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Subtitles by explosiveskull

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I had, uh,
more lights here.

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I had, you know,
makeup lights here.

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I had spray bottles.

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All different kind
of makeup.

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Uh, I had to go to work.

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I had to go arrest
prostitutes..

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...and I hated the job.

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I told myself, "Frank

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"you're goin'
on stage tonight.

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"And, uh, the audience
is out there

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and, uh, you gotta really
put this over."

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I told myself
I was an actor.

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And, uh..

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I just had to sell
my role, you know.

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I got my training

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in the streets
of New York

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where I played
many roles

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from a doctor
to a derelict.

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And, how well I played
those roles

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my life depended on it.

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Tell us about
the real Serpico.

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This is a story about
a real American hero,

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but it's not
a happy story.

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Only one man has successfully
exposed the system

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of cover-up
and corruption in

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New York's Police Department
from the inside out.

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His name,
Frank Serpico.

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Serpico made
repeated pleas

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to police
and city officials

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to investigate widespread
corruption

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in the
police department.

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Frank is
an honorable man,

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a dedicated man,
a loner.

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His decision
is what prompted

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Peter Maas
to write the book

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that inspired
the movie.

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The shattering impact
of Serpico

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He was forced
to become an outsider

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because he tried
to live up

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to an ideal
of honest police work.

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Like the movie
"Serpico"

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the real Frank Serpico
was shot

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in the face
by a narcotics dealer.

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The detective has bullet
fragments

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still in his skull.

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For a time, some people
suspected a set-up.

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In 1972,
Serpico exiled himself

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and left the controversy
and his country behind.

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The bullet
was never removed

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because it,
it shattered.

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I got a piece
in my jaw.

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One piece came out
my ear one day.

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You know, I got
a 9 millimeter piece

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nudging my
carotid artery.

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I couldn't open a door

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without
being very cautious

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if anybody
was behind it.

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These were all, uh,

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after-effect
of, uh,

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of, uh,
of what happened.

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Alright.

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Let's see if I can
make it outta here.

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See if my guy's here.
There he is. Okay.

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See that crow?

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Uh, I'm gonna put
food out for him.

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I meet people today

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and they say,
"You were a cop?

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How... how could you
have been a cop?"

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They think that cops only
think one certain way.

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In fact, even before
I became a cop

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I was a youth
social worker.

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Uh, police officers,
to me

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wasn't just
locking up criminals...

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it was keeping kids
out of jail.

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You know,
it was a calling to me.

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Both my grandfathers
were coalminers.

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My father's father,
on his last paycheck

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was stabbed and robbed
of his payroll.

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But he made it back
to Italy

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and he impregnated
my grandmother

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and then he died

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Maybe in my mind,
as a little kid

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hearing that story was,

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you know, "I'll catch
that guy some day."

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You go out there

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looking for justice.

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When Italian-Americans
came to this country

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they were not even
considered

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part of the white race.

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At Ellis Island

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there was a separate category
for Southern Italians.

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These immigrants,
they're different from

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the previous generations
of Italians

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who had come from
Northern Italy.

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They're illiterate. They
have a different religion.

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They'll never learn
the English language.

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They're practically
Africans.

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Once they got to America,
what did they find?

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There was someone
who said

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"I came to America,
I found out

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"A, the streets
are not paved with gold.

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"Uh, B,
they're not paved at all.

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And, C, I was supposed to
pave them."

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For someone
like Serpico's parents

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it must've been not just
the cultural shock

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but a kinda
psychological trauma.

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There were shoeshine
booths up there.

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And, uh, here was the counter
and here was the workspace.

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My father, he had
canaries all up in there

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and every time he'd turn the
machines on, they would sing.

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And, when
the bird was born

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sometimes the parents
would abandon him

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and my father
would feed them.

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He was a prisoner.

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He was a POW.

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And, uh, ahem, I guess
you learn things

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from human nature and

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and this was his,
his respite, you know.

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He never heard of
the word "zen"

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but he was, uh,
he was very zen.

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I used to shine shoes
in his store.

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I remember, it was
a sunny day like today

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and I'm standing
over here

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and I see this big
burly cop walks in.

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And, uh, he walks up and
he says, "Gimme a shine."

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And I'm looking up
at him like, "Wow.

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I'm shining the shoes
of the law."

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I gave him the best shine
I could, you know.

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He steps down,
turns around

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and walks out the door.

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He didn't pay me.

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He didn't say
thank you.

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Although he had
the shield of the law

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he demeaned it
by his actions.

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The following week

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my father looks
and he sees him coming.

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And he's waiting for him
as he comes in the door.

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"Good morning, Officer.

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You want a shine?"

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He said, "Yeah."

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"Ten cents. Pay first."

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The burly cop
was never seen again.

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What I learned, I learned
from my parents.

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My father said, "Never
run when you're right."

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Guy's a hell
of a parker.

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It feels different.

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Well, I was much younger,
then.

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I lived here

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all through the '50s.

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My early, uh, teens.

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America's society
did succeed

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in instilling
in immigrants that

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you have a larger public
responsibility.

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You know, to be educated,
to vote, to participate.

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But there's something
else going on too.

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On the one hand,
you grow up

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and you're told
to respect authority.

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But, if you listen to
the adults

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speaking at
the adult table

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there's always
a kind of

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skepticism
about political power.

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There are people
with power

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and there are people who have
to bow down before power.

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You have to be
suspicious.

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What happens when you go
into these institutions

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and you see
that it's a racket?

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When I got out
of the service,

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I went
to Brooklyn College.

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And what did I study?
Police Science.

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I would even come
to school

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with navy blue pants
and a trench coat

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because I wanted
to play the part.

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You know, they say
if you play the part

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you become
the part, right?

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When I became a cop

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I wanted to be
in the Youth Squad.

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I went to
one of the locations.

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I saw the guys
that I worked with.

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And they say,
"Hey, Mr. Serpico."

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Cop says, "Where do you
know this guy from?"

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I said, "I was
a social worker."

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And he, with his club..

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This is the

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rehabilitation
they understand.

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That's the attitude.

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There's some memory I'm
trying to recall here.

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I used to climb up
that ladder

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push the, uh, lid off.

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Helped me a lot
when I was a cop.

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I went up a lotta those.

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So, I'm workin'
in uniform.

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You know,
I'd stop somebody

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and the guy'd say,
"Officer

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"can you give me
a break?

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All I have in my wallet
is $35."

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00:13:56,101 --> 00:13:58,103
The guy's gonna bribe me,
you know.

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Go back to the car.

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00:14:01,441 --> 00:14:04,442
The old guys that are
supposed to be training you

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00:14:04,444 --> 00:14:06,112
they called them
"hair bags."

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I say, "This guy
just offered me $35."

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00:14:11,117 --> 00:14:13,950
He says, "Get in the car.
I'll take care of it."

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00:14:13,952 --> 00:14:16,121
He comes back with $35.

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"Here, we split
everything." I said "No.

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I don't...
I don't want that."

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00:14:23,963 --> 00:14:25,963
That was
my first lesson,

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00:14:25,965 --> 00:14:28,468
the job is not
on the level.

208
00:14:30,135 --> 00:14:32,386
And it just got worse
and worse

209
00:14:32,388 --> 00:14:34,012
and it went bigger
and bigger.

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00:14:50,989 --> 00:14:52,533
I used to live
on these streets.

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00:15:03,043 --> 00:15:06,253
People couldn't find
the West Village.

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00:15:06,255 --> 00:15:08,839
It wasn't on
the numerical grid

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00:15:08,841 --> 00:15:10,342
that the rest of
New York was on.

214
00:15:12,512 --> 00:15:16,222
We came there because
we didn't identify

215
00:15:16,224 --> 00:15:19,183
somehow,
with the rest of society

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00:15:19,185 --> 00:15:21,519
You were artists

217
00:15:21,521 --> 00:15:23,438
or you were
intellectuals

218
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,274
or you were gay.

219
00:15:26,276 --> 00:15:29,861
This was no place for a
police officer to live.

220
00:15:29,863 --> 00:15:31,071
Really, no place.

221
00:15:33,450 --> 00:15:36,617
I knew he was a policeman
when I moved in.

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00:15:36,619 --> 00:15:38,578
I don't know
if he told us

223
00:15:38,580 --> 00:15:40,038
but we knew.

224
00:15:41,582 --> 00:15:43,540
We were
like simple hippies.

225
00:15:43,542 --> 00:15:46,376
So, we were
supposed to be like

226
00:15:46,378 --> 00:15:48,590
Capulets and Montagues
or something.

227
00:15:50,550 --> 00:15:52,091
But he must've been
attracted

228
00:15:52,093 --> 00:15:54,137
to the same things
we were attracted to.

229
00:15:56,723 --> 00:15:58,973
Individuality
was very important.

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00:15:58,975 --> 00:16:02,226
And I think I gravitated
toward him as a person

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00:16:02,228 --> 00:16:05,563
because I knew
he had that.

232
00:16:05,565 --> 00:16:07,566
I knew he was
on our side.

233
00:16:09,402 --> 00:16:12,737
It was a... a
very independent view

234
00:16:12,739 --> 00:16:15,074
of what a policeman
could be.

235
00:16:20,662 --> 00:16:23,664
He was the type of guy
that I could click with.

236
00:16:23,666 --> 00:16:26,751
You know, he was a
Brooklyn guy, so was I.

237
00:16:26,753 --> 00:16:30,921
He was interested in making
collars and, uh, so was I.

238
00:16:30,923 --> 00:16:33,841
And, uh,
we got to be friends.

239
00:16:33,843 --> 00:16:36,426
We had a vision of
what policing was about.

240
00:16:36,428 --> 00:16:38,679
It was kind of
a little naive

241
00:16:38,681 --> 00:16:40,934
but, nonetheless, you know,
it's something good.

242
00:16:43,311 --> 00:16:47,188
My generation of cops
were different thinking

243
00:16:47,190 --> 00:16:50,607
than a more
stereotype image of a cop.

244
00:16:50,609 --> 00:16:53,944
There's more, uh, serious
things to do in policing

245
00:16:53,946 --> 00:16:57,658
and not, uh, harass or arrest
someone for a minor charge.

246
00:16:59,326 --> 00:17:02,786
As I recall, Paco got
what I was trying to do.

247
00:17:02,788 --> 00:17:05,790
And I found out that he, uh,
lived in The West Village

248
00:17:05,792 --> 00:17:07,457
not too far
from where I lived.

249
00:17:07,459 --> 00:17:10,295
And we started
our friendship from there.

250
00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,384
You know, if you get
a rapport going

251
00:17:16,386 --> 00:17:18,469
and people trust you

252
00:17:18,471 --> 00:17:21,724
the police could
do, uh, good things.

253
00:17:25,145 --> 00:17:26,351
We spoke the language,

254
00:17:26,353 --> 00:17:28,479
we... we understood
certain things

255
00:17:28,481 --> 00:17:32,149
because you were
raised up that way.

256
00:17:32,151 --> 00:17:34,319
PEP was about
community policing.

257
00:17:35,988 --> 00:17:39,156
The difference in then
and now

258
00:17:39,158 --> 00:17:40,992
I wasn't a bully.

259
00:17:40,994 --> 00:17:43,580
I was a police officer
doin' a job.

260
00:17:48,208 --> 00:17:50,376
Well, Frank's story
is very deep

261
00:17:50,378 --> 00:17:53,171
and hard to get
to the bottom of.

262
00:17:53,173 --> 00:17:56,007
He knew exactly
what, uh, he thought

263
00:17:56,009 --> 00:17:59,092
uh, police in a free
society ought to be.

264
00:17:59,094 --> 00:18:02,514
And, it gave him problems with h...
his fellow officers.

265
00:18:05,350 --> 00:18:06,850
The police from
the old school

266
00:18:06,852 --> 00:18:08,853
saw him as a traitor.

267
00:18:08,855 --> 00:18:10,354
Not to face that
is not to

268
00:18:10,356 --> 00:18:12,440
really understand
the whole story.

269
00:18:12,442 --> 00:18:14,359
That is the story,
in... in a way.

270
00:18:16,529 --> 00:18:18,529
If you want
an ethical society

271
00:18:18,531 --> 00:18:21,866
you have to work at it
all the time.

272
00:18:21,868 --> 00:18:23,951
The most important and
hardest place to have it

273
00:18:23,953 --> 00:18:25,705
is among
your enforcers.

274
00:18:28,248 --> 00:18:32,292
And Frank,
he immediately saw that

275
00:18:32,294 --> 00:18:36,547
and tried
to address it alone.

276
00:18:36,549 --> 00:18:39,884
Which is a tough role..

277
00:18:39,886 --> 00:18:42,052
...and we see where it,
where it took him.

278
00:19:00,072 --> 00:19:02,240
So now, there I was,

279
00:19:02,242 --> 00:19:04,159
in the detective
division.

280
00:19:07,580 --> 00:19:10,623
I had a beard,
I wore sandals

281
00:19:10,625 --> 00:19:13,084
and I lived
in Greenwich Village.

282
00:19:13,086 --> 00:19:16,589
And, they were using me
undercover.

283
00:19:19,926 --> 00:19:23,010
We knew he was
an undercover cop

284
00:19:23,012 --> 00:19:25,346
He had some disguises

285
00:19:25,348 --> 00:19:27,850
that we would occasionally
see him in

286
00:19:29,644 --> 00:19:30,851
There was something
theatrical

287
00:19:30,853 --> 00:19:33,437
about him
in his profession

288
00:19:33,439 --> 00:19:38,651
which I understood, being in...
in theater arts.

289
00:19:38,653 --> 00:19:39,654
He did it well.

290
00:19:46,619 --> 00:19:47,829
I had to go to work.

291
00:19:49,121 --> 00:19:52,623
I had to go arrest
prostitutes

292
00:19:52,625 --> 00:19:53,960
and I hated the job.

293
00:19:56,628 --> 00:20:00,798
"Hello, you'll give me
a good time?"

294
00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:02,466
"Sure. What do ya like?"

295
00:20:02,468 --> 00:20:04,719
"Uh, you know,
what I like."

296
00:20:04,721 --> 00:20:07,512
"What do you do, eh,
something special?"

297
00:20:07,514 --> 00:20:09,348
"Eh, how much is cost?"

298
00:20:09,350 --> 00:20:11,850
"I don't have this kinda
money, you know?"

299
00:20:11,852 --> 00:20:14,645
"Yeah, that's the best
you can do?"

300
00:20:14,647 --> 00:20:16,897
"You didn't take
your clothes off yet?"

301
00:20:16,899 --> 00:20:20,651
"Uh, is, uh, police.
You under arrest."

302
00:20:20,653 --> 00:20:23,320
"Ha-ha, come on, let's
get outta here, Shirley."

303
00:20:23,322 --> 00:20:25,990
"Hey, you no go
no place, eh?"

304
00:20:25,992 --> 00:20:28,492
"Hey, what are you gonna do
with that cigarette lighter?"

305
00:20:28,494 --> 00:20:30,494
Boom! Into the mattress.

306
00:20:30,496 --> 00:20:31,830
"Oh, Jesus!"

307
00:20:36,668 --> 00:20:38,754
I was one of those
undercover guys.

308
00:20:42,841 --> 00:20:45,217
When you lie in life,
and we've all lied

309
00:20:45,219 --> 00:20:47,177
there's a stress
to that

310
00:20:47,179 --> 00:20:49,847
because you have to keep
that lie up.

311
00:20:49,849 --> 00:20:51,223
Well, now,
we're asking you to

312
00:20:51,225 --> 00:20:53,059
do lying
at the ultimate.

313
00:20:53,061 --> 00:20:55,353
You're gonna become
a whole 'nother person.

314
00:20:55,355 --> 00:20:57,230
You have to mimic
the people

315
00:20:57,232 --> 00:20:58,566
that you're trying
to infiltrate.

316
00:21:01,528 --> 00:21:03,194
Coming back
to being who you

317
00:21:03,196 --> 00:21:05,115
really are
is difficult.

318
00:21:12,705 --> 00:21:14,371
Most of the guys
in the undercover

319
00:21:14,373 --> 00:21:16,040
were married
and had kids.

320
00:21:16,042 --> 00:21:17,375
He was a single guy

321
00:21:17,377 --> 00:21:20,127
living
in Greenwich Village.

322
00:21:20,129 --> 00:21:21,712
And maybe they sensed
that... that

323
00:21:21,714 --> 00:21:24,714
he was too much of
a... a free-wheeler.

324
00:21:24,716 --> 00:21:26,384
You know, he may wind up
living with

325
00:21:26,386 --> 00:21:27,717
these people
that he's working with.

326
00:21:27,719 --> 00:21:29,388
'Cause that does happen
in undercover.

327
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:35,225
At the time,
the department

328
00:21:35,227 --> 00:21:38,229
was run mainly by
the Irish Catholics.

329
00:21:38,231 --> 00:21:40,481
And Frank was looked
down upon.

330
00:21:40,483 --> 00:21:43,233
All he wanted was
to be a detective

331
00:21:43,235 --> 00:21:44,736
and get
the gold shield.

332
00:21:46,238 --> 00:21:48,280
And, th... they figured,
"If he wants it

333
00:21:48,282 --> 00:21:49,406
we're not gonna
give it to him."

334
00:21:52,579 --> 00:21:54,328
The NYPD, at the time

335
00:21:54,330 --> 00:21:56,916
was basically
a club atmosphere.

336
00:21:58,501 --> 00:22:00,917
The institution
like Stepford Wives.

337
00:22:00,919 --> 00:22:03,921
They want everybody to
toe the same line

338
00:22:03,923 --> 00:22:07,301
have the same opinions,
do the same job.

339
00:22:09,303 --> 00:22:12,597
They can control
that cop.

340
00:22:12,599 --> 00:22:14,848
But, there
has to be room

341
00:22:14,850 --> 00:22:16,600
for the innovator.

342
00:22:16,602 --> 00:22:18,351
And Frank is probably

343
00:22:18,353 --> 00:22:19,936
the most
innovative individual

344
00:22:19,938 --> 00:22:22,191
who's ever worn
an NYPD uniform.

345
00:22:23,525 --> 00:22:24,817
So, you're no longer

346
00:22:24,819 --> 00:22:28,695
the go-along-to-get-along
kinda guy.

347
00:22:28,697 --> 00:22:30,114
That becomes

348
00:22:30,116 --> 00:22:32,786
very uncomforting
to the establishment.

349
00:22:35,705 --> 00:22:38,457
One night, I had to use
the bathroom.

350
00:22:41,503 --> 00:22:43,836
And the lights go on.

351
00:22:43,838 --> 00:22:46,630
And it's the,
uh, inspector.

352
00:22:46,632 --> 00:22:48,549
And he says,

353
00:22:48,551 --> 00:22:52,220
"Serpico, what were you
doing in the shithouse

354
00:22:52,222 --> 00:22:55,473
in the dark
with another man?"

355
00:22:55,475 --> 00:22:57,974
I said, "What?"

356
00:22:57,976 --> 00:22:59,976
And he says,
"I couldn't stand you

357
00:22:59,978 --> 00:23:02,813
"from the first day
you walked in here

358
00:23:02,815 --> 00:23:04,482
"with your long hair
and your beard

359
00:23:04,484 --> 00:23:07,403
and your sandals and livin'
in Greenwich Village."

360
00:23:09,822 --> 00:23:13,031
So, I knew
what was gonna happen.

361
00:23:13,033 --> 00:23:16,036
I'm gonna get flopped
back into uniform.

362
00:23:18,580 --> 00:23:20,998
I went out and I bought me
a tape recorder.

363
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,169
It was the best in the
market at that time.

364
00:23:26,004 --> 00:23:27,838
Couple of days later
my phone rang.

365
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:29,048
"Serpico?" "Yeah."

366
00:23:29,050 --> 00:23:30,549
"You're back in uniform

367
00:23:30,551 --> 00:23:33,679
effective Monday morning,
70th Precinct."

368
00:23:37,350 --> 00:23:39,517
That was the real

369
00:23:39,519 --> 00:23:42,355
causal factor
in my whole life.

370
00:23:44,189 --> 00:23:47,526
If that didn't happen,
we wouldn't be here today.

371
00:23:50,780 --> 00:23:53,697
If he had come
in the squad

372
00:23:53,699 --> 00:23:56,076
history would've
treated him more gently.

373
00:23:58,538 --> 00:24:02,205
He went back to uniform and
then he ends up plainclothes.

374
00:24:02,207 --> 00:24:03,792
That was not
a good thing.

375
00:24:08,423 --> 00:24:10,258
Now, I'm in uniform.

376
00:24:11,384 --> 00:24:13,261
The captain
calls me in.

377
00:24:14,888 --> 00:24:17,264
The plainclothes exam
is comin' up.

378
00:24:19,391 --> 00:24:22,059
There's a new
department director.

379
00:24:22,061 --> 00:24:25,896
"From now on, nobody goes
into the detective division

380
00:24:25,898 --> 00:24:29,232
"unless you put in four
years in plainclothes

381
00:24:29,234 --> 00:24:34,280
"keep your nose clean, right
into the bureau, gold shield.

382
00:24:34,282 --> 00:24:37,575
I'll put you in
for plainclothes school."

383
00:24:39,078 --> 00:24:42,078
I said, "Captain,
don't do me any favors.

384
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,581
Plainclothes,
are you kidding me?"

385
00:24:44,583 --> 00:24:46,959
He goes, "What?" I said, "What?
You know what."

386
00:24:51,757 --> 00:24:53,007
In the early 60s

387
00:24:53,009 --> 00:24:54,591
the department
wanted to beef up

388
00:24:54,593 --> 00:24:55,801
the narcotics
enforcement.

389
00:24:55,803 --> 00:24:57,429
They brought all these
plainclothesmen in.

390
00:24:58,764 --> 00:25:01,598
But the problem with
the plainclothes

391
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:04,351
a lot of them
were on the pad.

392
00:25:04,353 --> 00:25:06,270
How many inspectors
did you pay off?

393
00:25:06,272 --> 00:25:07,771
Well, I paid one.

394
00:25:07,773 --> 00:25:09,272
How much?

395
00:25:09,274 --> 00:25:12,944
Anywhere from $25 to $50,
per week.

396
00:25:12,946 --> 00:25:15,863
Have you personally seen
police paid off like...

397
00:25:15,865 --> 00:25:18,950
Yes, I've seen this. And
you see it quite often.

398
00:25:18,952 --> 00:25:20,117
Do you report that?

399
00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:21,953
Who are you gonna
report it to?

400
00:25:21,955 --> 00:25:25,039
I was to give them 50% of
everything that I sold.

401
00:25:25,041 --> 00:25:26,165
Did you meet him
every night?

402
00:25:26,167 --> 00:25:27,332
Practically every night,
yeah.

403
00:25:27,334 --> 00:25:29,292
And you reported to him
how much you had sold

404
00:25:29,294 --> 00:25:30,377
and you gave
him his cut?

405
00:25:30,379 --> 00:25:31,630
Penny for penny.

406
00:25:33,006 --> 00:25:37,009
The pad was an organized
system of payoffs.

407
00:25:37,011 --> 00:25:38,301
And it went right up
to the top

408
00:25:38,303 --> 00:25:39,805
to the highest levels
of the department.

409
00:25:40,807 --> 00:25:42,639
And higher. Who knows?

410
00:25:42,641 --> 00:25:45,643
Corruption was rampant.

411
00:25:45,645 --> 00:25:47,480
There were some guys
that

412
00:25:48,982 --> 00:25:51,148
did some bad things.

413
00:25:51,150 --> 00:25:53,024
They took me
in a hallway.

414
00:25:53,026 --> 00:25:55,485
They took two bundles
of stuff that I had

415
00:25:55,487 --> 00:25:57,488
and a $150 I had.

416
00:25:57,490 --> 00:25:58,530
And they let me go.

417
00:25:58,532 --> 00:26:00,907
The cop took everything
except my watch

418
00:26:00,909 --> 00:26:03,327
which he gave to me back,
and let me go.

419
00:26:03,329 --> 00:26:05,495
They told me if they
see me around again

420
00:26:05,497 --> 00:26:06,998
they'd bust me.

421
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,167
But they,
they never did.

422
00:26:10,169 --> 00:26:13,087
Police officers,
being exposed

423
00:26:13,089 --> 00:26:15,673
to the large volume
of drug traffic

424
00:26:15,675 --> 00:26:17,884
in the community

425
00:26:17,886 --> 00:26:21,011
sort of become immune
to the fact that

426
00:26:21,013 --> 00:26:24,182
they are dealing with,
ha ha, living death

427
00:26:24,184 --> 00:26:26,349
and some of them

428
00:26:26,351 --> 00:26:28,897
may look upon this
as a source of income.

429
00:26:30,857 --> 00:26:34,524
Businessmen, gamblers
and narcotics dealers

430
00:26:34,526 --> 00:26:36,359
were paying
the New York policemen

431
00:26:36,361 --> 00:26:38,406
millions of dollars
a year.

432
00:26:39,866 --> 00:26:43,367
This was all run
by the police department

433
00:26:43,369 --> 00:26:45,411
and the plainclothesmen

434
00:26:45,413 --> 00:26:47,123
which Frank ended up
being in.

435
00:26:49,958 --> 00:26:51,375
Everybody was
paying bribes.

436
00:26:51,377 --> 00:26:54,712
It had become
part of the scene.

437
00:26:54,714 --> 00:26:57,048
And that made
it hard to fight.

438
00:26:57,050 --> 00:27:01,051
Does anybody in the
community trust the police?

439
00:27:01,053 --> 00:27:02,886
I really don't know.

440
00:27:02,888 --> 00:27:05,473
Put it this way, I don't
know of any that do.

441
00:27:05,475 --> 00:27:09,268
There's a lot of cops
that, uh..

442
00:27:09,270 --> 00:27:10,560
I think Paco
even said this

443
00:27:10,562 --> 00:27:11,979
they're afraid
to be honest.

444
00:27:11,981 --> 00:27:14,147
I mean,
that's a bad system.

445
00:27:14,149 --> 00:27:15,732
And you're afraid
not to go along.

446
00:27:15,734 --> 00:27:19,571
And, uh, that doesn't
do well for society.

447
00:27:21,824 --> 00:27:24,242
Look, they just shouldn't be
able to do it with impunity.

448
00:27:28,580 --> 00:27:31,249
For this precinct,
cases reported, murder...

449
00:27:31,251 --> 00:27:36,253
Everybody knew. Plainclothes was
rotten through-and-through.

450
00:27:36,255 --> 00:27:37,340
Serpico!

451
00:27:39,759 --> 00:27:41,591
The captain says,

452
00:27:41,593 --> 00:27:45,512
"Nobody can make you do
what you don't wanna do."

453
00:27:45,514 --> 00:27:49,267
And I thought, "Well,
that's true."

454
00:27:52,187 --> 00:27:54,815
We're down in a darkened
cellar precinct.

455
00:27:55,942 --> 00:27:57,107
Serpico.

456
00:27:57,109 --> 00:28:00,194
And this officer
in uniform.

457
00:28:00,196 --> 00:28:01,863
He says "Serpico?"
"Yup."

458
00:28:01,865 --> 00:28:05,366
He hands me an envelope.
I said, "What's this?"

459
00:28:05,368 --> 00:28:07,537
He says,
"It's from Jewish Max."

460
00:28:10,122 --> 00:28:12,623
I open it up and

461
00:28:12,625 --> 00:28:14,794
there's $300 in there.

462
00:28:17,796 --> 00:28:22,133
And then,
we're cruisin' around.

463
00:28:22,135 --> 00:28:23,634
I say, "Hey,
look-it over there,

464
00:28:23,636 --> 00:28:25,136
there's some action
over there."

465
00:28:25,138 --> 00:28:27,805
"Yeah-yeah, don't worry
about that.

466
00:28:27,807 --> 00:28:30,018
You gotta respect
the contract."

467
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,231
It means, he's on the
books, he's payin' off.

468
00:28:39,401 --> 00:28:42,821
And the guy's telling me, "You know,
why don't you take the money?"

469
00:28:44,657 --> 00:28:46,656
You know. And I says, "I don't
need the money."

470
00:28:46,658 --> 00:28:48,826
"Yeah, but, you know,
we'd feel a lot better."

471
00:28:48,828 --> 00:28:50,494
And I said, "What do
I care what you feel?

472
00:28:50,496 --> 00:28:52,247
You know, I like to sleep
at night."

473
00:28:58,087 --> 00:29:00,171
That's when I called up
this guy

474
00:29:00,173 --> 00:29:02,548
that I met
in plainclothes school

475
00:29:02,550 --> 00:29:04,511
who said he had
the connections.

476
00:29:07,054 --> 00:29:08,055
Durk.

477
00:29:09,349 --> 00:29:10,764
Life Magazine
asked me to do

478
00:29:10,766 --> 00:29:12,683
an article about
Sergeant Durk

479
00:29:12,685 --> 00:29:15,353
a Jewish doctor's son
from Amherst

480
00:29:15,355 --> 00:29:17,857
who was on a crusade
against corruption.

481
00:29:18,942 --> 00:29:20,857
It was
a fascinating setup.

482
00:29:20,859 --> 00:29:23,694
The... the Jewish
doctor's son from Amherst

483
00:29:23,696 --> 00:29:26,071
and, uh,
and Frank Serpico

484
00:29:26,073 --> 00:29:28,366
who, who was
really a street guy.

485
00:29:28,368 --> 00:29:32,203
An Irish Catholic department
and these two outsiders

486
00:29:32,205 --> 00:29:34,081
and it didn't have room
for either of them.

487
00:29:35,750 --> 00:29:39,042
Frank and David Durk
saw my article

488
00:29:39,044 --> 00:29:42,379
on the front page of
The Times about cooping.

489
00:29:42,381 --> 00:29:45,051
"Cooping" is police
sleeping on duty.

490
00:29:46,468 --> 00:29:47,801
And so they called up

491
00:29:47,803 --> 00:29:51,222
and Frank told this long,
complicated story

492
00:29:51,224 --> 00:29:54,474
with all these ranks of
deputy inspector

493
00:29:54,476 --> 00:29:57,395
and the assistant deputy
inspector and so-and-so

494
00:29:57,397 --> 00:29:59,730
and all this
police slang.

495
00:29:59,732 --> 00:30:03,317
And I just didn't
understand it, you know.

496
00:30:03,319 --> 00:30:05,905
But I thought
it was interesting.

497
00:30:25,466 --> 00:30:28,425
At some point, Durk comes
to me and he says,

498
00:30:28,427 --> 00:30:31,095
"Look, there's corruption
all over the place."

499
00:30:31,097 --> 00:30:32,637
He tells me about
going to meet with

500
00:30:32,639 --> 00:30:35,267
the deputy mayor,
Jay Kriegel.

501
00:30:37,102 --> 00:30:39,188
How he met with, I think,
Arnold Fraiman.

502
00:30:40,607 --> 00:30:42,108
Nobody's paying
attention.

503
00:30:48,615 --> 00:30:50,114
And so they gave up
and said

504
00:30:50,116 --> 00:30:51,616
"Oh, well, maybe we
can get something

505
00:30:51,618 --> 00:30:52,785
at "The Times.""

506
00:30:54,036 --> 00:30:55,287
That's what we did.

507
00:30:57,706 --> 00:30:59,956
Durk told me he has been
working with

508
00:30:59,958 --> 00:31:01,834
a "New York
Times" reporter

509
00:31:01,836 --> 00:31:03,797
because he's absolutely
exasperated.

510
00:31:05,298 --> 00:31:06,800
"Would you meet
with this guy?"

511
00:31:07,884 --> 00:31:09,133
And I said,
"Well, wh... what for?"

512
00:31:09,135 --> 00:31:10,550
He says, "Well,
just to give him

513
00:31:10,552 --> 00:31:13,136
"background information
about, you know,

514
00:31:13,138 --> 00:31:14,472
how Narcotics works."

515
00:31:14,474 --> 00:31:16,057
So I said, "Alright."

516
00:31:16,059 --> 00:31:17,644
So I met
with David Burnham,

517
00:31:19,728 --> 00:31:22,230
and I told him
whatever I knew.

518
00:31:22,232 --> 00:31:24,147
About 298, the first district..

519
00:31:24,149 --> 00:31:27,819
But I really didn't
know that much

520
00:31:27,821 --> 00:31:30,655
because I just wanted
to stay away from it.

521
00:31:30,657 --> 00:31:32,030
You know, I... I had
the feeling

522
00:31:32,032 --> 00:31:34,032
that there
was problems..

523
00:31:34,034 --> 00:31:35,829
...and I just wanted
to stay away from it.

524
00:31:40,166 --> 00:31:41,749
But I knew
it was coming

525
00:31:41,751 --> 00:31:43,835
because Dave told me
he was working on it.

526
00:31:43,837 --> 00:31:44,918
Obviously, being
a reporter

527
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:46,087
for "The New York
Times"

528
00:31:46,089 --> 00:31:48,006
it was gonna be
an expose.

529
00:31:49,509 --> 00:31:51,341
The editors
were doubtful.

530
00:31:51,343 --> 00:31:53,845
This makes a very
sweeping charge

531
00:31:53,847 --> 00:31:57,013
against the police,
at a high level.

532
00:31:57,015 --> 00:31:59,183
This was really a world
that th... they had never

533
00:31:59,185 --> 00:32:00,520
gone down before.

534
00:32:02,730 --> 00:32:05,021
I eventually pulled
a fast one

535
00:32:05,023 --> 00:32:07,274
and told the mayor's
press secretary

536
00:32:07,276 --> 00:32:10,529
that we had this big
investigation going.

537
00:32:11,738 --> 00:32:13,530
A week later,
Lindsay announced

538
00:32:13,532 --> 00:32:16,200
that they're gonna form
an in-house group

539
00:32:16,202 --> 00:32:19,539
to, uh, investigate
corruption.

540
00:32:25,253 --> 00:32:27,043
An investigatory
commission

541
00:32:27,045 --> 00:32:28,628
filled with people
who were beholden

542
00:32:28,630 --> 00:32:30,213
to him, friends.

543
00:32:30,215 --> 00:32:32,049
And this got laughed
out of existence

544
00:32:32,051 --> 00:32:34,635
almost immediately by
"The New York Times"

545
00:32:34,637 --> 00:32:37,221
and by everybody else.

546
00:32:37,223 --> 00:32:39,809
Can't be in-house. They
have to have outsiders.

547
00:32:42,145 --> 00:32:43,937
We had to run the story.

548
00:32:51,070 --> 00:32:53,069
So, now "The Times" piece
is about to come out

549
00:32:53,071 --> 00:32:55,405
and an official
investigation is started.

550
00:32:55,407 --> 00:32:56,406
Officer Serpico,
thank you

551
00:32:56,408 --> 00:32:57,494
for your testimony.

552
00:32:58,744 --> 00:32:59,993
You've already
testified

553
00:32:59,995 --> 00:33:01,244
at least one time
at this point.

554
00:33:01,246 --> 00:33:02,791
Oh, yeah,
and they knew about it.

555
00:33:19,474 --> 00:33:22,433
That might've been
a possibility.

556
00:33:22,435 --> 00:33:24,769
Instead of putting me
in Narcotics

557
00:33:24,771 --> 00:33:28,608
undercover, the most
dangerous job that there is.

558
00:33:39,327 --> 00:33:41,121
Now I'm working
in Narcotics.

559
00:33:43,455 --> 00:33:46,540
My sergeant
comes up to me

560
00:33:46,542 --> 00:33:49,963
"Listen, Serpico. You don't pull
the shit you pulled up there.

561
00:33:51,464 --> 00:33:53,338
"That was chicken shit.

562
00:33:53,340 --> 00:33:55,299
"We're talkin' about
real money here.

563
00:33:55,301 --> 00:33:57,846
"And with that,
you don't fuck around.

564
00:33:59,179 --> 00:34:01,181
Do I make
myself clear?"

565
00:34:06,478 --> 00:34:08,564
So, I come to work
one day.

566
00:34:09,982 --> 00:34:12,483
I'm sittin' in a car

567
00:34:12,485 --> 00:34:14,904
with two
other officers.

568
00:34:16,489 --> 00:34:19,659
And one guy moves
the rearview mirror

569
00:34:20,493 --> 00:34:21,659
and he says,

570
00:34:21,661 --> 00:34:23,828
"We heard you went
to the grand jury

571
00:34:23,830 --> 00:34:25,331
and didn't
hold back nothin'."

572
00:34:27,167 --> 00:34:29,043
I said, "Really? Where'd
you hear that from?"

573
00:34:30,170 --> 00:34:31,671
"We got our
informants."

574
00:34:34,715 --> 00:34:38,550
"The story's comin' out tonight
in "The New York Times.""

575
00:34:38,552 --> 00:34:40,429
And I thought,
"Son of a bitch!"

576
00:34:41,848 --> 00:34:43,389
And that's when
I had to really watch

577
00:34:43,391 --> 00:34:45,601
my facial expressions.

578
00:34:47,436 --> 00:34:50,022
And the first chance
I got, I called Burnham.

579
00:34:51,690 --> 00:34:52,690
He said,
"Yeah, the story's

580
00:34:52,692 --> 00:34:53,860
comin' out tonight."

581
00:35:03,744 --> 00:35:07,038
It is probably true that there
isn't a city in the country

582
00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:10,541
that doesn't have some form
of problem with corruption.

583
00:35:10,543 --> 00:35:12,793
What is your own
philosophy on corruption

584
00:35:12,795 --> 00:35:14,878
in relationship
to the city government?

585
00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:16,713
It's a constant battle.

586
00:35:16,715 --> 00:35:18,132
You must wage
that battle

587
00:35:18,134 --> 00:35:20,050
every day
and every night.

588
00:35:20,052 --> 00:35:22,719
Uh, and the best
possible way

589
00:35:22,721 --> 00:35:25,556
I think to, uh, to wage
that battle is by,

590
00:35:25,558 --> 00:35:28,558
is by constant opening up
of everything.

591
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:30,393
The worst thing of all
is secrecy.

592
00:35:32,232 --> 00:35:35,567
Don't move. Don't move!
Get your hands up!

593
00:35:37,987 --> 00:35:40,740
There was a police
scandal every 20 years.

594
00:35:43,951 --> 00:35:47,078
Which didn't mean that there
was corruption every 20 years.

595
00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:49,790
It means the corruption got
exposed every 20 years.

596
00:35:52,585 --> 00:35:54,918
Previous exposures
of police corruption

597
00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:56,503
had largely come
from the outside.

598
00:35:56,505 --> 00:35:58,757
They'd never come from
within the department.

599
00:36:00,426 --> 00:36:04,762
So, Serpico was absolutely
exceptional.

600
00:36:04,764 --> 00:36:07,308
He knew, literally, where
the bodies were buried.

601
00:36:08,768 --> 00:36:10,518
He could do
a lot more damage

602
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,480
to this web of corruption
than anyone had before.

603
00:36:18,527 --> 00:36:23,114
Institutions evolve and
devolve in a certain way

604
00:36:23,116 --> 00:36:25,534
where corruption is
absolutely unavoidable.

605
00:36:26,618 --> 00:36:27,784
The question
then becomes

606
00:36:27,786 --> 00:36:30,288
how do those institutions
deal with it.

607
00:36:30,290 --> 00:36:33,293
Uh, and then how does the
larger society deal with it.

608
00:36:36,462 --> 00:36:38,378
The fact that
he actually remained

609
00:36:38,380 --> 00:36:42,132
in this position
is one of the great

610
00:36:42,134 --> 00:36:45,013
moral exemplars
of our time.

611
00:36:48,891 --> 00:36:50,308
When you find people
that don't

612
00:36:50,310 --> 00:36:52,395
identify with power,
they're very special.

613
00:36:53,813 --> 00:36:56,480
People like
Frank Serpico

614
00:36:56,482 --> 00:36:58,400
that are willing to
put themselves at risk.

615
00:37:01,237 --> 00:37:02,652
And, they're important
not only

616
00:37:02,654 --> 00:37:04,654
for what they tell us
but also for the courage

617
00:37:04,656 --> 00:37:07,157
that they model
for the rest of us.

618
00:37:07,159 --> 00:37:10,828
They remind you
that you too, um,

619
00:37:10,830 --> 00:37:12,748
you too can,
can be honest

620
00:37:14,667 --> 00:37:17,085
and can speak the truth,
and can confront power.

621
00:37:20,339 --> 00:37:23,049
The system has ways

622
00:37:23,051 --> 00:37:26,052
of swallowing up
these people.

623
00:37:26,054 --> 00:37:28,929
Either you
resign yourself

624
00:37:28,931 --> 00:37:30,264
and you become cynical

625
00:37:30,266 --> 00:37:33,603
or you speak out and the
system destroys you.

626
00:37:47,199 --> 00:37:48,574
How ya doin'?

627
00:37:48,576 --> 00:37:51,201
Good.

628
00:37:51,203 --> 00:37:54,579
We haven't seen each other
in 50 years?

629
00:37:54,581 --> 00:37:56,791
At least.

630
00:37:56,793 --> 00:37:58,211
Were you
in Plainclothes?

631
00:37:59,378 --> 00:38:00,710
Just Narcotics.

632
00:38:00,712 --> 00:38:01,878
You didn't do
Plainclothes.

633
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:04,047
- No.
- Oh!

634
00:38:04,049 --> 00:38:05,882
I went to Narcotics.

635
00:38:05,884 --> 00:38:09,554
And then, I came in and
I was part of the team.

636
00:38:09,556 --> 00:38:10,929
Right.

637
00:38:10,931 --> 00:38:12,931
The captain called us
in the office

638
00:38:12,933 --> 00:38:14,560
and said that
you were coming.

639
00:38:15,936 --> 00:38:17,561
"I'm gonna stick you
with Frank."

640
00:38:17,563 --> 00:38:19,063
And what was your
reaction when...

641
00:38:19,065 --> 00:38:21,232
"Why us?"

642
00:38:21,234 --> 00:38:24,402
And what had you been
hearing about him?

643
00:38:24,404 --> 00:38:26,987
That he was a rat.

644
00:38:26,989 --> 00:38:30,241
That you were squealing
on cops taking money.

645
00:38:30,243 --> 00:38:32,409
Oh. And that was bad?

646
00:38:32,411 --> 00:38:33,744
Yes.

647
00:38:33,746 --> 00:38:35,290
Well..

648
00:38:36,415 --> 00:38:38,248
Nobody trusted you.

649
00:38:38,250 --> 00:38:41,418
They couldn't figure out
what you had

650
00:38:41,420 --> 00:38:44,130
or what was
behind it all.

651
00:38:44,132 --> 00:38:46,592
I don't believe half of the
bullshit they're saying.

652
00:38:49,596 --> 00:38:51,637
But, you know, when you keep
hearing the same things

653
00:38:51,639 --> 00:38:55,599
yeah, I don't believe it, but,
I'll watch what I'm doing.

654
00:38:55,601 --> 00:38:57,601
Otherwise, say, "You don't
have a wire on you?"

655
00:38:57,603 --> 00:39:00,522
You know, half-joking,
half-believing, he did.

656
00:39:02,942 --> 00:39:06,110
But, you see, as a cop, heh,
you have to trust

657
00:39:06,112 --> 00:39:07,612
the people you're
working with.

658
00:39:07,614 --> 00:39:09,115
If you don't,
you're in trouble.

659
00:39:17,123 --> 00:39:21,041
There was this scene in the
movie when I bought my..

660
00:39:21,043 --> 00:39:25,297
...Browning 14-round,
uh, handgun

661
00:39:26,632 --> 00:39:29,467
and the guy says,
"What are you expecting

662
00:39:29,469 --> 00:39:31,134
an army or something?"

663
00:39:31,136 --> 00:39:32,971
And I said,
"No, just a division."

664
00:39:34,473 --> 00:39:38,185
But, in a sense,
it was an army.

665
00:39:40,522 --> 00:39:43,396
It would've taken less
to go up against

666
00:39:43,398 --> 00:39:45,233
a machine gun nest

667
00:39:45,235 --> 00:39:48,071
because there, I either
make it or I don't.

668
00:39:50,989 --> 00:39:53,532
But going against
something

669
00:39:53,534 --> 00:39:57,205
that is alive
and still in existence..

670
00:39:59,331 --> 00:40:03,335
...it cost me many
a... a sleepless night.

671
00:40:06,339 --> 00:40:10,424
What got me through was
I believed

672
00:40:10,426 --> 00:40:13,179
that I was on
the side of right.

673
00:40:23,397 --> 00:40:26,024
You know, you have some unscrupulous
guys in the police department.

674
00:40:28,194 --> 00:40:30,194
Serpico.

675
00:40:30,196 --> 00:40:32,739
It was told that some
of these guys had bodies.

676
00:40:35,034 --> 00:40:38,578
So, if you was not liked

677
00:40:38,580 --> 00:40:41,456
and... and you had a
problem, you was in trouble,

678
00:40:41,458 --> 00:40:44,127
they may take a little while
longer to get to you and respond.

679
00:40:47,212 --> 00:40:49,255
All the way through this thing
I would occasionally get

680
00:40:49,257 --> 00:40:52,427
calls from policemen,
I presume..

681
00:40:55,554 --> 00:40:59,389
...saying they were gonna kill me or
they were gonna kill my children.

682
00:40:59,391 --> 00:41:02,102
The first time it happened,
I called Sid Cooper..

683
00:41:03,938 --> 00:41:07,315
...who was
a friend and..

684
00:41:07,317 --> 00:41:08,565
I gotta watch out,
I'll start crying.

685
00:41:08,567 --> 00:41:10,985
He was a really
great cop.

686
00:41:10,987 --> 00:41:12,069
And I said,
"Sid, what do I do?"

687
00:41:12,071 --> 00:41:13,945
And he said,
"Listen, kid,

688
00:41:13,947 --> 00:41:16,576
"you never worry about the
death threats you get.

689
00:41:20,330 --> 00:41:22,665
You know, you worry about
the ones you don't get."

690
00:41:26,835 --> 00:41:28,337
Getting back..

691
00:41:29,422 --> 00:41:31,424
...to the night
in question..

692
00:41:36,763 --> 00:41:39,681
This was my .38 Special.

693
00:41:45,105 --> 00:41:48,858
We were supposed to meet
at the 80th Precinct.

694
00:41:51,944 --> 00:41:54,154
And I remember
walkin' in that night

695
00:41:55,656 --> 00:41:59,282
there was
like this... cold

696
00:41:59,284 --> 00:42:00,953
eerie feeling.

697
00:42:02,455 --> 00:42:05,625
These cops,
they somehow knew me.

698
00:42:08,545 --> 00:42:10,839
"We're gonna make
an arrest tonight.

699
00:42:12,297 --> 00:42:13,799
We got an informant."

700
00:42:15,051 --> 00:42:16,969
"You gotta get us
in there."

701
00:42:19,639 --> 00:42:21,973
So, we're sittin' there

702
00:42:21,975 --> 00:42:26,476
and, uh, that's part of
what you do, you observe.

703
00:42:26,478 --> 00:42:29,063
But, how are you
gonna do that

704
00:42:29,065 --> 00:42:32,819
unless, uh, you know,
you go in the building?

705
00:42:34,654 --> 00:42:37,237
And they said, "Well, why
don't you go up there

706
00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:39,993
and, uh, see what
you can do, you know?"

707
00:42:43,246 --> 00:42:47,206
So, I have on
an army jacket

708
00:42:47,208 --> 00:42:49,541
and, you know, boots.

709
00:42:49,543 --> 00:42:51,753
And I get into my role.

710
00:43:03,016 --> 00:43:06,726
For five years, I was talking
about police corruption,

711
00:43:06,728 --> 00:43:08,518
and they all
knew about it.

712
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:10,606
They knew about it
all the way to the top.

713
00:43:13,025 --> 00:43:15,360
And, all of a sudden,
I find myself up here.

714
00:43:17,864 --> 00:43:20,864
Somethin' told me,
"Get outta here."

715
00:43:20,866 --> 00:43:23,452
I was gonna take
my gun, my shield and..

716
00:43:25,705 --> 00:43:29,373
And, then, somethin'
in my head said

717
00:43:29,375 --> 00:43:32,545
"Nah, you can't do that.
You took an oath."

718
00:43:35,380 --> 00:43:39,300
And so I thought, "Well,
let's get it over with."

719
00:43:49,770 --> 00:43:53,730
These two officers
were standing by.

720
00:43:53,732 --> 00:43:55,733
One was here.

721
00:43:55,735 --> 00:43:58,613
Had his revolver drawn.

722
00:43:59,739 --> 00:44:01,574
And the other one
was standing here.

723
00:44:05,744 --> 00:44:09,331
We finally decided I was
gonna make a buy here.

724
00:44:11,250 --> 00:44:15,129
"Once you get the door open,
leave the rest to us."

725
00:44:28,016 --> 00:44:30,351
- And..
- Police officers!

726
00:44:30,353 --> 00:44:32,770
I... I turned, like this,
and hit the door

727
00:44:32,772 --> 00:44:35,690
and I had up to here
in the door.

728
00:44:35,692 --> 00:44:37,150
And he was right
behind the door.

729
00:44:37,152 --> 00:44:39,819
I don't know
how time works.

730
00:44:39,821 --> 00:44:42,112
What the... are you
waiting for?

731
00:44:42,114 --> 00:44:43,114
Give me a hand.

732
00:44:43,116 --> 00:44:46,451
Meanwhile, I got
this guy covered.

733
00:44:46,453 --> 00:44:48,496
And when I turn back..

734
00:45:00,549 --> 00:45:03,135
You know, whoever expects
that they're gonna die..

735
00:45:05,846 --> 00:45:08,725
...and then all of a
sudden, bang! It happens.

736
00:45:14,147 --> 00:45:18,234
The first thing went through
my mind was, "This is it?"

737
00:45:24,239 --> 00:45:26,743
Something was looking
down at my body..

738
00:45:27,826 --> 00:45:29,495
...in a pool of blood.

739
00:45:31,915 --> 00:45:34,833
I thought, "I wonder if the
back of my head is missin'."

740
00:45:38,545 --> 00:45:42,174
And then I thought,
"Wow, no pain."

741
00:45:43,509 --> 00:45:45,093
No pain.

742
00:45:47,514 --> 00:45:51,684
It's the passage from the
darkness to the light.

743
00:45:57,357 --> 00:46:00,235
And then I heard voices
calling my name.

744
00:46:02,362 --> 00:46:05,404
And, I shouted

745
00:46:05,406 --> 00:46:07,199
silently back.

746
00:46:09,034 --> 00:46:12,538
"No. No, I'm not coming.
I'm gonna live."

747
00:46:16,208 --> 00:46:18,416
If I get angry enough,
I'll live.

748
00:46:36,563 --> 00:46:39,938
I heard jingling
of some keys

749
00:46:39,940 --> 00:46:42,900
coming up the stairs.

750
00:46:42,902 --> 00:46:45,321
And I heard one cop
say to the other guy..

751
00:46:46,572 --> 00:46:48,241
"I think he's a narc."

752
00:46:50,326 --> 00:46:52,619
So, they carried me
down the stairs.

753
00:46:56,081 --> 00:46:59,500
I couldn't even remember how
many stairs we went down.

754
00:46:59,502 --> 00:47:02,505
But we kept goin' down..

755
00:47:08,969 --> 00:47:10,596
...and that was it.

756
00:47:18,270 --> 00:47:21,146
And I said, for years...

757
00:47:21,148 --> 00:47:25,275
at least I know there were
two cops... that..

758
00:47:25,277 --> 00:47:27,321
...you know, took me
to the hospital.

759
00:47:29,782 --> 00:47:33,203
And years later,
an ex-cop wrote a book.

760
00:47:34,621 --> 00:47:37,540
He was riding with
this cop one day..

761
00:47:38,958 --> 00:47:42,460
...and he said,
"Turn here.

762
00:47:42,462 --> 00:47:46,132
"You see that building? That's
where Serpico was shot.

763
00:47:47,674 --> 00:47:50,135
"I was one of the two
cops that picked him up.

764
00:47:53,973 --> 00:47:55,973
"If I knew
it was Serpico

765
00:47:55,975 --> 00:47:58,143
I woulda left him
there to bleed to death."

766
00:48:10,156 --> 00:48:11,866
We were all shocked..

767
00:48:12,991 --> 00:48:15,076
...that he had been hurt
so badly

768
00:48:15,078 --> 00:48:18,163
and that it was
possibly a setup.

769
00:48:21,167 --> 00:48:24,670
My first thought was, "Oh my
God," and then, "Who did it?"

770
00:48:26,339 --> 00:48:27,880
Was it a cop
who did it?

771
00:48:27,882 --> 00:48:30,342
That was the great fear
of everybody.

772
00:48:32,011 --> 00:48:35,387
Serpico thought that the other
cops had left him there to die.

773
00:48:35,389 --> 00:48:38,849
That's what he expected. He
knew he was an outsider.

774
00:48:38,851 --> 00:48:41,184
He knew that no one was gonna
help if he got in trouble.

775
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:48,733
Frank can't get
into the apartment.

776
00:48:48,735 --> 00:48:51,570
Someone comes
running in.

777
00:48:51,572 --> 00:48:53,031
Bang. Shoots Frank.

778
00:48:55,076 --> 00:48:57,701
As it's happening..

779
00:48:57,703 --> 00:49:01,456
...I'm sayin' to myself,
"My partner's shot."

780
00:49:01,458 --> 00:49:04,375
"What the hell am I
doing here?"

781
00:49:04,377 --> 00:49:07,378
You can think
of a million things

782
00:49:07,380 --> 00:49:08,882
in a matter of seconds.

783
00:49:10,257 --> 00:49:13,427
The police arrive
on the 10-13.

784
00:49:14,304 --> 00:49:16,219
Frank is a bloody mess.

785
00:49:16,221 --> 00:49:19,389
I'm tryin' to wipe the
blood away and he wakes up

786
00:49:19,391 --> 00:49:22,893
and says, "What're you trying to do, s...
smother me?"

787
00:49:22,895 --> 00:49:25,814
You know, he... he can
joke at a time like this.

788
00:49:30,737 --> 00:49:32,570
Well, I still wonder
if it was really

789
00:49:32,572 --> 00:49:35,074
uh, a setup
or a coincidence.

790
00:49:37,911 --> 00:49:39,579
And people think
different ways.

791
00:49:41,581 --> 00:49:44,667
Seemed like there was an unusual
delay in getting him help.

792
00:49:47,127 --> 00:49:50,420
When I got out of the hospital,
the first thing I did

793
00:49:50,422 --> 00:49:52,757
I went
to Internal Affairs.

794
00:49:52,759 --> 00:49:56,761
And I said I wanna
see a copy of the record

795
00:49:56,763 --> 00:49:59,137
of the night
I got shot.

796
00:49:59,139 --> 00:50:01,433
And they said,
"It's confidential."

797
00:50:02,601 --> 00:50:04,351
I said, "Good.

798
00:50:04,353 --> 00:50:09,440
"I am conducting my own
confidential investigation,

799
00:50:09,442 --> 00:50:12,610
"and if you don't show me
that fuckin' report right now

800
00:50:12,612 --> 00:50:16,614
you're gonna hear about it
tonight on national television."

801
00:50:16,616 --> 00:50:18,116
And he brought it out

802
00:50:18,118 --> 00:50:21,121
and it said,
"signal 10-10."

803
00:50:22,705 --> 00:50:25,040
That's a call
put out by a civilian.

804
00:50:26,292 --> 00:50:28,210
It was never a 10-13.

805
00:50:29,712 --> 00:50:31,962
They never called a 10-13
when he was..

806
00:50:31,964 --> 00:50:33,463
Yeah.

807
00:50:33,465 --> 00:50:36,634
What does that make you
think when you hear that?

808
00:50:36,636 --> 00:50:39,721
Well, you know, like I said, you
know, he made a lot of enemies.

809
00:50:42,808 --> 00:50:45,476
No 10-13?

810
00:50:45,478 --> 00:50:48,645
That could've been
a typographical error.

811
00:50:48,647 --> 00:50:50,188
Doesn't make sense
at all.

812
00:50:50,190 --> 00:50:52,817
Well, why would it be a..
Where was the 10-13?

813
00:50:52,819 --> 00:50:54,654
Was the place
loaded with cops?

814
00:50:55,572 --> 00:50:57,822
A sector car responded.

815
00:50:57,824 --> 00:50:59,701
One? One sector car.

816
00:51:00,868 --> 00:51:02,994
Did you ever have
any 10-13s called on ya?

817
00:51:02,996 --> 00:51:04,744
- Yes.
- Alright, so what happens?

818
00:51:04,746 --> 00:51:08,416
- A lot of 'em came. Yeah.
- Everybody comes.

819
00:51:08,418 --> 00:51:12,503
So, you're a cop,
and you get shot

820
00:51:12,505 --> 00:51:14,005
and there's no 10-13.

821
00:51:14,007 --> 00:51:15,922
How do you feel?

822
00:51:15,924 --> 00:51:18,217
Bad.
I just don't believe that.

823
00:51:18,219 --> 00:51:20,177
No matter what
the guy...

824
00:51:20,179 --> 00:51:23,014
But, Cesare,
that is a fact.

825
00:51:23,016 --> 00:51:26,683
Yeah but, what you have to
understand is after the incident,

826
00:51:26,685 --> 00:51:28,436
I completely
forgot about it.

827
00:51:28,438 --> 00:51:29,895
I know that.
You said that.

828
00:51:29,897 --> 00:51:31,688
But I'm sayin',
put yourself

829
00:51:31,690 --> 00:51:33,523
in the other guy's
position.

830
00:51:33,525 --> 00:51:37,570
He's a cop, he gets shot,
and there's no 10-13.

831
00:51:37,572 --> 00:51:40,907
And he knows that people
don't particularly like him.

832
00:51:40,909 --> 00:51:43,366
Well, this.. You know,
as a policeman,

833
00:51:43,368 --> 00:51:46,038
you run into
so many things.

834
00:51:47,706 --> 00:51:51,918
After 20 years, it's just
another incident.

835
00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:54,422
But you felt like that even
about a fellow officer?

836
00:51:59,219 --> 00:52:02,386
Eh, I know it's a silly
thing to say, but, yeah

837
00:52:02,388 --> 00:52:04,264
you just accept it.

838
00:52:14,067 --> 00:52:16,733
Anybody that
has a badge..

839
00:52:16,735 --> 00:52:18,945
I don't care what you
think of somebody.

840
00:52:18,947 --> 00:52:21,074
You... you gotta
be there for them.

841
00:52:23,159 --> 00:52:25,742
To have somebody
not be there for ya,

842
00:52:25,744 --> 00:52:27,913
it's gotta be the emptiest
feeling in the world.

843
00:52:29,915 --> 00:52:32,583
And to... to sit here
as a cop, and see that

844
00:52:32,585 --> 00:52:34,795
and to think that
somebody didn't help..

845
00:52:36,255 --> 00:52:37,589
...it hurts.

846
00:52:39,092 --> 00:52:40,260
It's not right.

847
00:52:51,770 --> 00:52:53,022
It's not right.

848
00:52:57,110 --> 00:52:59,279
Because all you have is
each other on that street.

849
00:53:04,284 --> 00:53:06,616
Okay, he gets shot
in the head

850
00:53:06,618 --> 00:53:08,828
and "New York Magazine"
calls me up and says,

851
00:53:08,830 --> 00:53:12,623
"Serpico's been shot.
Go do an article on him."

852
00:53:12,625 --> 00:53:15,293
So I spent a good deal
of time with Frank

853
00:53:15,295 --> 00:53:16,963
preparing that article.

854
00:53:18,464 --> 00:53:20,632
And he was certainly
a fascinating person.

855
00:53:22,719 --> 00:53:25,219
I went to this pad he had
in Greenwich Village

856
00:53:25,221 --> 00:53:26,721
which was jammed
with all kinds of things.

857
00:53:26,723 --> 00:53:28,556
An enormous sheepdog

858
00:53:28,558 --> 00:53:31,311
an aquarium, et cetera.

859
00:53:32,811 --> 00:53:35,353
We used to walk out
on to the pier

860
00:53:35,355 --> 00:53:37,063
and he had
all these guns.

861
00:53:37,065 --> 00:53:39,819
All these guns. At least
two guns, and maybe more.

862
00:53:41,821 --> 00:53:45,157
And he was very winning
and, uh, attractive.

863
00:53:46,659 --> 00:53:49,159
Every description
that he made

864
00:53:49,161 --> 00:53:53,331
turned out to be correct, for one
thing, and was vividly done.

865
00:53:53,333 --> 00:53:58,001
Everything he said was
quotable and fascinating.

866
00:53:58,003 --> 00:54:00,170
You have to forgive
a writer

867
00:54:00,172 --> 00:54:02,422
who falls in love
with subjects

868
00:54:02,424 --> 00:54:04,343
who provide him
with terrific material.

869
00:54:05,052 --> 00:54:06,179
And Frank did that.

870
00:54:08,931 --> 00:54:11,516
So, I write the article.
The picture on the cover

871
00:54:11,518 --> 00:54:13,266
is an X-ray picture
of Frank's skull

872
00:54:13,268 --> 00:54:16,020
with a bullet in it.

873
00:54:16,022 --> 00:54:19,023
Looking back,
it's almost amusing.

874
00:54:19,025 --> 00:54:20,401
Not to Frank, it wasn't.

875
00:54:24,239 --> 00:54:26,199
They would put
signs up on the door.

876
00:54:27,366 --> 00:54:29,366
Yeah.

877
00:54:29,368 --> 00:54:30,869
When he was
convalescing.

878
00:54:33,206 --> 00:54:34,707
It was.. It..
That was shocking.

879
00:54:36,375 --> 00:54:39,085
We were shocked that the
police turned against him

880
00:54:39,087 --> 00:54:41,214
so... uniformly.

881
00:54:43,715 --> 00:54:45,551
Didn't make sense to me
at that time.

882
00:54:48,388 --> 00:54:49,806
And there was
no protection.

883
00:54:51,391 --> 00:54:53,891
That was
the other thing.

884
00:54:53,893 --> 00:54:56,101
Where was the protection
for him, from that?

885
00:54:56,103 --> 00:54:59,064
There was nothing.
He was just alone there.

886
00:55:03,569 --> 00:55:05,571
I remember layin' there
in that bed.

887
00:55:06,781 --> 00:55:10,409
Man, I had
off-the-scale migraine.

888
00:55:13,288 --> 00:55:16,791
I had fragments
in my head, of lead.

889
00:55:18,418 --> 00:55:21,460
And I'm laying in bed..

890
00:55:21,462 --> 00:55:25,088
You know, and my head is.. It
feels like it's gonna burst.

891
00:55:25,090 --> 00:55:28,927
And, I remembered when I was
doin' combat training..

892
00:55:29,679 --> 00:55:31,762
We had to crawl

893
00:55:31,764 --> 00:55:35,099
and they were firing
live rounds over our head.

894
00:55:35,101 --> 00:55:38,770
And, I got a piece
of sand in my eye.

895
00:55:38,772 --> 00:55:39,811
And it was driving
me crazy.

896
00:55:39,813 --> 00:55:41,105
I couldn't get it out.

897
00:55:41,107 --> 00:55:43,608
And they... they said,
"Stay down! Stay down!"

898
00:55:43,610 --> 00:55:46,277
"How do I... how am I gonna
get this out of my head?

899
00:55:46,279 --> 00:55:47,614
It's... it's
in my head."

900
00:55:48,781 --> 00:55:50,447
And the phone
kept ringin'.

901
00:55:50,449 --> 00:55:52,449
The police department
kept callin' me.

902
00:55:52,451 --> 00:55:55,661
"Serpico, this is
a bed check.

903
00:55:55,663 --> 00:55:57,038
You gotta answer
the phone."

904
00:55:57,040 --> 00:55:59,290
Get this outta my head.
It's in my head.

905
00:55:59,292 --> 00:56:02,170
You know, just kept
harassing, harassing me.

906
00:56:03,712 --> 00:56:05,297
They were just
tormenting me.

907
00:56:08,301 --> 00:56:11,009
Those were
five torturous years.

908
00:56:11,011 --> 00:56:14,346
It's mental torture
in the same way

909
00:56:14,348 --> 00:56:17,643
somebody ending up in a prisoner
of war camp was tortured..

910
00:56:19,145 --> 00:56:22,395
...because what they're
forced to believe

911
00:56:22,397 --> 00:56:25,025
is that what they know
is not the truth.

912
00:56:26,819 --> 00:56:30,487
There's nothing more frustrating
in the world to tell somebody

913
00:56:30,489 --> 00:56:32,989
the sky is blue and then
have the establishment say,

914
00:56:32,991 --> 00:56:34,826
"No, that's green"

915
00:56:34,828 --> 00:56:37,080
and look at you
like you're crazy.

916
00:56:40,833 --> 00:56:43,669
Frank Serpico is similar
to a guy who goes to war.

917
00:56:46,339 --> 00:56:49,507
A lot of these soldiers
are traumatized

918
00:56:49,509 --> 00:56:52,011
because they were in
untenable positions.

919
00:56:53,929 --> 00:56:56,389
His nervous system
is stuck.

920
00:56:56,391 --> 00:56:59,099
And he's just playing
a tape

921
00:56:59,101 --> 00:57:02,353
that he's not gonna get out
of because it's frozen

922
00:57:02,355 --> 00:57:03,898
in time and space.

923
00:57:06,692 --> 00:57:09,403
Back in World War I, we
called it "shell-shocked."

924
00:57:13,866 --> 00:57:16,535
When you go through what Frank
Serpico's gone through..

925
00:57:17,786 --> 00:57:19,704
It's not only
when it's goin' on

926
00:57:19,706 --> 00:57:21,538
it's when triggers
bring him back

927
00:57:21,540 --> 00:57:24,042
to that
original experience.

928
00:57:25,752 --> 00:57:29,045
When you have an experience,
you know it happened.

929
00:57:29,047 --> 00:57:30,547
When you have
a traumatic experience

930
00:57:30,549 --> 00:57:31,884
you think
it's happening.

931
00:57:36,556 --> 00:57:38,558
One day,
after I got shot..

932
00:57:43,061 --> 00:57:45,061
...one of my neighbors
intercepts me and he says

933
00:57:45,063 --> 00:57:48,148
"Paco, Paco,
don't go home."

934
00:57:48,150 --> 00:57:50,400
He said,
"They're waiting for ya."

935
00:57:50,402 --> 00:57:52,652
"Who's waiting?"

936
00:57:52,654 --> 00:57:56,072
"Couple of shady-looking characters
parked across the street.

937
00:57:56,074 --> 00:57:57,743
They've been there
all mornin'."

938
00:57:58,828 --> 00:58:01,244
So, I go around
the block

939
00:58:01,246 --> 00:58:04,917
and I come this way,
and I have my gun.

940
00:58:05,585 --> 00:58:07,086
And..

941
00:58:08,670 --> 00:58:10,172
"Who's there?"

942
00:58:11,089 --> 00:58:12,466
"Police. Open up."

943
00:58:14,927 --> 00:58:17,427
"Let me see your ID."

944
00:58:17,429 --> 00:58:21,431
I had a tape recorder.
And I got my 9 millimeter.

945
00:58:21,433 --> 00:58:22,641
"What do you want?"

946
00:58:22,643 --> 00:58:24,143
"You trust anybody?"

947
00:58:24,145 --> 00:58:25,353
"No."

948
00:58:25,355 --> 00:58:26,606
"Is that thing runnin'?"

949
00:58:27,982 --> 00:58:29,609
"Is your mouth runnin'?"

950
00:58:30,610 --> 00:58:32,944
"Turn it off!"

951
00:58:32,946 --> 00:58:35,781
"As long as your mouth's
runnin', it's runnin'."

952
00:58:37,116 --> 00:58:39,282
"Call Chief Cooper
right away!"

953
00:58:39,284 --> 00:58:41,701
I called Chief Cooper and he
says, "Where the hell you been?"

954
00:58:41,703 --> 00:58:43,286
We just got it
on the wire.

955
00:58:43,288 --> 00:58:44,956
They got another hit
out for ya."

956
00:58:44,958 --> 00:58:46,958
I said, "Take these pricks
outta here.

957
00:58:46,960 --> 00:58:48,378
I don't want 'em."

958
00:58:53,465 --> 00:58:55,340
How long was it
after you were shot

959
00:58:55,342 --> 00:58:57,634
while this was
all going on?

960
00:58:57,636 --> 00:58:59,719
It was going on
all along.

961
00:58:59,721 --> 00:59:04,349
Even, even when I went
into court to testify.

962
00:59:04,351 --> 00:59:08,145
These hearings are going to
present some of the evidence

963
00:59:08,147 --> 00:59:12,692
that the department has a
serious corruption problem..

964
00:59:12,694 --> 00:59:16,529
...which must be
characterized as extensive.

965
00:59:16,531 --> 00:59:20,407
The Knapp Commission
was a specific response

966
00:59:20,409 --> 00:59:23,245
to a citywide scandal.

967
00:59:24,873 --> 00:59:27,540
Corruption was something
that everybody

968
00:59:27,542 --> 00:59:31,918
kind of assumed existed but
nobody wanted to admit.

969
00:59:31,920 --> 00:59:34,672
We're saddened
and troubled

970
00:59:34,674 --> 00:59:36,007
and deeply hurt

971
00:59:36,009 --> 00:59:40,011
when, uh, the wrongdoing
of some of us

972
00:59:40,013 --> 00:59:42,179
is exposed.

973
00:59:42,181 --> 00:59:46,516
I believe that it involves a
small number of, uh, people.

974
00:59:46,518 --> 00:59:49,020
The police brass
didn't want to admit it.

975
00:59:49,022 --> 00:59:53,775
The politicians didn't want to
antagonize the police brass.

976
00:59:53,777 --> 00:59:57,360
The cops kept saying,
"Well, there a couple

977
00:59:57,362 --> 00:59:59,529
"of rotten apples
in the barrel

978
00:59:59,531 --> 01:00:02,116
but this department
is fine."

979
01:00:02,118 --> 01:00:04,076
- What is he doing?
- He's under arrest.

980
01:00:04,078 --> 01:00:08,038
And what Frank
came out publically

981
01:00:08,040 --> 01:00:13,043
to observe was that
at least in his barrel..

982
01:00:13,045 --> 01:00:14,714
...all the apples
were bad.

983
01:00:16,089 --> 01:00:18,632
He triggered
an investigation

984
01:00:18,634 --> 01:00:21,219
that indicated
this might be true

985
01:00:21,221 --> 01:00:23,054
in the department
as a whole

986
01:00:23,056 --> 01:00:25,225
and our job
was to find out, was it?

987
01:00:27,060 --> 01:00:28,561
Uh, he started it all.

988
01:00:29,895 --> 01:00:33,438
But Frank
didn't wanna testify.

989
01:00:33,440 --> 01:00:36,442
He was convinced that we
were gonna sandbag him.

990
01:00:36,444 --> 01:00:39,152
He hired Ramsey Clark, the
former attorney general

991
01:00:39,154 --> 01:00:40,572
to represent him.

992
01:00:42,241 --> 01:00:46,078
We spent the night before,
here, in the apartment.

993
01:00:47,496 --> 01:00:49,413
He had several
pistols stashed around.

994
01:00:51,250 --> 01:00:53,794
And, finally, we decided
it's time to go.

995
01:00:55,839 --> 01:00:58,797
He was sure walkin' too
close to the building.

996
01:00:58,799 --> 01:01:01,592
We slinked down
to 7th Avenue

997
01:01:01,594 --> 01:01:04,013
and, uh, dropped down
into the subway.

998
01:01:05,598 --> 01:01:08,599
He was very nervous
on the subway.

999
01:01:08,601 --> 01:01:09,641
But, you know,
if you got shot

1000
01:01:09,643 --> 01:01:11,768
in your face
like that, uh..

1001
01:01:11,770 --> 01:01:14,855
...he's got reason
to be nervous.

1002
01:01:14,857 --> 01:01:16,773
And probably some pretty
powerful interests

1003
01:01:16,775 --> 01:01:18,694
were worried about what he
was gonna say. You know?

1004
01:01:20,362 --> 01:01:21,612
Anybody that
knew him knew

1005
01:01:21,614 --> 01:01:23,532
he was gonna say
exactly what he thought.

1006
01:01:26,368 --> 01:01:27,703
He warmed up and..

1007
01:01:29,288 --> 01:01:30,873
...his testimony
was, uh..

1008
01:01:33,625 --> 01:01:34,793
...pure Serpico.

1009
01:01:36,462 --> 01:01:38,462
Through my appearance
here today,

1010
01:01:38,464 --> 01:01:42,007
I hope that police
officers in the future

1011
01:01:42,009 --> 01:01:45,219
will not experience the same
frustration and anxiety

1012
01:01:45,221 --> 01:01:48,306
that I was subjected to
for the past five years

1013
01:01:48,308 --> 01:01:50,516
at the hands
of my superiors

1014
01:01:50,518 --> 01:01:53,188
because of my attempt
to report corruption.

1015
01:01:54,397 --> 01:01:57,315
The problem is
that the atmosphere

1016
01:01:57,317 --> 01:01:58,815
does not yet exist

1017
01:01:58,817 --> 01:02:00,525
in which an honest
police officer

1018
01:02:00,527 --> 01:02:03,820
can act without fear
of ridicule or reprisal

1019
01:02:03,822 --> 01:02:05,324
from fellow officers.

1020
01:02:07,493 --> 01:02:10,204
See, that was the one
thing I have against you.

1021
01:02:12,706 --> 01:02:15,833
You exposed corruption

1022
01:02:15,835 --> 01:02:18,668
but only cops got hurt.

1023
01:02:18,670 --> 01:02:20,837
I was talkin'
about the system.

1024
01:02:20,839 --> 01:02:23,590
It went all the way
up to the top.

1025
01:02:23,592 --> 01:02:25,592
That's why I didn't
wanna wear a wire.

1026
01:02:25,594 --> 01:02:27,679
I didn't wanna get the
guys I was workin' with.

1027
01:02:28,889 --> 01:02:31,558
The only problem
I have..

1028
01:02:32,851 --> 01:02:34,601
...with Frank is

1029
01:02:34,603 --> 01:02:38,855
if he wanted
to do it, great.

1030
01:02:38,857 --> 01:02:40,190
I wouldn't do it.

1031
01:02:40,192 --> 01:02:42,692
You wanna do it,
get the bosses

1032
01:02:42,694 --> 01:02:46,365
because without their
okay, it will not happen.

1033
01:02:47,741 --> 01:02:50,284
Now, how do you
lock up a boss?

1034
01:02:50,286 --> 01:02:52,038
How do you go
after these guys?

1035
01:02:55,792 --> 01:02:59,543
I don't know.
I didn't even try.

1036
01:02:59,545 --> 01:03:00,547
Yeah.

1037
01:03:01,714 --> 01:03:03,880
Was any, uh,
suggestion made

1038
01:03:03,882 --> 01:03:07,927
that you carry an
electronic device yourself

1039
01:03:07,929 --> 01:03:10,096
in investigating th...
uh, the corruption?

1040
01:03:10,098 --> 01:03:11,721
Yes.

1041
01:03:11,723 --> 01:03:14,224
And what was your reaction
to the suggestion?

1042
01:03:14,226 --> 01:03:17,228
If I personally
wore a wire..

1043
01:03:17,230 --> 01:03:18,770
...the only information
I could get

1044
01:03:18,772 --> 01:03:20,605
was on a
patrolman level

1045
01:03:20,607 --> 01:03:22,567
and I was not interested

1046
01:03:22,569 --> 01:03:24,902
in just
locking up patrolmen,

1047
01:03:24,904 --> 01:03:28,572
that I wanted to, uh, take
it to a much higher level

1048
01:03:28,574 --> 01:03:30,909
where the problem lied.

1049
01:03:33,496 --> 01:03:35,829
And who was present
at the meeting?

1050
01:03:35,831 --> 01:03:39,916
Myself, Detective Durk,
and Commissioner Fraiman.

1051
01:03:39,918 --> 01:03:41,585
To the best
of your recollection,

1052
01:03:41,587 --> 01:03:43,087
what, uh, was said?

1053
01:03:43,089 --> 01:03:45,505
I again in... informed
the commissioner

1054
01:03:45,507 --> 01:03:47,090
of all the facts
that I had related

1055
01:03:47,092 --> 01:03:49,092
to the other people.

1056
01:03:49,094 --> 01:03:52,596
And what was Commissioner
Fraiman's reaction?

1057
01:03:52,598 --> 01:03:55,934
He said, "Well, uh, what do
you want me to do about it?"

1058
01:03:59,105 --> 01:04:01,938
We came to the conclusion
that the police department

1059
01:04:01,940 --> 01:04:05,525
and its top brass
and the mayor had not..

1060
01:04:05,527 --> 01:04:08,945
...acted on... on
Frank's information..

1061
01:04:08,947 --> 01:04:10,324
...and that
they should have.

1062
01:04:12,284 --> 01:04:14,284
The events
tell the story.

1063
01:04:14,286 --> 01:04:16,369
You had Arnie Fraiman..

1064
01:04:16,371 --> 01:04:18,707
...an appointee
of John Lindsay.

1065
01:04:19,793 --> 01:04:22,210
You had Jay Kriegel.

1066
01:04:22,212 --> 01:04:25,462
The former
Commissioner Leary,

1067
01:04:25,464 --> 01:04:26,963
an appointee
of Lindsay.

1068
01:04:26,965 --> 01:04:28,551
They all sat
on their hands.

1069
01:04:32,806 --> 01:04:36,974
So, this corruption
is very, very

1070
01:04:36,976 --> 01:04:40,393
complex and deep
in the... in the city.

1071
01:04:40,395 --> 01:04:41,813
Mr. Armstrong,
do you come away

1072
01:04:41,815 --> 01:04:43,815
from this hearing believing
that the majority

1073
01:04:43,817 --> 01:04:45,819
of the plainclothesmen
in this city are corrupt?

1074
01:04:48,029 --> 01:04:49,820
Testing, one,
two, three.

1075
01:04:49,822 --> 01:04:51,154
What kind of affect
do you think

1076
01:04:51,156 --> 01:04:52,322
the Knapp
Commission Report

1077
01:04:52,324 --> 01:04:54,407
is having
on your fellow officers?

1078
01:04:54,409 --> 01:04:56,995
Uh, the morale has gone,
uh, down very much.

1079
01:04:58,038 --> 01:04:59,496
We feel pretty low.

1080
01:04:59,498 --> 01:05:00,665
If they did

1081
01:05:00,667 --> 01:05:02,500
the job that they
intended to do,

1082
01:05:02,502 --> 01:05:04,835
to root out
corrupt policemen

1083
01:05:04,837 --> 01:05:06,587
every honest policeman
would stand up

1084
01:05:06,589 --> 01:05:08,172
and take their hat
off to 'em.

1085
01:05:08,174 --> 01:05:09,340
But they didn't do that.

1086
01:05:09,342 --> 01:05:10,675
They got on television
and they used

1087
01:05:10,677 --> 01:05:13,761
a big wide brush and they
painted everybody.

1088
01:05:13,763 --> 01:05:16,179
Everybody.

1089
01:05:16,181 --> 01:05:19,851
The reaction to the Knapp
Commission was ferocious.

1090
01:05:19,853 --> 01:05:22,272
There was
a lotta hostility.

1091
01:05:23,730 --> 01:05:25,690
I don't think anybody
likes people

1092
01:05:25,692 --> 01:05:29,025
looking into whether
they're corrupt or not.

1093
01:05:29,027 --> 01:05:31,529
And if you have
an organization

1094
01:05:31,531 --> 01:05:34,197
that's a quasi-military
organization

1095
01:05:34,199 --> 01:05:38,034
that is used
to feeling in danger,

1096
01:05:38,036 --> 01:05:40,205
perhaps the feelings
are gonna be stronger.

1097
01:05:42,708 --> 01:05:46,128
We felt it. Would a police officer?
Yeah, sure.

1098
01:05:48,214 --> 01:05:50,797
Police corruption
cannot exist..

1099
01:05:50,799 --> 01:05:52,717
...unless it is
at least tolerated

1100
01:05:52,719 --> 01:05:56,094
at higher levels
in the department.

1101
01:05:56,096 --> 01:05:58,973
Merely uncovering widespread
patterns of corruption

1102
01:05:58,975 --> 01:06:00,643
will not
resolve the problem.

1103
01:06:02,270 --> 01:06:06,063
Basic changes in attitude
and approach are vital.

1104
01:06:06,065 --> 01:06:08,565
The policeman's first
obligation is to be

1105
01:06:08,567 --> 01:06:12,235
responsive to the needs of
the community he serves.

1106
01:06:17,118 --> 01:06:20,913
Frank testified before
the Knapp Commission..

1107
01:06:22,915 --> 01:06:24,750
...and he
became famous.

1108
01:06:26,418 --> 01:06:31,255
Very, very... very
famous.

1109
01:06:33,592 --> 01:06:36,009
I first learned
of Frank Serpico

1110
01:06:36,011 --> 01:06:38,096
from colleagues
of my husband's.

1111
01:06:40,641 --> 01:06:43,101
Uh, he began telling us
about this fantastic cop

1112
01:06:43,103 --> 01:06:45,143
in the Bronx who was
spilling the beans

1113
01:06:45,145 --> 01:06:47,771
on all these bad guys.

1114
01:06:47,773 --> 01:06:51,775
Peter Maas introduced me
to Frank

1115
01:06:51,777 --> 01:06:55,779
and it was astounding
how real he was.

1116
01:06:55,781 --> 01:06:58,117
It wasn't
newspaper hype.

1117
01:07:00,453 --> 01:07:04,871
The first thing we did was
arrange for the book.

1118
01:07:04,873 --> 01:07:07,291
It came to me,
and I said

1119
01:07:07,293 --> 01:07:09,000
"We have to
get this book."

1120
01:07:09,002 --> 01:07:11,378
There was a deep
human story here

1121
01:07:11,380 --> 01:07:13,632
about this
very interesting person.

1122
01:07:19,806 --> 01:07:21,639
My own experience is

1123
01:07:21,641 --> 01:07:23,976
many people feel this

1124
01:07:25,145 --> 01:07:27,021
but they feel
they're alone.

1125
01:07:28,480 --> 01:07:29,730
I thought to myself,
"Oh, my God.

1126
01:07:29,732 --> 01:07:31,648
Everybody
should read this."

1127
01:07:31,650 --> 01:07:34,902
You didn't just print it
for today and tomorrow.

1128
01:07:34,904 --> 01:07:36,820
You printed it
for all time.

1129
01:07:48,083 --> 01:07:50,000
I knew about Serpico

1130
01:07:50,002 --> 01:07:52,335
'cause I read about him
in the paper

1131
01:07:52,337 --> 01:07:54,337
and then
I read the book.

1132
01:07:54,339 --> 01:07:56,882
First of all, I thought
it was a terrific story.

1133
01:07:56,884 --> 01:07:58,884
There hasn't been
that many stories made

1134
01:07:58,886 --> 01:08:01,262
about Italians
like that

1135
01:08:01,264 --> 01:08:02,846
'cause he
was such a rebel.

1136
01:08:02,848 --> 01:08:06,099
The story really
must be the star

1137
01:08:06,101 --> 01:08:08,351
number one in any movie.

1138
01:08:08,353 --> 01:08:10,103
Another example
is "Serpico."

1139
01:08:10,105 --> 01:08:14,192
I read, uh, ten page from,
uh, new book Peter Maas.

1140
01:08:14,194 --> 01:08:16,027
I decide to do it.

1141
01:08:18,197 --> 01:08:19,863
Serpico.

1142
01:08:19,865 --> 01:08:21,616
There were over
a hundred parts

1143
01:08:21,618 --> 01:08:23,369
over a hundred
locations.

1144
01:08:24,870 --> 01:08:26,621
Not a whole
lotta money.

1145
01:08:26,623 --> 01:08:29,375
And it's ostensibly
a period picture..

1146
01:08:30,375 --> 01:08:31,377
...in New York.

1147
01:08:33,713 --> 01:08:36,546
I think we shot it
in 37 days.

1148
01:08:36,548 --> 01:08:38,426
Al worked every day.

1149
01:08:40,053 --> 01:08:44,055
It was such an active
physical film

1150
01:08:44,057 --> 01:08:47,393
and also, the things that
he was going through.

1151
01:08:49,646 --> 01:08:51,604
The bad guys
and the good guys

1152
01:08:51,606 --> 01:08:52,816
wanted Serpico.

1153
01:08:54,234 --> 01:08:56,734
They were gonna
light him up.

1154
01:08:56,736 --> 01:08:59,280
You know, the biggest
thieves in the world.

1155
01:09:02,575 --> 01:09:04,449
I was a teenager.

1156
01:09:04,451 --> 01:09:05,618
I went to see it
a bunch of times

1157
01:09:05,620 --> 01:09:07,077
because I was
interested in movies

1158
01:09:07,079 --> 01:09:09,287
and I loved Al Pacino.

1159
01:09:09,289 --> 01:09:13,251
He was a hippie, cop,
undercover.

1160
01:09:13,253 --> 01:09:16,253
It was a very like,
mythical figure..

1161
01:09:16,255 --> 01:09:17,505
...in the movie.

1162
01:09:17,507 --> 01:09:19,090
It had a big influence
on me.

1163
01:09:19,092 --> 01:09:21,425
I went and I got
my ear pierced.

1164
01:09:21,427 --> 01:09:22,676
And then my mother,
she said

1165
01:09:22,678 --> 01:09:25,095
"Did you pierce your ear?"
and I said, "Yeah."

1166
01:09:25,097 --> 01:09:27,431
Then she like,
took the frying pan, bam!

1167
01:09:29,936 --> 01:09:32,436
I was under the
influence of Serpico.

1168
01:09:32,438 --> 01:09:33,604
Where's my coat?

1169
01:09:33,606 --> 01:09:35,105
Well, do you see
a black leather jacket

1170
01:09:35,107 --> 01:09:36,482
like the one Pacino
wore in "Serpico?"

1171
01:09:36,484 --> 01:09:39,109
'Cause if you don't,
you owe me $379.

1172
01:09:39,111 --> 01:09:40,444
No, I'm not
gonna testify.

1173
01:09:40,446 --> 01:09:41,778
You'll have
complete protection.

1174
01:09:41,780 --> 01:09:43,780
Yeah, I've heard
that one before

1175
01:09:43,782 --> 01:09:44,948
I gotta put a dime
in the meter.

1176
01:09:44,950 --> 01:09:46,117
Sit down, Frank.

1177
01:09:46,119 --> 01:09:47,784
I'm ready to blow
my whistle here.

1178
01:09:47,786 --> 01:09:50,454
Now, you gonna listen
to this tape, or not?

1179
01:09:50,456 --> 01:09:51,956
No, I am not.

1180
01:09:51,958 --> 01:09:55,042
You're one of them, huh?
A crooked cop!

1181
01:09:55,044 --> 01:09:56,461
And here's the bad news.

1182
01:09:56,463 --> 01:09:58,880
I don't need your fuckin'
status report, Serpico.

1183
01:09:58,882 --> 01:10:00,046
- Serpico.
- Serpico.

1184
01:10:00,048 --> 01:10:01,799
- Serpico.
- You ever see "Serpico?"

1185
01:10:01,801 --> 01:10:02,966
"Serpico"

1186
01:10:02,968 --> 01:10:05,010
nominated
for best performance

1187
01:10:05,012 --> 01:10:06,136
by an actor this year

1188
01:10:06,138 --> 01:10:08,805
Al Pacino
for "Serpico."

1189
01:10:10,477 --> 01:10:13,478
You need people
with integrity.

1190
01:10:13,480 --> 01:10:15,857
Those kind of people
inspire you.

1191
01:10:17,316 --> 01:10:18,815
When you're
15-16 years old

1192
01:10:18,817 --> 01:10:20,859
and you say, wow,
this guy is, like

1193
01:10:20,861 --> 01:10:22,989
he really, he went
the distance.

1194
01:10:24,656 --> 01:10:28,158
And he was a renegade
and he was a rebel

1195
01:10:28,160 --> 01:10:30,077
and he was Al Pacino
and he was

1196
01:10:30,079 --> 01:10:31,331
the real Frank Serpico.

1197
01:10:33,333 --> 01:10:35,832
Playing a real character
that exists

1198
01:10:35,834 --> 01:10:38,043
y... you're never
gonna be them.

1199
01:10:38,045 --> 01:10:39,503
When I played
Frank Serpico

1200
01:10:39,505 --> 01:10:42,547
I'm not the way
Frank Serpico really is.

1201
01:10:42,549 --> 01:10:44,091
But at the same time,

1202
01:10:44,093 --> 01:10:45,426
I've been inspired by

1203
01:10:45,428 --> 01:10:46,844
watching his movements

1204
01:10:46,846 --> 01:10:49,095
and... and
he's made me feel

1205
01:10:49,097 --> 01:10:50,680
like sometimes
you look in the mirror

1206
01:10:50,682 --> 01:10:52,351
and you think you're gonna
see another person.

1207
01:11:00,735 --> 01:11:02,943
So, one day, we go

1208
01:11:02,945 --> 01:11:05,113
and they're doin'
this scene.

1209
01:11:05,115 --> 01:11:07,280
Where they flush
this black man's

1210
01:11:07,282 --> 01:11:08,866
face in the toilet.

1211
01:11:10,620 --> 01:11:13,623
And I go, what?
Why the.. I say, "Cut!"

1212
01:11:16,209 --> 01:11:17,210
"Who said that?"

1213
01:11:18,044 --> 01:11:19,045
"I did."

1214
01:11:20,547 --> 01:11:21,711
"What're you doin'?"

1215
01:11:21,713 --> 01:11:23,382
"What am I doin'?
What are you doin'?"

1216
01:11:24,551 --> 01:11:26,634
"I'm making
a movie here!"

1217
01:11:26,636 --> 01:11:28,719
I said, "I don't
remember that scene."

1218
01:11:28,721 --> 01:11:30,805
You been jerkin'
me around, heh?

1219
01:11:30,807 --> 01:11:33,433
He said, "Well,
it happened in my life."

1220
01:11:33,435 --> 01:11:35,725
"Oh. Well.

1221
01:11:35,727 --> 01:11:37,894
"If you're makin'
a movie about your life,

1222
01:11:37,896 --> 01:11:39,396
"put it in there.

1223
01:11:39,398 --> 01:11:41,234
But leave it
the hell out of mine!"

1224
01:11:42,235 --> 01:11:43,319
Where's the money?

1225
01:11:44,945 --> 01:11:49,407
Sidney liked to do movies
the way he wanted to.

1226
01:11:49,409 --> 01:11:52,409
And all of a sudden,
somebody says "Cut."

1227
01:11:52,411 --> 01:11:53,996
And it isn't Sidney.

1228
01:11:56,165 --> 01:11:57,497
We always
made it a rule.

1229
01:11:57,499 --> 01:12:00,585
You've seen the script,
and there's really

1230
01:12:00,587 --> 01:12:03,587
nothing you can help us
with at this point.

1231
01:12:03,589 --> 01:12:05,006
"Well,
if you're makin' a movie

1232
01:12:05,008 --> 01:12:06,924
about your life
put it in there."

1233
01:12:06,926 --> 01:12:09,676
We have to now let the
actors do their work.

1234
01:12:09,678 --> 01:12:12,095
"But leave it
the hell out of mine!"

1235
01:12:12,097 --> 01:12:14,308
You... you can stay,
but you can't stay here.

1236
01:12:15,602 --> 01:12:17,935
So they asked
Frank to leave

1237
01:12:17,937 --> 01:12:19,773
and they never
wanted him back.

1238
01:12:22,984 --> 01:12:25,195
I was working
with John Avildsen.

1239
01:12:26,945 --> 01:12:28,695
Very few people know

1240
01:12:28,697 --> 01:12:31,114
John Avildsen
was the director

1241
01:12:31,116 --> 01:12:34,870
who was first to be
directing the movie.

1242
01:12:37,664 --> 01:12:40,207
He came
with Norman Wexler.

1243
01:12:40,209 --> 01:12:42,127
We worked
on the script together.

1244
01:12:44,463 --> 01:12:46,631
It was a beautiful day.

1245
01:12:46,633 --> 01:12:48,216
I mean, we had snow.

1246
01:12:48,218 --> 01:12:50,967
And I remember he
just finished a script

1247
01:12:50,969 --> 01:12:53,805
and we just go,
"Wow. Wow, that's it!"

1248
01:12:53,807 --> 01:12:57,850
You know, and, uh, John
had on a shearling coat

1249
01:12:57,852 --> 01:13:00,728
and a big beard and he
rolls down the mountain

1250
01:13:00,730 --> 01:13:02,354
and he's all
covered with snow

1251
01:13:02,356 --> 01:13:05,858
and he, he stands up
and he says, "Ah!

1252
01:13:05,860 --> 01:13:07,318
"I haven't felt
this good

1253
01:13:07,320 --> 01:13:10,322
since I was
14 years old!"

1254
01:13:13,993 --> 01:13:17,161
And Norman Wexler looked
at us like we were crazy

1255
01:13:17,163 --> 01:13:18,498
'cause I followed
him down.

1256
01:13:21,668 --> 01:13:25,004
Well, one day,
my wall phone rings..

1257
01:13:26,172 --> 01:13:27,838
...and it's John,
and he says

1258
01:13:27,840 --> 01:13:30,006
"Frank, are you
sitting down?"

1259
01:13:30,008 --> 01:13:31,591
I said, "What?"

1260
01:13:31,593 --> 01:13:33,010
And he said,
"They let me go."

1261
01:13:33,012 --> 01:13:34,054
I said, "What?"

1262
01:13:37,767 --> 01:13:40,518
I think he was
disappointed that Avildsen

1263
01:13:40,520 --> 01:13:42,019
didn't get to direct it

1264
01:13:42,021 --> 01:13:45,564
because Avildsen had
such a passion about it.

1265
01:13:45,566 --> 01:13:47,901
And Frank
liked him so much.

1266
01:13:52,574 --> 01:13:55,699
John Avildsen wanted me
to play myself.

1267
01:13:55,701 --> 01:13:57,534
You know, and I said,
"What, are you crazy?"

1268
01:13:57,536 --> 01:13:59,369
I said,
"I'm not an actor."

1269
01:13:59,371 --> 01:14:00,872
He says,
"Just think of it.

1270
01:14:00,874 --> 01:14:02,540
You'll be
an eccentric."

1271
01:14:02,542 --> 01:14:05,877
I said, "I already am
an eccentric."

1272
01:14:05,879 --> 01:14:07,377
I said,
"I'm not an actor.

1273
01:14:07,379 --> 01:14:09,423
I'm... I'm...
I'm the real thing."

1274
01:14:13,887 --> 01:14:15,552
He was Frank Serpico

1275
01:14:15,554 --> 01:14:17,262
and then he became
Frank Serpico

1276
01:14:17,264 --> 01:14:18,555
that Al Pacino
portrayed.

1277
01:14:18,557 --> 01:14:20,560
And that had to be
lived up to.

1278
01:14:22,061 --> 01:14:24,060
And that becomes
another stressor

1279
01:14:24,062 --> 01:14:26,229
because when you
walk into a room,

1280
01:14:26,231 --> 01:14:27,734
everybody saw your life.

1281
01:14:30,069 --> 01:14:32,235
He's hung his hat
on identifying himself

1282
01:14:32,237 --> 01:14:33,613
as Frank Serpico,

1283
01:14:33,615 --> 01:14:36,741
the guy
who exposed corruption.

1284
01:14:36,743 --> 01:14:38,953
But he's trapped then
by that.

1285
01:14:40,329 --> 01:14:42,747
Frank Serpico
is not that guy.

1286
01:14:42,749 --> 01:14:44,081
That's something
that he did

1287
01:14:44,083 --> 01:14:46,252
but that's not
really who he is.

1288
01:14:47,754 --> 01:14:49,923
And that will continue
to plague him.

1289
01:14:57,179 --> 01:14:58,845
You see..

1290
01:14:58,847 --> 01:15:01,265
...once I'd left
the police department,

1291
01:15:01,267 --> 01:15:02,600
I just..

1292
01:15:02,602 --> 01:15:05,271
Believe me
never gave anything..

1293
01:15:06,606 --> 01:15:08,605
...about the old days
a thought.

1294
01:15:08,607 --> 01:15:10,440
I mean, you did write
a chapter about Frank

1295
01:15:10,442 --> 01:15:11,650
in your book.

1296
01:15:11,652 --> 01:15:13,778
It's hard for me to
imagine that you never

1297
01:15:13,780 --> 01:15:15,779
thought about
this particular incident

1298
01:15:15,781 --> 01:15:17,448
especially 'cause Frank had
the movie and the book

1299
01:15:17,450 --> 01:15:19,283
and then became, like,
this kind of icon.

1300
01:15:19,285 --> 01:15:21,287
When I saw the movie..

1301
01:15:22,539 --> 01:15:23,787
...I got angry

1302
01:15:23,789 --> 01:15:25,288
'cause it gave
the impression

1303
01:15:25,290 --> 01:15:27,125
that he got shot
and we just sat there

1304
01:15:27,127 --> 01:15:28,708
and did nothin'.

1305
01:15:28,710 --> 01:15:31,128
I think Peter Maas..

1306
01:15:31,130 --> 01:15:34,297
...was tryin' to use
the shooting

1307
01:15:34,299 --> 01:15:38,219
as a... um..

1308
01:15:38,221 --> 01:15:40,345
In other words,
people were out to get you

1309
01:15:40,347 --> 01:15:43,181
and they
finally succeeded

1310
01:15:43,183 --> 01:15:46,146
and one had nothing
to do with the other.

1311
01:15:48,147 --> 01:15:49,896
Uh, how do you feel?

1312
01:15:49,898 --> 01:15:52,899
My, uh, idea
was to show

1313
01:15:52,901 --> 01:15:54,902
the overall picture.

1314
01:15:54,904 --> 01:15:57,195
You know,
I'm in the hospital

1315
01:15:57,197 --> 01:15:59,823
and there was
a uniformed cop

1316
01:15:59,825 --> 01:16:01,658
who wanted to visit me

1317
01:16:01,660 --> 01:16:04,662
and the cop who was
supposed to be guarding me

1318
01:16:04,664 --> 01:16:07,208
says, "Don't go in there.
He's no good."

1319
01:16:08,084 --> 01:16:09,667
This is not Narcotics

1320
01:16:09,669 --> 01:16:10,917
or the guys
I'm workin' with.

1321
01:16:10,919 --> 01:16:13,546
This is the
whole system.

1322
01:16:13,548 --> 01:16:17,007
They must've felt guilty
of doin' somethin'

1323
01:16:17,009 --> 01:16:20,845
otherwise they wouldn't
have been so challenged

1324
01:16:20,847 --> 01:16:22,849
by what this
one guy was doin'.

1325
01:16:27,187 --> 01:16:28,269
That's possible.

1326
01:16:28,271 --> 01:16:30,190
You know any... anything
is possible.

1327
01:16:38,030 --> 01:16:38,906
Mm.

1328
01:16:46,914 --> 01:16:48,207
Ramsey?

1329
01:16:51,419 --> 01:16:52,752
What the hell's
goin' on here?

1330
01:16:52,754 --> 01:16:54,964
What is this, some kind
of a setup or somethin'?

1331
01:16:59,636 --> 01:17:00,801
Paco!

1332
01:17:02,806 --> 01:17:04,471
Hey, you got older.
What happened to ya?

1333
01:17:04,473 --> 01:17:07,390
Oh, me? I haven't got
a gray hair on my head.

1334
01:17:07,392 --> 01:17:08,725
You've gotten taller.

1335
01:17:08,727 --> 01:17:10,728
Yeah, I've been, uh,
stretching, uh..

1336
01:17:10,730 --> 01:17:12,104
...sleepin'
on the ground.

1337
01:17:12,106 --> 01:17:13,980
You've gotten shorter.
That's what it is.

1338
01:17:13,982 --> 01:17:16,067
Yeah. I'm afraid
that's true.

1339
01:17:16,069 --> 01:17:18,485
- Closer to the ground.
- Is Rhonda here?

1340
01:17:18,487 --> 01:17:20,153
Wanted to see ya. No,
she left about 11:00.

1341
01:17:20,155 --> 01:17:22,241
- Oh.
- She waited to see ya.

1342
01:17:27,079 --> 01:17:28,580
You recognize this guy?

1343
01:17:30,415 --> 01:17:32,584
Do you think they did
an accurate, uh?

1344
01:17:34,462 --> 01:17:36,128
What's it say, here?

1345
01:17:36,130 --> 01:17:39,966
"A police officer's
first obligation

1346
01:17:39,968 --> 01:17:43,760
"is to be responsible
to the needs

1347
01:17:43,762 --> 01:17:46,682
of the community
he serves."

1348
01:17:49,017 --> 01:17:50,477
You know that guy?

1349
01:17:53,188 --> 01:17:54,439
Nobody knows that guy.

1350
01:18:03,450 --> 01:18:05,949
The man that came to my
aide when I was shot

1351
01:18:05,951 --> 01:18:06,951
he was a civilian.

1352
01:18:06,953 --> 01:18:09,662
He was the guy
that called the police.

1353
01:18:09,664 --> 01:18:11,204
The cops didn't
call 'em.

1354
01:18:11,206 --> 01:18:12,998
I'm lying there,
bleeding to death

1355
01:18:13,000 --> 01:18:16,044
and... some civilian
called.

1356
01:18:17,838 --> 01:18:19,463
They can't isolate
themselves

1357
01:18:19,465 --> 01:18:22,132
because if they do, it's
gonna be a police state.

1358
01:18:22,134 --> 01:18:26,804
And, uh, police have
to understand that. They..

1359
01:18:26,806 --> 01:18:29,806
You can't have a free society
any other way. Can you?

1360
01:18:29,808 --> 01:18:32,810
No. And they keep saying,
us against them.

1361
01:18:32,812 --> 01:18:35,061
You know,
and we can't have that.

1362
01:18:35,063 --> 01:18:36,648
There's only us.

1363
01:18:40,986 --> 01:18:42,528
The reality is that

1364
01:18:42,530 --> 01:18:44,905
the story that
came out on top..

1365
01:18:44,907 --> 01:18:48,326
...was not
that of... power

1366
01:18:48,328 --> 01:18:50,996
or institutions
but, uh, the truth.

1367
01:18:52,581 --> 01:18:56,167
The story that came out
on top is Paco's story..

1368
01:18:56,169 --> 01:18:57,670
...'cause that's what
everybody believes.

1369
01:19:00,380 --> 01:19:02,340
"Ramsey, who stood
at my side

1370
01:19:02,342 --> 01:19:05,011
with love, admiration
and respect."

1371
01:19:07,679 --> 01:19:09,348
"Paco Francisco..

1372
01:19:12,352 --> 01:19:13,394
"...Serpico."

1373
01:19:28,409 --> 01:19:30,954
I always admired Frank
for what he did.

1374
01:19:34,039 --> 01:19:38,417
He exposed a system that
I was very much against

1375
01:19:38,419 --> 01:19:40,377
but I never would've
done what he did

1376
01:19:40,379 --> 01:19:42,132
because most of us
just went along.

1377
01:19:47,137 --> 01:19:48,635
Everybody knew there
was a lot of corruption

1378
01:19:48,637 --> 01:19:49,804
in the
police department.

1379
01:19:49,806 --> 01:19:51,555
That was part of
the reason why everybody

1380
01:19:51,557 --> 01:19:52,891
distrusted police.

1381
01:19:54,561 --> 01:19:58,563
To see him as somebody
fighting that..

1382
01:19:58,565 --> 01:20:00,273
...I was very proud
to be his neighbor

1383
01:20:00,275 --> 01:20:01,484
at... at that point.

1384
01:20:03,611 --> 01:20:05,444
I'm a big fan of his.

1385
01:20:05,446 --> 01:20:06,653
If there was
more people like him

1386
01:20:06,655 --> 01:20:07,906
it'd be
a different world.

1387
01:20:09,575 --> 01:20:12,909
I've taken guns and knives
out of people's hands..

1388
01:20:12,911 --> 01:20:14,327
...but I didn't
have the courage

1389
01:20:14,329 --> 01:20:15,914
or I wouldn't have the
courage to do what he did.

1390
01:20:17,749 --> 01:20:21,085
Unfortunately, you know,
he's been vilified

1391
01:20:21,087 --> 01:20:23,253
and he'll always probably
will be vilified

1392
01:20:23,255 --> 01:20:25,590
as a, what you call,
a rat.

1393
01:20:25,592 --> 01:20:27,257
You know, so,
he really wasn't a rat

1394
01:20:27,259 --> 01:20:30,260
because rats are people
who give up other people.

1395
01:20:30,262 --> 01:20:33,598
He was never a...
an... an informer.

1396
01:20:33,600 --> 01:20:35,600
He was a, uh..

1397
01:20:35,602 --> 01:20:37,601
I'm trying
to find the right word.

1398
01:20:37,603 --> 01:20:39,105
He was an exposer.

1399
01:20:41,356 --> 01:20:44,108
He does look,
in retrospect

1400
01:20:44,110 --> 01:20:46,152
like something
out of a Western movie.

1401
01:20:46,154 --> 01:20:47,612
He's like,
"The Man With No Name"

1402
01:20:47,614 --> 01:20:48,781
or something like that.

1403
01:20:50,282 --> 01:20:52,617
But, of course, that
wasn't his idea at all.

1404
01:20:52,619 --> 01:20:55,452
He just saw corruption
going on around him

1405
01:20:55,454 --> 01:20:57,623
and... and
took a stand.

1406
01:21:00,459 --> 01:21:02,627
I think it's crucial
to reclaim

1407
01:21:02,629 --> 01:21:05,006
the parts of our past
that we don't know about.

1408
01:21:06,673 --> 01:21:08,549
The taking back
of stories

1409
01:21:08,551 --> 01:21:10,217
that's very important.

1410
01:21:10,219 --> 01:21:12,470
And especially
from people that

1411
01:21:12,472 --> 01:21:15,305
at the time, some people
consider them heroes

1412
01:21:15,307 --> 01:21:17,060
and some people
demonize them.

1413
01:21:18,645 --> 01:21:20,811
People have to see
other people

1414
01:21:20,813 --> 01:21:23,730
that have taken actions
that made change

1415
01:21:23,732 --> 01:21:26,235
in order to understand how
to make change themselves.

1416
01:21:28,987 --> 01:21:31,863
I think this is maybe the
most important aspect

1417
01:21:31,865 --> 01:21:33,698
of Serpico's story.

1418
01:21:33,700 --> 01:21:36,827
It's a extraordinarily
powerful

1419
01:21:36,829 --> 01:21:38,705
moral beacon.

1420
01:21:40,667 --> 01:21:42,917
You say to yourself, you
know, "What can I do?

1421
01:21:42,919 --> 01:21:45,002
You know, uh,
one person?"

1422
01:21:45,004 --> 01:21:46,546
But occasionally,
every once in a while

1423
01:21:46,548 --> 01:21:48,672
someone like a Serpico
shows up

1424
01:21:48,674 --> 01:21:50,843
and... and reminds us.

1425
01:21:52,428 --> 01:21:54,261
I told myself, eh..

1426
01:21:54,263 --> 01:21:58,224
"Frank, you're goin'
on stage tonight."

1427
01:21:58,226 --> 01:22:00,270
I told myself
I was an actor.

1428
01:22:02,187 --> 01:22:04,439
"Of all the days,
that was the one

1429
01:22:04,441 --> 01:22:07,942
"an age of reason
could have begun.

1430
01:22:07,944 --> 01:22:11,278
"Well, force
has not prevailed!

1431
01:22:11,280 --> 01:22:14,448
"And think
if he had recanted.

1432
01:22:14,450 --> 01:22:17,201
"It would have been as if
night had fallen again

1433
01:22:17,203 --> 01:22:19,537
"just after
the sun rose.

1434
01:22:19,539 --> 01:22:23,040
"But everything
has been changed today.

1435
01:22:23,042 --> 01:22:25,042
"So much is gained

1436
01:22:25,044 --> 01:22:27,464
"when only one person
stands up..

1437
01:22:28,548 --> 01:22:29,883
...and says no."

1438
01:22:34,262 --> 01:22:37,389
But he disappeared
very quickly after that.

1439
01:22:39,892 --> 01:22:42,225
I think he told us
he was going.

1440
01:22:42,227 --> 01:22:43,894
I actually think
he may have said

1441
01:22:43,896 --> 01:22:46,314
"I'm gonna go away."

1442
01:22:46,316 --> 01:22:48,234
You know, "I can't
stay here anymore."

1443
01:22:51,737 --> 01:22:54,738
We visited Paco,
as his friends call him

1444
01:22:54,740 --> 01:22:57,408
earlier this month during
a gray and chilly week

1445
01:22:57,410 --> 01:22:59,287
at his farm
in northern Holland.

1446
01:23:01,748 --> 01:23:03,997
The past is the past.
I just think it's a pity

1447
01:23:03,999 --> 01:23:06,585
that I didn't feel then
like I feel now.

1448
01:23:08,338 --> 01:23:10,253
If you see a policeman
takin' a payoff

1449
01:23:10,255 --> 01:23:12,590
all you have to say is,
"Hey, you're under arrest."

1450
01:23:12,592 --> 01:23:14,966
And not feel, "Well, I'm
gonna be the outsider now

1451
01:23:14,968 --> 01:23:18,595
and, uh, nobody is, uh,
going to accept me."

1452
01:23:18,597 --> 01:23:21,933
Um, you become
a prisoner of yourself.

1453
01:23:21,935 --> 01:23:24,601
That's, uh, that's how
I felt I was then.

1454
01:23:24,603 --> 01:23:28,148
I was, uh, my own, uh, I
was a prisoner of myself.

1455
01:23:31,945 --> 01:23:34,694
For almost ten years,
the real Serpico

1456
01:23:34,696 --> 01:23:37,489
has had to compete
with the images,

1457
01:23:37,491 --> 01:23:39,785
the burden of living
with a myth.

1458
01:23:41,454 --> 01:23:44,204
The exile's life
is relatively empty.

1459
01:23:44,206 --> 01:23:46,332
Friends are few
and far away.

1460
01:23:46,334 --> 01:23:50,127
In their place, Serpico has
made a meticulous routine

1461
01:23:50,129 --> 01:23:52,671
of housekeeping
and animal husbandry.

1462
01:23:52,673 --> 01:23:54,007
He says it works.

1463
01:23:55,468 --> 01:23:56,967
There's nothing wrong
with being by yourself

1464
01:23:56,969 --> 01:23:57,969
if you're at peace

1465
01:23:57,971 --> 01:23:59,302
because then
you're at peace

1466
01:23:59,304 --> 01:24:00,637
with your whole
environment

1467
01:24:00,639 --> 01:24:02,055
with the whole universe

1468
01:24:02,057 --> 01:24:04,476
and, you're not lonely.

1469
01:24:09,648 --> 01:24:12,984
One day,
I heard a scream.

1470
01:24:12,986 --> 01:24:15,653
Some little girl

1471
01:24:15,655 --> 01:24:18,366
had fallen in the canal.

1472
01:24:20,160 --> 01:24:21,494
I got her out.

1473
01:24:23,163 --> 01:24:27,165
And a crowd
started forming.

1474
01:24:27,167 --> 01:24:29,667
And I thought,
"Gotta get out of here.

1475
01:24:29,669 --> 01:24:31,004
The cops are comin'."

1476
01:24:33,255 --> 01:24:35,717
Next morning, two detectives
come to my door..

1477
01:24:37,177 --> 01:24:39,342
And I said, "Shit."

1478
01:24:39,344 --> 01:24:41,054
Alright,
here goes Holland.

1479
01:24:45,768 --> 01:24:47,100
They drive me
to headquarters

1480
01:24:47,102 --> 01:24:49,186
and they take me
up, up, up

1481
01:24:49,188 --> 01:24:52,025
to the
commissioner's office.

1482
01:24:54,861 --> 01:24:57,068
And we walk in
and he snaps to

1483
01:24:57,070 --> 01:24:59,529
and he comes forward
and he puts out his hand

1484
01:24:59,531 --> 01:25:00,530
then he says..

1485
01:25:08,749 --> 01:25:09,873
And I look on his desk

1486
01:25:09,875 --> 01:25:12,753
and there's
a copy of "Serpico."

1487
01:25:14,213 --> 01:25:16,256
And he asks me
to autograph it for him.

1488
01:25:19,134 --> 01:25:21,219
And he said, "I'd like
to show your movie

1489
01:25:21,221 --> 01:25:23,056
to all the brass."

1490
01:25:24,641 --> 01:25:26,933
I go there, they show
the movie, and I said

1491
01:25:26,935 --> 01:25:31,061
"Well, gentlemen, ladies,
what'd you think?"

1492
01:25:31,063 --> 01:25:34,984
"I can't believe that a police
officer would do such a thing."

1493
01:25:37,236 --> 01:25:38,737
And I says,
"That's good.

1494
01:25:39,905 --> 01:25:43,491
"But it's also bad..

1495
01:25:43,493 --> 01:25:47,744
...because if you
don't believe it.."

1496
01:25:47,746 --> 01:25:51,248
I said, "Gentlemen,
it will happen."

1497
01:25:52,919 --> 01:25:55,588
And a year later,
my phone rings..

1498
01:25:56,755 --> 01:25:58,588
...he says,
"You were right.

1499
01:25:58,590 --> 01:25:59,843
It happened."

1500
01:26:00,968 --> 01:26:03,094
There was
a big scandal..

1501
01:26:03,096 --> 01:26:04,097
Narcotics.

1502
01:26:07,642 --> 01:26:10,475
Frank Serpico's life
is full of ironies.

1503
01:26:10,477 --> 01:26:12,811
He gave his career
and much of his body

1504
01:26:12,813 --> 01:26:15,355
to an ideal of serving
his New York community.

1505
01:26:15,357 --> 01:26:18,609
Now he lives cut-off
from his American past

1506
01:26:18,611 --> 01:26:20,610
ever the man outside.

1507
01:26:20,612 --> 01:26:24,614
People don't know
who Serpico was

1508
01:26:24,616 --> 01:26:25,824
and they still don't.

1509
01:26:25,826 --> 01:26:28,368
Uh, and for a time,
I didn't.

1510
01:26:28,370 --> 01:26:30,287
And now I know who I am

1511
01:26:30,289 --> 01:26:32,290
I know what I am.

1512
01:26:32,292 --> 01:26:36,168
And, uh, anti-corruption
label, uh..

1513
01:26:36,170 --> 01:26:38,962
Then people think,
"Ah, call Serpico.

1514
01:26:38,964 --> 01:26:40,881
Dial the Lone Ranger."

1515
01:26:40,883 --> 01:26:42,466
That's all
part of that fantasy

1516
01:26:42,468 --> 01:26:44,135
where you call up
the good guy

1517
01:26:44,137 --> 01:26:45,388
and he takes care
of everything.

1518
01:26:47,389 --> 01:26:49,142
Take care
of it yourself.

1519
01:26:52,812 --> 01:26:55,148
I thought, "I can't keep
fighting this."

1520
01:26:56,523 --> 01:26:58,815
"That's not
what I became

1521
01:26:58,817 --> 01:27:00,195
a police officer for."

1522
01:27:02,405 --> 01:27:04,029
I remember
even the chief sayin'

1523
01:27:04,031 --> 01:27:07,158
"What're you gonna do with
the rest of your life?"

1524
01:27:07,160 --> 01:27:08,743
It's like
there's no life

1525
01:27:08,745 --> 01:27:11,828
after the New York City
Police Department.

1526
01:27:11,830 --> 01:27:13,499
I said,
"What am I gonna do?

1527
01:27:14,834 --> 01:27:16,211
I'm gonna live."

1528
01:27:34,562 --> 01:27:36,269
I had just come back
from Europe

1529
01:27:36,271 --> 01:27:39,189
and I called John up.

1530
01:27:39,191 --> 01:27:42,025
And he said, "Hey, I'm
building a house in Sagaponack

1531
01:27:42,027 --> 01:27:44,114
and, uh, why don't you
go hang out there?"

1532
01:27:47,032 --> 01:27:48,366
And the next thing
I know

1533
01:27:48,368 --> 01:27:50,118
I sort of became
the chief cook

1534
01:27:50,120 --> 01:27:51,704
and bottle washer.

1535
01:27:54,206 --> 01:27:58,876
Inside this
innocent-looking house..

1536
01:27:58,878 --> 01:28:02,546
...strange things..

1537
01:28:02,548 --> 01:28:04,049
...are going on.

1538
01:28:06,218 --> 01:28:07,635
He'd been hanging around
Sag Harbor

1539
01:28:07,637 --> 01:28:09,639
I'd met him
when I was 19.

1540
01:28:11,723 --> 01:28:15,475
I really knew
very little about him

1541
01:28:15,477 --> 01:28:16,895
when I first met him.

1542
01:28:18,397 --> 01:28:20,064
Really kind of
fell in love with him

1543
01:28:20,066 --> 01:28:21,943
for the first time
we spent together.

1544
01:28:23,236 --> 01:28:24,568
You know,
there's some kind of

1545
01:28:24,570 --> 01:28:26,780
deep-rooted
humanity there.

1546
01:28:28,950 --> 01:28:30,285
We had a lotta fun.

1547
01:28:31,578 --> 01:28:32,909
Paco can make

1548
01:28:32,911 --> 01:28:35,412
going to buy groceries
kinda fun.

1549
01:28:35,414 --> 01:28:38,791
I'm sure glad we got this on tape, folks.
Keep it up.

1550
01:28:38,793 --> 01:28:42,170
John had all this
camera stuff around

1551
01:28:42,172 --> 01:28:45,424
and, uh, we were
always doin' costumes.

1552
01:28:46,758 --> 01:28:48,509
Now get
to the personal stuff.

1553
01:28:48,511 --> 01:28:51,470
In Italy, the country
where I come from

1554
01:28:51,472 --> 01:28:54,265
there was a farmer
and his son

1555
01:28:54,267 --> 01:28:56,434
who wanted to make
a lot of money.

1556
01:28:56,436 --> 01:28:58,101
And so he says,
"Come to America"

1557
01:28:58,103 --> 01:29:01,189
but he's get a job
as a shoeshine boy.

1558
01:29:01,191 --> 01:29:03,440
You make hay
while the sun shines.

1559
01:29:03,442 --> 01:29:05,150
You understand?

1560
01:29:05,152 --> 01:29:08,114
So now I'm trying to get
my life together here.

1561
01:29:11,700 --> 01:29:13,951
He did not leave

1562
01:29:13,953 --> 01:29:15,621
a broken man.

1563
01:29:16,623 --> 01:29:18,458
He embraced life.

1564
01:29:20,627 --> 01:29:23,961
Now, were there certain
voids in his life?

1565
01:29:23,963 --> 01:29:26,963
Everybody has voids
in their life.

1566
01:29:26,965 --> 01:29:30,301
But I don't think you're gonna
get a much more colorful

1567
01:29:30,303 --> 01:29:32,804
elaborate
or sensational life

1568
01:29:32,806 --> 01:29:34,139
than Frank Serpico.

1569
01:29:38,812 --> 01:29:41,645
It got to a point where it felt
like he needed his own house.

1570
01:29:41,647 --> 01:29:44,314
And he had this land
up in upstate New York.

1571
01:29:44,316 --> 01:29:47,652
And... so,
we went up there

1572
01:29:47,654 --> 01:29:49,569
in the camper.

1573
01:29:49,571 --> 01:29:51,823
We camped on the land
and we kind of went

1574
01:29:51,825 --> 01:29:53,993
"Okay, that looks like
a good place over there."

1575
01:29:55,745 --> 01:29:57,997
He built his cabin
in the woods.

1576
01:30:01,834 --> 01:30:04,001
If you wanna
lose the present

1577
01:30:04,003 --> 01:30:05,880
then live in the past.

1578
01:30:07,005 --> 01:30:08,421
But this moment

1579
01:30:08,423 --> 01:30:10,092
is gonna be
gone forever.

1580
01:30:17,100 --> 01:30:21,269
Tonight, they're paid
to protect and serve.

1581
01:30:21,271 --> 01:30:24,188
But these cops were
breaking and entering

1582
01:30:24,190 --> 01:30:27,065
shaking down dealers,
and doing drugs.

1583
01:30:27,067 --> 01:30:29,277
They're the new breed
of corrupt cop

1584
01:30:29,279 --> 01:30:31,445
brazenly defying
the law

1585
01:30:31,447 --> 01:30:32,697
and the top brass.

1586
01:30:32,699 --> 01:30:34,073
You're under arrest.

1587
01:30:34,075 --> 01:30:35,741
And the cop
who blew the whistle

1588
01:30:35,743 --> 01:30:38,702
20 years ago,
tonight, Frank Serpico

1589
01:30:38,704 --> 01:30:40,704
breaks his long silence

1590
01:30:40,706 --> 01:30:43,123
outraged, that little
has changed.

1591
01:30:43,125 --> 01:30:44,625
Get on the ground!
Get on the ground!

1592
01:30:46,963 --> 01:30:48,628
This police
brutality thing's

1593
01:30:48,630 --> 01:30:51,256
coming more and more
into the news today.

1594
01:30:51,258 --> 01:30:53,384
And we will have
Daryl Gates, former chief

1595
01:30:53,386 --> 01:30:55,720
of police of Los Angeles,
and Frank Serpico

1596
01:30:55,722 --> 01:30:58,141
who's the, uh,
the Serpico.

1597
01:31:03,730 --> 01:31:06,480
I hope that police
officers in the future

1598
01:31:06,482 --> 01:31:09,317
will not experience
the same frustration

1599
01:31:09,319 --> 01:31:11,402
and anxiety
that I was subjected to..

1600
01:31:11,404 --> 01:31:13,069
More than
a quarter century later

1601
01:31:13,071 --> 01:31:15,072
Frank Serpico
was still reading

1602
01:31:15,074 --> 01:31:17,408
from the same page.

1603
01:31:17,410 --> 01:31:20,619
Certainly, uh, that force which
is reasonable and necessary

1604
01:31:20,621 --> 01:31:23,163
can be used and it's part
of doing the job...

1605
01:31:23,165 --> 01:31:25,123
We're talkin'
about a bathroom here.

1606
01:31:25,125 --> 01:31:27,585
Why do you need excessive
force in a bathroom?

1607
01:31:27,587 --> 01:31:28,920
- Let's get real.
- Serpico, you're... you..

1608
01:31:28,922 --> 01:31:30,421
You got
a loud mouth, Serpico.

1609
01:31:30,423 --> 01:31:33,090
- Would you just listen for a moment?
- At least it's honest!

1610
01:31:33,092 --> 01:31:35,009
This was part
of my opening statement

1611
01:31:35,011 --> 01:31:37,427
over 25 years ago.

1612
01:31:37,429 --> 01:31:40,139
Unfortunately that hope
was never realized.

1613
01:31:40,141 --> 01:31:43,266
Back then there was
widely tolerated

1614
01:31:43,268 --> 01:31:44,601
systemic corruption.

1615
01:31:44,603 --> 01:31:46,479
It'd be a shame if somebody
gave the impression

1616
01:31:46,481 --> 01:31:47,982
that that was
the case today.

1617
01:31:55,115 --> 01:31:57,114
We have to light
the lamps

1618
01:31:57,116 --> 01:31:59,783
that shed the light
on corruption, injustice

1619
01:31:59,785 --> 01:32:00,784
and abuse of power.

1620
01:32:00,786 --> 01:32:03,121
Move! Move! Move!

1621
01:32:04,833 --> 01:32:06,623
"Never has there been
a greater need

1622
01:32:06,625 --> 01:32:09,961
"for lamplighters
than today.

1623
01:32:09,963 --> 01:32:12,671
"We must hold our
lawmakers accountable

1624
01:32:12,673 --> 01:32:15,466
"or democracy and freedom
of speech in America

1625
01:32:15,468 --> 01:32:17,467
will soon
become extinct."

1626
01:32:19,972 --> 01:32:22,140
From the vantage point
of more than 40 years

1627
01:32:22,142 --> 01:32:24,641
observing the police,
Serpico says

1628
01:32:24,643 --> 01:32:26,310
"There's still
a long way to go."

1629
01:32:26,312 --> 01:32:27,894
Some officers think

1630
01:32:27,896 --> 01:32:29,896
"I am the law."

1631
01:32:29,898 --> 01:32:32,149
No, you're not the law.

1632
01:32:32,151 --> 01:32:35,027
You are sworn
to enforce that law

1633
01:32:35,029 --> 01:32:37,490
on all, equally.

1634
01:32:39,700 --> 01:32:42,201
Nothing has changed.

1635
01:32:42,203 --> 01:32:44,496
The abuse has been
switched around.

1636
01:32:46,331 --> 01:32:49,377
But, the abuse of power
is still there.

1637
01:33:13,359 --> 01:33:15,695
This has sort of been
my healing place.

1638
01:33:18,865 --> 01:33:20,742
This is what I call
my Zendo.

1639
01:33:30,709 --> 01:33:32,710
See anything
look familiar here?

1640
01:33:38,092 --> 01:33:40,094
That's the bottom
of a nightstick.

1641
01:33:44,389 --> 01:33:45,808
Nice sound, huh?

1642
01:34:00,115 --> 01:34:04,742
I remember bein' invited
to a program

1643
01:34:04,744 --> 01:34:09,124
where cops were honored
from all over the country.

1644
01:34:11,959 --> 01:34:14,962
I got invited
to be a presenter.

1645
01:34:16,923 --> 01:34:20,091
I said,
"Congratulations.

1646
01:34:20,093 --> 01:34:23,179
Uh, you got the nation's
ten top cop award."

1647
01:34:30,770 --> 01:34:32,686
When I went
to shake their hands

1648
01:34:32,688 --> 01:34:34,941
each one of 'em
gave me a big hug.

1649
01:34:36,151 --> 01:34:37,608
And they each whispered

1650
01:34:37,610 --> 01:34:39,027
something in my ear.

1651
01:34:41,280 --> 01:34:42,948
And what they
whispered was..

1652
01:34:45,451 --> 01:34:46,953
"I gotta talk to ya."

1653
01:34:56,465 --> 01:35:01,465
Subtitles by explosiveskull