As we drove home from the incident, Harold silent in the passenger seat, I could feel the intensity of his humiliation. The man who had faced the horrors of war and emerged with medals for bravery was brought low by a moment of senseless aggression. I knew then that I could not let this go unanswered.

The following morning, I set to work. I pulled out my old contacts, reached out to former colleagues who still fought the good fight. Together, we pieced together a case, documenting every detail of what had happened. Video footage from bystanders, medical reports of Harold’s burns, and eyewitness testimonies began to form a narrative — one that revealed a pattern of behavior from Officer Kowalski and others in his precinct.

It didn’t take long for the local media to catch wind of the story. They were hungry for the truth, eager to expose the undercurrent of misconduct that had plagued our town for too long. Within weeks, the story began to gain traction, shedding light on similar abuses that others had been too afraid to report.