Chapter 1
The jury came back with a verdict of not guilty. There was a collective gasp throughout the courtroom. The victim's family couldn't believe their ears. How was he not guilty? It didn't make sense.
Not guilty..
Those were the sweetest words he'd ever heard, in his twenty-six years of life. Prison was not in his future, and he'd be able to keep his job with the Montgomery Police Department. Lady Luck was definitely on his side. However, he'd come awfully close to losing everything that mattered in his life. His wife, daughter, home and career, just to name a few. He'd obviously flown too close to the sun and had gotten burnt.
It all started a couple of years ago when he graduated from the police academy. His mother and pregnant wife were in attendance. They were so proud of him. He was a young Black man with a respectable career and bright future ahead of him. Arthur Walker was now a badge wearing member of Montgomery's finest. His job description was to protect and serve. To protect and serve white people, that is. Black folks? Well, that was another story.
It all started with a domestic violence call in the Hunter's Point neighborhood. He and his partner, officer Pete Washington, responded to the call. Pete had been on the police force for the last twenty years. He was a no nonsense, old school, good ole boy, with a beer belly and a bad attitude. He didn't particularly like Arthur all that much. The boy's skin was a little too dark for his taste. But he was a fellow badge wearing brother in blue, so, he put up with him.
They pulled the police cruiser up to a split-level house on Amberly Road. Both men exited the vehicle, walked up to the front porch, and banged on the door. A middle aged white man with a receding hair line opened the door. The first thing the officers noticed was the scratches on his arms and neck. The next thing they picked up on was the strong smell of alcohol on his breath.
"What the fuck are y'all doing at my house?" The drunken white man demanded.
"Sir one of your neighbors called in and said that there was a physical altercation going on between you and a female. We just wanna make sure everything is okay." Pete said trying to calm the belligerent man down.
"What goes on in my house is my fucking business!" The man yelled, eyes bulging.
"It's your business unless it's against the law." Arthur corrected him. "Then it becomes our business."
"Fuck you, dude!" He yelled. "Fuck you to hell!"
"Listen buddy," Pete said. "Just let us talk to the woman and make sure that everything is okay. If everything is ok, we'll get back in our car and get outta your hair."
"There's nothing wrong with that bitch!" He assured him. "She's in the living room. She's fine."
"Well, let us see for ourselves and we'll get outta here." Pete promised.
The man stepped aside, allowing the officers to enter his house. When Pete and Arthur walked into the living room they encountered an African American woman, with a swollen eye and busted lip, sitting silently on the couch.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" Arthur asked with concern. "How did you get those bruises on your face?"
"He hit me." She said with tears in her eyes.
"That's my wife, God damnit!" The man exploded "She's been screwing every black bastard this side of the Southern Boulevard! She's been playing me like a goddamn fool!"
"You're a liar!" The woman cried. "I ain't been screwing nobody! You're insane!"
"Bitch! I'll beat your motherfucking..."
