Chapter 15, The Misconduct Hearing
Chapter 15: The misconduct hearing.
After a complete software scan and restoration, RoboCop awakens at the laboratory to hear the bad news from Tyler. She informs him that Riggs had the audacity to directly contact OCP executives to report the events that happened last Friday and that an officer misconduct hearing for him was scheduled as a result.
Although Tyler also explains to him, his own hearing will be postponed now, because Lewis came forward to press charges against Riggs, as a desperate attempt to save him from OCP and the bad intentions they might have for him now that they’re aware he is having interpersonal conflicts with other officers.
Robo is not surprised to hear that OCP is intending to judge him for his recent actions. He knew that facing Riggs was going to bring consequences, although he had been so consumed doing police work, Robo had detached himself from all the emotional turmoil he lived in past days.
Tyler: I guess we’re back again, to play the same charade, we haven’t gone through this since, well, you know, the last hearing they put you through…
RoboCop: Playing…the machine again
Tyler: This time won’t be as bad, as you will just be a witness in the middle of this mess. And if things go well, your own hearing will be cancelled. Plus OCP people aren’t requesting you to have your face exposed…that thing I did, that you requested me to do, I won’t have to do that again and I wouldn’t…
RoboCop: There is no need to fake I am a mechanical corpse this time
Tyler remembers the humiliating episode Robo went through a couple of years ago when a misconduct hearing for him was scheduled after Ellen Murphy intending to sue OCP for what they had done to her deceased husband. Robo had been driving past the house where his family lived for a while and Ellen was smart enough to grasp RoboCop was in reality Alex Murphy, her husband, turned into a cyborg.
Tyler: Lowering your body temperature so your face was colder than usual was a medical risk, are you conscious of that? Could have brought consequences to your organic system…
RoboCop: You won’t have to do that again. She is never coming back.
In the past, Tyler had monitored dreams and recorded memories of RoboCop where his wife and son featured and she’s aware of the emotional pain it meant for him to confront the fact he was unable to get his family and his former life back.
Despite the fact Tyler is still annoyed with Lewis for causing problems to all of them, she hopes that at least her feelings for him are sincere and she’s capable to bring some happiness into his life. Tyler feels connected to RoboCop in a strange way; almost as if he was a son of hers that has been slowly discovering how cruel life can be at times.
Tyler: You will have to apologize at some point of the hearing. We will pretend Lewis requested your help and you went a bit over the top, because she felt physically and emotionally threatened by Officer Riggs.
…Oh and Sergeant Reed and I agreed that…well, at the hearing you should not make any visual contact with Lewis, it is easy for you to get away with it, as you will have your visor on. Do not directly talk to her either. Do you agree with this, Murphy?
RoboCop: I do. I am sorry the problems this incident caused, Tyler.
Tyler’s face enlightens. An immediate smile, she has escalated from being “Dr. Tyler” to be just “Tyler” and in the middle of the problems; there was some personal gain for her. RoboCop acknowledges her as a friend now and not just as his technician.
The officer misconduct hearing of Riggs takes place on the next day. Everything goes as planned. The city hall had sent three law attorneys; two men and one woman dressed in fancy suits, representing the major of the Detroit, Margaret Decourt. The CEO of OCP, the director of operations and Oscar Schysler from Security concepts are there too.
The hearing takes place in a conference room that is in a venue that belongs to the state government right next where the Medivac center is, just some blocks away from the Metro West station. Officer Riggs, Officer Lewis and Sergeant Reed have to wear their formal uniforms. Dr. Tyler is dressed formally too and RoboCop has been walking next to her, both of them in silence.
By the time everyone is taking seats in the room, Johnson seizes an opportunity to approach Lewis to make an ill-conceived comment; “Officer Lewis, I have to say I am not surprised to see you here…every time, RoboCop seems to be engaged in a new problem, you… ” Although Johnson is abruptly interrupted by the old man once he approaches Lewis to greet her in a polite, diplomatic way.
The old man acknowledges the work Lewis did back in Prisma city and he is also playing his own charade. He will be the protective fatherly figure for RoboCop in between the problems, he knows Lewis has been Robo’s partner and friend for a long time, so treating her in a polite way will surely gain Robo’s trust.
The attorneys ask Lewis to expose her case. Sergeant Reed is just observing everything and everyone in silence. This is the theatrical play he wrote and he will witness the performance of his actors now.
Reed is proud to see Lewis plays the victim card well, Riggs is vexed by grasping the hearing is more like a setup for him, a way to punish him for overpassing his sergeant’s authority and there are very slight chances he can be spared for his actions.
Johnson is upset to see, Riggs omitted important details on his report and that Lewis is winning. The surveillance video has been deleted and evidence has been manipulated, the recordings of RoboCop’s memory, audio only, are the evidence presented by Lewis to prove she was threatened by Riggs’ irrational demeanor.
The crude insults towards Lewis are heard by all the people that are present in the room. The attorneys are in silence, taking notes on their electronic tablets. The parts where Riggs gets personal towards RoboCop and treats him as a love rival were deleted. Robo can’t be shown as a personable character, but as a programmed officer that was trying to restore order in an extreme way.
The more Riggs tries to defend himself, the more he sinks. He is desperately trying to inform the attorneys that the evidence was manipulated and that there is a surveillance video somewhere that is not being shown.
John also tries to helplessly convince the attorneys that in reality, Lewis and him do have a personal relationship and that RoboCop is the one that is faulty and out of order, that he is dangerous and should be deactivated. Anne remains in silence, whilst John makes a fool of himself. The attorneys just look at each other in silent complicity and continue taking notes.
RoboCop plays his part well. He acts mechanical and apologizes for his actions using short sentences, without looking or directly talking to Lewis, Riggs or Reed. Lewis takes a deep breath by knowing the moment of the threat has finally arrived. If she can convince the CEO and Johnson she is willing to expose her case to the media moved by the outrage she suffered and not because she is intending to save RoboCop from his own hearing Reed’s plan will succeed.
Attorney1: The evidence you’ve shown Officer Lewis is substantial enough to be taken to a formal court of law. Sexual harassment cases inside the police force and the military are taken very seriously by the major. Are you willing to take this case to the Supreme Court and press formal charges against Officer Riggs?
Lewis: I am willing not only to press formal charges, but to disclose my case to the media, so this never happens again. I am outraged by the treatment female officers get at the Metro West station. We should have the same rights and freedom to work as police officers without having to go through any kind of gender violence or sexual harassment by our male counterparts…
Riggs: Anne…don’t you think you are taking this too far? Please, drop the charges…don’t take this to the Supreme Court, my police profile will be ruined…I am sorry, I really am
Lewis looks at Riggs, her green eyes burned in deep hatred “Don’t you think you were the one that took things too far?” are the thoughts that cross her mind, but knows she can’t say out loud.
Old man: I don’t think that would be necessary Officer Lewis, Mr. Riggs, here, seems genuinely repented by his actions…is there anything OCP can do for you, to make it up for the unpleasant time you went through? The emotional damage…?
Lewis: Well, yes, sir, there is something…I am willing to dismiss this case if Officer Riggs drops the charges against my partner. Officer Murphy has already apologized by his actions and I believe it is unfair if he goes through a misconduct hearing as he is nothing but a…programmed officer.
…I have worked with him for years and I can tell he’s unable to make personal decisions by himself. He just obeys his directives and complies with the orders that are given to him…
Johnson: Precisely. It’s good you finally acknowledge that. Officer Murphy is just a programmed cyborg and I strongly suggest to the OCP CEO that his programming has to be put under the critical eye, when his own hearing takes place…mostly because…
Attorney2: I don’t mean to disrespect you, Mr. Johnson, but we are not judging Officer Murphy here. The accused is Officer Riggs and we need to know if this case will be taken to the Supreme Court or not. We are running out of time. This hearing should have taken no more than an hour, and we have been here for an hour and a half.
Old man: I don’t think the Supreme Court or the media should be involved in a matter that can be resolved behind closed doors. I am pretty sure Officer Riggs is not willing to risk his pension benefits by taking this forward, are you, Officer? It seems a fair deal to me, what Officer Lewis just proposed.
Reed: Riggs, the attorneys are waiting for an answer and we all need to go back to work. Are you willing to drop the charges against Murphy? Lewis will forget about this matter if you do so, then we can leave this incident behind…
Riggs has lost. All of them have cornered him and as much as he’d like to yell out loud RoboCop is a mechanical monster that intended to kill him, John is concerned about losing his job. Lewis seems determined to not stop if he doesn’t stop first.
Riggs wishes Adams would have warned him something like this could have happened to him if he dared to overpass Reed’s authority and contact OCP directly.
Riggs: I do…
Reed: You do, what exactly, Riggs…?
Riggs: I, drop the charges against RoboCop. I hope Officer Lewis does the same thing for me…
The hearing is finally over and everything went as planned. Everyone except for Riggs, Schysler and Johnson are satisfied with the final resolution. As soon as Lewis and Riggs sign some documents the attorneys need to report back to the city hall they walk away from the conference room. Riggs follows as he doesn’t want to be around Lewis, RoboCop or Reed anymore. Schysler receives a personal call and leaves too. It’s only Highland, Johnson, Reed, Lewis, RoboCop and Tyler the ones remaining in the venue.
Johnson: Mr. Highland, I still think, that a meeting for a check-up on RoboCop’s programming should be scheduled at the OCP building…privately, we need to reinstall directive 4 on him
Tyler: I don’t think that would be necessary, Mr. Johnson, as his OCS has been recently restored…he is functioning at a 96% at the moment, why would we want to ruin that?
Old man: Dr. Tyler is right, Why would we mess with his programming now Johnson? Murphy has proved here, he is a cop with principles and as long as he is following his three prime directives and he continues to protect the innocent, like he just did, his programming won’t be touched.
…In fact, I wish I had more like him! Wouldn’t you like that, son…? To have more friends like yourself? You would do an excellent work taking care of your fellow female officers here…
RoboCop remains in silence, sitting down looking directly at the wall that is in front of him. Although he is surprised by the sudden support shown by the old man, Robo deeply knows OCP don’t give anything to him, without requesting anything in return. He has learned that, the bad way.
Reed: I’d hate to cut the celebration, but we still have the problem of Murphy breaking police property, is OCP going to cover the expenses? He broke a Glock 27 semi-automatic gun and the wall in the hallway needs to be…repaired too
Old man: Well of course. You’ll receive a check, Sergeant, to cover for the damaged property.
The people from OCP finally leave the venue and Lewis is waiting for a chance to speak to Robo and let him know she was not serious about her harsh speech where she defined him as a programmed officer. Lewis hadn’t had the chance to speak to him since the night the spent together at Wildcard Edge.
Robo has stood up; however, he is silent and expressionless, still playing the machine role. Tyler is perceptive and senses what Lewis is intending to do; she rapidly stands in front of RoboCop as a subtle way to let Lewis know that approaching her partner in that particular moment is not a good idea. Lewis gets the message, deflated and thinks to herself,
“Alright, his OCP mother won’t let me talk to him now”
Estevez has been off duty for a couple of hours, but hasn’t gone home yet, she is concerned waiting for Lewis smoking a cigarette and sitting on the stairs that are outside the station, when she finally gazes at her friend coming back to the building.
Estevez: Hey, how’s things? What happened? Will I have to declare?
Lewis: No…everything has been resolved now; no one is pressing charges against anyone anymore. You and Kaplan won’t be required as witnesses
Estevez: Oh that is a great relief, listen, I wanted to say, I am sorry about everything
Lewis: You should not have told him! You had promised me this was between you and me!
Estevez: Simon deducted things by himself it was pretty obvious…you and I were pretty obvious…besides how was I supposed to know Riggs was going to blackmail him? He was out of his mind, the fucker is so obsessed with you is just…sick!
Lewis: Well, he won’t be anymore after this…
Estevez: Anne, Riggs didn’t act alone…I am pretty sure Adams brainwashed him, he controls him, encourages him to do stupid shit…
Lewis: I wouldn’t be surprised. Adams is capable of that and even more, but how would he exactly benefit by creating problems between Murphy and Riggs?
Estevez: Call me crazy, but I think he reports to OCP, illegally. Kaplan says he saw him coming from the main offices more than once, when they were partners, although he hasn’t been able to prove anything yet…
Lewis: He’s not clean Barbara, that wouldn’t be the first illegal action he takes…I wonder why Reed hasn’t opened an investigation yet
Estevez: Well, that is a very good question; maybe Reed is overwhelmed with work? …and he needs officers
Lewis: I should get my things, I just want to get out of here, let’s talk about this when we are away from the station shall we?
Estevez: I took the liberty to get your sports bag, you were so nervous you left it on a bench, at the lockers room before the hearing…
Estevez hands Lewis the sports bag and as she opens it to check all her personal belongings, she is reminded the black purse is still there.
However, Barbara refuses to take it back and tells Lewis she should keep it. Lewis knows her friend is trying to mend things and accepts the gift. A gift that will remind her of something incredible that happened to her one night and seems unlikely to happen to her again now.
