We are not on the list of Police Arrests at all
Davenport Police Bureau might be in the middle of the town but it was more of a wasteland. Tops they would have one or two cases every week but the rest was minor disturbances. For the real big cases, they were not really needed. The Hero Association had centers in every city and every town, before the police could get there, the heroes had already taken care of everything and it would be a field day for the press to begin their, 'What is the use of the police' or other favorite, 'The police, a waste of taxes' so they stayed away.
It was not as if the police did not have officers with superpowers but they were just too small or too weak. If you had a really cool superpower, why would you go to work in the police for long hours with low pay when you could go to HAC, with high pay, great benefits, and the adoration of the public? The difference was too large.
Ravi looked across his booth to the inner booth where the Captain's mini office was, he must be so bored. He suddenly wanted to bet, this person would probably leave after a week of no action. Before he looked away, Arlen caught his gaze and smiled at him. He smiles so easily.
Ravi returned to his file, this was a file on someone who had crossed a red light. Like he said, mostly useless cases.
"Shut up and go in." Draco's voice sounded extremely serious and more police-like than Ravi had ever heard from him. He opened the door and pushed in a man in torn clothing. Scrapes were all over his elbow and it was bleeding slightly.
A pickpocketer or a thief. There were many around the Central District, he must have run and fallen as Draco was chasing him.
"I said I just picked the purse up."
"Sure. Sure. You happened to pick up a purse worth 6,000 dollars and pushed the owner of the purse to the ground. Go in." He nudged his body against the man in handcuffs dragging him to the small holding cell in the office, "Cool off. When you are ready to confess you call me."
Sarah followed in after Draco, sighing as she made her way to her booth. She was Draco's partner. The sergeant had paired them up so that she could calm Draco's hot-headnesses, just like he paired him and Lisa, his calm self contrasting with her impulsiveness.
Ravi looked at the man in the holding cell, he was unlucky. Ravi knew for a fact that Draco collected some money from gangs nearby so he could overlook some things but today, he really wanted to impress someone. To be at least remembered for being the first person to bring a case to the Bureau today.
"Officer Brown, what is he in for?" Tom asked.
"We were on our Patrol round at the 34th Street Crossing when we saw Tony here stealing a purse and making a run for it. I could not let such injustice go free." After saying this, he looked at the Captain, "So I chased him, it was not an easy chase."
"Your superpower is super speed. It was an easy chase." Ravi muttered, loud enough for the entire office to hear him.
Lisa bent her head on the table, her entire body shaking. Draco glared at Ravu and coughed a bit.
Arlen Sinclair stood up, causing the office to grow quiet, they watched and waited for what he would do next. Arlen seemed oblivious to their stares and he walked to the holding cell.
Most criminals were smart and this one was no exception. He could tell that Arlen's position was higher than others and he hurriedly stood up, "I don't want any trouble, Captain. Can't we figure out a deal?"
Arlen passed him a clean handkerchief and a package of band-aids, "For your injuries."
It was not just the criminal who was shocked, even the officers were incredulous, it was not an everyday thing for a Captain to be walking around and sharing band-aids with criminals.
Arlen faced them and said seriously, "He was injured, you should have treated him first. I am aware you have your mode of operation but I hope from now, you will treat every person arrested as if he were innocent unless proven guilty.
Ravi chuckled. He could not control it, it just came out. This person is mentally unstable. Treat criminals like they are innocent unless proven guilty, as police aren't meant to do the opposite, are they not meant to treat criminals like they are guilty until it is proved that they are innocent? Sinclair should just be a judge, what the hell is he doing in a police station? Damn! He had not found anything this funny all year. Is this person even real?
"Is anything funny, Officer West."
"No, Sir." Ravi said, however, his eyes had a mocking glint that clearly stated the opposite.
"Captain, you would refer to me as Captain." Arlen said, his jaw clenching before he released it, "The police force has been accused of using heavy hands to force a confession, I was hoping that such scandal would not affect our Bureau." He said more quietly, he had a friendly smile, and his voice was naturally low and gentle, causing the atmosphere that had turned steely to relax.
He was the kind that would fire you and you would thank him.
Tom Smith laughed, at fifty-six years, he was an expert on navigating social issues, "Captain, you do not have to be worried. We might be ranked last in the number of arrests in the entire country but we have not had such an allegation or done such a thing. This team, we are good people."
"We are ranked last?" Arlen's eyes widened almost comically. He reminded Ravi of a puppy who was supposed to get a cookie but instead saw his owner eating it. It was so funny, did he know?
"We are not ranked the least, we are not even on the list at all." Ravi burst his bubble, hoping to see more of that expression but instead, Arlen's shocked face settled, becoming more serious.
"Is that so?" He said calmly.