Wyatt asked what Caleb did. He described his first attempt to help, his verbal warning, and his failure to physically interrupt before the chair landed. He did not exaggerate his courage. The prosecutor let the admission remain, then asked whether Caleb had any reason to believe the movement of the wheelchair was necessary to protect anyone. Caleb said no.
On cross-examination, Price pressed him about his inexperience. The rookie had only been on patrol a short time. He had been startled by Derek's voice.
He had not personally handled every traffic hazard that might arise. Caleb agreed. The lawyer suggested that his testimony had become more confident after public attention made Derek unpopular. Caleb explained that the basic facts had remained the same in his radio report, his first written statement, and his later interviews.
"You were afraid of your training officer, weren't you?" Price asked.
Caleb hesitated. "Yes."
"So you might have misunderstood a forceful attempt to help a disabled man?"
"No," Caleb replied. "Being afraid didn't change what I saw. It only delayed what I did about it."
Harlan sat very still in the gallery. He had spoken to Caleb only briefly since the veterans' center meeting, but he heard a kind of growth in that answer that could not be manufactured by rehearsing. The younger man had accepted responsibility for his hesitation without using it to excuse the older officer. It was a difficult balance. Harlan hoped he would carry it beyond the courtroom.
Brooks testified about the report versions and computer logs. She explained how the system stored drafts and how investigators confirmed when the language had been changed. Price challenged whether revisions were normal in police reporting. She agreed that they were, and that a revision was not inherently dishonest. But she explained why changing a factual allegation after learning that video existed was relevant to the investigation. The jurors were given both versions and asked to compare them with the recording.
The prosecution's final major witness was Harlan himself. He maneuvered to the accessible witness position, placed his hand on the oath book as directed, and looked at the jurors. He wore a plain light blue shirt, close in color to the one damaged during the encounter. He had considered wearing something different, then decided there was no reason to treat the garment as forbidden. The courtroom settled as he took his oath.
Wyatt asked for his background only briefly. Harlan described his Army service, his federal career, and his retirement, making clear that his former credentials carried no present power to direct local policing. Then he told the jury about buying bread and honey, entering the crossing on the permitted signal, and dropping the jar. He admitted that he stopped in the roadway and that this created a temporary traffic problem. He said he had intended to clear the largest glass pieces and reach the sidewalk.
"What did you want the officer to do?" Wyatt asked.
"Help me move safely," Harlan replied. "Or allow his partner to do it. I needed a few moments, not a confrontation."