Original subtitles

Hello, I'm calling from the trip.

I'd like to... Get to Iron Man in two hours. How much money was involved?

Was it over $1 ,000?

Was it over $10 ,000?

True, man. She was literate.

That's what you call a black belly.

Fifteen minutes they've been here and they got seven columns.

They're doing it sweet.

We've had last round of them.

Looks like they're going for a wreck.

Uh -oh. The ghost has been right to ambush.

It's getting busted today.

Yo, man, get your butt out of here.

Benny, watch out.

Benny?

It's okay. I'm okay. That's right, it's okay.

Against the car, hands on top.

Against the car?

What do you mean, against the car?

Come on, Benny, you know the drill.

Hey, Stu, baby.

You're going to be screwed up on pro.

It's not a moving violation.

It won't go on your record.

Hey, man.

Come on. Just give me my ticket. You're going to be screwing me up. Come on,

Benny. Around, will you? What's the big deal?

Charlie, it's only Tuesday, and in the name of the Tribune, I've already

accepted three plaques and a scroll.

Tell Mrs. Pinchot I went to that luncheon for her.

Everyone thought I was a very gracious woman of the year.

It's not off -play here either, Lou. We've had some very grueling meetings,

seminar after another.

Well, for one thing, when we get back, we're reassessing our demographics, the

way that the Trib's editorial content is interfacing with the centers of

population. I've been to those seminars.

About four o 'clock, you start interfacing with a vodka tonic so you

Have fun, Charlie.

Believe me, this is not fun.

I know, but try to make the best of it.

Frosty.

I had a homicide, 112th and Beaumont.

Please, Peter, there's a piece on this one.

What do you think I'm giving you this story?

You liked it, huh?

No, but you can find the place quicker than anybody else.

Who's dead? Anybody?

A cop. Last name is Stewart. That's all we got.

You know him? No. Any suspects?

Oh, they're looking for one. Don't put your type on parole.

Stewart's funeral is Thursday.

Benny Stewart can find him.

Well, I figured Benny was high, right?

And he's carrying a piece which would blow his parole. So when Stewart started

to pat him down, he panicked. Hope you're right about that.

What it's like getting in a cage with some freak who's got himself dusted.

PCP?

What kind of guy was Stewart? Good officer.

Why? Two kids.

It was well liked.

You mean by you guys?

I mean here in the neighborhood.

That's right.

Funny thing is, he's got a square.

A lot of people dug that. Me included.

He wasn't always vandalized in the ghetto language.

Trying to be jive with the brothers.

Being one of the dudes.

Stuart was a good man.

A real good man.

Hey, you better watch it, Dad!

Benny's looking for you!

Yeah! And we're looking for Benny.

Transcended the color of his skin, or the color of his uniform.

John Stewart, like so many other officers before him, was neither a

saint, simply a man doing a job he believed in. A job which killed him.

His blood is etched on the streets of the neighborhood he served, as his

compassion is etched in our hearts.

Ready!

You hear that?

What?

Sounds like they found that doper who killed the cops.

Okay, everybody's out of the building. It's your baby now. And don't give him

anything.

boxed in.

307, they think.

They just gotta keep him off the roof.

And what's he bringing an ambulance for?

No way they gonna take Betty alive.

He can surrender. You know, like, throw it in.

Naive or something?

Betty killed a cop.

Surrender? No way they about to let him surrender.

Three shots.

Hey, man, that's the way to do it, like pity.

Hey, man, that's the way I want to go.

Thank you.

Another award?

We're being honored by the South Central Los Angeles Human Rights Council for

our balanced coverage of minority issues.

That's nice.

It'd be nice here if I thought we deserved it.

Frosty?

Is that a kid that killed the cop?

Junkie Benny something?

The funeral's turning out to be an event.

They've assigned extra cops down there. The way it's going, they figure it's

going to be a really big crowd.

People lining up already.

For Benny Jordan? Why?

Maybe he had a lot of relatives.

You sure there's no race to handle any killings? I'm sure.

Some community leader down there said Jordan was executed.

Oh, that was Willie Tomlin, the councilman's brother. He's always

Let's dig into this. Go down there and do some interviews with people. Get a

cross -section.

Lou, this looks like it could be a big job. Maybe I could use some help.

Who do you want, Billy?

This is a little too gritty for her. How about Carmichael?

Sure. Hey, Mel.

What do you have?

I want you to work with Rossi on this Benny Jordan thing. Head out to the

funeral home right away.

Get what you can.

Donovan, call Animal. Tell him to meet him there.

All right.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Same to you.

Do

you

believe this?

How long is it like?

How many have you felt?

My God, this is a mob.

Well, Griswold, there must be a thousand people here.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on B &B.

We gather here, brothers and sisters.

We gather here for Billy Jordan.

The child of this grieving father.

The child of this community.

The child...

Kindergarten. When did you talk to him last?

Oh, a long time ago.

Clara, that's his youngest sister. She works at the bank. I see Clara all the

time. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Mr. Jordan, sending stepmother.

No kidding, no. Why don't you go talk to him?

Talk to him?

Man, I didn't go hear it.

I'll talk to him later.

Well, in the meantime, why don't you go interview those three guys over there?

Maybe they knew Benny.

Right. What are you going to do?

I thought I would continue to interview this young lady here.

Take care you don't get hurt now, all right?

A thousand people?

Really?

Maybe closer to two.

The policeman, Stuart, who came to his funeral.

Pops, family, some friends, maybe a hundred people.

You still don't think that Benny's seen some kind of a hero or a murderer?

What are you saying?

Benny was a doper, a small -time pusher, ex -pimp, three -time loser.

You're telling me that's a hero in the community?

Maybe it was a street kid's milk.

Kids didn't go to the funeral.

Then how do you explain it? Two thousand people is a lot of people.

Community against the cops, cops against the community. Show of strength.

Well, maybe the funeral was an anti -police demonstration.

No, no, no way. And we didn't want you to be selling that. Hey, come on. I'm

selling anything.

Those people, at least those people who showed up at the funeral, were not anti

-police. I checked back to see what was behind the police sweep on Speed Street.

People were scared.

Five times.

Five times a black citizens group went to the division captain.

So why all those people at Benny's funeral?

Good question. Let's find out.

You guys go back down there and do some digging.

Billy, I want you to talk to Mrs. Stewart and the police.

Sure, you don't think?

This one here, he ain't.

Ain't got no uniform, that's what I'm saying.

We're not cops, we're reporters.

No kidding.

You don't put us on TV?

It ain't on TV.

You gotta be pretty to be on TV.

Right, we're a newspaper.

Clickety -click, clickety -click.

You writing up a story on Benny? Benny, he went out in style.

Do you really believe that?

Benny Jordan pickles his brains, gets himself blown to pieces.

He's not even 25 years old.

That's what you call going out in style?

He went out shooting, like a man. Yeah.

Oh, man, you sound like a 1950 movie.

Partner, this little toy ain't big enough for the both of us. Make your

Make my move?

Ooh. Can you dig my moves?

If you're writing up a story on Benny, don't make him out to be no ignorant

nigger. Yeah, Benny was smart.

Was he?

What could he do? Did he ever have a job?

He wasn't looking to pick up some kind of chump change, wash the windows, or

wash.

Hey, just because he didn't have a job doesn't mean he wasn't turning the

business. He was hustling.

Tell me about it.

What about Stuart, the cop Benny killed?

They knew each other, didn't they?

They was always shouting Stuart and Benny.

Did he give you a hard time, Stuart, I mean?

Hey, man, he was a pig.

So who'd he bust? Which one of you?

Hey, man, Stuart, he was always stopping you. Checking on your name and how old

you were and where you live and how come you wasn't in school. You know.

Oh, hey, man, police brutality, right?

Well, nice tan, Charlie. Life's pretty bright at those seminars.

I managed to get out by the pool once or twice.

Lou, I want you to look these over in your spare time. We'll talk about it

whenever you finish.

Sure, Charlie. Is tomorrow morning soon enough? I mean, what can it be? 250, 300

pages of teensy little four -point type?

Lou, if a newspaper's going to survive, it's got to know its readers. Who they

are, where they live, what they buy, their concerns, inflation, taxes,

I'm talking about demographics.

Hey, I'm pro -demographic.

I'll take a reader to lunch, all right? And I'll take her to dinner.

I've got a great idea. Something that I want to put Rossi on.

You'll have to wait.

I've got him, Milt, and Billy on that police killing.

Three people?

Four. Animals on it, too.

Blue. It's important.

It's human interest.

To whom?

Our readers have had it with crime and violence in the streets.

Do your homework.

Lieutenant.

That's getting to be the standard reply of the police. The media is destroying

the morale of the department.

Do you agree?

Yeah, maybe.

If the paper criticizes the chief, do you think that really affects the way

cop on the beef does his job?

Don't you think that Stuart might have had something in the back of his mind

when he went in that alley with Benny?

I mean, all the stories that you run about police shootings.

Maybe, just maybe, it made him slower to hear.

Now, that's blaming a lot on the media.

When the Tribune quotes someone as saying that we executed Benny Jordan,

tell me they're not sticking it to us.

Are you saying that there was not a concerted effort to get Benny Jordan?

You have this neat little scenario all figured out. You set up the questions,

you pick out the answers, and then you prove out this little thriller that

you've already written in your mind.

Look, we believe...

For one of our own.

We all do, don't we?

What does that mean?

One reporter is killed, like the guy in Arizona.

Don't you all hop on it?

Reporters came from all over the country to nail the guy that did that.

That's true.

If revenge does cross our minds, that doesn't mean that we're a wild bunch of

trigger -happy vigilantes.

Well... Are some police officers racist?

Some people want to be cops for the wrong reason.

And some of them do sneak by.

But the main thing is, man to man, our people share some hairy experiences.

And yes, we do have our stress problems and our burnouts.

But we back each other up.

We depend on each other. And that, as they say, it's down to the bone.

I see the police bearing a lot of criticism from the minorities, and I see

police fighting back just as strongly.

Some people have to have an easy devil when they take a point at it, like that

devil with the blue uniform or that devil with the skin.

Of course, I call that both.

Do minority people move to the top of the ladder in the police department?

Do minority people move to the top of the ladder at the tribune?

It's a shame.

Oh, you're a Dodger fan, huh?

Used to be.

Brooklyn Dodgers.

Never had no respect for them once they moved from Ebbets Field.

Yeah, that was some team, huh? They were great.

Campy and Jackie Robinson.

For real old Argers.

Yeah, and Don Newcomb and Judy Gilliam. Duke Snyder and Pee Wee Reese. Yeah,

and, uh... And, uh... You been here since?

57.

57. I bet you've seen a lot of the kids in the neighborhood come in here.

Oh, yeah.

Benny Jordan come in here?

Little Benny?

Sure.

I gave him his first haircut.

No kidding.

The years do go by.

Miss Jordan, she's a good woman.

Benny was a fine little boy.

Made my honor roll.

Your honor roll?

Oh, yeah.

Kid do something good. I'd put his picture up on the bulletin board.

He's sitting here getting a haircut.

See the picture? Make him feel good.

Don't sound like much, but you'd be surprised.

Just a minute. I'll show you.

Geez, Rossi, I hate to see you killing yourself over an interview like this.

Hey, I'm doing this my way, okay?

Yeah, I'm sitting down. I know this.

You see, most of this stuff pinned up on the bulletin board.

But you know boys fooling around.

Knock it down.

What are you looking for?

Now, this is just some of the facts.

This is Dwayne.

Played half -back the year the team was undefeated.

Got killed someplace called K -Sun.

And this is Wally.

Now, Wally had his picture up there more than anybody.

I don't know whatever happened to him.

Just sort of disappeared.

Oh, yeah.

Here it is.

Uh, what have you got?

This is the old green sheet.

Of course, it's all sort of yellowed and the picture's all faded out.

But that tells how Vinnie was number one in mathematics back in the sixth grade.

Do you mind?

I was doing this.

I'll give this back to you after, okay?

All right.

Bossy, when am I going to see something on that cop pillow?

Give me an hour, okay?

Give me a note.

They need this thing.

Why don't you give me your notes and I'll write the story?

Why should you write the story?

Why should you?

Because it was my story to begin with. I asked for you to come along.

This is what, your damn bodyguard?

Hey, I don't need a bodyguard.

Give me a note.

Keep this stuff in your mic.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I've got 58 minutes now. Hey, hey, hey, we

58 minutes. No, I'm not going to give you my notes. Look, I'm going to write

this first thing. I'm going to hand it to him. I'm going to write it. You're

going to give me your notes or what? No, no, no, you are not going to write it.

You're not going to give my notes or what? Nice to see we're getting the

violence off the streets and in the newsroom.

It's fine, it's fine. I don't care.

Go ahead.

Will Graham will continue in a moment.

You're on A &B.

Oh, Lou, good.

Did you get a chance to read... The research you brought back from the

Yeah, all of it. I don't care if I never see the word interface again.

Well, you've got to admit that the idea of special sections to appeal to the

different interests of our readership makes sense.

We already have special sections.

They're called business, sports, real estate, entertainment.

We even have a special section for those.

I'm not sure I agree with your idea about this temple thing. Who cares about

where to get your blue jeans tightened or vitamin -enriched eyeliner?

Yeah, well, like it or not, this kind of section is blue circulation.

I mean, if people don't buy the paper, we can't communicate with them. We're

talking about the suburbs here. That's our audience.

What's the point, Charlie?

I've just been reading this follow -up on Benny Jordan.

I can't understand why we're tying up three reporters on it when they could be

off doing pieces on subjects that our audience cares about.

Ah, I see.

In other words, I should send Billy out to cover the microwave bake -off and

Rossi to do an in -depth piece on suntan oil.

Nope.

What I... I do want us to put Rossi on that private school thing we were

about yesterday and Milt on the oil drilling and the policies.

I don't want to split them up.

Why?

Because they're not getting along.

Do you want to run that by me again?

They have been at each other and I want them to try to work it out.

Sis, why does everyone on this paper have to like each other?

They don't have to like each other.

Have to learn to work together.

How long was your husband a policeman?

Going on 12 years.

And how long was your time with South Central?

Four years.

Four years in the black neighborhood.

He was accepted.

That meant a lot to him.

Accepted?

Well, he always said it.

And look at these.

Most of these sympathy cards are from guys he worked with, but some of them

from people in the neighborhood.

I've no idea who they are.

This is Yvonne Jordan. I know that name.

I think that's the mother of the kid who killed him.

The saddest thing is, John was really concerned.

Uh -huh.

Look, I know police officers are under a lot of stress.

It never seemed to bother him.

The job, I mean.

Could he have been keeping it from me?

He would get tense about the children.

Family problems.

Other people thought John was uptight.

How?

Could you give me a for instance?

Well, once we went to a psychologist.

Were you having problems?

No.

We just wanted to talk to somebody about the kids.

When you're the only strict parent on the block, it's hard.

Just saw a lot of troubled kids in his work.

Exactly. It wasn't going to happen to ours. John was determined about that.

We did work the problem out.

Cops are funny.

Their work is special.

There are things about John I'll never know.

Who would know?

Robert Cox.

His partner.

If you count it up, sometimes he spent more time with him than he did with me.

Milton Carmichael. Los Angeles Tribune.

He let your hair grow since you took that picture.

Right.

Mr. Nate.

This boy here wants to talk to me.

He a reporter.

He with you?

Um, he's with the Tribune.

Where'd you get my name?

The funeral.

Benny Jordan. You signed the book.

Benny Jordan.

That sounds mama.

Break your heart to see that woman.

Um, did you know the Jordans well, ma 'am?

Can't say I ever did.

Never met them.

You didn't know them at all?

That's right.

Then why'd you go to Benny's gym room?

I went down there to pay my respects.

Mr. Nagy, you go to the funeral?

Mr. Nagy bring me here and take me back, just so I don't get my first match

again.

Let me ask you.

A funeral home has got to be five miles from your house.

You get all dressed up, go over and pay your respects to Benny Jordan, who you

didn't even know?

Who said I paid my respects to Benny?

I paid my respects to his mama.

You write the paper.

You know that woman worked hard all her life.

So did his dad.

She raised three fine children.

That one, he thought I was good.

The street just sucked him up.

The people blamed the mother. She blamed herself.

What chance that woman got against the street?

I'll go pay her my respects.

Do you have any children of your own, ma 'am?

I had any five.

They're doing okay.

This is Nate.

The reporter wanted to know how my children do.

James, he in the Air Force going on eight years.

William and Mabel, both of them, they in college.

Earl, Earl the Pearl, he even stole his name.

He in prison, Terminal Island.

I see him on Sunday.

Wendell, Wendell, he the young one.

Just one block from here, they kill him.

They kill him?

Who did it?

Don't nobody know.

14 -year -old.

They stuck his body in the trash can.

Don't nobody know.

Lou Brandt will continue in a moment here on A &E.

A &E returns to Lou Brandt.

You looking for me?

Officer Collins?

That's right. I'm Billy Newman. I'm with the trivia.

I'm a reporter.

I stopped reading the papers.

Oh, that's okay. I'm not selling subscriptions.

I don't really like talking to reporters.

They never get the story right.

Get it right, I'm going to need your help.

Isn't it worth a few minutes?

What is the story, Officer Collins?

Stuart was a cop.

He got shot by a doper.

Let's understand, it happens every day.

I don't think so.

Were you and John Stewart close?

I mean, off duty?

Well, he was older, and I'm single.

But you spend 40 hours a week with your partner.

I took a son, Ron, out. Played racquetball a couple of times.

So?

Yes, thank you.

I heard that you're taking a leave of absence.

The word is that you're thinking about quitting the fort.

Yeah? I heard that, too.

I don't know.

I've got a lot of things to think through.

It'd be a shame if the junkies had gone on to taking two good cops off the

street. Who cares?

Stuart cared, and what did it get him?

Six feet of dry dirt and a flag for his kid?

How would you describe your partner?

If you had to sum up John Stuart in one word, what would it be?

Unappreciated.

He was a good cop, and he was a good father.

He cared about the people on the street, and he cared about his family.

But no matter what he did, it seems the people around him were determined to

self -destruct.

Where's that supposed to mean?

Well, I think his son was in some kind of trouble, but he wouldn't talk about

it.

Do you have any idea what kind of trouble?

But he was very bothered about the day he got killed.

Who else did he talk to that day?

Tell a lot of people.

I know he talked to that woman that runs the lunch joint.

Do you have her name?

Jordan.

Then his mother?

You got it.

Russ. Yeah?

I just read your draft of our story.

And? I'm having some problems, Lou.

Is that right?

Yeah. You say that the funeral helped inspire a spirit of unity in a black

neighborhood. Something like that.

A positive experience.

Is that what you're telling the reader?

Now, get off my back, will you?

You've written a story. And tomorrow you think a new day will dawn.

And the ghetto tomorrow is going to be the same as yesterday. That's the end.

Okay. I'm guilty of trying to give a positive interpretation of what I saw.

Weren't we in the same laundromat? Didn't we talk to the same lady?

I heard her.

No, you didn't, man.

Three of her kids are making it.

And two are down the sewer.

Forty percent.

She was not trying to say that things are looking up.

Don't make this out to be what you'd like it to be.

Not if you're going to put my name on it.

You want your name off?

Fine.

It says here the reader we should be aiming at is 33 years old, owns two and

half cars, makes $25 ,000 a year, takes two week vacations, owns a tennis

racket, skis, and spends 10 % of his income on clothes.

I think I know that guy.

Actually, I'm dating his ex -wife.

Can I interrupt for a minute?

I'd love it.

It's okay, Art. You may as well hear this.

What is it?

Um, I don't want to work with Rossi.

I've heard that before.

No, no, I mean it.

I've heard that before, too. No, I'm not kidding. I want off the story. I've had

it.

I don't want my name on it. I don't want to work with that guy. I am tired of

being Rossi's gun bearer.

I'm tired of being everybody's gun bearer.

What's that supposed to mean?

I have a very uneasy feeling that I was hired for one reason, and one reason

only. What's that?

Because at the time you needed another black face?

Ah, come on, Milt.

Milt, I think you were hired because you're a good writer.

If I'm such a good writer, how come nobody around here listens to me?

Nobody? Or just Rossi?

He'll run that same number at white reporters, girl reporters, young

old reporters.

When it comes to being arrogant, he is completely without prejudice.

Sort of your renaissance jerk, if you will.

Listen, Milt.

If you're feeling insecure about your writing, it comes from you, not from us.

You're going to have to solve that problem yourself.

I'm an editor, not a chap. I can assign you to a story or take you off.

Take me off?

No.

Lou Grant will continue in a moment here on A &E.

Very arresting. Very eye -catching.

It's helpful, too.

Look right here. The ten best pool services in the area.

Ten best plumbers.

Oh, dear.

Do you suppose we could make that nine?

Why? One of the ten best plumbers is the man I use.

I'll never be able to get him again.

But then I'm never able to get him now, so... We're very excited about this.

We're ready to go with it on Monday. Promotion is all geared to go.

We bought some TV spots.

We'll bring up a cassette of the commercials this afternoon.

See? I never dreamed I'd be with such a fun paper.

It's nice to know I can keep my ginger root fresh in the refrigerator.

Lou thinks that we're compromising his integrity with his temple material.

Anything that isn't depressing, depresses him.

The seminar showed us this does work, Mr. Grant.

Although I'm not totally comfortable with... Research marketing myself.

It's like politics.

The more polling and research they do, the more leaders become followers.

They keep changing their positions to catch up with the trends.

We're not becoming followers, are we, Mr. Hill?

Well, maybe the tempo section is trendy, but the rest of the newspaper is

certainly traditional.

We've got this city editor on Metro who makes us tell the line.

This story is very good.

You should have gotten more than a beat.

I told you. See, he's an expert, too.

Don't you be getting any big heads.

You'd never know a boy who wrote like that would talk so different in the

street.

Edna.

What's happening, baby? You know where they come from, sucker. Stop it.

Clean up for dinner.

I don't want any dinner. I gotta go out. No, you're not.

You got schoolwork.

Eddie?

What about your other son?

He graduated from City College.

They put in his application for civil service, and they promised him a job.

But that was over a year ago.

He never heard from them?

Oh, now and then they send him a notice.

But nothing's happening.

He takes temporary work when he can find it.

He has tried.

Don't put that in your paper.

It might embed it.

Oh, no, no, no. I'm not out here to do a piece on him. It's Eddie.

The other kids he hangs out with, they sort of looked up to Benny.

I'm just wondering if that's not the real story here.

I know what you mean.

I heard a boy got killed.

First thing I thought about was Eddie.

That happened to him some day.

So what do you do?

I try.

I push the boy to get himself an education.

And then he sees his big brother.

Graduated and everything.

Just sitting there.

Letting TV remind him of all the things he doesn't have. And who he isn't.

You think Benny's death had any effect on Eddie?

Whichever way he's gonna go.

is already in him benny and i are both scorpios i'm older we're cousins you

yes i haven't seen him in two years two years we've been having a beef

well you go somebody's bail take them in for six months give them money and then

suddenly they're gone and so is your tv and stereo maybe they're trying to tell

you something makes you so sure of benny tuckham

He had some expensive habits.

So what did you do to come out of your life?

There's no way you can deal with a person like that and stay sane.

Benny was always playing cool.

Cool on the outside.

Out of control on the inside.

Poor damn Dober.

I wasn't mad at him. I still talked to him on the phone.

I'm interested.

Benny and you kind of grew up together.

But here you are with a good job and a big law office.

He dies in a shootout in the ghetto.

It's not impossible to get out. You did.

Well, Benny had some problems when he was a kid I didn't have.

You have to ask his mama about those.

I'll do that.

Let me tell you something.

I didn't get out by myself.

Nobody I know did.

You know how you get out of there?

Somebody bends down and you climb up on their shoulder. Your mama?

Your daddy, some teacher, somebody puts in the time, making beds, scrubbing

floors, shining shoes, 20 years.

Somebody's always straightening your tie, holding your nose to the stone.

You want to walk out of there into the straight world, somebody takes you by

hand. That's the only way you go.

I'm here just for dinner.

What do you mean?

I came over here to talk to Benny's mother.

So did I. You want to arm wrestle for her? I thought you wanted off this

I do, but not till it's finished. I want to make sure it's done right.

What's that supposed to mean? You know, you've been on my case ever since we

started working on this. I've been on your case. Oh, man, I love that.

I asked for you on this story. Hey, don't do me any favors. You asked for me

because you needed a ticket for safe passage in the ghetto when I was it.

Oh, that's not it.

I wanted you to help me out. I am not a helper. I'm a reporter.

Listen, I may step on some toes. I always do. I step on toes, I guess. But

really care about is the story. All I care about is the story.

Well, okay.

Okay. So why are we standing here when the story's over there?

Let's go.

Okay.

Mrs. Jordan, we're from the Los Angeles Tribune.

I got a note here. It says that we should try the corn chowder. Is that

special? That's what it says.

We just want to talk to you.

You know, we both know how hard it is.

But maybe if it helps people understand.

No, I'm going to try that chowder.

Yeah. I'm going to go for the chili.

Today's your first day back on the job, right?

You know, Mrs. Jordan, one thing in the paper kind of threw us.

Why all of those people turned out for Benny's funeral.

I don't know why.

I think all those people were talking to you, Mrs. Jordan.

By coming to the funeral, they were saying, all of us know what it is to

somebody to the streets.

They were saying...

Mrs. Jordan did the best she could for her child.

Officer Stewart would stand right there.

He liked my chili.

We'd talk, talk.

Got to take good people where you find them. You hear?

You talk about Benny?

You and Stewart?

Some. He was worried about his own boy getting messed up just like Benny.

Yeah, I heard he's had some problems with his son.

Some kind of scrape at school, and there was dope around.

When that happened, Officer Stewart is just like any parent.

He don't rightly know what to do.

Last time I talked to him, he told me that him and the boy was working it out.

At least that's what he said.

I talked to your niece.

Oh, yeah?

She's doing just fine.

She told me... Benny had some hard times when he was a kid.

That child has bubbled from the start.

His daddy went off and left him before he was born.

I got myself married again when he was seven.

Everything hummed along good for a couple of years.

Then Benny started getting into little messes, you know.

What kind of messes?

Oh, cutting schools.

Smoking in the boys' room.

Pushing Miss Pruitt's 53 suitabaker down the street so she couldn't find it.

Can't stop.

Right.

Then they picked him up on shoplifting.

Candy bars.

They took him down to Juvenile Hall.

Martin didn't have no patience with that. He's going to teach him a lesson.

He wouldn't go down and fetch him, and he wouldn't let me either.

Then he...

I spent a whole week there.

When I come down to get him, I could see the hurt in his eyes.

A whole week in jail, a boy just past 12.

Maybe you could call that hard time.

Can we discuss this?

I'm ready.

I think we have a problem.

We've got too much material in here.

Good material.

Terrific material.

Question is, whose story do we run first?

Billy's story on the police or Milton Rossi's piece on the ghetto?

Well, they seem equal to me.

Two sides to the question, and you shouldn't read one without the other.

I think I'm only showing us the way to go, isn't it? We'll put Billy's story on

Officer Stewart on one side and Milton Rossi's story on Benny on the other.

You mean run them both side by side?

No. Devote the whole front page of Metro to it more if we have to.

When do we run this?

Monday.

Gee, that's the first day Temple appears.

The circulation numbers are up that day. We'll never know what's responsible.

This or your ten top plumbers.

We did a good job, I think.

I think we did, too.

Maybe we'll do it again sometime.

I take that as a compliment coming from you.

Which reminds me, I got something for you.

In case we're not together the next time you have to go into the neighborhood,

you might need it.

What is it?

No kidding you, this.

This card entitles the bearer, Joseph Rossi, to safe passage through the

and confers on him the title of honorary Negro.

Negro, does anyone still use that term?

I think that card's expired.

Known for his devotion to justice and peace.

He's revered throughout the world. We'll explore the extraordinary life of Pope

John Paul II on Biography tonight. And now, a helicopter crash leaves a young

officer crippled. Join us for Police Story, next on A &E.