America: The Gear-Up Detective

Rod gently pushed the kitchen window.

With a click, the window slid gently.

Rod cautiously entered the kitchen.

He reached into his waistband, drew his pistol, slowly cocked it, and, using the kitchen counter as cover, tiptoed toward the living room.

The dim lighting became Rod's shield, and the closer he got, the clearer the sounds from the living room became.

"Damn it, who would be looking for you at this time?"

That was Emily's anxious voice.

"Let me go, I can pretend nothing happened."

Even if you killed Tessa, I won't tell anyone!

Please!

That was Nicholas's pleading voice.

"Fuck! No matter who comes today, you have to go down and keep Tessa company. Do you think I don't know that?"

You deliberately gave me cyanide, implying that I poisoned Tessa's coffee...

Rod initially wanted to rush up and subdue Emily, but upon hearing this, he silently took out his phone, first turning on the recorder, then switching to video recording after a moment's thought.

In court, evidence obtained through recordings without the consent of the parties involved is not legally valid.

Although the current situation is somewhat special, Rod cannot guarantee that the recording under these circumstances will be valid.

However, the video recording is different. This can be explained by the fact that Rod was worried about the trouble that would follow if he entered Nicholas's house, so he used his phone to record, acting as a law enforcement recorder.

According to the detective department's regulations, this falls under the category of "objective record" in emergency situations.

If a detective discovers a serious crime in progress, such as the imminent destruction of evidence or the commission of a crime, and there are no other recording devices at the scene, then Rod's cell phone recording is considered an "on-the-spot statement," and the video can be admitted to the court.

Of course, this is on the condition that Rod immediately hand over the video to the police station to ensure the integrity of the chain of evidence.

A dedicated technical team will then review the video to ensure it has not been edited or composited.

Rod held his phone in his left hand and a gun in his right, with his right wrist resting on his left hand to ensure the camera could always record everything happening in front of his gun.

Rod approached stealthily, still hearing Hank's pounding sounds from outside the door.

The sounds from inside the living room became increasingly clear.

"Do you think I don't know anything? Tessa cheated on you, you held a grudge, wanted revenge but didn't dare to divorce her, so in the end you could only hook up with me."

Cyanide? Ha, how did you even come up with that?

"Forty-odd grams, do you hate her that much?"

"What do you know? Do you even know what kind of life I've been living all these years?"

After saying that, Nicholas ignored him. From Rhodes's perspective, he simply buried his head under the sofa and remained silent.

Seeing that Emily's knife was about to stab Nicholas, Rhodes knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Drop the knife, now!

Do not move!

Rhodes leaped out from behind the restaurant counter, pointing his gun at Emily, who was dressed in a wedding gown.

Emily was startled by Rod's sudden appearance.

However, she seemed to be in a strange state at the moment. She was extremely excited and looked at Rhodes. After the initial surprise, she showed no fear at all.

She turned and raised the knife, aiming it at Rod.

"Officer, I didn't expect you to arrive so early?"

It seems the Los Angeles police are considerably more capable than the New York police.

Rhodes frowned and asked, "What does that mean?"

Emily didn't answer, but instead kicked Nicholas.

"Don't move! Drop the knife, now!

Don't make me say it a third time!

"Bang!"

At the gate, Hank finally kicked open the sturdy wooden door.

Their attention shifted slightly.

While Emily was doing this, she pressed the switch on the wall with her left hand.

Bright light shone from the ceiling, and Hank, who had just entered, instinctively squinted and let out a soft groan of pain.

The instant the lights came on, Emily forced her eyes open, raised the knife, and stabbed at Rhodes.

If Rod were blinded by the light like Hank, he might not have been able to react in that short distance of two or three meters.

However, the 【Glasses Full of Love】: When equipped, it can provide 50% immunity to strong light stimulation, improve dynamic vision by 20%, strengthen eye muscles, improve eyesight, and increase mental state by 1.

The equipment's immunity to strong light only made Rhode feel a slight increase in the brightness of the environment for a fleeting moment; otherwise, he felt nothing.

Rhodes even looked at Emily charging towards him with some surprise, a thought flashing through his mind: 'Has she always been this brave?'

Instinctively, Rod pulled the trigger.

"Bang bang bang bang bang..."

In just two seconds, the 17 rounds of 9mm ammunition in the standard magazine of the FN509 pistol were emptied.

Emily's pure white wedding dress was stained red, and she lay motionless on the ground.

Rhodes was a very accurate shot; not a single bullet was wasted.

Behind Emily, Nicholas was leaning against the wall, trembling.

Hank also came to his senses, looked at Emily lying on the ground, silently put away his sidearm, and walked towards Rhodes.

Seeing Hank approaching, Rod removed the magazine from the FN509, and after confirming that it was empty, handed the gun to Hank.

Hank patted Rhodes on the shoulder. "The FID will call you in 48 hours. Until then, I'll keep your badge and weapon for now."

FID, or Force Investigation Division, is an independent investigative unit within the LAPD, responsible for investigating all major use-of-force incidents involving police officers, including officer shootings and deaths of suspects in custody.

According to Los Angeles Police Department regulations, all shooting incidents, whether or not they are disputed, must be investigated by the FID.

After a law enforcement officer fires a shot, he must make a formal statement to the FID investigator in the presence of a union representative (LAPPL) after a 48-hour "cooling-off period." During this period, it is forbidden to discuss the details of the case.

After completing its investigation, the FID will submit a report to the LAPD's command system to determine whether the shooting was in accordance with departmental policy, and will then submit the investigation results to the District Attorney's Office (DA), which will decide whether to bring criminal charges against the detective.

Of course, Rhodes' phone camera was recording the whole time, clearly capturing the scene of Emily charging at him with a knife. According to the principle of escalating force, Rhodes' action of firing a gun would not have any problem.

Hank put away Rod's badge and pistol, turned and walked over to Emily, who was lying on the ground, and performed first aid on her.

Rod's phone didn't stop recording, so he took out Hank's phone and dialed 911. "This is Rod Lee, police badge number 95270825, Westwood district. There has been a police shooting incident."

A female suspect was shot and is dead. The male suspect has been apprehended and requires backup and an ambulance.

Requesting assistance from detectives and the technical team.

Then, Rod walked over to Nicholas, cut the ropes and sex handcuffs on his legs, and put on sturdier silver handcuffs instead.

"I recorded everything you just said."

"You provided Tessa with cyanide and tricked her into poisoning Tessa's coffee, right?"

Nicholas lowered his head, his lips trembling slightly, and whispered, "It's me."

Rod turned to Hank. "Murder, complicity in a crime, obstruction of justice... hmm, how many years in prison is that?"

After a pause, Rod's gaze swept over the pool of blood on the ground, and he said in a low voice, "The wedding dress is quite beautiful."

The support arrived quickly.

Emily had stopped breathing, but she was still put into the ambulance.

A little-known fact: only doctors, coroners, or forensic pathologists can officially issue a death certificate. So, theoretically, even if a suspect is hacked to pieces in front of Rhodes, Rhodes has no right to declare her officially dead.

Of course, "determining death" and "declaring death" are two different concepts.

Jose and Jackson, who arrived later, took Nicholas back to the police station.

Rod sat on the collapsed, sturdy wooden door, watching the departing vehicles, and suddenly realized he had forgotten something.

"God! Grandpa arranged a family gathering!"