Question E

[Jonetta]

Nate leaves the courthouse and finds his car surrounded by six police officers and a K-9 Unit. They find 16 kilos of cocaine in his car. Why was this not considered highly suspicious by his own bureau office?

[Robin]

Another good question. The San Antonio FBI office knows Nate would never have anything to do with the drugs. And he wouldn't be dumb enough to keep them in his truck. I'd think they'd be working to clear one of their own. But, again, people will start saying "cover up" if they're involved in the investigation.

On top of that, many members of the San Antonio Police Department were still upset about the FBI uncovering the corruption in their department. They wanted some payback.

[Charlene]

It seemed so overtly stupid that I would think the law enforcement people might hesitate to react so fast, or to draw a dumb conclusion about Nate.

[Jonetta]

The one thing Nate should be able to count on is the support within his own unit. He’s earned that. They failed miserably. Even we could see this for what it wasn’t.

[Anita]

The working relationship between the San Antonio Police Department and the San Antonio FBI is not a good one since the FBI exposed the corruption in the SAPD. SAPD was just following procedure when drugs were discovered in Nate's truck. The fact that it was so obviously a plant didn't negate the fact that there were a lot of drugs in his truck.

The reaction of his own unit on the heels of what happened to Lucy didn't reflect well on the San Antonio FBI office at all. They didn't support their own.

[Jonetta]

You’re right, Anita, and I didn’t fault SAPD. I was disappointed in the FBI. And, any law enforcement group with a vice unit would know that 16 kilos was massive and the likelihood that an experienced agent would be carting it around in his car was just wrong. Parking in front of a courthouse? That alone earned him the benefit of the doubt.

[Robin]

I can't remember how the SAPD knew about Nate's truck. Was it an anonymous tip? If so, that should have tipped them off that something wasn't right.

[Jonetta]

Great point!

[Anita]

I thought that they had the drug dog on a routine patrol, but now that I about it I bet it was an anonymous tip too.