"I know the stakes," Clayton replied. "But if he gets to see the recording first, he'll call it an isolated mistake. He'll say Lel forgot to log the keys. He'll say Hagen used the wrong words. I want to know what he says he believes when he's not trying to explain a video."
Rosa looked at him for a long time. At last she agreed to ask her questions and make a record, provided they also preserved their right to seek an immediate review of the footage afterward. Clayton understood he might lose the first hearing. He was gambling time he could barely afford, but he believed a sworn statement would reveal something important about why Sutcliffe had protected the officers so aggressively.
At the hearing, the room contained a long table, a water pitcher, several rows of chairs, and a digital recorder with a green indicator light. Ingrid sat at the head with the contract file in front of her. The city attorney sat beside Sutcliffe. Clayton, Rosa, and Sherman took seats opposite them. Gerald Peton was in the back row, his gold watch visible where his arm rested across an empty chair.
Ingrid explained the narrow issue. The department's report still described an active investigation involving the contractor; the city's contract contained a suspension provision; and Reed Auto Shop was protesting both the application of that provision and the factual basis for keeping the investigation open. She placed Sutcliffe under oath before asking him to describe what his department believed had happened.
Sutcliffe spoke smoothly. He said patrol had received a report of a vehicle theft in progress at Reed Auto Shop, that the responding officers had encountered a man whose identity was initially uncertain, and that they had used reasonable restraint to secure the scene. He described Clayton as insufficiently cooperative and said the matter had been handled once the business ownership was confirmed.
He did not mention the license that had been put away unread. He did not mention Hope's badge. He did not mention the key ring, the threats to Sherman, the young mechanic's later arrest, or the synchronized lights of the twelve police vehicles. The version he gave the room made a humiliating encounter sound like a brief, ordinary misunderstanding.
Rosa asked about the time of the original call and whether officers had checked public or business records before securing Clayton. Sutcliffe answered in general terms about the pressures of patrol work. She asked whether he had personally reviewed the arrest report and the materials collected afterward. He said he had relied on the official file, as supervisors often did.
Then Rosa reached the question Clayton had written on an index card. "Deputy Chief, was any personal property taken from Mr. Reed during this incident and not returned?"
Sutcliffe sat straighter. "No personal property was kept improperly. Evidence taken during the investigation was logged and accounted for."
"A brass key ring engraved REED 1979?" Rosa asked. "That was taken from my client. Where is it?"
"Not in any log I have seen," Sutcliffe replied. "If an item had been retained as evidence, it would be documented. Everything is logged."