The fallout was swift and merciless.
Thorne’s desperate cooperation exposed the entire corrupt network within the precinct.
Captain Davis was arrested later that afternoon for conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Chief Judge Sterling was forced into early retirement under the looming threat of a Department of Justice investigation.
A month later, I sat in the gallery of a different courtroom, watching as a colleague handed down their sentences.
For civil rights violations, assault on a federal official, and obstruction, Rick Vance received fourteen years in federal prison.
Kyle Thorne, despite his plea deal, received eleven years.
Both were permanently barred from ever holding a badge again.
In the wake of the scandal, the city initiated a massive reform of the police department.
They established an independent civilian oversight commission to investigate police misconduct.
I was given the honor of naming it.
I called it the Gloria Brooks Civilian Oversight Office, after my mother, who had cleaned the courthouse floors so I could one day sit on its highest bench.
