Chapter 5 - Decker Tries Changing His Story
By morning, Decker’s account had changed three times.
First:
I reached for a weapon.
Second:
He believed I was reaching for a weapon.
Third:
I made a sudden movement he interpreted as a lethal threat.
Miller’s recording complicated every version.
So did dispatch audio.
The original reason for the stop was a suspected broken taillight.
No report of a stolen vehicle.
No warrant.
No violent suspect.
No warning that I was armed.
Investigators photographed my sedan.
Both taillights worked.
Decker then claimed the plate had been difficult to read.
That was possible on a dark road.
But the justification for the stop was becoming less clear, not more.
My military rank did not determine whether the shooting was lawful.
The same evidence would matter if I had been a teacher, waitress,
mechanic, or unemployed mother.
That became important to me.
I did not want the story to become:
He shot the wrong powerful person.
May you like
He had shot a person.
The question was whether he could justify it.
