Adam-12 (1968–1975): Season 1, Episode 17 - Log 33: It All Happened So Fast - full transcript

(female dispatcher)
1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12,

possible 459,
suspects there now.

1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12,

a 415, man with a gun.

1-Adam-12, no warrant.
Lincoln, X-Ray, Ida 483.

1-Adam-12, a 415, fight group
with chains and knives.

How about some coffee?

What time is it?

It's twenty after.

Nah, I don't know,

if I have some coffee now, I won't
be able to sleep when I get home.



Hmm.

Well, I think I'm gonna
have some.

It doesn't bother you, huh?

No.

Well, as long as you're gonna
have some,

I might as well have some.

Where do you want to go?

Eddie's, I guess.

The Humpty Dumpty's
pretty nice, too.

Okay, the Humpty Dumpty.

Unless you want
to go to Eddie's.

Well,

they're both about the same.
Eddie's a little closer--

[gun firing]



[car tires screeching]

[car horn blaring]

1-Adam-12. We're under fire
at Eleventh and Wellborn.

Officers need help!

(dispatcher) All units in the
vicinity, officer needs help,

1100 block North WeHbom.

Shots fired.

[gun firing] 1-Adam-26,
handle the call, Code 3.

Ail units in the vicinity,
officer needs help,

1100 block North WeHbom.

Shots fired.

1-Adam-26...

How many?

I only saw one.

You Okay?

Yeah, I think I got him, Pete.

Cover me.

[siren approaching]

[female dispatcher chattering]

7827 Spellman Street.

1739 roger.

1717 stand by.

1725 go ahead.

9984 roger.

What happened?

A guy got shot.

Is he dead?

I don't know.
He's over there.

Johnson, put out a Code 4.

Right, Sarge.

Code 4.

Did you check around?

I checked the backyard and both
sides of the house, and the alley.

I think he was the only one.

D'Amico! Hurley!

Better check down the street back there.
Fairmont.

What's the story?

A sniper, Lieutenant. He fired at us twice.
Reed got him.

Who is he?
Do you know?

No, I don't.

Officer, who got shot?

I don't know, sir.

Did you see the holes
in the car?

I saw the holes.
Really something.

Neither of you is hurt.
No, sir.

Did either of you
touch anything, Malloy?

Yes sir, I picked up
the riffle.

I checked to see if he was
still alive, he wasn't.

Where's the weapon now?

In the back seat of our car.
Right.

It happened so darned fast,
Lieutenant,

it was almost over before you
had time to think about it.

Okay.

Mac, take him back
to the station.

Yes. The ambulance is on the way but I
haven't made the other notifications.

I'll take care of that.

Any one around here
have a phone I can use?

Yeah, sure, come on.

Fine, thank you.

What about your keys, Malloy?
In your car?

Yeah.
Okay.

Reed, what's this
I hear about a sniper?

Don't bother him now. He's not
going to answer any questions.

I'll tell you
about it later.

Just leave him alone. No questions
till he talks to homicide.

[murmuring]

We'll use
the Analytical office.

Well, make yourselves
comfortable.

How do you feel,
a little shook up?

Yeah, some.

You feel sick or anything?
No.

Well, if you do, just give me
a chance to get a wastebasket.

No, I'm all right.

I mean it, I'm okay.

What happens now, Sergeant?

Well, a Shooting Team ought to be
on the way over from Homicide.

They'll question you.

I'll stay here with you. Thanks.

Hell, you couldn't
pry me away.

Now, you will be taken off
of field duty for a while.

With the Captain gone, Lieutenant
Moore's the Acting Commander.

He'll make it official but I can
tell you now it's going to happen.

In a few days,
there'll be a Shooting Board.

There'll also be an inquest.

And that's about it.

The Shooting Team,
they go over you pretty good?

Well, they want to get it all.

You just tell 'em
what happened.

Pete, I didn't see
how old he was.

I didn't either.

[knocking on door]

Hey, Mac.
Jerry.

Uh, Bob Calkins.

You got here pretty fast.

Oh yeah, yeah. I don't live
very far from here.

You both know Sgt. Miller.
He'll be handling this.

Oh, sure they do.

I'll give you the picture.

First of all, this is going
to be an interview,

it's not an interrogation
or anything.

I'm gonna have to ask you
a bunch of questions.

Some of them may get
pretty pointed

but I can't help that. We've
got to get all the details.

I may ask you some things
that'll make you sore.

But if I do,
you just let me know.

We'll see if we can
get it straightened out.

Okay?

We'll start with names,
serials and time on the job.

Malloy, Peter J.
10743.

It'll be 7 years
on November 15th.

Reed.

Double 'E'?

Yeah. James A.

13985. I started
last July 11th.

You're a probationer,
right, Reed?

Yeah.

Now, were both of you involved
in the shooting?

Yeah.

What had happened was that his
first shot hit the windshield

and Pete slammed on the breaks
and I bailed out.

Hold it, we'll get
all that later.

Now, what time did you
go on duty?

4:00.

Do we have to go back that far?
Oh, yeah.

Have you got
the log book with you?

No, it's still in the car.

Okay, for now, just tell us,
in order,

everything you did on watch.

As close as you can remember.

Well, we checked around
the school and the playground.

Then around 4:30
we got a call

to go to the Alameda off-ramp
of the Harbor Freeway.

Motor officer had a deuce.
Needed transportation.

(Malloy) We cleared from the
family dispute about 5 after.

Then we started patrolling the
residential area just below the hills.

You're now in the area
of the shooting, right?

That's right.

Well, did you get
any more calls?

No.

Do you go through there
regularly?

Once a night if we can.

Any kind of a routine
you got set up?

No set time,
no particular route.

We try not to follow
a pattern.

He couldn't have known
we'd be coming through there.

Have you ever had any trouble
before at that same address?

No.

I haven't seen any lights on
there for a while.

I think, maybe the people
are away.

Would it be okay
if I call my wife?

Oh, yeah, yeah. Go ahead.

She's probably worrying
about me.

Well,

I've seen them giggle
for no good reason,

get sick or just sit there
and cry like babies.

But he seems
to be taking it okay.

Uh-huh.

I don't think so.

No?

I know him.

It's really working on him.

Hi, honey. It's me.

Yeah.

Uh, I'm gonna be late tonight.

No, I--l don't know what time
it'll be so don't wait up for me.

No, no, I'm all right.

Jean, what...

what it is, is tonight I...

Tonight I killed a man.

Where'd they go?

Make some phone calls.

About what?
Did they say?

No.

While I was on the-- on the phone,
did they say anything to you?

We were just talking.

What did you tell them?

I said, we were just talking.

Relax, will you, Jim?

It happened so fast.

If I'd just had time
to think about it.

It doesn't work that way.

The guy on the other side
gets all the time he wants.

You get maybe half a second,
If you're lucky.

That's why they train you.

And lecture you on law and policy
till it's coming out of your ears.

You got to do your thinking ahead of time,
so you know what to do and what not to do.

It's a lot of responsibility
to carry around.

A man's life.

That's right.

I don't know what else
I could've done.

Suppose they don't buy it?

[door opening]

They'll be right back.
Can I get you anything?

No, thanks.

A sandwich maybe.

No, we're fine, Sarge.

They've lD'd the suspect.

John Michael Harrison, age 16.

Sixteen.

Just a kid.

Yeah, just a kid.

Kid with a big rifle
and a yen to kill a cop.

Does that name ring any bells?

No.

6'1", 175, brown and brown?

I don't make him from that.

How about you, Reed?

No.

The people who own the house
are named Ridder.

They're out of town.

No connection with Harrison
that we can find so far.

He was just a kid.

Why would he do
something like that?

I don't know, partner.
I just don't know.

We might never find out
why he did it.

[sighing]

All we may ever know
is that it happened.

It sure enough happened.

Let's get on with it.

You were going down
the street.

Eleventh and Wellborn.

How fast were you going?

Twenty-five.

Approximately what time was it when
he got that first shot off at you?

We'd just looked at our watches.
It was twenty after.

That's close enough.

I suppose you stomped
on the brakes, huh?

I just about put my foot
through the floor.

[door opening]

Well, this might get
a little complicated.

I'll take you one at a time.
You go ahead, Malloy.

I got the car stopped
and got on the radio

just about the time
Reed jumped.

I reported that we were
under fire and needed help.

I was getting the shotgun out
at the same time.

Then I bailed out
the left side of the car.

That's about the time
his second shot came, I guess.

Yeah, 'cause I remember
hearing Reed fire back.

How many times?
Can you recall?

Two or three. It happened
so fast I can't be sure.

It was two.

Then, I took cover behind the hood.
And it was all over.

You didn't see
the suspect at all?

After he was on the ground,
yeah. Not before that.

Okay, we'll go with you, Reed.

Uh, Calkins, are we going
too fast for you?

No, it's fine.

I bailed out of the car
just before it stopped.

And saw some movement over
by the corner of the house.

Now, where were you?

Right by the car door.

And that's which corner
of the house?

It would be the, uh,
the northeast corner.

Uh, I didn't see anything
at first

and--and then he moved,
stepping out in the clear.

And I saw the flash
as he fired.

Now, that's his second shot,
right?

That's right.

And you are now getting
out of the car.

That's right.

Do you have any idea
where that second shot went?

No.

Well, it went through the door and
into the seat. I saw it later.

Did you observe
any other shots from him?

No.

And you fired twice?
That's right.

You're sure of that?

Yeah.

(Inspector)
Sergeant.

Who's that?

The area inspector.

Bob.

Pete,

you've been through this
before.

Was it this bad?

Do you get used to it?

No, you don't. You try to
learn to live with it.

I don't know.

Can we talk about it later?

Any time you like, Jim.

Sergeant, will you secure
that door, please?

Yes sir.

[men murmuring]

(Inspector) You understand
that, don't you, Sergeant?

Yes sir.

Did you reload your gun,
Reed?

No, sir.

All right. I'd like for you
to unload it for me now.

What kind of ammo do you use?

158 grain Western.

Can I see 'em?

Looks like you fired
three times.

Well, I...

I could've sworn
it was only twice.

You can reload.

I don't understand it.

It happens all the time.
You were excited.

He'll probably want you to go down
to the lab and test fire it for him.

Yes, sir.

What's going on out there,
Sarge?

Newspaper people.

Are they here?

Well, they sure are.

All right, let's go again.

Are you familiar enough with the
area to draw us a diagram of it?

Just a general idea
of the layout,

the distances, and all
the ground you covered.

Yeah, I can try.

Between the two of us, we can
probably come pretty close.

Hmm, okay, and--and
that distance there

between the car
and the corner of the house?

That's about, uh, 60 feet.

I made it a little less.

Did the suspect say anything?
Yell at you?

No.

Did you yell at him
before you fired?

Like, uh,
"Hold it, police officers"?

There wasn't time.

You didn't identify
yourselves?

No.

There's a street light here
at Eleventh and Wellborn.

He probably spotted us
going under it.

Saw it was a black-and-white.

That would give him 7 or 8
seconds to line up on us.

I see.

Uh, Reed, you said there
wasn't time to yell at him.

That's right.

And you fired right back.

Yup.

Was that
an automatic reaction?

Just about.

Well, did you think
about it at all?

I don't know what there was
to think about.

Well, for instance, did you have
a clear field of fire at him?

I suppose. Yeah, I think so.

Now, you hit him twice. Do you have
any idea where your third shot went?

No.

No idea what's behind him,

or alongside of him there?

Well, I think there's
a wall back there.

You're not sure?
Pretty sure.

Do you know what kind
of a wall it was?

Of course not! How am I
supposed to know that?

What're you getting at?
Take it easy.

What am I supposed to do? Run up and look
at the wall before I start shooting?

It's a stupid question.

Maybe, but I've got
to ask 'em.

Now, what about people? Do you remember
any lights in these houses back here?

I fired back at him.
Now, what else could I do?

What if he'd shot at you from
a--a school ground during recess?

What would you have done?

Now wait a minute.
What would you have done?

Held my fire. Tried to get around
to the other side of the car.

Hung in there,
until we got help.

You could have done that this time, couldn't you?
I guess so, maybe.

But you chose to fire instead.
Now, why?

Because he was trying
to kill us.

He wasn't in any school yard,

and his next shot could've
killed either of us.

What're you trying
to make out of this?

You said this was just going
to be an interview.

How about taking a break, huh?

I can't stop shaking.

(Miller) There's another
team out at the scene.

We talked to them over the
phone a little while ago.

There is a wall back there,
Reed. Concrete block.

Your third shot hit that.

Why didn't you tell me that?

We've got to know
what you thought.

Not what I told you.

Go on relax a little bit.

Feel like a darned fool,
I can't stop shaking.

Can I get you anything?
A sandwich?

Some soup? Aspirin?

Six dancing girls?

No, just leave me alone
a minute. I'll--I'll be okay.

You know, um, he's one of
our real good young officers.

A thing like this, I don't know
how he's going to come out of it.

I'm sorry we had
to shake him up.

Well, it wasn't the questioning.
You had to do it.

Sooner or later he'd ask himself
the same questions, anyway.

He'll have to work it out
for himself.

How are you doing?

Okay.

Look, I know this is
a little rough

but believe me, I wouldn't
like anything better

than to tell you
to just go on home

and we'll attack it
when you feel better.

I just can't do that
and I think you know why.

You're a police officer.

Any time you fire that gun
of yours out on the street,

no matter if it's
just an accident

and you blow the bottom
of your holster out,

you're going
to get questioned.

You're going to go
before a Shooting Board.

We got to know exactly
what happened, right or wrong.

Now, we can't settle for,

"This is probably
the way it was."

Or, "This is what I think
happened."

We've got to know exactly.

If it takes 10 hours
or it takes 10 weeks.

You know, we get started
when it's fresh in your mind.

Can we get back to it now?

Yeah.

Malloy.

Now, I want
to understand clearly

what you saw when you fired.

And just think about it
carefully.

Put everything out of your mind that
you might have picked up since then

and tell me what it was you saw
when you started shooting.

Well, at first I didn't,
I didn't see anything

and then I saw him move.

He was coming out
from behind some bushes.

Hmm?

Yeah, well, there were
some bushes there, Pete.

Okay, maybe I missed 'em.

Could have been a shadow,
I'm not sure.

In any case, he was concealed
when you bailed out of the car.

Yes, sir.

And then he moved.
How well could you see him?

Not too well.

For instance, could you have
given a description of him?

No.

What he was wearing? Could you
tell if it was a man or a woman?

I'm afraid not.
How old he was?

No.

Was he silhouetted at all?

Yeah, sort of.

Could you see the rifle?

I had an impression
of something in his hands.

So, at that moment,
for all you knew,

it could've been somebody running out
to see what the noise was about?

I guess. But I didn't fire
until I saw the muzzle flash.

I see. When you fired, was your point
of aim the muzzle flash or the figure?

At that range, Sergeant--

I know it sounds like I'm beating it to
death but I want to clarify what you say.

I saw a man shooting at me.
And I shot back.

Now that's all I know.

Phew.

Either of you got anything
to add to it?

Okay.

Is that all, Sergeant?

Well, for here.

Got to go back out
to the scene now

and reconstruct the whole thing.
Shoot some pictures.

Reed,

understand anything I tell you
is unofficial.

But I know you're
sweating this out.

As far as I can see you've
got nothing to worry about.

Looks to me like you're
in the clear.

Thank you.

If that's any help to you.

Yeah, some.

Oh, hold it. Hold it, fellas.
How about a picture?

Who's the other fella
with him?

That's his partner,
Officer Peter Malloy.

Well, how was he involved?

He was on the scene
at the time.

Look over here, will you?

Officer Reed, could you
give us your reaction?

No, he has nothing to say.
I'll answer any questions.

Where are you
taking him?

Back to the scene.

To reenact the shooting?

Reconstruct it, yes.

Look, Lieutenant,
is it ok if we come along?

All right, but you won't get
very close.

Here, Reed.
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