Officer Martinez stepped between Brown and Patricia. She told Brown that she would not allow him to make this arrest. She said the situation had already gone too far and that arresting Patricia would destroy not just Brown's career, but potentially the careers of everyone present. The tension between the officers was palpable. Brown ignored Martinez and reached for Patricia's arm.
The moment he made physical contact, Patricia clearly stated that she did not consent to being touched and that she was being unlawfully detained. She asked Brown to state the specific crime he believed she had committed. He answered, "Obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct." Patricia asked him to explain how watering her garden at her own home constituted disorderly conduct. She asked how providing identification and cooperating with his requests constituted obstruction of justice.
Brown couldn't provide coherent answers to either question, but he continued trying to put the handcuffs on her. That's when Officer Chen physically intervened. He grabbed Brown's arm and told him to stop. Chen said he would not be part of arresting an innocent woman in her own front yard, especially a federal judge. The confrontation between the officers created a scene that the neighbors would never forget.
Patricia used this moment to make one final attempt at reason. She told all three officers that she understood mistakes happen, but that Brown's refusal to acknowledge the obvious truth was turning a simple misunderstanding into a federal civil rights violation. She said if they arrested her, the consequences would extend far beyond just Brown's career. Brown finally released Patricia's arm, but he wasn't done yet.
He told her that he was issuing her a citation for disorderly conduct and that she would need to appear in court. Patricia looked at the citation and saw that Brown had written down incorrect information, including the wrong address and an inaccurate description of the alleged incident. She pointed out the errors to Officer Martinez, who examined the citation and shook her head in frustration. Martinez told Brown that the citation was improper and legally insufficient.