At almost the same moment, Sheriff Dwight Coleman received a call from the state attorney general's office. He was eating a pulled-pork sandwich in a conference room at the county annex, where he had spent the afternoon discussing equipment purchases. The assistant attorney general speaking to him had reviewed an urgent notification and wanted to know whether Coleman was aware of a search involving a vehicle registered to the Justice Department.
Coleman initially treated the report as a routine complaint. "We stop government vehicles when they violate traffic laws, same as everybody else," he said. The official replied that the stop involved a search, a cash seizure, and allegations of abusive treatment. Coleman asked the driver's name with growing impatience. "Byron Davis," came the answer.
A pause followed. Coleman knew the name from national news coverage and from a briefing circulated through state law-enforcement offices less than a week earlier. He asked for confirmation, received it, and placed the sandwich on the table without finishing the next bite. Byron Davis was the newly confirmed director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a man whose photograph had appeared on the front page of the state paper just days before.
Coleman's first instinct was to call Hollister. When the sergeant answered from his cruiser, still working the interstate, the sheriff ordered him back to the station immediately and told him not to conduct another stop on the way. Hollister sounded irritated, insisting he had just cleared one incident and was preparing to return to his usual position. Coleman interrupted him with a sharpness his deputies rarely heard. "Craig, listen to me. Get back here now."
Hollister finished his coffee during the drive. He assumed the issue involved federal paperwork, perhaps a department vehicle that required a phone call to someone in Washington. He had faced complaints before, and most ended when the sheriff assured an irritated motorist that his deputies had acted within policy. He entered through the side door expecting another small inconvenience and found three federal investigators waiting in the hallway.
Townsend stepped forward and asked him to confirm his full name and badge number. Hollister folded his arms and demanded to know what the visit was about. She explained that federal officials were reviewing a stop he had conducted on a Justice Department vehicle earlier that afternoon. Hollister shrugged and said he made many stops, although he knew precisely which one she meant.
"The driver was Byron Davis," Townsend continued. Hollister's expression did not change immediately, which told her he still regarded the name as ordinary. She then added, "Mr. Davis has recently been confirmed as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Hollister unfolded his arms, stared at her credentials again, and looked over his shoulder for the sheriff.
Coleman appeared behind him, pale and visibly exhausted. Hollister tried to speak, stopped, then said he wanted his union representative. Townsend told him he was entitled to seek advice and that no one was asking him to waive his rights. The immediate priority was preservation of the footage and records, which the sheriff's office could provide voluntarily or through formal legal process.