One man wore a navy jacket.
The other wore a dark charcoal coat and baseball cap.
Both appeared middle-aged.
The officer released the homeless man’s coat.
Then turned toward them.
“You two need something?”
The man in the navy jacket looked at his phone.
“No.”
“Then stop filming.”
The man in the charcoal coat said nothing.
The officer pointed.
“You.”
Still nothing.
The homeless man quietly tried to stand.
His right foot reached pavement.
His left followed.
Pain struck his knee.
He hissed and dropped back onto the bench.
The officer turned.
“What are you doing?”
“My leg gave out.”
“You think I'm staying here all day?”
“No.”
The officer stepped toward him again.
The homeless man put one hand on the bench and tried to push himself up.
His coat slipped from one shoulder.
His backpack fell.
The paper bag rolled beneath the bench.
“Damn it.”
He bent after it.
The officer’s patience ended.
“Enough.”
The homeless man looked up.
“Officer, I’m moving.”
“No, you're not.”
He reached down, caught the man by the back of the coat, and pulled.
The homeless man rose awkwardly.
His knee buckled again.
He fell sideways across the wooden seat.
Several people nearby stopped walking.
The man in the charcoal coat lifted his phone higher.
The officer saw him.
Something in his face changed.
Embarrassment.
Then anger.
The officer stepped closer to the bench.
“Get up.”
The homeless man held one arm across his body.
“Give me one second.”
“Get up.”
“I’m trying.”
The officer lifted his right leg.
The homeless man saw it.
So did everyone watching.
“Please.”
The officer delivered one forceful kick into the side of the homeless man’s lower body.
The man jolted across the bench.
His shoulder struck the wooden backrest.
A gasp moved through the people nearby.
Someone shouted:
“Hey!”
The homeless man curled instinctively.
Not dramatically.
Protectively.
One arm covered his ribs.
The other shielded his head.
The officer stepped closer.
“Then move faster.”
The man in the charcoal coat lowered his phone.
He looked at the screen.
Then at the officer.
The officer noticed.
“What?”
No answer.
“What are you staring at?”
The man stepped off the path.
He walked toward them.
Slowly.
The officer shifted his stance.
“Back up.”
The man kept coming.
The homeless man looked between them.
The observer stopped approximately eight feet away.
Then he reached inside his coat.
The officer’s hand immediately dropped toward his belt.
“Hands where I can see them.”
The observer pulled out a leather badge wallet.
Opened it.
Gold badge.
The officer froze.
Not because of the badge alone.
Because of the rank written beneath it.
CAPTAIN.
The man in the navy jacket still had his phone raised.
The Captain looked toward him.
“Keep recording.”
The officer stared.
“Captain?”
The Captain’s expression did not move.
He lifted his own phone.
The red recording indicator remained active.
“I got the kick.”
Silence.