The police chief arrived at the hospital. He walked in hat in hand. He looked like a man walking to the gallows. Governor Vance, the chief said, I have no defense. Officer Slayton has been fired.
He is in custody. We are charging him with aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon. That's a start, Vance said. What about the woman? Ashley Miller has been charged with filing a false report, misuse of 911 and reckless endangerment.
We are also looking into hate crime enhancements. Good, Vance said. But chief, this isn't just about two bad apples. Slayton didn't hesitate. He saw black skin and he saw a target.
That is a training failure. That is a culture failure. And that is on you. I know, the chief said. I am submitting my resignation effective immediately.
I accept it, Vance said. The next morning, Ashley Miller's husband arrived from New York. He didn't come to bail her out. He came to distance himself. He issued a statement through his lawyer.
I am appalled by my wife's actions. We are separated pending divorce proceedings. I do not share her views. Ashley sat in a county jail cell. She had been denied bail because she was considered a flight risk and a danger to the community.
She wore an orange jumpsuit. Her hair was a mess. She had no Chardonnay. She had no followers. She only had the reality of what she had done.
Officer Slayton sat in a cell two blocks away. The police union, usually quick to defend officers, remained silent. They issued a brief statement. "We do not condone the actions seen in the video. " Slayton was alone.
Governor Vance held a press conference 3 days later. He stood at a podium, his arm in a sling. He had a torn rotator cuff from the tackle. Malik stood next to him looking tired, but standing tall. "My family is lucky," Vance told the reporters.
"I know that sounds strange, but we are lucky because I am the governor. We are lucky because there were cameras. We are lucky because we had protection nearby. But, I keep asking myself, what if I was a plumber? What if Malik was just a student without a famous last name?
What happens to those families? " He paused. The room was silent. "We are filing a lawsuit," Vance announced. "Not because we need the money, but because the only language this system understands is consequences.
We are suing the city. We are suing the resort. And we are suing Ashley Miller. " The legal battle was swift and brutal. The city knew they couldn't win.
The video evidence was irrefutable. The resort knew they were liable for allowing Ashley to harass guests and for failing to secure the scene. The settlement was reached in six months. $4.9 million. $3 million from the city. $1.9 million from the resort. And Ashley Miller's insurance, which her husband's policy covered much to his dismay. Ashley Miller was sentenced to 3 years in prison for her false report and hate crime enhancement.
The judge made an example of her. "You weaponized the police. " The judge said. "You tried to use the state as your personal hit squad because you didn't like the color of your neighbors. " Officer Derek Slayton pleaded guilty to aggravated assault to avoid a 20-year sentence.
He got eight years. He would never hold a badge again. Governor Vance didn't keep the money. He donated the entire $4.9 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and to a scholarship program for minority law students. On the one-year anniversary of the incident, Governor Vance returned to the Royal Palms Resort.
He didn't go to the cabana. He went to the ballroom where he was giving a speech to a convention of police chiefs. He looked out at the sea of uniforms. "We have to be better. " Vance said.
"Prejudice is a poison. It turned a sunny afternoon into a crime scene. It turned a citizen into a suspect. It turned a protector into a predator. " He looked at Malik who was sitting in the front row, now a law school graduate.
"My son asked me if I hate the woman who called the police. " Vance said. "I told him no. Hate is too expensive. It costs you your peace.
It costs you your soul. I don't hate her. I pity her. She looked at a family loving each other and saw a threat. She lives in a prison of her own making.
We just made sure the door was locked. The room erupted in applause, but Governor Vance didn't smile. He knew that for every Slayton they caught, there were 10 more out there. He knew the work wasn't done. He walked off the stage, shook his son's hand, and they walked out into the Florida sun.
Together. Free. And unafraid.