The Wolf of Los Angeles-Chapter 462: Shared Misery

[Chapter 462: Shared Misery]

It was no exaggeration to say that the Los Angeles faction and the San Francisco faction were completely at odds.

Just like Hawke wouldn't waste time unmasking the mastermind behind the Gunman incident, if this underground community conflict boiled over into the open, even the San Francisco side could guess who was behind it with their eyes closed.

Either don't get involved, or go all out with a grand, unstoppable showdown.

Hawke asked Sasha, "You received the Philip data from Campos, right?"

"I did," Sasha replied. "I've formed a special team to handle the media narrative around this event."

Hawke emphasized, "From the data, pick out the most shining, admirable parts of Philip's life, and highlight those."

Sasha said, "He has plenty worth showcasing."

Hawke's choice of Philip wasn't random; this guy was different from the scumbag from the past life.

Philip chose an unconventional path not by nature, but in order to earn money to support his sister and mother, to save for his sister's medical bills.

This African American man had no criminal or legal record.

Among the lower-class African American community, that was rare.

The black Ford Explorer Campos provided was properly transferred to Philip's name with all legal procedures.

Plus, Philip was equipped with various protections and Buffs, all of which put the SFPD and San Francisco authorities in a very weak position, giving the marginalized groups hope.

Hawke told Caroline, "Prepare media resources to deploy immediately on the Philip incident."

Caroline nodded.

Hawke also called PR director Hearst, instructing to begin outreach right after the news release.

...

That night, Brian visited Hawke in Beverly Hills, and they discussed matters for a long time.

Both on Twitter and the Mattachine Society sides, everyone held their positions, waiting for the SFPD to make the first move.

---

At the San Francisco police station, Scott, in charge of public relations, after hearing his subordinates' report, hurried out.

He knocked on the police chief's office door and entered once permitted.

Chief Heather, an Asian American woman and a well-known feminist in San Francisco, rose through the ranks partly due to her abilities, partly due to the local government's support for women's movements.

In some way, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio had learned his feminism push from San Francisco.

But Antonio chose the fire department, and after one big fire, he was utterly defeated.

Scott handed Heather files, saying, "The investigation into the unnatural death of the black man in the Atherton district is complete."

Heather carefully read the documents and asked, "Any issues with the media?"

Scott detailed, "I mobilized everyone to contact hundreds of media, including online outlets and freelance journalists, checked residents and surveillance on site, confirming no one recorded the incident."

In short, the SFPD checked everywhere possible.

The two officers' body cams weren't turned on, so no footage would leak.

Without video, even if witnesses spoke up, they could be labeled as spreading rumors.

With law enforcement in SFPD's hands, 'rumors' was an official stance.

Heather understood and said after reading, "The briefing will be in two days. Let's observe for one more day; if the media stays quiet, proceed with the planned announcement."

Scott understood: that black weirdo Philip must have died suddenly of illness. "I'll arrange it now."

If the deceased wasn't black or the officers weren't white, this wouldn't reach Heather's desk. She paused and asked, "Does officer Williams have a prior record?"

Scott didn't hide, "Yes, previous abuse complaints against black suspects."

"Move him from front-line to some insignificant post temporarily," Heather instructed. "No one likes a troublemaker, especially under the media spotlight and police watch. When this dies down, find an excuse to fire or retire him early."

Scott replied, "Understood."

Heather added, "Calm the public opinion quickly."

"Yes."

Scott took the files back to the office and assigned tasks.

---

On media fronts in San Francisco and California, the focus was on Gavin Newsom and his new girlfriend, and the soon-to-release new Superman movie.

Though some reported on the black man's death at the bottom of society, it barely stirred public interest.

Even Eddie and Williams, both put on forced leave, barely cared.

Everything remained calm.

The San Francisco police held the briefing on time, with Scott emphasizing the incident.

"...The SFPD received a report of a suspicious black man on 11th street in Atherton, suspected of vehicle theft. The dispatch sent patrol car 102 with officers Eddie Fister and Williams Adams nearby. They found the African American man, Philip Wright, during a routine check, he suddenly collapsed. Officer Eddie performed CPR, but unfortunately, Philip died of cardiopulmonary failure."

Scott presented the autopsy report from the SFPD medical center.

Philip had few relatives, the only two were in Japan, so no strong skepticism arose on scene.

Scott appeared confident and even invited questions.

A male reporter asked, "Were the officers' actions lawful?"

Scott said, "Completely lawful, following SFPD procedures."

A black female reporter asked, "Did the process involve racial discrimination since a black man died during white officers' enforcement?"

Scott's expression turned serious, "I can responsibly say on behalf of the SFPD that neither officer violated Philip's rights during enforcement."

A white female reporter asked, "Many SFPD officers have body cams..."

"Yes, but no rules require them to activate recording during enforcement," Scott responded calmly. "They decide when to use it. These two are experienced and judged accordingly, prioritizing rescue when Philip became ill."

No video, no audio, no witnesses. Scott handled questions easily.

The briefing ended smoothly. Seeing no dirt, most reporters wrote generic articles.

Of course, some reporters tried digging for dirt.

The best defense was to use the family front and media to stir traffic regardless.

But they couldn't find Philip's relatives.

---

On the North Bay area vacation villa, Hierro, monitoring the network, saw San Francisco news release and immediately informed Campos.

Campos watched the briefing video and called Los Angeles, "The SFPD just announced Philip's death due to cardiopulmonary failure."

Hawke ordered, "Keep Betty, have everyone else return to Los Angeles. The Japan team proceed as planned."

"Yes," Campos replied. "Notify everyone: except Betty, all evacuate tonight."

...

Hierro started calling. Juan and Lareya packed first, ending their vacation.

In a nearby hotel, Elena and Juan booked flights out of San Francisco.

Campos also contacted Japan, telling the team accompanying Philip's family to be ready.

If possible, bring the two back to Los Angeles.

...

At the Coast Building, Hawke and Campos spoke by phone, relaying the message to Sasha, reminding, "Start tomorrow morning."

---

The night passed uneventfully; the SFPD felt the matter would cool with time.

Early the next morning, at Twitter's news editors' meeting room, Sasha gathered the special team.

She ordered, "Hoffman, push the SFPD Philip briefing as the news headline. I'll publish a video news side by side for contrast. Carrick and your team maintain the heat and guide public opinion."

Two young men responded.

Sasha looked to two younger men, "You two expose the news content I gave you in order."

"Understood," they answered.

The meeting lasted less than ten minutes; then Sasha led them to a dedicated office, busy at work.

...

The SFPD briefing successfully made Twitter's news headline.

Alongside was Sasha's video news.

San Francisco publicly claimed Philip died suddenly from an illness, widely reported and spreading for a day.

Now, Twitter exposed the unedited footage, the most shocking.

Less than ten minutes, placed at the Twitter news top.

"San Francisco Enforcement Tragedy: The Truth Behind Philip's Death!"

Sasha used her power to push this news to American users.

...

In the operation director's office, Caroline called Fox News, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN heads, informing them Twitter had explosive news, video free to redistribute with credit to Twitter.

Then the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post were notified.

...

At Fox TV center, Channel 11 director Megan Taylor demanded an urgent news break-in.

...

At LA Times, Deputy Editor Cotland immediately gathered the main social affairs editors to watch Twitter's video.

Black, cross-dresser, possibly transgender -- all triggered LA Times alarms.

Cotland said without hesitation, "Send three teams to San Francisco today. Book business class tickets!"

An editor made calls.

Another asked, "What's our stance?"

"San Francisco folks are tolerating crime!" This was both a liberal stance and a regional rivalry.

Like anywhere globally, two largest, richest cities in a state often oppose each other.

Cotland said, "Since San Francisco won't uphold justice, let Los Angeles do it!"

True to LA Times tradition.

...

Twitter's news was followed by all five major US networks at the next news hour.

Philip's live video quickly spread.

Within two hours, the story topped Twitter trending without bot help.

A white officer abusing a black man to death had explosive effect.

Especially with the SFPD briefing video beside it with links.

The contrast was stark.

Twitter users flooded comments, pushing the servers to the edge; Harland's tech team had to boost capacity.

"San Francisco police are a joke, openly shielding murderers!"

"Is this what the police in my city do? I pay taxes for this? God, it's terrifying!"

"I watched the video five times, listened closely, Philip did nothing excessive, but Williams pinned him down till he couldn't breathe!"

"SFPD claims Philip died of cardiopulmonary failure. True. But it was Williams' abuse that caused it!"

"Philip's unconventional style may offend, but that's no reason to kill!"

Ordinary users on Twitter were furious because they knew SFPD and other city cops often abused power, and if it happened to them, they'd be as helpless as Philip.

No guidance needed; Twitter public stood unanimously with Philip.

"Did you hear? While Williams kneeled on him, Philip said repeatedly, 'I can't breathe.' If Williams let go, Philip would have lived!"

"This video makes me unable to breathe!"

"I can't breathe!"

"I can't breathe..."

Thousands of users joined in, comments filled with "I can't breathe!"

A huge media storm was brewing rapidly.

---

At the Mattachine Society San Francisco branch,

Vice president Rosa and Solana made calls; many core members gathered.

Coming out of the conference room were a dozen old black men from Los Angeles wearing colorful clothes, tears smudged colorful eyeshadow on their dark faces.

"Everyone sit down," Rosa said, pulling thick dark curtains. To Solana, "Play the video now."

The band of gay, bisexual, and gender-questioning folks were immediately drawn to the white screen.

Solana turned on the sound so all could hear the three talking.

No one else spoke; the room filled with the white officer Williams' abusive words.

Everyone's face soured; the insults sounded like direct attacks.

The video ended. The room fell into eerie silence.

As if everyone saw themselves on San Francisco streets, facing this fate when stopped by white cops.

Rosa broke the silence, gesturing; someone turned on lights and opened curtains.

Solana adjusted the laptop to display a large photo of Philip.

Taken in front of San Francisco City Hall plaza, Philip held a rainbow flag high, handing it to a young man on a statue.

The young man sat in the room.

He suddenly said, "I remember him... no, her. She was our sister, active in every event."

Rosa said, "Philip was one of us, always helping brothers and sisters, active in every event, often leading against feminist backlash."

Solana tapped keys; new photos appeared showing Philip front and center at Mattachine and Feminist Majority Foundation confrontations in San Francisco.

Rosa declared, "Since the new year, SFPD repeatedly detained our members, suppressed our events, targeting us. We've been restrained, seeking rights through legal means, but these bastards don't see us as humans!"

She called out loudly, "It's time to stand up, fight for fair justice for our brothers and sisters! For Philip! For all of us! For fairness and justice!"

Someone responded, "If we don't stand for Philip, will San Francisco let us breathe? You, you, you... could be the next Philip at any time!"

*****

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