Several others received apologies.

Some refused them.

Adrian understood why.

An apology could not return months in jail.

It could not restore jobs.

Relationships.

Reputations.

Time.

The viral video remained online.

Every few months, it resurfaced.

A new account would post the same twenty seconds.

Mercer yelling at Malik.

Adrian stepping in.

The fight.

Mercer hitting the pavement.

Then Adrian raising the Internal Affairs identification.

Millions loved that ending.

Instant karma.

He messed with the wrong guy.

Officer didn’t know who he was dealing with.

Adrian hated that last one most.

One afternoon, Malik sent him a screenshot.

Another page had uploaded the video.

Caption:

Racist cop attacks stranger, doesn’t realize he’s Internal Affairs.

Malik wrote:

Still missing the point.

Adrian replied:

Yep.

A few minutes later:

Want to help me fix it?

That was how they ended up speaking together at the police academy.

Nearly two hundred recruits sat inside the auditorium.

Adrian stood at the podium.

Malik sat offstage.

The recruits had already been shown the video.

Predictably, some laughed when Mercer fell.

Adrian waited until the room became quiet.

Then he played the beginning again.

Freeze.

Malik against the wall.

Mercer’s fist twisted into his hoodie.

The clear bag near Malik’s face.

Adrian asked:

“What do you see?”

A recruit raised his hand.

“Officer misconduct.”

“Now you do.”

Another recruit said:

“Evidence fabrication.”

“Now you know that.”

Adrian pointed toward the image.

“But imagine you’re standing across the street and you don’t know what happened before.”

Silence.

“You see a police officer.”

“Uniform.”

“Badge.”

“You see a teenager against the wall.”

“Who do you believe?”

Nobody answered.

Adrian nodded.

“That’s why this job is powerful.”

He advanced the video.

Now he was visible entering the frame.

“What do you know about me here?”

A recruit answered:

“Internal Affairs.”

Adrian shook his head.

“No.”

“You know that because I told you.”

He pointed toward the frozen screen.

“Mercer doesn’t know.”

“What does he see?”

Nobody volunteered.

Adrian answered himself.

“Another Black man.”

He played the confrontation.

Mercer shoved him.

Tried to restrain him.

Adrian took him down.

Then came the badge.

The recruits watched Mercer’s face change.

Adrian paused it.

“This is everybody’s favorite part.”

Several recruits smiled.

“Why?”

One answered:

“He knows he’s in trouble.”

“Correct.”

Another:

“He realizes he attacked another officer.”

Adrian nodded.

“Also correct.”

Then he closed the laptop.

“But what if I wasn’t?”

Silence.

“What if I delivered packages?”

“What if I taught high school?”

“What if I cleaned offices at night?”

“What if I was unemployed?”

He walked away from the podium.

“Would his behavior become acceptable?”

“No, sir,” several recruits answered.

“Then stop treating the badge reveal like the moment I became deserving of respect.”