Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 252 Director Zhang Intervenes
Zhengming District Public Security Bureau, Office of the Executive Deputy Director
After lunch, Director Zhang was planning to go to his single room next door for a nap to make up for the sleep he missed last night due to the sudden emergency.

"Dong dong dong."

Liaison officer Xiao Li pushed open the door with a stack of documents, followed by a middle-aged policeman.

"Director Zhang, this is Lin Qi from the Inspection Team. He's the one who went to Zhongshan Institute this morning."

Lin Qi has a fairly ordinary appearance, but a black mole between his eyebrows adds a touch of specialness to his otherwise unremarkable appearance.

Upon hearing the secretary's introduction, he immediately snapped to attention, his voice steady, and reintroduced himself, hoping to leave a lasting impression on the bureau leaders.

"Hello Director Zhang, this is Lin Qi from the Inspection Team, currently in charge of the team's complaints center. This is the investigation report."

How do I contact the complaints center to investigate a case? Although they are both inspectors, their responsibilities are different. Director Zhang glanced at Xiao Li standing next to him.

Xiao Li kept his mouth tightly shut and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Oh, one of us." Director Zhang took the case file, gestured for Lin Qi to sit down, and said with a serious expression, "Lin Qi, you must investigate this case thoroughly and carefully. Whoever is responsible will be held accountable. Do you understand?"

Lin Qi straightened his head, leveled his shoulders, and placed his hands naturally on the desk, just like a student attentively attending class.

"Director Zhang, rest assured, I will handle this matter impartially."

Director Zhang nodded, quite satisfied with the other party's attitude: "Okay, tell me about the case."

Lin Qi coughed and then recounted the details of his investigation into the case of dereliction of duty at the Zhongshan Institute that morning.

After listening, Director Zhang frowned and asked, "According to you, besides the auxiliary police officer sleeping in the detention room, the dispatcher in the duty room also needs to be dealt with?"

“Yes, Director Zhang.” Lin Qi noticed Director Zhang’s confusion and explained, “The auxiliary police officer was sleeping on duty when he was supposed to be continuously watching over the detainees. His responsibility is definitely clear.”

The main issue for the dispatcher is that, according to their job requirements, in addition to receiving calls, they are also responsible for reviewing the station's surveillance footage. At their workstation, besides a computer that manages the 110 emergency call platform, there is another monitoring computer that is powered on 24/7.

Director Zhang, who also rose through the ranks from the bottom, was hearing for the first time that dispatchers had the obligation to review surveillance footage.

"What if the dispatcher happens to be answering an emergency call or operating the 110 system while the person being detained is in the cage committing suicide?"

Lin Qi nodded: "Then he has no responsibility."

Director Zhang sighed, "If the dispatcher had just glanced at the surveillance footage, this tragedy wouldn't have happened."

As Director Zhang finished speaking, the office fell silent.

After a long pause, Director Zhang finally spoke, asking, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

Lin Qi shook his head: "No."

After a moment's hesitation, Director Zhang finally asked, "Are neither the on-duty police officers nor the on-duty supervisors at the station responsible?"

Lin Qi said calmly, "No. According to the investigation, the on-duty police officers and leaders all followed the procedures, so they bear no responsibility." Director Zhang was somewhat surprised. He had originally planned to give them some leniency, but the result was that they bore no responsibility.

He tapped the table and said in a deep voice, "Tell me the truth, do the police officers bear any responsibility, or have they broken the law?"

Lin Qi lowered his head slightly and said cautiously, "Absolutely not. According to the surveillance footage, the duty officer in Zhongshan was very responsible. After sending the person to the detention room, he personally registered the detention form and accompanied the person during the body search. All the prescribed procedures were followed."

Director Zhang felt a sense of relief, but he raised his voice and said, "Have you investigated thoroughly? How can the on-duty police officers and leaders not bear responsibility for such a major safety incident at the station?"

Lin Qi was taken aback. He glanced at Xiao Li standing next to Director Zhang and, seeing that the other party had no expression, felt a little uneasy.

He tentatively asked, "Then should we hold leaders accountable?"

Director Zhang closed the file and handed it over: "Suspend him from his post for now."

It's suspension for investigation, not being sent to the supervisory commission; they're probably planning to drag it out. This Chen Shu from Zhongshan Institute seems to be following Director Zhang's connections, just like the rumors say. Lin Qi's mind raced; after taking the file, he asked softly.

What about the subsequent administrative penalties?

"A demerit has been recorded."

The Secretariat next door

Xiao Li poured a cup of hot water and placed it on the desk, saying, "Director Lin, you've worked hard up front. Have some water to soothe your throat."

Lin Qi was nearly forty, but judging from his appearance, he should be about ten years older than Xiao Li. As the director of the complaint center under the inspection team, his administrative rank was deputy section chief, which was one level higher than Xiao Li, who was still a clerk.

However, there was no time to be careless at this moment. He quickly stood up, bent over, and placed his hands on the side of the cup a few times, saying, "Secretary Li, thank you. You're too kind."

Xiao Li exchanged a few polite words, but a hint of smugness lingered in his heart.

After the two chatted for a long time about pointless nonsense, Lin Qi leaned over and asked, "Secretary Li, according to regulations, I have to report this case to our Captain Zhang so he can assign an inspector to investigate. What do you think?"

Lin Qi's meaning was clear: he couldn't proactively take over the case, as the procedures wouldn't allow it. He could conduct some questioning and spot checks at the police station in the morning using any pretext, but he lacked the authority to actually handle the case.

Xiao Li took a sip of water and said calmly, "Didn't you say in front of Director Zhang earlier that the police were definitely capable of handling this case? Then it wouldn't matter who handled it, right?"

In fact, ever since Lin Qi learned that Director Zhang was paying attention to this case, he had been extremely eager to take it over and handle it well. He would then use some tricks, such as choosing a time when Director Zhang was on duty, taking the case file to get approval and signature, and then praising his hard work and loyalty. He estimated that this would improve his career prospects by a little.

Besides, this deputy director is so young, and he's someone favored by Director Zhang. Although he received a demerit this time, according to regulations, he can't be promoted within a year.

Lin Qi said in a low voice, "Secretary Li, since Director Zhang has already handled this case, I think it would be better if I took the lead in handling it. Better safe than sorry."

Are you trying to intimidate me by using my boss as leverage?
Xiao Li glanced at Lin Qi and chuckled inwardly for a long time.

(End of this chapter)