Shadow Empire

Chapter 675 We are all brothers, saying thank you is too blunt [666+20]
Chief Blue is only the chief of police. He does not enjoy the same treatment as the mayor, so reporters are not so "tolerant" of him.

After he described the process, a reporter immediately asked, "Chief Blue, why would you consider using lethal force to stop a crime in progress instead of using non-lethal force?"

"You had batons, or other weapons that would not kill people, why didn't you choose those weapons, but just chose to shoot?"

"Is there any special reason that prompted you to make such a decision?"

"For example, their refugee status."

Director Blue looked at the reporter and the sign on his chest, then shook his head. "I don't quite understand what you mean and the purpose of what you said. The reason I made these decisions is that they are destroying private property of citizens and attacking, injuring and even killing innocent federal citizens."

"As the chief of the city's police department, taxpayers pay our salaries with their taxes, so we have the right and must protect the safety of taxpayers!"

"When their lives were threatened and our dissuasion was ineffective, in order to protect their legal rights, I had no choice but to order the police officers to shoot."

The reporter continued to ask, "Did you know they were refugees before you ordered the shooting?"

This reporter had always wanted to link the police shooting with the refugees' identities. Lance had told him about this, and he was very alert and determined not to be fooled.

If he answers "I know", then tomorrow's newspaper will report that "the police chief ordered the shooting only after he was sure that the suspect was a refugee", and it seems that there is no problem.

But when it is over-interpreted, it makes people feel as if the police chief ordered the killing of those people because he knew they were refugees.

He hated the refugees, or at least was hostile to them.

But what if the answer is “I don’t know”?

Reporters will write, "The police chief ordered the shooting without knowing the identities and specific circumstances of these people." Although this is fine, what will people who read it think?
Could it be that he didn't even know whether these people were suspects, but just thought they looked like suspects, and then gave the order to shoot?

Sometimes, once public opinion boils over, right or wrong is no longer important; what matters is to appease public opinion.

If there is someone behind this who is pushing all this to happen, there is no doubt that Director Blue must resign and may even be investigated by higher authorities.

This was a heavy blow to Mayor Williams' prestige. As the "boss" of the city, he couldn't even protect his own people.

When those people in the Bay Area need to take down the heads of other departments, they can use Director Blue as an example to convince them.

Mayor Williams can't even protect an important subordinate like the police chief. How can you expect him to protect you?

Sometimes it doesn't matter what the truth is, what matters is what people want.

So no matter how you answer, it’s a bad answer. This is a trap!
At this moment, Director Blue was sweating a little. He thanked Lance's ancestors from the bottom of his heart. This was not a swear word, it came from his heart.

Before coming, Lance told him a lot of ways to deal with these reporters, as well as what kind of difficulties and problems he might face.

Although this question was not completely correct, the core of it was correct!

He pursed his lips and said, "No matter who they are, as long as they dare to hurt innocent federal citizens, I have the courage to draw my gun on them."

"The police are the city's security guards. Our duty is to protect the safety of every federal citizen. It has nothing to do with who the criminal is!"

Mayor Williams and James both looked slightly surprised. Mayor Williams was about to interrupt the question, but he didn't expect Director Blue to answer it so well.

He was wondering if Lance was behind it, but James just thought he gave a great answer!
This question full of traps did not stump him, as another reporter immediately started asking questions.

"Director Blue, I find that everything you have said so far is based on your personal description of us. We cannot judge the truth of these things."

"It's possible that you remembered it wrongly, or..."

He didn't continue talking, but smiled and said, "We want some evidence to prove that what you said is true."

"Rather than to cope with what we made up."

Mayor Williams frowned. He didn't know that there was looting and burning on the road. He thought that the incident only happened at the demolition site.

Not only him, these reporters also thought that bad things happened at the demolition site, so they asked this question.

Now that people are dying and getting injured, those rioting workers will surely not be so stupid as to throw dirty water on themselves, which will definitely lead to wrangling.

In politics, uncertainty and ambiguity often mean there is greater room for maneuver.

Mayor Williams wanted to speak, but Chief Blue spoke first, "On the road from the new port area to the old industrial area, the rioting refugee group is smashing, looting and burning roadside shops and robbing passers-by."

"They are in the hospital now. You can go there and see what the streets where they wreaked havoc look like now."

"I must reiterate that all my actions and decisions were based on protecting the property and personal safety of federal citizens." "Before I ordered to shoot, I followed relevant regulations and tried to stop the crime but failed. The criminals had obvious violent resistance to arrest and might hurt me and my colleagues, so we chose to shoot them."

"If you have solid evidence to accuse me of something, then I welcome you to report me to the Public Prosecutor's Office."

"If you don't have this evidence, but you want to frame me for my motives."

His gaze lingered on the faces of several reporters for a moment. He didn't say anything, but his expression was full of threat!

Mayor Williams nodded slightly. It was a very appropriate speech, well-reasoned and no one could find fault with it.

Some reporters originally thought that they could break the deadlock with Director Blue, but they did not expect that his answer would be so tough and without any flaws. Even if a trap was set, he did not fall into it.

As for the others here, there is no point in asking them.

Mayor Williams himself is a veteran politician with decades of experience, and his answer will only be more stable than Chief Blue's.

Although Councilman James is a new generation politician in the city, he has worked with Mayor Williams for so many years and has been influenced by his father. Even if his answer is not impressive, he will not make mistakes.

As for Arthur...

There was nothing you could get out of that shit-covered guy.

Although they were unwilling, they finally ended their harassment of Chief Blue.

Chief Blue also stood back there. He finally breathed a sigh of relief. His hair inside his wide-brimmed police hat was already wet. In just a short while, it was soaked with sweat.

Next came some more neutral reporters, whose questions were easily answered by Mayor Williams and James.

The press conference ended very quickly, and the content released at the conference began to spread around in a very short time.

All the major newspapers that have already finalized their drafts have begun to rearrange their front-page headlines and printing tasks. They understand that there will be a huge explosion in tomorrow's newspapers!
After the press conference, Mayor Williams kept Chief Blue in a small room, where he first affirmed the police chief's decision and ability today.

He then talked about his performance at the press conference, "You said it very well, showing the sense of responsibility of the federal police. Did you come up with these yourself?"

Director Blue didn't dare to take credit for it. "Mr. Lance told me to say that."

Although he had guessed it, it was still a shock to Mayor Williams when he said it!
He knew what was going to happen without even coming here, and let Chief Blue know how to deal with it.

Even he, who was full of confidence in the future at this moment, felt a little scared of Lance.

Lance, who was taken more seriously by Mayor Williams and had some different emotions, was walking towards the tallest building in the naval base.

"Mr. Lance, I will add a pass to your car later, and you can come in directly in the future!"

The colonel had a smile on his face. Last time, he was the one who went to Lance's wedding to help Admiral Miles deliver things. Naturally, he also received some gifts from Lance.

The gifts are great, who doesn’t like those little cuties?

So his attitude was also very good. He was Admiral Miles' confidant and a member of the Miles family. He was well aware that there was a cooperative relationship between the entire family and Lance, and that the relationship was developing towards familiarity and in-depth development.

Maybe in the future Lance will become one of their best friends like the representatives of the arms groups.

Giving Lance a pass actually only allows him to drive directly to the downstairs of the headquarters. If he wants to enter the headquarters, he still needs the permission of Admiral Miles or other responsible persons.

This kind of worthless favor is just given, and compared with the benefits it can bring, it is actually nothing.

Lance said thank you and asked casually, "Have you finished your cigar last time?"

"I have some more over there, take some when you leave."

The colonel didn't want to laugh because he had to maintain his serious image in the barracks, but... he couldn't help but smile, so much so that the patrolling soldiers who happened to pass by couldn't believe their eyes!

The tyrannical colonel who could scare the new recruits to death actually smiled?

"The things are very good, I like them very much!" He paused and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Lance shook his head indifferently, "We are friends."

"Friends should help each other!"

The colonel was moved by Lance's charisma and agreed with his point of view, "Yes, we are friends!"

(End of this chapter)