The citation of case law caught Miller off guard for a fraction of a
second, but it only infuriated him further. He saw it not as knowledge,
but as defiance. "Are you a lawyer now? Turn around, now! This is a
lawful order. You are resisting."
"I am not resisting, and this is an unlawful detention," Maya said
firmly. "I have committed no crime. You have no cause to search me or
detain me."
hat's it," Miller snarled. He lunged forward, grabbing Maya
roughly by her left shoulder.
Instinctively, from decades of defensive tactics training, Maya
tensed and shifted her weight, making herself a harder target to move.
She didn't strike back, but she didn't collapse like a ragdoll either. This
lack of immediate submission sent Miller over the edge.
"Stop resisting! Stop resisting!" Miller began to shout at the top of
his lungs, creating a narrative for the body cameras that were
supposedly rolling, though Maya doubted they were turned on.
Vance rushed in from the other side, grabbing her right arm. They
twisted her arms behind her back with excessive, painful force. Maya
grimaced, feeling a sharp twinge in her shoulder.
"Officers, you are making a grave mistake," Maya warned through
gritted teeth, her voice still remarkably controlled given the pain.
Maya stood silently against the cruiser, her hands going numb
from the tight cuffs. She observed everything. She memorized the
officers' demeanor, the way they joked with each other now that the
'threat' was neutralized, the sheer arrogance of their actions. She noted
the lack of Miranda rights being read, the lack of an actual search of her
person after claiming she was a burglary suspect. They didn't care
about a crime; they cared about control and intimidation.
"So, Maya," Miller said, leaning against the cruiser next to her, a
smirk on his face. "You wanna tell us what you were really doing out
here? Looking for an easy score? A nice car left unlocked?"
"I am going to ask you one final time to remove these cuffs and
release me," Maya said, her voice dropping an octave, carrying a
chilling authority that made Vance momentarily shift his weight
uncomfortably.
Miller laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Release you? Oh, honey,
you're going downtown. You're getting booked for resisting arrest,
failure to identify, and loitering. You messed with the wrong cops