“I don’t need to know all that. I know y’all the cops.”
I laughed a little. “Okay, sir, just tell us what you saw?”
“The killers; they rolled up in a black van, jumped out, and started shooting.”
“You were sitting here by the window when it happened?” Sanchez asked.
“I was watching television.”
“You always up this late?” I asked.
“I don’t get in from work ’til three. I always watch a little TV before I go to bed. I had been here about an hour when they come. Kenyatta and them other two, shot back, and the rest of them scattered.”
“You know what it was about?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“What’s it always about, officer: drugs. That girl and her thugs been regulatin’ this buildin’ for years. People coming and goin’, buying they dope all hours of the day and night.”
“How long have they been setup here?” Sanchez needed to know since this spot wasn’t on his radar.
“Shit, about two, maybe three years,” he said. “Now y’all got to go. You been in here just long enough for me to tell you I ain’t see nothing.” He started walking toward the door.
“Okay, sir, we’re going; but did you get a look at any of the shooters, or can you tell me what kind of van it was?”
“They was Black and so was the van, and that’s all I could see from here. Now y’all got to go,” he said and opened the door. Once we were out in the hall he stuck his head out. “Like I told you outside, officer, I ain’t see nothing,” he said loudly and slammed the door.
Sanchez and I walked away from apartment 213 in silence, and went down the steps. There were still the three guys from the crowd that I picked out, to talk to. I chose the three of them because, unlike most of the crowd who looked like they had just grabbed something to wear to run out and see the show, these three were dressed like they had been out all night doing business. They looked like dope boyz-pure and simple. Some call it profiling; I call it my job.
When I got outside, they had the three of them in separate cars. Sanchez and I got in the car on either side, with the first one. “You wanna tell me what happened out here tonight?”
“No.”
“Look, we can do this anyway you want; but you are going to tell me what happened.”
“No I ain’t. I got the right to remain silent,” he said with a smug look on his face like he had the world by the tail.
“That’s only if you were under arrest, which you’re not. Right now, I have all the rights. And I got the right to kick your fuckin’ ass, and then I’ll arrest you for resisting arrest,” I said.
“Yeah, but you ain’t gonna do that, ’cause I’ll sue your ass for police brutally.”