Pike pointed to the door log. "The isolation room door never opened during the period he describes."
"Could she have pushed toward it while it stayed closed?"
"She could have moved toward it. The log cannot tell us that, but his report says she tried to push past him through the doorway after he ordered her back."
Pike moved to another screen. "The door remained secured the entire time between his entry and his first exit."
Benton read the times. "So his language describes more physical access than the system supports."
"Correct. That alone doesn't prove the report was intentionally false."
"No."
"But there's more."
He opened an audio file. "We recovered part of the buffer."
Benton moved closer. The sound was damaged and uneven. Several sections were missing, but voices could still be heard.
Maya's voice came first. "Call Judicial Administration and verify my name."
Then Reed: "You've already been given instructions."
A short section of static followed.
Maya again: "You have the information required to verify me."
The recording broke off.
Benton looked at Pike. "Can you recover the rest?"
"I'm working on it, but this portion matters. Reed's written report stated that Maya repeatedly refused to provide sufficient identification. The audio establishes that she asked him to verify her name through Judicial Administration."
Pike opened the system log again. "Now compare that with the override. The manual change occurred minutes later."
The evidence did not prove every disputed moment, but the sequence was becoming clear. Maya gave her name. Maya requested verification. Reed continued the detention.
Reed used the baton at the doorway according to two witnesses. Reed manually altered the recording system. Then he wrote that Maya resisted and refused identification.
Benton looked at the screens. "Preserve all of this separately."
"It already is outside the courthouse system," Pike said. "That was the first thing I did."
Later that afternoon, the oversight panel interviewed Evelyn. This time, she did not minimize anything.
"I recognized Judge Williams when she gave her name."
The panel chair asked, "Before Officer Reed escorted her away?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you intervene?"
"I was afraid."
"Of Officer Reed?"
"Not specifically."
"Then of what?"
Evelyn took a moment before answering. "The building."
The panel chair waited.
Evelyn continued, "I knew if I stepped into a security matter and someone above me decided I had interfered, I could spend the next several years paying for it without anybody ever calling it punishment."
"Were you threatened?"
"No."
"Were you ordered to remain silent?"
"No."
"Then why is that relevant?"