect evidence? How do you handle conflicts at the scene? How do you write case reports? This helps me to more effectively question the police or refute the defense attorney's questions in court."

It also allows me to identify procedural flaws and accurately assess the credibility of police evidence.”

Annie became very sincere this time and said a lot of things.

Eric chuckled. Sure enough, someone born into privilege would never dream of becoming a lowly patrol officer on the streets.

After all, this profession is also dangerous.

Now Eric finally understood.

Just as he had previously judged, the patrol officer's professional experience was merely a gold leaf.

However, this young woman's motivation may be different from her family's. She does want to be a patrol officer, but only to gain a deeper understanding of police law enforcement procedures.

It's part of her career plan.

No wonder Daves said that she would never stay in one place for long; that's how it is.

That makes sense now.

No wonder the other party was just relying on their talent to act recklessly and had no knowledge about firearms.

They never intended to make a living from this.

Recalling what the other person had just said, Eric smiled calmly and said, "So what's your next step? Assistant prosecutor?"

As a patrol officer who had also studied law, Eric naturally knew the situation. To become a prosecutor, in addition to having a Juris Doctor degree and passing the bar exam, one needed to first gain experience as a lawyer or assistant prosecutor.

“Assistant prosecutor,” Annie said earnestly.

“Very good.” Eric smiled and said nothing more.

Police officers and prosecutors are completely different fields, with different career paths, responsibilities, and legal roles.

Since he was still a patrol officer, he probably wouldn't have much interaction with this rookie in the future.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Annie pursed her lips and slightly tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

But suddenly a voice rang out: "Keep it up! I believe you will be a very dedicated prosecutor!"

Annie paused for a moment, then secretly glanced at Eric and found him looking out the window, languid and expressionless.

“Okay,” she said softly.

-

Back at the West Canyon Police Station.

Eric continued to leave everything to Annie and slack off.

After she finished dealing with it, she sat back in the passenger seat.

"10-Adam (two-man patrol unit) -11, resume patrol."

The dispatch center called from the car: "Roger!"

Eric put down the walkie-talkie and looked at Annie.

"Let's go, we can rest after patrolling for a while longer."

“Okay!” Annie nodded and drove the police car away from the detention area.
(End of this chapter)