12 Hours - 17. Chapter 17

“It’s an odd situation,” Ben began, when he was standing in front of the jury for perhaps his last time. “I – or almost anyone else – can predict that in just a few minutes, Counsel Aguilar is going to tell you that officers Jarl and Martel – following all the good rules they’ve been taught – were just doing their jobs. And she’s going to honestly, and in the best intentions, believe that.”

He turned to Amanda and smiled in a way he meant as a compliment. He admired how well she’d done her job.

“And I don’t mean to get lofty here,” he went on. “Or self-righteous. But Gene De Wijk didn’t bring this lawsuit against the city because he’s trying to undo the damage he was done. The injustice. When – after being choked and dirtied – he was locked in a tiny cell and ignored while simply calling for help.”

“No. The reason Gene brought this lawsuit is because we need to ask how police officers should be doing their jobs. Can they be allowed to stand around and laugh with other officers about ways to choke people? Choke them just enough to humiliate them? Maybe damage them to where they need a doctor’s or psychologist’s help. That’s why Gene is bringing this lawsuit. To – in his own words – ‘make sure this never happens again.’”

“And he means ‘happens to other, ordinary people.’ Like you. Or me. Or Counsel Aguilar or Judge Washington. Or even to officers Eric Martel or Ken Jarl. Intelligent, everyday people suddenly caught in a system they absolutely believe in.”

“Gene’s asking us to listen to what he – and a dozen other people – have been telling us for the last several days. And it’s not just a matter of saying, ‘Oh, give me a break. These officers have tough jobs, and they were just looking for a quick way to laugh and relax. For a minute. Until they had to turn around and go right back to doing their jobs.’”

“No. This lawsuit is about asking how we honestly want these tough jobs done. And this is work most of us never see. But we depend on it. So should an officer ever be allowed to hurt anyone else? Especially someone still regarded as innocent? Or doesn’t it even matter if the person is clearly guilty? Should an officer be able to take a person into a hospital room. In a place meant to save lives. And intimidate him. Just to make him ‘easier to handle?’”

“Gene doesn’t want anything more besides us all feeling safe. Whether we’re walking past a police officer or driving past a police car. We shouldn’t even have to think. Just maybe wave and smile. Being grateful this is a job we never have to do.”

“Then maybe eighteen-year-olds won’t have to plead guilty to charges they don’t understand. Just to get out of jail. Gene’s asking if there isn’t a better way.”

“So please remember. You’ve heard a lot. From a lot of people. Including Judge Washington, Counsel Aguilar, and me. But as I said at the beginning, there are really only four questions to consider.”

“Did officers Jarl and Martel have any reason to arrest Gene De Wijk?”

“In arresting Gene, did the officers act fairly and legally?”

“Did Gene De Wijk in any way resist arrest?”

“Finally, did Gene suffer physical and emotional damage simply because of what the officers did?”

“If you can think about all these issues, that would be great. But if you need to narrow to possibly the most important. Again. ‘Did officers Jarl and Martel act legally during and after their arrest of Gene De Wijk?”

“Thank you.”

Ben looked slowly at each jury member. Then he nodded slightly to Judge Washington and went back to sit besides Gene.

--

Amanda also stood in front of the jury for her last time. She smiled and made the same kind of professional eye contact Ben had. Then she began.

“As Mr. Carleson pointed out for us at the beginning of this trial, and as he’s just thoughtfully repeated, this is a very simple case.”

“It rests on the fact that Officer Eric Martel and Officer Ken Jarl, jr. were doing their jobs.”

“Once you believe that, everything else goes away.”

“There aren’t four questions.

“There’s only one.”

“‘Is there honestly a case here?’”

“From the police department’s view?”

‘From the officers’ view that night?”

“And the answer is...”

“No.”

“Unfortunately, there isn’t.”

“And no matter how you may feel personally about the way officers Jarl and Martel did their work.”

“They were just doing their jobs.”

“They were doing what they’d been carefully selected for.”

“And in the ways they were repeatedly trained to do.”

“That’s what keeps our community safe.”

“Every day.”

“Every night.”

“It’s what protects us all.”

“So thank you for listening.”

“And when – as a group – you begin to discuss your thoughts and your opinions...”

“Please remember the question isn’t...”

“‘What would I have done?’”

“Or ‘What should these officers have done?’”

“It’s ‘Were they doing their jobs?’”

“You need to decide that as a group.”

Amanda seemed to wait until that fully settled in. Then she said:

“As Mr. Carleson also said, ‘Thank you.’”

“He and I have finished our work, but yours has one more step to go.”

And she nodded at Ben. Smiled at Dorothy. And sat down.

--

“This is dumb,” one of the jurors said, before anyone even sat down around the jury table. “Why are we even here?”

“Because what the cops did was terrible.”

“No way. The guy was drunk. And he was mouthing off.”

“I’m not saying he wasn’t. But they went too far. Hitting and choking him.”

“They were just trying to get him under control.”

“There’ve got to be better ways.”

“Maybe you’ve never lived with a drunk. You never know when they’re gonna lose it. Go nuts. Hit you. So you take control whenever you can. Any way you can.”

“No. Fortunately, I’ve never had that experience.”

“You’re lucky,” another juror added in.

“Are there really that many wild drunks?” someone else asked. “Outside movies and TV?”

“Why else are there so many car wrecks? I mean, we all have licenses.”

“Except for that kid.”

“But he clearly knew how to drive. He had that confidence.”

“At least he wasn’t high.”

“Neither of them were.”

“We don’t know that. And you hear so much about drugs.”

“They were coming from a bar. These were drinking guys. And the cops didn’t find anything in their car.”

“Or on them.”

“And they looked.”

“Did they?”

“And was that even legal? That they searched? Were they allowed to?”

“On a routine stop? Sure. That’s what they’re for.”

“But we don’t know that one of them didn’t get high at that party. De Wijk. Or the other one. What’s his name?”

“Herring?”

“Yeah.”

“He could’ve got stoned before he came in.”

“Or in the bar. In the john.”

“Or in the parking lot. Just a quick joint they tossed away.”

“You don’t toss away joints like cigarette butts.”

The juror just grinned. “I don’t know that.”

And everyone laughed.

“And where did the joint come from? No one’s mentioned that.”

“If it was just a joint.”

“Maybe pills.”

“Or coke.”

“No. They weren’t wasted. At least, they didn’t sound like it from what they said. What they were able to remember.”

“Maybe the kid had weed.”

“But the cops didn’t find anything.”

“Maybe someone gave it to him in the bar. Because he was cute.”

That made everyone laugh again.

“Well, he is.”

“But the cops never mentioned anyone being high. Just drunk.”

“And they never tested them for that.”

“They never tested them for anything.”

“That was a mistake.”

“A huge one.”

“A hole.”

“The cops made a lot of mistakes... well... a number of them. They could’ve been much better.”

“But they’re young. They’re still learning.”

“Just off probation.”

“It’s been over a year.”

“A year’s nothing. Think how long it takes you to do something well.”

“Give them a chance.”

“Give them a break.”

“But they’re not the ones on trial.”

“It’s the guy.”

“He’s not on trial. The charges were dropped against him.”

“Right off.”

“Almost at the beginning.”

“And he wasn’t hurt. No matter what he said on the stand. Just look at him. He was completely calm and in control.”

“Yeah. If I ever need to know anything about computers, he’s the guy I’m gonna ask.”

“But I bet he learned about mouthing off to cops. No matter how young they are.”

“Maybe we all learned. I’m not sure I would’ve acted differently.”

“The counselor said not to think about that.”

“Still, he should’ve known better by now. He was a Navy guy. Had to know about following orders.”

“And listening to them.”

“Cops aren’t in the Navy.”

“But both those guys were in the military. The police officers.”

“Even so, there are rules.”

“That we all have to obey.”

“It really doesn’t sound like we’re disagreeing here,” the foreperson of the jury suddenly cut in. “It’s true, there were mistakes all around. But all these guys are young. Even De Wijk.”

“And especially the cute one.”

“Let’s keep that out of this.”

And everyone laughed once more.

“Now why don’t we take a quick vote,” the foreperson suggested. “Just a preliminary. To see where we are. Then we can see what we have to discuss. And remember. There’s only one question. ‘Were they doing their jobs?’”

“Or was this legal?”

“Either.”

And then they surprised themselves and all agreed on the first round. And were back in the courtroom in another five minutes.

--

“I can’t believe we lost,” Gene began, as soon as he and Ben were out of the courtroom. They were in the hallway, pretty much on their own.

“We didn’t entirely lose,” Ben corrected. “The judge waived all our fees and didn’t hold us responsible for the city’s. She said ‘considering the circumstances of the arrest.’ So she understood what was going on.”

“But was he lying? Officer Martel? Or was I completely wrong?”

Ben laughed. “Do you want me to be honest or polite?”

“Honest. You know that’s what I trust you for.”

Ben hesitated. “Well... I suspect a little of both.” He paused again. “I think your fear is absolutely real. And it may last for a while. And I think your sense of injustice is on the mark. But I also think Martel’s sense of routine... and his inbred training... are based in fact. And he seems to be honest and has a terrific memory. Still, he seemed to be being very careful. And especially diplomatic. That guy has plans. And I think the jury heard all that.”

“He’s a charmer.”

“Yes. And Amanda Aguilar’s terrific.”

“No arguing there.”

They reached the elevators but decided to take the less crowded steps. It was only one flight down.

“Is there a next move?” Gene went on.

“Well...” Ben hesitated again. “That depends on how much justice you can afford. Or – in our case – how much patience we have.”

Gene laughed. “Does it always come back to money?”

“Not always. But – unfortunately – often.” Ben paused. “And... also... it may be that we think we’ve made so many gains. Come so far in only fifteen years. But we have so much further to go.”

Gene slowly absorbed that, not disagreeing. “But you’d really go on pro bono?”

Ben easily nodded. “I believe in this as much as you do.”

“That’s good to hear.” Then Gene stalled.

“You don’t have to decide now,” Ben advised. “And you don’t have to go on.”

Gene shook his head. “I feel like we should.”

“Even though it takes so much out of you?”

“Does it show?”

“Some... Maybe more than some.”

“What about you?”

Ben laughed. “Are you kidding? This is all fun for me. A challenge. It’s why I studied law.”

Gene considered. “I keep thinking about those kids. Sometimes not even kids... guys in their thirties and forties. Pleading guilty because they don’t know any better.”

“Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with your case. Or with putting the police on alert for false arrest. Or harassment. Which was probably part of this – you were right from the start. But winning the next time isn’t going to fix these guys being poor. Or their limited education.”

Gene didn’t say anything till they were outside. “I know,” he slowly admitted.

“But if you want to go on,” Ben offered. “It’s not like I have anything but time.”

“Work’ll pick up,” Gene encouraged.

Ben smiled. “I’m not worried about that. I keep expenses down and make enough to get by. And I’m partly goofing off anyway.”

“What kind of law do you really want to practice?”

Ben grinned. “I’m still working that out. At the moment, general’s fine. As I said, it’s all new. And it pays my greens fees.”

“You could play public courses,” Gene joked. “There’re plenty around.”

“Can’t let my standards drop this soon.”

And they both laughed.

“Dinner?” Ben offered.

Gene glanced at his watch.

“It’s a bit early.”

“I could still use something. And not a drink.”

They were at Ben’s car – they’d driven to the courthouse together. Though not to impress. Ben’s car was only slightly newer than Gene’s.

“Sure,” Gene said. “Let’s go eat. If the Hayloft had better food, we could go there. It’d be fitting.”

“I can do better than that. And it’s my treat.”

So they went to a decent restaurant. Ben wasn’t that broke.

“You think Shaun hurt us in any way?” Gene asked at some point. They couldn’t stop talking about the case, all through dinner.

“You mean his age? Versus yours?”

Gene nodded.

“Well... with his hair trimmed and wearing that suit... At least, he didn’t look like a teenager. And if he could’ve grown a beard...”

“Nah. There’s as little hair on his face as there is on his chest.”

Ben just looked at Gene for a moment. Then he quietly asked, “Did you ever make it with him?”

Gene smiled. “Well, obviously not that night. Talk about miserable timing.” They laughed. “But we had dinner a couple of months later. To try and fill in details. Work out things we were both missing. And... Well…”

Ben grinned. “You fox.”

Gene shrugged, modestly. “You know I like guys.”

“Yeah... well... so do I... But don’t let them kill you.”

Gene smiled as widely as Ben. “No way possible.”