At 10:32 a.m., Lieutenant Price entered the precinct's security office and asked for the footage from the corridor outside the restroom.
The security technician, Martin Cole, sat at a workstation surrounded by monitors. He searched the camera index and located the relevant recording.
“The restroom itself doesn't have a camera,” Martin explained. “Privacy restrictions. But the hallway camera covers the entrance.”
“Show me everything from ten minutes before the incident until ten minutes afterward.”
Martin opened the file.
The footage showed ordinary activity at first. Officers crossed the hallway, a clerk pushed a document cart toward the records room, and a uniformed supervisor paused to answer a telephone.
At 10:07 a.m., Andre entered the corridor carrying a thin folder. He stopped briefly outside an office, checked a message on his phone, and continued toward the restroom.
Daniel appeared less than a minute later.
He walked quickly, looked over his shoulder, and entered the restroom.
Price leaned forward.
“Go back five seconds.”
Martin rewound the footage.
Daniel had glanced toward the administrative offices before entering. His expression was tense. He then disappeared through the door.
Several minutes passed.
At 10:13 a.m., Lena Brooks hurried into the corridor. She paused at the restroom entrance, looked inside, and immediately raised her radio.
Price watched the recording twice.
“Can we hear anything?”
“No audio on that camera.”
“Any cameras covering the adjoining corridor?”
Martin checked the layout. “The second camera catches part of the wall, but not the restroom door.”
“Preserve both recordings.”
Martin nodded.
Price then asked for the briefing-room footage. The department's internal review system had recorded the meeting because it included discussion of an active investigation. The recording was stored separately from the hallway security system.
When Martin opened it, the discrepancy became obvious.
Andre stood beside a display showing the case timeline. He pointed to the detention time and asked whether the report reflected an initial encounter or the formal arrest.
Daniel responded with visible irritation.
“The report is complete.”
Andre said, “The dispatch log places first contact thirty-three minutes later than the time written here. We should reconcile that before submitting the final version.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair.
“Are you questioning my work?”
“I'm questioning the time entry.”
Several officers exchanged glances. No one laughed. No one appeared hostile toward Daniel. The exchange was uncomfortable but professional.
Then Daniel said something that made Price stop the recording.
“Maybe you should spend less time examining my paperwork and more time remembering whose investigation this is.”
Andre replied, “The evidence belongs to the department. The report has to be accurate.”
Price rewound that exchange.
There was no obvious insult from Andre. No raised voice. No threat. Yet Daniel's expression had hardened as though the correction had been a deliberate attack.
The lieutenant continued watching.
Near the end of the briefing, Daniel gathered his papers and left before the meeting had formally concluded. Andre remained behind, speaking briefly with another officer about the dispatch log.
Price rubbed his forehead.
The footage did not prove what had happened inside the restroom. It did establish a possible motive for the confrontation and contradicted Daniel's suggestion that Andre had initiated an aggressive dispute.
Price asked Martin to create secure copies of every relevant file. He also instructed him to record the time, date, and identity of each person who accessed the recordings.
Then he contacted Deputy Chief Marissa Bennett.
Bennett arrived twenty minutes later, listened to Price's preliminary summary, and watched the same clips without interruption.
“Where is Mercer now?” she asked.
“Medical assessment complete. He's in an administrative interview room with a representative.”
“And Mitchell?”
“Separate room. He's cooperative.”
“Any weapons discharged?”
“No.”
“Any civilians involved?”
“No. At least, none identified so far.”
Bennett looked at the paused image of Daniel entering the restroom.
“Do not let either officer return to the floor until we understand what happened. Preserve the recordings, collect the uniforms, and make sure the review is independent.”
Price nodded.
“There's another issue,” he said. “Mitchell's report discrepancy may involve more than a clerical mistake.”
Bennett turned toward him.
“Explain.”
“The dispatch time, the incident report, and the detention record don't match. If the time was deliberately altered, we need to determine why.”
For the first time that morning, the restroom fight seemed less like an isolated outburst and more like a possible warning.
Bennett looked again at the screen.
“Then we investigate both matters,” she said. “The assault and the report.”
She paused before adding the instruction that would shape the entire case.
“And nobody gets to decide the outcome before the evidence is collected.”