Marcus sighed. "Officer Torres, I am requiring functioning cameras and preserving footage. That is not a punishment."
"I know."
She lowered her voice.
"Some of us think what you're doing should've happened a long time ago."
Marcus looked at her.
"Then why didn't it?"
Torres glanced toward the briefing room.
"Because Voss had a way of making complaints disappear. And because if Derek Reigns didn't like you, suddenly nobody wanted to trade shifts with you. Backup still came, but slower. Reports got picked apart. You'd get the worst assignments for a month. Nothing you could prove."
Marcus heard the echo of Reigns's words in his office.
"Did you ever report that?"
"To who?"
That answer hurt more than an accusation would have. At 5:30, Marcus implemented the first departmentwide order of his command. Every body camera would be function-tested at the start of each shift. Any unit that failed would be replaced before the officer took a public-contact assignment. Every traffic-stop video associated with a complaint, search, arrest, or vehicle impound would be automatically preserved for ninety days pending review.
The order was written, dated, and distributed through the policy system. Reigns raised his hand during the evening roll call.
"So we're all suspects now?"
Marcus looked at him from the front of the room.
"No. You're all professionals whose equipment should work."
A few officers looked down to hide smiles. Reigns did not.
"This is because of me."
"The policy applies to everyone."
"Because you had one disagreement with me."
"Because our records show preventable evidence gaps that damage officers and citizens."
"You mean complaints from people who hate cops."
Marcus felt the room tighten.
"I mean citizens. The people who pay for this building, our salaries, our vehicles, and the cameras we're discussing."
He let the silence settle.