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Scene Title | There Is No Protocol For Dealing With Nalani Hollingwood |
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Synopsis | Coren has a delightful time interrogating Detectives Roberts and Poulin and Officer Johnson about the Nalani Hollingwood affair. |
Date | March 9, 2009 |
The New York Police Department Head Quarters is an old stone building, rennovated many times over the years. The plaster walls are not as cracked and in need of repair as the various Precinct buildings around the city. The fluorescent lights give the room a rather sterile glow. Old posters, civic reminders, duty rosters and newspaper clippings are tacked up on the walls, rustling every time one of the doors opens. A high, wooden desk sits on the north wall, manned by two clerks, who records all visitors and arrests.
The way out to the street lies to the south, while doors to the offices of the Head Quarters lie to the northwest.
Detective Shelby has had it up to his eyeballs with the Nalani Hollingwood case1. He is a patient man, but the whole situation is just plain ridiculous. He has put off arresting Grace Matheson as long as possible, but feels it is probably time he gets around to it. He will wait, however, until he has all the facts he can so that Grace will know he is on her side and not Nalani's. As such, he has delayed slightly in speaking with the other witnesses of the event. He now waits with his digital recorder in an interview room. He will talk to Detective Roberts first. After that, he will talk to Poulin, and then Johnson.
Detective Roberts. Nice guy, good guy, but, prone to dick around a bit. But he's there, sitting across from Coren in the interrogation room, chewing on a piece of gum, far better than smoking a cigarette. "She's suing us?"
"Sadly," Coren says. He turns on the digital recorder, "Detective Roberts, you were on duty on February twenty-seventh, the day of the alleged incident between Grace Matheson, our consultant, and Miss Nalani Hollingwood. How would you characterize the situation that led up to incident?"
Roberts adjust the way he sits, a shrug of his shoulders. "Annoying. That's how I would characterize it. You could hear the broad a mile away with how loud she talked and whined" He gives another shrug of his shoulders.
Detective Shelby nods, "Please describe to me the gist of the conversation, from your perspective, that Miss Hollingwood then had with our consultant, Grace Matheson."
"Well, Ms Matheson was through the door in the lab behind us with Nakano. Hollingwood was complaining about having to come down and why couldn't her assistant come and do it. Matheson decided to launch into the conversation. What I remember, she said, out in the hall that Hollingwood obviously didn't care about the car she lost that he should let her just go so that the rest of them could get back to work. Ms Hollingwood didn't take too kindly to that. Told Matheson she could fill out the paperwork if she wanted to, or take her testimony if she wanted."
Roberts shrugs again, leaning back in his seat. "It went back and forth, Matheson telling Hollingwood to suck it up and stop treating us like dirt. Nakano tried to get Matheson to back off and go back into the lab but it wasn't happening. Hollingwood told Matheson to go back to her work as well, that she was going to go sign what she needed to, would have been doing it if Matheson hadn't interrupted. Matheson tried to knock Hollingwood down a peg or two, gave her a good tongue lashing that likely that woman's mother never gave her. That she needed to spend time working for charities that gave a damn instead of saving some bird and stop being such a bitch and then started to walk past her after telling Nakano she'd be back after getting a coffee. Hollingwood started moving forward and stumbled. Next we knew, Matheson did her little kick thing and the bi… Hollingwood was down and screeching bout her wrist."
"So I heard," Coren says. "That sounds pretty much like what I expected. My last question, I suppose, is why you didn't detain Matheson after her act of battery to see if Hollingwood wanted to press charges?"
"With all due respect, sir. She was putting up such a fuss about going down, whining about her wrist and creating the fuss that she did," he shrugs. "We forgot"
"All right. Thank you for coming in Detective Roberts." He addresses the digital recorder, "This concludes the interview between Detective Coren Shelby and Detective Mark Roberts on this Monday, March ninth, two thousand and nine." Coren stops the recorder, "A pleasure speaking with you." He stands to walk the detective out, "Just between you and me, I think she's blowing hot air and this will eventually go away quietly." When they get to the door, he gestures to Poulin, "Step into my office, Detective." Of course, it's not his office, but if there's one thing he's learned about interviewing members of the department, it helps to make them as comfortable as possible. That's one of the many reasons he maintains a pleasant demeanour around them.
Detective Poulin is much like his partner in every single way. Working long enough with each other that they nearly dress the same, walk the same, probably even like the same things. Right down to even the way that the detective sits down in his seat and leans back. "Detective Shelby." There's a obligitory nod for the other man as he pulls a leg up to lay the ankle across his other knee, hand resting on said same ankle.
"Detective Poulin," Shelby says in greeting, after he has turned on the digital recorder. "You were on duty with Detective Roberts on February twenty-seventh, the day of the incident between Grace Matheson, our consultant, and Miss Nalani Hollingwood, in which the former committed an act of battery against the latter. How would you characterize the situation that led up to incident?"
"Tense Detective. For us, I can't say how it was for Ms. Hollingwood." There's no shoulder shrugging here, just the detective wanting to answer the questions and get back to his job. "Messy."
"There's no question about that," Detective Shelby says. "Please describe to me the gist of the conversation, from your perspective, that Miss Hollingwood then had with our consultant, Grace Matheson."
"The gist? The woman didn't want to be there. Kept complaining about being pullled away from a fundraiser for a bird. Matheson came out of Nakano's lab, she gave Ms. Hollingwood a piece of her mind, told us what we already figured, that the woman didn't give a lick about her car, which she said she didn't. Hollingwood rose to the occasion everytime, and Matheson kept right at it till she decided to leave. The assistant, the little blonde, at the end she kept looking towards Matheson and making," the Detective lifts his hand in imitation, shaking his head back and forth as well as his hand making cut it out motion across his neck, "motions for Matheson, or us to stop it."
Detective Shelby quirks a brow as this new little piece of information shows itself. "Her assistant made a cut-it-out gesture for everyone to quit bugging her boss?"
"Sure did Detective. Lot of good it did." Poulin shakes his head again though this time it's his own effectuation, not imitation of someone else. "Matheson kept up with her comments, Johnson tried to get the ball moving. Both ladies got to walking, Ms. Hollingwood tripped on her dress and Matheson did her little sweep and dump. We were left to deal with the editor, Nakano went back to her lab."
"Miss Hollingwood continued on her own tirade," Shelby says, filling in a small blank. "Certainly it wasn't just Matheson that kept firing her mouth off, right? And Miss Nakano tried to persuade Matheson to go back into the lab?"
"Hollingwood told Matheson that she didn't know who she herself was so to stop it when Matheson went on about Hollingwood's fundraiser for a bird that wouldn't care about the money it raised, and that the city would be a better charity, pretty much all but called her a bitch outright. Nakano tried, yes. Obviously it didn't work because we're sitting here. It was all a nightmare." There's another shake of his head, as if he still can't believe it happened.
Detective Shelby nods. Now is the question he dreads most, having to ask it of his co-workers, since it is such an accusatory question. "Which, of course leads us to the question that concerns the reason for the lawsuit. Why did you not stop Matheson from leaving and see if Miss Hollingwood wanted to press charges?"
"Really, I thought someone else was getting ahold of Matheson. I guess not. Hollingwood was screeching up a storm about her wrist, and her assistant was trying to calm her down. We failed, plain and simple detective. We made a mistake."
Coren nods, "All right. This hereby concludes the interview between Detective Coren J. Shelby and Detective Pierre Poulin on this Monday, March ninth, two thousand and nine. Thank you for your time, Detective." He turns off the recorder. "If you could send Officer Johnson in, that would excellent," Coren says as he pulls open his notepad to jot something down on it.
"Will do Detective" Poulin rises from his seat, meandering out the door which leaves Shelby alone with his thoughts for a few minutes until Officer Johnson makes his way in. Young, new, likely fresh from academy. His misfortune that day being that he was on shift and that's why he's in with this all. "Sir." Still rabbity and new, one could almost smell the new cop scent on him.
"Officer Johnson," Detective Shelby says, "Please have a seat." He finishes up on his notepad and returns it to his pocket. "Oh man, you were so in the wrong place at the wrong time. What a way to start out your career, in the middle of a fiasco." He shakes his head, "I think it should probably blow over, though, don't you worry."
"Really? You think? It went to hell sir. Really." The young officer shakes his head like it's some nightmare. "Really worried that I might, you know, my job, over it all." Johnson takes a seat opposite Coren, sitting upright unlike the other two, at attention, waiting, unsure.
"I don't see that happening," Coren says, hoping to put Johnson at ease, though doubt his words will ease any such doubts. He turns on the recorder, "Officer Johnson: You were on duty and present on February twenty-seventh during the incident with Grace Matheson committing an act of battery against Nalani Hollingwood. How would you characterize the situation leading up to the act?"
"I was sir, yes sir. I was escorting Ms. Hollingwood back to one of the rooms so that she could give her statement and sign appropriate documents for her report. I would Characterize the situation as intense sir, very intense." Bobble-headed Johnson.
Detective Shelby quirks a smile at the description of the situation. "From your perspective, what was the gist of the conversation held between Nalani Hollingwood and our consultant, Grace Matheson?"
"The gist sir." Johnson obviously needs to think on it. "I think that both participants in the altercation were unhappy that Ms. Hollingwood was present, sir." Johnson is so very sure of this. "Ms. Hollingwood for having to come down there, and Ms. Matheson because of Ms. Hollingwood's tone. I believe and that it was disrupting their work in the lab."
"All right," Detective Shelby says, with a nod. "I hate to have to ask this question, but why did you not detain Miss Matheson and see if Miss Hollingwood wished to press charges?"
Oh, he really doesn't want to answer that question, it's written all over his face. His ears go lobster read as he reaches up to scratch at his forehead. "I.. was too busy with Ms. Hollingwood sir. I should have, hindsight 20/20, but it was my job to escort Ms. Hollingwood. Ms. Matheson also stated that she would be back in five minutes after getting a coffee. I screwed up sir. I take responsibility. Ms Hollingwood was in my protection while she was present in the station and we're now being sued because I failed to follow protocol."
"OK. This concludes the interview between Detective Coren J. Shelby and Officer Richard Johnson this Monday, March ninth, two thousand and nine." Detective Shelby turns off the digital recorder. "I don't think there is a protocol for dealing with Nalani Hollingwood." He stands up. "Don't think too much of this Johnson, it's just an interview. Worst case scenario, you get a reprimand on your file; chances are, nothing. It's not that serious an offence. We all make mistakes. If we let people go just for that, there would be no one working here."
"I'll take that reprimand Sir, when it comes down to it then and no, I don't think there is. They should have just had her assistant file the report Sir. Would have solved everything. Is there anything else sir?" The young officer stays put, waiting.
"Just one thing: Remember to let people know that an officer can visit them to take a statement. Can't have a third party do it unless there's a privacy issue and the person filing the report could become in physical danger if their name is in any way associated with the report. But there's always the option of having an officer visit the person to take their statement and help them file their report." Coren smiles, "Now you can get back to work." His smile dissolves, "I, too, sadly must."
"I'll remember that sir. Thank you Sir." So many Sirs. Dismissed, Johnson's up like a flash, leaving the interrogation room and Shelby to himself and his job.
March 9th: Man, What've Things Come To? |
March 9th: Visitation |