61st Street (2022–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - After the Morning After - full transcript

Oh.

You made me look
10 years younger.

Do you mind if I say something?

No, not at all.

I am so proud of you, sir.

What you did? Mm.

Amazing.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Just like being in court.

Relax. You got this.



Man: Eight seconds! Okay.

And live in 5, 4, 3...

Neary: Tonight's
guest has just won

one of the most important trials in
this great city's history. You good?

The acquittal of Moses
Johnson is a landmark moment

for how we think about the
administration of justice.

And Franklin Roberts
was right at the heart

of the making of this moment.

Newscaster: Celebration
erupted on the South Side

as the not-guilty
verdict was read

in the Moses
Johnson murder trial

of slain CPD officer
Michael Rossi.

People took to the streets,

prompted by the
unexpected acquittal



of the 19-year-old track phenom.

A CPD spokesman, when
asked to comment,

said that the verdict...

Brannigan: What does it
mean, a verdict like that?

It means you're entitled to
run from a police officer.

And you're entitled to fight
us when we're doing our duty.

Only one thing you need to
have all that going for you.

Your skin has to be
the right colour.

So here's my question.

Given that 90% of the people
committing crimes in this city

have that same skin colour...

how are we supposed
to do our job?

Who are we?

♪ Somebody tell
these motherfuckers ♪

♪ Keep they hands off me ♪

♪ I ain't a
motherfuckin' slave ♪

♪ Keep your chains off me ♪

♪ You better hope this
9-millimetre jam on me ♪

♪ Or get blown ♪

♪ I hope you got your
body cam turnt on ♪

♪ Fuck a Black cop, too;
that's the same fight ♪

♪ You got a badge, bitch,
but you still ain't white ♪

♪ This for Laquan on sight
when you see Van Dyke ♪

Hey! ♪ Tell him I don't
bring a knife to a gunfight ♪

Turn... that... off. ♪
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ♪

♪ 9, 10, 11, fuck 12 ♪

Not tonight.

♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ♪

♪ 9, 10, 11, fuck 12 ♪

♪ Sixteen shots ♪
You police?

♪ And we buckin' back ♪

♪ Sixteen shots ♪

Yeah. I ain't breaking no
law, so... ♪ Sixteen shots ♪

♪ And we buckin' back ♪
fuck 12.

♪ Sixteen shots ♪

And fuck you.

♪ There's a war on drugs,
but the drugs keep winnin' ♪

What next for Franklin Roberts?

People come on your
show to plug things...

A new TV show, a-a book.

Well, I'm selling
something as well...

Truth and reconciliation.

That's two things.

Well, you can't have
one without the other.

♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ♪

♪ 9, 10, 11, fuck 12 ♪

Segregation, torture, apartheid.

My people have been on the
wrong end of all of them

right here in Chicago.

I want a segregated city
and a divided country

to come together by
agreeing about its past,

not denying it.

It's not a witch hunt.

It's an opening of a
gate to transparency.

I'm not going after bad cops.

I'm inviting police officers to
talk about their experiences,

their culture... truthfully.

Why would they do that?

"Not everything that is
faced can be changed.

But nothing will be
changed until it is faced."

James Baldwin.

Is he right?

♪ Sixteen shots ♪

♪ And we buckin' back ♪

How about you,
sir? Yes. Yes. You.

The sound man. How about
you? What do you think?

Is he right? He's right.

And how about you,
Mr. Cameraman?

Is he right?

Sure. Absolutely.

And how about you?

Shall we do this?

♪ Chicago ♪

♪ Where the dollar and blue
collar go hand in hand ♪

♪ City of Dreams so big ♪

♪ Nightmares don't
stand a chance ♪

♪ A concrete paradise
where roses grow ♪

♪ See the smile from a child ♪

♪ Light up the
Magnificent Mile ♪

♪ And melt the coldest snow ♪

♪ This is home ♪

♪ Find the brightest minds
on these dark streets ♪

♪ See the heart and soul
on these old blocks ♪

♪ Where we grow,
we call it the Go ♪

♪ 'Cause we don't stop ♪

I remember it was
one hot day in July.

I'm on my way to my boy's crib.
We about to have a barbecue.

I was driving home
from my sister's house,

because it was Sunday and we
always have dinner on Sundays.

Behind me, I heard,
"whoop-whoop!"

And I thought, "Oh,
shoot." "Here we go."

Woman: I knew I hadn't
done anything wrong,

and I also knew that it
probably wouldn't matter.

First thing I thought was,
"Damn. I'm gonna be late now."

I put my hands on the dash.

Took my hands out of my pockets.

He talkin' about I
fit a description.

I guess we all look alike.

Plus I got on a
tank top and shorts.

If I stole something,
where was I gonna put it?

Hm.

I answered all the
questions, but...

he still made me
get out the car.

Had to get off the train.

I just asked him if I
was still being detained.

Woman: This is the worst part.

He lifted up my skirt
with his nightstick.

Told me I could consent to a
search or he could take me in.

And before I knew
it... Pop! Pop! Pop!

I started to lose consciousness.

I just felt helpless.

Because who was I
gonna call to save me?

The police?

Nah.

My gun.

Where's my gun?
Where's my gun?

Where's my gun?

Are you worried about
triggering or... retraumatising?

I had a...

professor in law school.

Mm. When was that, 1940s?

Rudolf Klein.

He liked me. I liked him.

He was my mentor.

Six members of his
family were murdered

in the Nazi death camps...

Three grandparents, two
aunts, and an uncle.

Rebecca, Ewald, Elisabeth,
Anya, Gerta, and Robert.

You know all their names?

The only thing keeping
Rudolf going was his job.

Teaching law?

Telling everyone those six names

and making sure no one could
ever say it didn't happen.

How do you make sure the world
doesn't hide from the shame

of the past?

By recounting again and again
the story of what happened.

Rudolf died a year ago.

The last thing he said
to me... "The names.

Pass them on."

These testimonies
don't hold back.

Let the voices go.

Close the door.

Sit down.

Where's your gun?

I, uh, I don't know.

You don't know or
you don't remember?

What happened?

You tell me.

I-I was at the Low
Bar, and, um...

I was drinking, you know?

And, uh... I kept drinking.

Then what?

Nothing?

You got into an altercation
outside the bar.

An altercation?

That sounds like police-speak.
You got me worried.

The other guy got
the worst of it.

Where's my gun?

We took care of everything.

What... What did I do?

You don't remember.

Okay. Dog won't stop
barking on 57th.

The Dachshund again? Street
lamp on the fritz on King.

Woman says it's triggering
her husband's PTSD?

Mm.

The neighbourhood
council at Nicholas Park

wants more speed bumps,

but the block
association wants less.

Fewer. Huh?

Not "less." "Fewer."
Language matters.

Good morning, Marisol.

Good morning, Mia.

I haven't washed or
changed in 60 hours.

Okay. Why is that?

Housing problems?
Uh, water off?

My husband's in the hospital.
He's fighting for his life.

I'm sorry. Beaten senseless
outside a cop bar.

And what did the cops do?

It's like it didn't happen.

I didn't know where else to go.

That's what we're here for.

I tried leaving messages
for Mr. Roberts,

but he probably
thought I was crazy.

So I thought... "Mrs.
Roberts is the way to go."

Am I right?

People say she's one of us.

Well, people are right.

It's okay.

Leonard: You hate this,
right? Driving me?

Street cop like
you, man of action.

I get all the bad boys.

Also known as the best cops.

Look.

The idea is you drive me
around for six months,

cool off, calm down,

and return to duty a
saner, quieter cop.

What do you think?

It's okay.

You can be honest with
me. You hate this, right?

I guess I just
miss the fresh air.

I'll see you back here
in the morning, 8:00 a.m.

I don't want to hear how you
forgot and went to my place.

Hey.

Some people use a driving
detail to turn inwards

and think too much.

Others use it to empty
the mind and reset.

I'm betting you're
the second type.

Let it go, Logan.

We'll get you back out there.

Excuse me.

Man: My wife is...

My wife is in need of
a doctor right now.

Nurse? Nurse?

Excuse me. Can I help you?

I was just, uh... um,
doing some follow-up.

Follow-up to what?

You're the first
cop to come see him.

Right. Uh...

No forensic exam, no nothing.

Has he spoken?

No.

Is he gonna make it?

Can we step outside?

When I talk in
front of my patient,

I like to assume he can
hear what's being said.

Can he?

That's not the point.

It's about dignity.

What's the answer
to my question?

He took a hell of a beatin'.

But then you already
know that, right?

Yeah. Any leads?

Uh... Uh, no.

No. Not... Not... Not yet.

His wife... She'll be back soon.

I think she'd appreciate
it if you talk to her.

Part of the job. Right?

Sure.

So, I'm thinking next up
for you could be vice.

Okay.

Don't sound so excited.

Yeah, 'cause I... I don't know
that I'm done with this job.

This job?

Or this woman?

It's the same thing, all
right? She's a player now.

Come on. Norma and
Franklin Roberts?

They stayed tight.
He talks to her.

I mean, he really talks to
her, and I can be in on that.

This is the guy who
wants to bring us down.

I mean, I don't know.

Maybe me moving on from her
is... I don't know... premature.

The personal and the
professional, Phil.

It's separate. Sure?

I'm sure.

Okay.

♪ Ah, ah-ah ♪

♪ Step on stairs
like I won a medal ♪

♪ Somewhere here, but
we don't need a middle ♪

♪ Get your money ♪

♪ I'm'a win the battle ♪

♪ Nah, nah, can you
hear me? Hello ♪

Go ahead, boy. Mm.

♪ Can you hear me? Hello ♪

♪ I ain't never fell off ♪

♪ Can you hear me? Hello ♪

♪ Nah, nah, can you
hear me? Hello ♪

Phil: Oh!

Oh, yeah. All right.

Yes, yes. Thank you, son.

Well, we had an idea.
Actually, it's Phil's idea.

Well? What is it?

My family owes you
a debt of gratitude.

Paid in full. Franklin.

Don't be "Franklining"
me, Norma Johnson.

Paid in full. Nothing owed.

Well, consider it me
being selfish then.

W-What does that mean?

The community needs you
and Martha to be out there

doing what you're doing.

You can't do that
if there's nobody

to pick David up from
school and be with him.

I can do that.

I won't take no for an answer.

Mm-hmm, and don't fight
her, 'cause you won't win.

Like I said, it's Phil's idea.

Well, where did you
get this man from?

Got a heart of gold
and plumbing skills.

Yeah.

But can he dance? Ooh.

Oh, God. Don't em... The
Stylistics, remember?

No. Stop.

Phil: What you sayin'?

Oh!

He got some skills.

What you saying, though?

What you saying, though? ♪ Got to
make some changes here and there ♪

Devins: This is an application
for full public disclosure

of Chicago Police
Department records

of complaints against police
officers over the last 25 years.

Any last submissions
before I make my ruling?

No.

I'm asking you to open up

our collective capacity
to reflect on who we are

and who we've been, Your Honour,

so we can learn to be better.

I asked for legal submissions,

not sound bites for
the press, Counselor.

Maybe just once,

just once in the lifetime
of a lawyer, Your Honour,

the two are the same thing.

Let me be really straight
with you, Counsellor.

What is being asked of this
court is a very big deal

on so many levels.

Too big...

were it not for the fact that
the timing of the application

is matched by the importance
of this moment in our history.

I'm giving you what
you want, Counselor.

Man: Yes!

And I'm giving the city 18
months to get this done.

Eighteen months, Your Honour?

Citizen data is private.

Redactions on this
scale take time.

145,000 recorded complaints
over the last 25 years.

Right. Court is adjourned.

Eighteen months.

Man: All right, you guys.

One, two, three, four. Lift.

All right. All
right. Other side up.

So now it's a murder,

you'll want to start
paying attention.

Uh, we're, uh...

we're on this.

Yo, hold the elevator.

You a cop? Yeah. Yeah.

So we're good?

Yeah. I'm good. Yeah.

Service elevator's down.

Wouldn't do this with
a member of the public.

Life is a prayer, Alex.

I hope you're right, Franklin.

How long you got?

That should be my
question, really.

Less than 18 months.

Miracles happen.

Prayers get answered.

I hope you're right, Franklin.

♪ Wanna see you with it ♪

♪ Sure could treat you right ♪

♪ Give me just a minute
of your time tonight ♪

♪ We both are here
to have good fun ♪

♪ So let it... ♪

Man: Move your feet.

When I was a boy, my parents
took me home to Ireland.

Looking for family
roots, you know?

We spent a lot of
time in churches,

digging out records
of dead Brannigans.

They let me wander
around the churchyards,

looking at the names of the
dead on the gravestones.

It snowed in May, I remember.

A great blanket of snow
came down on all the dead.

And I discovered the
Irish have a talent

for calling death
something gentler.

"At rest... in the
arms of Jesus."

Jalil Watts is at rest.

Passed this afternoon.

I thought you should know.

Or maybe you knew already.

No.

When it stopped snowing finally,

all the graves were covered
and the names hidden.

Like they weren't there.

Or hadn't ever been there.

Franklin:

What are you doing? Come
on. Get up there. Come on.

Here we go.

Martha, no. No.

Martha, I don't want my wife
taking off my dirty socks.

Marth...

In sickness and in
health, remember?

I meant that.

And I'm not just talking about
your dirty, smelly sock either.

Let me in, Franklin.

♪ It's a fast car
but I'm movin' slow ♪

♪ I like my syrup raw ♪

♪ Every...'round me shoot they
yeek and get they merch off ♪

♪ I don't bark, I bite ♪

That piece I gave you.

I had to get rid of it.

♪ This type is wife ♪

♪ I might just let
the condom slip off ♪

♪ Ain't too many like me ♪

♪ 99% of them rip-offs ♪

It's in the lake.

♪ I never take my kicks off ♪

♪ Ask my opps how it feel to
wake up daily and get... on ♪

♪ You get in your feelings
and make diss songs ♪

♪ I might get your
people's house outside ♪

♪ Shootin' that blick songs ♪

♪ And I'm still good
on every block ♪

♪ I used to knock P's on ♪

♪ Boss, I get you chalked ♪

♪ My name ain't somethin'
that you should speak on ♪

♪ My money 10 feet tall ♪

♪ But I ain't something
you should shoot at ♪

Get out.

Only one question left for us.

Between that heater
and that cut you took,

you owe me about two stacks.

You got that for me?

Plus frontin' on
your debt to TJ.

Nothin' to say?

Hurry up.

Like, do what you need to do.

You're a smart one.

I ain't gonna murk you.

I ain't gonna put you back
on that corner neither.

Could use me a smart one.

I'm finna buy out
this whole lot.

Plenty more.

Build something for the future.

Feel me?

Black-owned businesses.

Can't do that
corner shit forever.

Used to look up to the
OGs like your pops, but...

look at him now.

I need you clean.

You out here catching cases,
you ain't no use to me.

Come on.

I'll drop you off.

You got an uncle now.

Naimah? Shall we?

Mm-hmm.

All right. Take hands.

Oh, hear us, Lord,

as we come to You in
worship and bereavement.

We know Jalil is
with You now, Lord...

Yes, Lord. That
You've called him home

for reasons we may
not ever understand.

Man: Yes, Father. Yes, Father.

But we know and accept

that all things work
according to Your purpose.

Yes. Amen?

Group: Amen.

We're with you, Naimah,
and so is Jesus.

I'm so sorry.
Mrs... Mrs. Roberts.

You came.

So sorry.

Oh, you didn't have to do that.

You're a guest in my house.

My guests don't not eat.

The thing about Jalil...

The main thing... He
loved crinkle-cut fries.

I mean, loved them with
all his heart, you know?

He saw a lot of things that way.

The detail.

Mm-hmm.

Like, he built a life like that.

Yeah. Out of the small things,

making them matter.

Exc... Excuse me.

She needs you. But she
really needs Franklin.

The three of you?

I wouldn't back anyone
trying to stop that train.

Jesus.

This day, Logan. I swear.

Get a drink in me
as soon as possible.

Okay. Where to?

The Low Bar.

It's a little early, boss.

Do you want to sip on a tiny-ass
miniature when I'm not looking

or are we gonna do a
real drink together?

Okay.

Martha: His name
is Jalil Watts.

No CCTV.

No cameras.

No witnesses.

A man is beaten to death
in the city of Chicago

right outside a police bar.

And nothing.

Really?

Who are you ultimately
looking to hold accountable?

You know, I got to say
that is a stupid question.

Hm. And a depressing one.

Now, let me explain.
It's stupid...

It's stupid because
you are suggesting

that I am after something
or someone in particular.

I am not.

I am after the truth.
My mind is open.

The fact that CPD
are not looking,

that is what pulls me in.

And it's a depressing question

because you are trying
to write a story

that is based on your
little worldview.

Man: Exactly.

And that is the opposite
of good reporting.

Which leads me to
this next question.

And what is that?

Thank you for asking
me. Where is the mayor?

Man: All right. Man:
Yeah. Where is the mayor?

Where is she?

Why is it me standing here,
asking you these questions?

Why?

Does she have something to hide?

Some of you might remember this.

It used to be that
investigative reporting

meant that you went
out and found the news.

Right? You didn't wait
for it to come to you...

It connects.

W-What do you mean?
Through a wire

or oven-ready, given to
you by some lobbyist.

Jalil Watts was almost certainly
out celebrating our victory.

It's like a baton being passed.

It's kind of incumbent
on us to pick it up.

And you can start by
calling the mayor.

Thank you.

Leonard: Now,
this is a cop bar.

We own this.

You got to own the ownership.

We got to not be pushed
out of where we belong.

Me and your father,
when we were baby cops,

we got baptised in
Jamesons right here,

back when Jerry owned it.

Geez. I'm trying to say
something here, Wayne.

Is that your phone? Yes.

Turn it off. I
would if I could.

What are you, 100 years old?

It's a Model 3.

The phone?

My Tesla. It's got cameras
all over the damn thing.

My nephew put this Watchtower
Pointe device in it.

Now anything comes close
to it, it shoots a video

and I get an alert on this
app, and I mean anything.

Somebody yawns
across the street...

Ding, fucking ding on my phone.

I can't figure out
how to turn it off.

That's what you get
for buying foreign.

It's made in America, jackoff.

Yeah.

Tell the one...
Tell the one that...

The one you told the other night
about the two guys in the woods.

Leonard: Two guys in the woods?
The coppers with the guns.

Coppers in the woods? Hunters
or whatever they were.

Oh! Right! Right,
right, right.

Listen to this. You got
to hear this. Right.

This is good.

All right.

So, uh, two hunters
are out in the woods

when one of them collapses.

He doesn't seem to be breathing,
and his eyes are glazed.

The other guy whips out a phone

and calls the
emergency services.

"My friend is dead!
What can I do?"

The operator says,
"Calm down. I can help.

First, let's make
sure he's dead."

There's a silence, and
then a shot is heard.

Back on the phone,
the guy says...

"Okay. Now what?"

You know what? Your
father told me that joke.

Yeah.

♪ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ♪

♪ 9, 10, 11, fuck 12 ♪

♪ Sixteen shots ♪

Okay.

What are you doing here?

Jalil Watts.

It was me.

♪ You know what I'm saying?
For real, man, for real ♪

♪ Tell me, why did you love me ♪

♪ Tell me, why did you care ♪

♪ Was it church or religion ♪

♪ To make you make
your decisions? ♪

♪ Did you give up a fight? ♪

♪ Did you follow the line? ♪