While Austin and Chloe waited, Kowalski pulled Dempsey aside and spoke to him in a voice that did not carry. Whatever was said between them resulted in Kowalski calling his supervisor over his personal radio and requesting that a sergeant respond to the location. He also told Dempsey to stay with his vehicle and not to leave.
The parents arrived before the sergeant did. Austin's father got out of his car and walked straight to his son. He looked at him, looked at the grass stains and the marks on his wrists, and said nothing for a moment. Then he took out his phone and called the family's attorney.
Chloe's parents arrived two minutes later and went straight to their daughter. Her mother held her while she cried properly for the first time since the whole thing had started.
The sergeant arrived and was briefed by Kowalski away from both families and away from Dempsey. Kowalski kept his account factual and short. The body-camera footage would tell the full story, but what Kowalski had already seen and heard at the scene was enough for the sergeant to make two decisions before he had reviewed anything.
The first was that Dempsey needed to come back to the station. The second was that the body-camera footage needed to be secured and reviewed before the night was over.
Dempsey was directed to follow the sergeant back to the station, and both vehicles left the park. Austin's father watched them go and then looked at Kowalski.
"My son is 17 years old. He was on a date. He reached for his phone."