INVESTIGATOR: "This one involves a search of a vehicle. The driver claimed that officers searched the trunk without explaining the basis."
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR: "What happened to the complaint?"
INVESTIGATOR: "It was closed after the complainant stopped responding."
The senior investigator looked through the documents.
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR: "We need to find out whether the person was contacted again, whether the evidence was preserved, and whether the closure was justified."
The team continued.
One file concerned a man who claimed he had been threatened after questioning a citation.
Another involved a woman who said an officer had repeatedly stopped her after she filed a complaint.
The allegations were different.
The circumstances were not identical.
But the recurring concern was that people who challenged the sheriff's conduct had often felt powerless afterward.
The senior investigator closed the folder.
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR: "We are not going to assume there is a pattern simply because these files exist. We are going to establish what can be proven."
The team agreed.
The incident involving Jamal had become the immediate priority.
But the wider records could not be ignored.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Hayes had returned to his office.
He sat behind his desk, looking at the initial paperwork.
His chief deputy, a man named Thomas Reed, stood nearby.
REED: "The investigators have requested the department's records."
SHERIFF HAYES: "Then give them what they requested."
REED: "They want the original reports, the camera logs, and the maintenance records."
SHERIFF HAYES: "I heard you."
REED: "They're also asking about previous complaints."
Hayes looked up.
SHERIFF HAYES: "Why?"
REED: "They said they're reviewing whether there are related incidents."
SHERIFF HAYES: "This is about Carter. It has nothing to do with every complaint ever filed against this office."
REED: "I understand. But they have requested the records."
Hayes leaned back.
SHERIFF HAYES: "People complain about everything. That doesn't mean they were telling the truth."
REED: "Some complaints were closed without a full investigation."
SHERIFF HAYES: "Because they were nonsense."
Reed did not respond.
Hayes studied him.
SHERIFF HAYES: "What?"
REED: "Nothing."
SHERIFF HAYES: "If you have something to say, say it."
Reed hesitated.
REED: "I think we need to cooperate fully."
Hayes stared at him.
SHERIFF HAYES: "You too?"
REED: "I'm not taking sides. I'm saying the department needs to protect the integrity of the records."
The sheriff stood up.
SHERIFF HAYES: "I built this department."
REED: "I know."
SHERIFF HAYES: "I kept this county safe when nobody else wanted the job."
REED: "I know that too."
SHERIFF HAYES: "Then don't stand here and act like I'm some kind of criminal because one man decided to make a scene."
Reed remained quiet.
He knew that arguing would not help.
But he also knew that the department could not survive by pretending the incident had never happened.
That afternoon, Jamal received another call.
This time, it came from a senior official coordinating the review.
OFFICIAL: "Judge Carter, we've reviewed the initial diner footage."
JAMAL: "And?"
OFFICIAL: "The recording appears consistent with the witnesses' preliminary statements. We are still examining the full sequence and other available evidence."
JAMAL: "Have you received the sheriff's report?"
OFFICIAL: "Yes."
JAMAL: "Does it describe the punch?"
OFFICIAL: "It describes physical contact but does not provide a complete account of the sequence visible in the diner footage."
Jamal remained silent for a moment.
JAMAL: "That needs to be addressed."
OFFICIAL: "It will be."
JAMAL: "What about the earlier complaints?"
OFFICIAL: "The records are being reviewed separately. We do not want to reach conclusions prematurely."
JAMAL: "That's reasonable."
OFFICIAL: "We would also like to arrange a formal interview with you."
JAMAL: "I'll make myself available."
OFFICIAL: "Thank you, Judge."
After the call, Jamal looked at the medical report beside his notebook.
The report documented the visible injuries.
The diner footage documented the confrontation.
The witness statements supported the timeline.
But he knew that the investigation would require patience.
There would be interviews.
There would be questions.
There might be disputes about the interpretation of the evidence.
And the sheriff would have an opportunity to respond.
Jamal did not expect everything to be resolved overnight.
He simply wanted the process to be fair.
THE DEPUTY'S DECISION
Two days after the incident, Daniel Brooks arrived at the investigative office.
He had spent much of the previous night thinking about what had happened.
He remembered the ice cream cup hitting Jamal's face.
He remembered the punch.
He remembered Jamal lying on the floor, asking why the sheriff had attacked him.
Most of all, he remembered how he had hesitated.
He had told himself that he was following the chain of command.
But the more he thought about it, the less convincing that explanation became.
An investigator welcomed him into a small interview room.
INVESTIGATOR: "Deputy Brooks, thank you for coming."
DEPUTY BROOKS: "Of course."