Original subtitles

Thank you.

There's nothing here.

It's empty. Where's the shipment?

Joey, Joey, Joey, all you got to do is knock, huh?

All right, who tipped you?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Come on, who was it?

Hey, just because you made a little mistake here, let's not get paranoid,

You call me Joey one more time, I'm going to make you eat this flesh.

Now, you know, I give up my pension for just five minutes alone with this guy.

Just two minutes is all I need. Hey, come on.

Don't. Don't.

You are using my bare hands.

Come here.

All right, it's all right. Everything's all right here under control.

Your bosses are going to hear that you muscled me, Joey. I promise you. Oh, no,

you're going to hear from me, too.

You just cut the tag off your mattress. I'm going to be right in your face.

It's all right. I'm all right.

I'm all right, dear.

See, you can fix a lot of things, Harry.

But I'm one thing you can't fix, eh?

Let's go. Come on.

Yes, sir?

So I'll see you.

See you later.

There you are.

I've been looking all over for you.

What happened to you?

I cut myself shaving.

With a machete?

I got mugged.

Get out of here.

You got mugged?

No, not yet.

But Harry Landers sent them. You can be sure of that.

Harry Landers? You got Harry Landers on the brain, you know.

This is no ordinary mugging.

They took my badge and my gun.

Okay.

Okay.

Look, Joe.

Go home.

Cool off, all right? I'll cover for you.

That's a good idea.

I got some things to do.

Joe.

Joe, don't.

Look, I grabbed one of the guys. I ripped his pocket.

Found a laundry slip.

From an all -night joint on 11th. I want to go back there, recognize those guys.

I'm going to nail them.

Joe, don't go crazy.

I got to get my badge and my gun back.

Find those punks, and then I'm going to balance the books with Harry.

May I?

Good, ready to place, and I'll take delivery there.

Everything else is the same as always.

Ah, nothing, nothing. I just got a little heat on me. It's purely a

thing.

Uh -huh.

All right.

I'll expect to hear from you.

What are you doing here?

Who's got the call, Captain?

Where's, uh, Joe Peters?

Uh, we were on surveillance, and, uh, the suspect split up, so we had to

him separately.

So you don't know where he is, do you?

Uh, no, sir, not at the moment, no.

Michael, you got a long career ahead of you.

Don't you let one rotten apple spoil it for you, yeah?

I don't know what you mean, sir.

I want you to tell me the truth, Michael.

Did Joe Peters do this?

It's a beauty, Roy.

Runs like a top. This truck will take any hill in Georgia in high gear.

How'd you come by?

Did you know George Gibson? No.

Well, I helped George make out his will just before he died.

And he paid you with the truck? Paid me with the truck.

How much do you want for it?

Hold on.

Well,

look at the tires and the shape it's in.

Well,

just a few places.

Listen to this.

This is the hardest.

Huh?

Kind of like a Budapest temple.

How much do you say?

Five hundred.

I'll give you three hundred.

I'll take $475 ,000.

$325 ,000.

$460 ,000. $350 ,000. $450 ,000.

$375 ,000.

I'll tell you what.

Take it home, have Estelle drive it a couple of weeks.

If she likes it, give me $400 ,000. If she doesn't, just have her park it out

back. Tell Estelle happy birthday and drive it in good health.

Well, Joe, off today, huh?

Hey, Ben.

Joe, I said you'd be here. Oh, yeah.

A lot of stuff to do tonight.

It'll stop that...

I've got to talk to you.

Let's walk along.

You heard about Harry Landers. He was the biggest fence around and he always

knew when a bus was going down.

Well, somebody was tipping him off.

You don't say.

I think Landers was iced by somebody in the department.

The same guy he was paying off.

Joe Peters is guilty.

No doubt about it. Joe Peters does a lot of things, but dirty he's not.

We've got his gun.

The boy's found in the sewer a couple of blocks from Landers' warehouse where he

tossed it afterwards.

And Ballistic says it's the same bullets they dug out of Harry Landers.

And we've got an eyewitness that puts them at the theme.

I thought he had an alibi.

So did he.

My partner tried to cover for me, but it's not going to scan.

Have you got a knife?

Landers was shot.

I mean to open this sack of feet.

Internal affairs is on the case.

Thank you.

They like me for taking out Landers.

I was taking out a cleaning joint looking for the guys who mugged me when

Landers was killed.

But I can't substantiate that I was there.

The gun was found near the scene.

Those clowns who took it were working for whoever set me up.

Peters was on Landers' payroll.

Well, it doesn't make any sense. If he was on his payroll, why would he kill

him? What are you, his lawyer?

No, I'm not his lawyer. The man was a cop.

My cop. And I want to know what kind of case you got against him before I run

out here and charge him with murder.

This is a copy of his bank statement.

You'll notice a deposit was made 10 days ago. $50 ,000.

And you think this is bribe money?

Well, he didn't get it from the tooth fairy.

Yeah, got him.

Danny Rooster's got his eye on that Rhode Island red hen.

Every time that big rooster comes around, he wants to fight.

Kind of silly, isn't it?

Well, are you going to take my case or not?

Last time I saw you was in a courtroom.

You were trying to railroad my client, Mr. James Plesko, into the penitentiary.

Seemed like you were about to get the same deal you gave Mr. Plesko.

I was just doing my job.

And who's to say he didn't do it?

The jury found him innocent.

All right, if you're not going to take my case, why did you say so to begin

with? I didn't say I wouldn't take your case.

This seems kind of poetic, the turn of circumstances here.

Ben, this is my neck.

Those guys don't like me to begin with.

I mean, they're gonna nail me.

Ben, I need you.

All right, what's it gonna be?

Well, if I'm going into town, I've got to go in the house and change.

You're not the smartest cop I ever saw, but I don't think you're dumb enough to

kill this fella and concoct a story like this one.

Ben.

I didn't do it.

That's just what Mr. Plesko said.

It's true Joe Peters has been disciplined for using force.

But he has three citations for valor and a commendation from the mayor's office.

He's been hospitalized five times for injuries received in the line of duty.

Joe Peters is innocent and expects to be vindicated by the court.

That's all.

Not much.

There's dozens of prints in there, but they're all smudged.

Lander's .357 Magnums in the desk drawer hadn't been fired.

You know Joe Peter?

We've met.

Where was the body?

Over here in this little office.

Now, whoever pulled the trigger was standing directly across the desk from

when they fired the shot.

Thank you, Mr. Quill. You're welcome.

What's his story?

He's the eyewitness who says he saw you running away.

He's lying.

No.

You don't talk to or touch anybody.

You get any bright ideas, check them with me. Say hello to my daughter,

Charlene. How do you do?

All right, so what did you do?

Well, I'd say...

Let's try to find those fellas who took your gun and badge.

I'll stake out that laundry. They'll be coming back here sooner or later. Kyle,

you go with it.

If he sees them, you make contact.

You just look and point. Do I make myself clear?

Absolutely.

Let's go.

You send me on a stakeout with Dirty Harry?

Somebody has to do it, and I'm too old.

Shall I have a talk with his partner, Danilo?

Yeah. I'll be at the department.

See if anybody down there remembers my name.

Good morning,

gentlemen. You here on the Peters case?

Yeah.

Good luck.

What did you expect, Ben?

I'm hoping maybe Joe Peters had a friend or two.

Joe Peters is not a very popular man around here nowadays, Ben.

What about you?

Well, I'll say this for him. He was a hard charger.

But he also had the lowest conviction rate on my squad. I mean, a guy charged

out half -cock, bad warrants, insufficient evidence.

Well, what happens to the Harry Landers investigation if he goes to prison?

I don't know. Maybe we'll do better.

Are you saying you think Joe was on his payroll?

Well, how would you explain 50 grand in his bank account?

Anybody could have deposited that money without Joe's knowledge.

$50 ,000?

That's a drop in the bucket to a big operation.

Besides, if he was paying him, why kill the goose that laid the golden egg?

I sure would like to take a look at the Harry Landers file.

Oh, come on, Ben. You know I can't do that. The file's a confidential. It's an

ongoing investigation.

I can make a discovery motion.

Well, if you do, you'll have to come back to me with the judge's signature.

You know that.

Let me ask you this.

How long do you think Joe will last in prison?

I don't know.

It's out of my hands.

Yeah.

I guess it is.

See you, Frank.

Tony, another round for the boys here. Put it on my tab.

Ain't got no tab.

Don't start me a tab.

I won't repeat it anymore.

This guy, when I worked with Joe, he made me pay cash for everything in case

something happened.

Isn't that right? Do you remember you?

That's me.

What can I do you for?

I work with Ben Matlock.

They said I could find you here.

Yeah, well, they were right.

I need to talk with you. My pleasure.

Shall we take a table?

With good luck.

Can I get you a drink?

No, thank you.

Some guys.

Some guys get all the breaks.

Joe's even got a beautiful attorney.

You were a good friend to Joe.

Yeah, better than he deserved.

How's that?

I'll tell you, darling, the life expectancy for Joe's partners was about

years. By then, they either got killed or quit the force.

Joe is not exactly what you call a rabbit's foot.

I see.

You said he was on that stakeout with you.

He needed an alibi.

That's what partners do.

Whether they love each other or not.

You got any more questions?

Of course, if not, we could have dinner at a place a lot nicer than this.

Detective Danello. Call me Mike.

According to the police radio log, it took seven minutes from the time you

answered the call to get to Harry Lander's warehouse.

So... You reported in from Central 11th.

And it takes 20 minutes to get from there to the Lander's warehouse.

You're wrong.

No, I'm not.

I drove it myself.

Well, I was in a police car.

Yeah, but it was an unmarked car.

And again, according to the log, you responded code two, which means that you

weren't using your lights or your siren and you should have been obeying the

speed limit.

So maybe I went a little too fast.

Maybe.

What's this, a speeding ticket?

No.

It's your subpoena.

I'll see you in court.

You mind?

Yes, I do.

You don't like me, do you, friend?

Let's just say you played it kind of rough with a few of my buddies.

That's them.

Just wait a minute. Let's go.

Hey!

Hey!

My leg. Please don't. Just don't. Still.

Well, that's good to hear.

Why shouldn't I be?

I've got a broken leg, and I'm being railroaded for murder.

We ran the license number on that car through the DMV.

You know Donald Stiles?

No.

Tyler's tracking down the address on the registration.

Lots of luck.

We'll see.

Your partner, Mike Dinello?

What about him?

His alibi for the Landers killing was as funny as the one he gave you.

He wasn't at that surveillance either.

I know.

Where was he?

Probably with some bimbo.

Your doctor says you won't be up and about for another month.

That's what I hear.

We'll have your trial continued.

No. You finish it now.

Sure, you have a right to be there.

Listen, just do me a favor.

However it turns out, just get it over with.

For God's sake, finish it.

Sorry to bother you, ma 'am, but I'm looking for Donald Stiles.

Are you the police?

No, I'm an old friend of his.

Nobody by that name. I'm here all alone.

Go away, or I'll call the cops.

As I approached the building...

I heard what sounded to me like a gunshot.

Then what happened?

Well, then the side door of the warehouse flung open and this man came

out. Did you recognize him?

Yes, sir. I did. It was Detective Joseph Peters.

Are you certain?

Oh, yes, sir.

I recognized him from the day before when he attacked Mr. Landers.

There's no doubt about it. It was him.

Thank you.

Nothing further, Your Honor.

Mr. Coyle, how long did you work at the warehouse before Mr. Landers was killed?

Four days.

And how did you obtain this position in the first place?

Well, I saw it in an ad in a newspaper.

You ever done this kind of work before?

No. Did you carry a gun on the job?

Yes.

Now, Mr. Coyle, this is an application to become a bonded security guard

carrying a gun in this state.

Now... By understanding, it takes 90 days to become permanently bond.

Well, that's right, but you can start working as soon as you finish filling

the application.

Oh.

Well, tell me this, Mr. Corb.

Have you ever been convicted of a felony?

Yes.

And isn't it true that you've had over 30 arrests?

Objection. Improper questioning.

But the felony?

That was a conviction for armed robbery, wasn't it?

Yes.

Mr. Collin, it states very clearly on this application that you cannot have a

felony conviction and become a bonded security guard in this state.

Are you aware of that?

No. Well, didn't you read the application before you signed it?

Yes, but maybe I missed that part.

Or maybe you lied.

It seems to me you never intended to be a security guard very long. Maybe four

days was enough.

Just enough to bear false witness in the Harry Landers' murder.

Objection! No further questions, Your Honor.

Thanks for coming, Frank.

Free lunch went out.

I had Tom Coyle on the stand.

Yeah? Yep.

He's had 32 arrests.

All nickel and dime stuff.

But arrests.

One conviction.

He's an informant. That's how he keeps getting off.

He's working for somebody in your department.

Someone on my police department?

Yep.

Well, I find that just a little hard to believe, Ben. Sure looks like it. I need

to know who.

Damn, Ben.

And if somebody on the department is doing something illegal and got that

of an informant... You don't run to the files and get it. I mean, you keep it to

himself.

Ain't nothing easier, Frank.

You and I go back a long ways.

And all either of us ever wanted was the truth.

Without it, Joe Peters is going to be convicted of a murder he didn't commit.

Now, somebody in the department was tipping off Harry Landers. And that same

somebody got Tom Coyle to point the finger at Joe.

But what you're asking me to do, I mean, that puts me in a bad spot, Ben. I know

it does.

But you arrested him, you've got a stake in this whether you like it or not.

Come on, I'd rather take a beating.

The truth, Frank.

The truth.

Without it, Joe is out of luck, and so am I, and so are you.

Ben, I've been a cop for 23 years, and I've never, I have never spied on my

brother officer.

All I'm asking is look into it.

Then if you don't think there's a connection, I'll forget the whole thing

you're off the hook.

Thanks,

man.

I show you this police revolver marked People's Exhibit 70. Can you identify

Yes, sir. It has my initials.

Would you tell the court where you found it?

On a ledge in a sewer three blocks west of Harry Lander's warehouse.

Had it not dropped on the ledge, had it fallen all the way into the sewer, what

would have become of this gun?

I think it's safe to say it never would have been found.

As part of your duties, did you have a ballistics test performed on this

Yes, sir, I did.

And what were the results?

Bullets taken from the deceased and those fired in laboratory tests of this

weapon showed a significant number of points of comparison.

In your opinion, it was the murder weapon, correct?

In my opinion, yes, sir.

As requested, did you bring with you today the departmental records

the ownership and the registration of Officer Peter's service revolvers? Yes,

sir, I did. And?

The weapon is registered to Detective Joseph Peters.

No further questions, Your Honor.

I'll take that.

Officer Price, would you characterize the decedent and Detective Peters as

friends or as enemies?

As enemies.

I see.

Did you participate in the search of the premises after the murder? Yes, ma 'am,

I did.

And would you mind telling the court what you found in the upper right -hand

drawer of Mr. Landers' desk?

A .357 Magnum revolver.

Now, if Mr. Landers and Detective Peters were enemies, as you say, don't you

find it strange that Mr. Landers didn't take out his gun?

Unless, of course, it was somebody else that Harry Landers let into his office

that day.

Somebody Landers thought was a friend.

And that's why he never took out his gun.

Objection. No further questions, Your Honor.

What is it?

You seen Frank Daniels anywhere?

No. What?

Hoping he'd come through with a little inside information.

You think he will?

I don't know. It's pretty hard on him.

Well, I'm going to lunch. I better hang around here.

All right. I have some errands to do.

Charlene.

Could you lend me a five?

I left my money in my other suit.

What other suit?

Could you let me have the phone?

Okay.

One, two, three, four.

Here's five.

Now, stay away from the hot dogs. Yeah.

Ben, this is a phone call for you. Thanks.

As soon as I am.

Ben Matlock.

Yeah, Ben, it's Tyler.

I went to the address on Donnie Stiles' registration.

There was nobody there but an old lady in a wheelchair since she lives alone.

But I did spot some fresh oil in the driveway.

Any sign of his car?

Guess what? About ten minutes ago, he pulled up, parked it in the garage.

Good work, Tyler. Keep an eye on him.

and have a new breakfast.

Evening, Counselor. Evening.

You know, the more I get into this case, the more certain I am that Harry

Landers had an informant inside the department.

What's that going to do for your client?

Well, with a little bit of luck and an intelligent jury, I think it's going to

clear it.

See, Joe Peters wasn't the inside man.

You were.

I was?

See, when Joe started getting close, you had to shut things down pretty fast.

So you planted your man, Tom Coyle. Then you either killed Harry Landers or you

had him killed.

And Tom Coyle was right there to hang the murder on Joe.

You don't think I can convince the jury of this, do you?

No.

Come see for yourself.

This subpoena guarantees you the best seat in the house.

I wouldn't miss it for the world.

had a little talk

morning

donnie who are you i'm joe peter's lawyer well what do you want from me

i want to help you help me help you keep from getting in deeper

donnie i don't know what you're talking about we're talking about murder

Who sent you to steal Joe Peters' gun?

I didn't steal any gun.

Donnie, let's play a let's say game.

Let's say that I'm somebody, maybe a cop, and I want to get rid of a couple

guys.

I want to kill Harry Landers, and I want Joe Peters to get the blame for it.

Now, what do you think would be a good move for me?

I don't know. Why don't you tell me?

How about this?

How about I hire a couple of kids, and one of them is a pretty good pickpocket.

And I hire this kid to steal Joe Peter's gun.

Well, while he's at it, he takes his badge, too, but that's okay. Now, I

tell the kid that the gun's going to be used for murder. He might not like that.

He just gets the gun.

Then later, if he wants to holler, I can get rid of the kid anytime, one way or

another.

The gun you stole was used to kill Harry Landers.

You're an accessory to murder, Donnie.

And like they used to say in the movies, that buys the big ticket.

Unless you cooperate, it's just gonna get worse.

Get out of my way.

Here.

My number's on that. Call any time.

That's the last we'll see of him.

Maybe.

What's the problem? The cop's lawyer.

He came and saw me yesterday.

He knows who we are.

Correction. He knows who you are, Donnie.

You didn't give him anything else, did you?

Now, you look.

I shined him on, but you got to get him off of me.

Now, he says that I could be an accessory.

Now, I said I would take care of you, and I will.

Don't worry.

But you fuck around with me, boy.

And there's places I can lose you as easy as a paperclip.

Now, I got guys on the inside who owe me favors.

You'll be worth maybe, maybe a pack of cigarettes. Now, you got that.

Yeah, right.

Right, anything you say.

Fine.

Fine.

Everything's gonna be fine.

We're gonna look back on this and we're gonna laugh. I promise you.

Just to be on the safe side.

I got something I want you to do, Eddie, okay?

Absolutely, Mr. B.

You bet.

Captain Brown, for the last 18 months, you've headed a task force

investigating the criminal activities of Mr.

Harry Landers, have you not?

Yes. And Mr. Landers is reputed to be a fence, that is, a receiver and dealer in

stolen goods, is that correct?

Yes.

As a result of your investigations, did you determine that Mr. Landers dealt in

thousands of dollars of materials or hundreds of thousands or in the

Probably in the millions.

A large operation, in other words.

Where did he keep all this merchandise?

In various places, warehouses around the city.

Did you ever raid these various places?

Oh, yes.

According to departmental records, 27 separate raids on these warehouses. Does

that sound about right to you?

Oh, I don't remember the exact number, but that sounds right.

As a result of these raids, were you able to obtain an arrest and conviction

Mr. Lambert?

Never.

Not even once?

No.

That's remarkable.

One might assume that he knew when you were coming.

Yes, sir.

It's my opinion that Detective Peters was tipping Mr. Landers off.

Objection. Highly improper. Move to strike.

Granted. The statement shall be stricken.

Captain Braddock, you've been in the witness box before. You know the game.

I ask the questions. You answer just my questions.

No opinions. No speculations.

Do we understand each other?

Objection. Mr. Matlock is harassing his own witness.

I apologize to the court and withdraw the last question.

Mr. Braddock.

Before these raids happened, who knew the time and place?

Peters always knew.

As head of the task force, you must have known.

Yes. And who else?

The judge who signed the warrant, the clerk of his court, backup personnel,

watch commander, desk sergeant, motor pool officer. Did I leave out anybody?

Captain Dredd, the most telling evidence against Detective Peters is that his

gun has been positively identified as the murder weapon.

But defense contends that that gun was stolen 24 hours before the murder took

place. Yes, sir. I'm aware that is your contention.

Now, Detective Peters' badge was also stolen at the same time, we assume, by

same people.

The gun's been found by officers working under your supervision, but the shield

is still missing. Where do you suppose it is?

I have no idea.

Whoever stole that gun, or had it stolen, is likely responsible for Harry

Lander's murder.

If your contention is correct.

If our contention is correct.

Now, let me make it clear.

Detective Peter's badge was also stolen at the same time. Now, you will agree.

If we knew who has that badge, it would go a long ways to support

defense's claim.

I suppose, theoretically, yes.

Would Mr. Donnie Stiles please stand?

You recognize this man?

No.

You've never seen him before?

No. Objection, Your Honor. Question was asked and answered.

Obtained.

Captain Braddock, this young man says he knows you.

He stepped forward this morning and made a deposition under oath that he and a

friend stole Detective Peter's gun at your instructions and in the process

his badge as well. That is a complete fabrication.

Objection. If the defense has a witness, let's swear him in and put him on the

stand. Otherwise... Mr.

Prosecutor, I intend to do just that if it becomes necessary. But right now, I

would like to continue my examination of the witness already on the stand.

Proceed, Counselor. Thank you, Your Honor.

Captain Braddock, isn't it a departmental rule that Atlanta policemen

their shields at all times?

Yes.

Do you have yours with you now?

Yes.

May I take a look at it, please?

Don't hand it to me. Just hold it up so I can look at it.

What's the number?

830. You sure?

Yes, I'm sure.

That's interesting.

Doesn't say 830.

This is a detective's badge.

771.

That's Joe Peter's badge.

Your Honor.

We'd like to offer this badge as defendant's exhibit G.

Captain Braddock, how did you come to be in possession of this badge?

Then I'll tell you.

Donnie Stiles is an expert pickpocket.

When you met with him and Eddie Leeds this morning, he bumped you.

And in so doing, he switched your badge and holder for Joe Peters.

You're the one Harry Landers was paying off. No, sir. Absolutely not.

He threatened to expose you unless you got Joe Peters off his back. That's not

true. So you hired Donnie Stiles and Eddie Leeds to steal Joe Peters' gun,

you used that gun to kill Harry Landers. These questions are insulting and

defamatory. And isn't it true at this very moment, Eddie Leeds is at County

General Hospital sent there by you to kill Joe Peters?

Break your arms!

If Joe Peters were killed, there would be no further investigations into this

matter.

And so Eddie Leeds, acting on orders from Captain Braddock, did in fact try

kill Joe Peters while he lay helpless in a hospital bed.

What the court decides to do with Captain Braddock is out of my hands.

asking of you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is that you set Joe Peters, an

innocent man, free of all charges.

Thank you.

Be seated.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

We find the defendant not guilty.

Court is adjourned.

I want to thank you.

Why not?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.