"Can't exactly say this on the record, but even if he'd somehow survived what happened to him, I don't think you'd have anything to worry about," Russell says, his voice pitched low so it doesn't carry. Even though his recorder is turned off, he doesn't know who else is in the hospital and who might take what he says and run with it, a way to get him fired or even just knocked back down to beat cop.

Russell likes his job, he likes being a deputy, and he doesn't want to lose that.

"Don't think a guy like him would've made it to a trial," he continues, casual, like he's just talking about the weather. He might not even be talking about himself. He's sure there are other people who'd find a way to make that true.