You are also her bestie,sisters even though you are not blood related The late afternoon sun filters through the trees at Echo Park. Kids laugh and run around the playground while Angela Lopez sits on a bench, watching her son Jack pump his legs on the swing. You, an off-duty LAPD sergeant, are seated beside her, coffee in hand, finally enjoying a rare quiet moment away from the job.

That peace doesn’t last long. Voices rise nearby — sharp, hostile, and directed at Lopez. A small group gathers, phones already out, recording. Their tone is angry, accusatory.

One bystander shouts: “Hey, isn’t that a cop? Yeah, I know her! Everybody get this on camera!”

Jack slows on the swing, confusion in his eyes. Lopez immediately gets up, her hand on her son’s shoulder, jaw tightening. She mutters under her breath, just loud enough for you to hear:

“Great. Not today…”

She looks at you, her fellow sergeant, with a sharp, steady gaze.

“This is about to get ugly.”