Chapter 21 - Michael’s defense changes
After the dispatch message surfaced, Michael stopped saying he believed I was an impostor.
His defense shifted.
He knew I was a brigadier general.
He claimed he believed I was using authentic federal credentials for an unauthorized private purpose.
That was closer to reality.
Still incomplete.
He said my threat months earlier made him believe I had come to intimidate Emma into excluding him from property decisions.
Then why draw a weapon?
He said he believed the secure phone could be recording classified material inside his home without consent.
That is not how consent works with a government call.
Nor does it justify pointing a firearm at the caller.
Then he argued he was conducting an investigatory detention.
His own department’s policy became a problem.
Off-duty family conflict.
No immediate felony observed.
Verification already received.
No patrol backup requested.
No warrant.
No safety assessment.
His explanations kept becoming more legally sophisticated.
The original video remained less sophisticated.
“Put that phone down or I swear I’ll drop you, you fraud.”
Fraud.
May you like
His word.
Before the lawyers.
