Chapter 18 - The Chief’s Question
Chief called me into office.
“Do you still want to be police officer?”
Strange question.
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because half your family scandal involved department.”
“I noticed.”
He leaned back.
“Some people after this leave.”
“Some stay to fix.”
“Which are you?”
“Neither.”
He raised eyebrow.
“I want train dogs and handlers.”
“That’s fixing.”
“Maybe.”
“But if I make whole career response to Dad and Evan, they still control.”
Chief smiled.
“Good answer.”
Then he asked what training changes I wanted.
I brought list.
Not dramatic:
handlers document deviations.
supervisors review unexpected K9 behavior before labeling failure.
community contacts recorded.
conflict-of-interest referrals independent.
retired evidence sites mapped.
Chief laughed.
“Last one not K9.”
“Learned hard.”
We formed training curriculum.
One slide used Titan/Ava incident.
With Julia’s permission.
Video stopped before child face visible.
Question to trainees:
What do you see?
First answers:
dog noncompliance.
civilian risk.
handler losing control.
Then full video.
Ground flex.
Hatch.
Lesson:
initial interpretation can be wrong.
Not "always trust dog."
Trust observation enough to reassess.
Then I added second example.
Northstar.
Not names.
A report balanced because supervisor wanted closure.
Lesson:
documentation can look orderly while truth messy.
Some trainers said too philosophical.
I kept.
Then Titan started slowing slightly after long shifts.
Nothing major.
Age.
I adjusted.
He hated.
Workaholic dog.
Then vet confirmed retirement timeline.
Six months.
I pretended fine.
Ava counted days until “Titan freedom.”
Julia sent calendar.
I accused them of theft conspiracy.
Ava voice message:
“He likes me more.”
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Titan heard voice and wagged.
Evidence against me.
