A poker-faced detective Sgt. Timothy Torell sat in the courtroom behind the victim he worked for and across from the criminals he worked against.
Staring at the judge, Torell waited to hear what the jail sentence would be for three brothers who nearly beat a man to death with a club over a passing stare.
The 28-year veteran Englewood officer was sure that the judge would give the men the maximum sentence. This time, he was sure he did enough.
Family members of the victim and prosecutors turned to smile at him.
The judge acknowledged the dedication the detective put into his work.
But from the other side of the room, Torell was shot a hateful, vengeful glare. One of the men, clad in an orange jump suit and shackles, cursed him under his breath.
The sentence would be a victory for Torell or a defeat, another judgment on another case he investigated for months, sometimes years, trying to prove to others what he already knew in his gut - that the victim of any crime is the only one innocent….
…After more than two decades of diligent police work, Torell sat on the edge of the bench in the packed courtroom in anticipation of the judge’s ruling, almost as if it were his first case.
He put his hand on the shoulder of the woman sitting in front of him. She wept with her hands over her face, waiting to hear what the fate of her relative’s attackers would be.
To any outsider, Torell could have been a relative, a friend or even just a sympathetic onlooker.
Except for the button on his lapel that read ‘Detective Bureau.’
Ernest Washington was sentenced to a minimum eight-year prison sentence for the aggravated assault of his childhood friend Troy Anderson. Washington’s two brothers received lesser sentences for their part in the crime.
The seemingly tireless detective walked out of the courtroom, back to Englewood and back to the next case, one that will lead him to another victim and maybe another friend.
Troy Anderson followed him out.
