[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by Suudy

Good luck. I don't know how small of a town Covington is, but my buddy had a run in with the police when we were in college (and Pullman is a small town). Long story, but in the end the officer's police report was full of bull#*$?, and there were about 10 of us that were there that could testify against it. Initially my buddy was going to fight it, but his discussion with a lawyer went like this:

Lawyer: "Do you like living in Pullman?"
Friend: "Yes."
Lawyer: "How many police officers does Pullman have?"
Friend: "I don't know."
Lawyer: "25. Now, if we pursue this complaint, and succeed in having it entered against him, how many of those other officers will know about it?"
Friend: "All of them."
Lawyer: "How many of those officers will know who filed the complaint?"
Friend: "All of them."
Lawyer: "Would you still want to live in Pullman after every single one of the officers knows who filed a complaint against a friend and fellow officer?"
Friend: "Probably not."

In the end, his lawyer negotiated dropping the charges. No complaint was filed, and my buddy had no convictions (though he does have an arrest record).

The police have _a lot_ of power, even beyond just their simple authority granted by law. Their influence is often enough. And if Covington is small enough, I bet every single one of those officers would know who these officials were if they pursued some sort of complaint against Short.

True, and we already know the department has corruption issues to begin with.