"She pushed me against the cruiser."
Rebecca turned sharply.
"Watch your mouth."
Thomas raised one hand.
"All right. Let's get him processed."
The three walked toward the booking area.
Daniel's shoes squeaked against the polished floor.
The station smelled of disinfectant, old coffee, and wet clothing.
Several officers were working behind the front desk.
A television mounted on the wall played a late-night news broadcast.
Daniel noticed a clock above the reception area.
11:19 p.m.
He wondered whether Sophie was asleep.
He wondered whether his mother had managed to explain his absence.
And he wondered whether anyone would believe him.
At the booking desk, Rebecca handed Thomas a folder.
"Initial incident report."
Thomas opened it.
He read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
His expression changed slightly.
"Subject approached officer aggressively?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes."
"Attempted to pull away?"
"Several times."
"Threatened you?"
"Verbally challenged my authority."
Thomas looked up.
"Anything else?"
"He repeatedly refused lawful instructions."
Daniel stared at the officer.
"That's not what happened."
Rebecca turned toward him.
"Quiet."
Thomas looked between them.
"Let's get the basic information first."
He asked Daniel for his full name, date of birth, address, and emergency contact.
Daniel answered.
Then he asked whether Daniel had any medical conditions.
"I have a shoulder injury now."
"Before tonight?"
"No."
"Any medications?"
Daniel mentioned the medicine he had purchased.
Thomas wrote it down.
Then he asked whether Daniel wanted medical assistance.
"Yes."
Rebecca sighed.
"He's exaggerating."
Thomas looked at her.
"Medical evaluation is standard procedure."
Daniel was eventually taken to a small examination room.
A nurse checked his shoulder and noted visible redness around his upper arm.
She asked what had happened.
Daniel explained as clearly as he could.
He did not exaggerate.
He did not insult Rebecca.
He simply described the sequence of events.
The nurse recorded his complaint.
Then Daniel was returned to the booking area.
He asked again for permission to make a phone call.
This time, Thomas nodded.
"You'll get an opportunity after the initial processing."
Daniel waited.
Minutes passed.
Rebecca completed additional paperwork.
She described Daniel as an uncooperative subject who had resisted lawful detention and forced her to use physical control techniques.
The report made no mention of the fact that Daniel had initially been stopped without any clear evidence of criminal activity.
It did not explain why he had been ordered into handcuffs.
It did not mention the pharmacy bag.
It did not mention the witness recording the encounter.
Most importantly, it did not describe the officer's initial actions with any meaningful detail.
Instead, it presented a different version of events.
According to the report, Daniel had become aggressive, refused instructions, and physically resisted the officer.
A few sentences had transformed an ordinary man waiting for the rain to stop into a supposed criminal.
And Rebecca was not finished.
She knew that an arrest report alone might not be enough to protect her if Daniel challenged the incident.
She needed the other officers to understand her version.
She needed consistency.
She needed the department to believe that the situation had been dangerous from the beginning.
So she approached Lieutenant Mark Reynolds.
He was sitting in his office reviewing paperwork when she knocked.
"Come in."
Rebecca entered.
"We had a problem on patrol."
Reynolds looked up.
"What kind of problem?"
"Male subject. Resisted arrest."
"Any injuries?"
"Minor. Nothing serious."
"What's the charge?"
"Resisting arrest and obstruction."
Reynolds closed the folder in front of him.
"Did he have a weapon?"
"No."
"Drugs?"
"No."
"Was he wanted?"
"Not that I know of."
Reynolds stared at her.
"Then why did you stop him?"
"Suspicious behavior."
"What suspicious behavior?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"He was standing outside a closed business."
Reynolds leaned back.
"That's all?"
"He was acting strangely."
"Rebecca, people stand outside buildings. That doesn't automatically mean something is wrong."
She folded her arms.
"He became argumentative."
"Did he threaten you?"
"Not directly."
"Did he strike you?"
"No."
"Did he attempt to take your equipment?"
"No."
Reynolds rubbed his forehead.
"Then tell me exactly what happened."
Rebecca repeated her version.
She described Daniel as confrontational.
She said he repeatedly ignored her instructions.
She claimed that he attempted to pull away when she tried to secure him.
She suggested that his behavior created a potential safety risk.
Reynolds listened.
He was not entirely convinced.
But he was also not interested in creating an internal controversy at nearly midnight.