He looked toward the officers behind him.
"But I also think it would be irresponsible to pretend incidents don't matter."
The room quieted.
Darius placed both hands on the podium.
"I was hired to rebuild trust."
He looked toward the public.
"That trust begins with honesty."
Then he took the oath.
When he finished, the applause was polite.
Not enthusiastic.
Not hostile.
Polite.
Darius understood.
Many officers were waiting to see what kind of chief he would be.
Would he punish Mercer immediately?
Would he protect him?
Would he become another administrator who spoke about reform until the next scandal?
Darius intended to answer those questions with time.
After the ceremony, he entered his office.
The office had belonged to the previous chief.
Large desk.
City skyline.
Plaques.
Awards.
Photographs.
Darius removed several photographs from the wall.
Harris watched.
"You're taking those down?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they're not mine."
He opened a cabinet.
Inside were binders.
Complaints.
Investigations.
Personnel files.
Use-of-force reports.
Darius smiled.
"Now this is mine."
Harris looked nervous.
"You want everything?"
"Yes."
"How far back?"
"Five years."
Harris stared.
"That's thousands of pages."
"Then we'll start reading."
Harris sat.
"Chief..."
Darius looked at him.
"Yes?"
"You're going to make a lot of people angry."
Darius nodded.
"I know."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because if making the right decision makes everyone happy, someone probably isn't telling the truth."
Harris smiled.
"You really are going to be difficult."
Darius returned the smile.
"You've been warned."
The first meeting began at 10:15.
Every deputy chief.
Every division commander.
Internal affairs.
Professional standards.
Legal.
Training.
Community relations.
Darius looked around the table.
"I want three things."
Everyone prepared to take notes.
"Truth."
He held up one finger.
"Accountability."
Second finger.
"And consistency."
Third.
"No exceptions for rank."
He looked at the commanders.
"No exceptions for tenure."
Then:
"No exceptions because someone is popular."
Silence.
"That includes me."
A commander frowned.
"Chief?"
"If I violate policy, investigate me."
Nobody spoke.
Darius sat.
"That's the department I'm trying to build."
Then he opened the first folder.
"Let's talk about Frank Mercer."
The Report
Frank Mercer was placed on administrative leave before noon.
The official announcement was short.
Officer Mercer had been relieved of duty pending investigation into an alleged assault involving the newly appointed police chief.
No conclusions had been reached.
No disciplinary decision had been made.
The department emphasized due process.
But the reaction was immediate.
Some officers supported the decision.
Others didn't.
By lunchtime, an anonymous internal message circulated through the department.
THE NEW CHIEF IS USING A STAGED INCIDENT TO PURGE THE OLD GUARD.
Darius read it.
Then deleted it.
Harris asked:
"You don't want to know who wrote it?"
"Eventually."
"Shouldn't we investigate?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if I chase every insult, I won't have time to fix anything."
Meanwhile, Frank Mercer sat at home.
His wife, Carol, had worked as a nurse for twenty-five years.
She knew her husband.
She also knew his temper.
"You slapped him?"
Mercer stared at the floor.
"I didn't know he was chief."
Carol looked at him.
"That makes it better?"
"No."
"Then why did you do it?"
"He wouldn't cooperate."
"Cooperate with what?"
Mercer didn't answer.
Carol crossed her arms.
"Frank."
"He was standing outside."
"So?"
"He didn't belong there."
The sentence sounded different when spoken inside his kitchen.
Carol stared at him.
"How did you know?"
Mercer said nothing.
She shook her head.
"That's what they teach you?"
"No."
"Then where did you learn it?"
Mercer looked away.
He had no answer.
At headquarters, Darius reviewed the first batch of complaints.
There were more than expected.
An officer had repeatedly searched vehicles belonging to young Black men without documented cause.
A detective had lost evidence in a domestic violence case.
A sergeant had altered overtime records.
Another officer had accumulated fourteen citizen complaints in two years.
Most had been closed as "unsubstantiated."
Darius noticed something.
The same supervisor appeared repeatedly.
Deputy Chief Raymond Harris.
Darius closed the file.
"Raymond."
Harris looked up.
"Yes?"
"How many complaints have been reopened in the last five years?"
Harris hesitated.
"I don't know."
"Find out."
"Okay."
"How many officers have been disciplined for sustained complaints?"
"I'd have to check."
"Check."
Harris nodded.
Darius leaned back.
"Raymond."
"Yes?"
"Why don't you know?"
Harris stared at him.
There was no anger in Darius's face.
That made the question more uncomfortable.
"We've had a lot of turnover."
"That's not an answer."
Harris sighed.
"Because we stopped tracking some categories separately."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Darius nodded.
"Then find out."
Harris stood.
"Chief."
"Yes?"
"You should know something."
Darius waited.
"Mercer isn't the only officer who thinks you're an outsider."
Darius smiled.
"I know."
"You do?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because I've been one for twenty-two years."
Harris looked confused.
Darius continued.
"Every department has a culture."
He pointed toward the door.
"Sometimes people believe the building belongs to them."
He looked at Harris.
"It doesn't."
At 3:00 that afternoon, a civilian named Angela Brooks arrived at headquarters.
She had filed a complaint three years earlier.
Nobody had returned her call.
She had filed another.
Same result.
She asked for the new chief.
Normally, she would have been sent to a civilian liaison.
Darius happened to be walking through the lobby.
He saw her standing near the desk.
"Can I help you?"
She looked at his suit.
"Are you with administration?"
"Yes."
"Are you Chief Cole?"
Darius paused.
"Yes."
Angela laughed bitterly.
"Then maybe God finally got tired of me."
Darius gestured toward a chair.
"Tell me."
She sat.
Three years earlier, her nineteen-year-old son had been arrested during a traffic stop.
The arrest itself wasn't the problem.
The problem was what happened afterward.
Her son claimed an officer had struck him after he was already handcuffed.