Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 4, Episode 2 - Volunteers - full transcript
A drug addicted and violent homeless man, who had been terrorizing a neighborhood and whom the residents and police had been unable to do anything about, is severely beaten.
(male narrator) In the
criminal justice system...
the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups:
the police who
investigate crime...
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
[car horns honking]
Robert, someone
might see us. So?
[chuckling] Oh, God.
[laughing]
(man) Give me
some change? Beat it!
Come on, I'm hungry.
Robert, there's someone.
Yeah, that guy's in
orbit around Pluto. No.
Let's just get a cab. No.
This time we stay, they go.
What are you doing? Hey, buddy.
(Robert) Scram.
Come on, let's go.
[man groaning]
[Cathy and Robert exclaiming]
We worked with him
for over three hours.
Multiple fractures of the skull,
intracranial hemorrhages...
It's a miracle he's alive.
Broken kneecap, broken
leg, he got the full workout.
What do you think, baseball
bat? Narrower, like a pipe.
It left a crisscross
pattern on the wounds.
Any idea when he'll be
conscious? With injuries like this?
Tomorrow, next week, next year.
Assuming he lives out the night.
What about his
name? You find any ID?
I didn't search his pockets.
His clothing is here.
We had to cut it off him.
Your turn to sort the laundry.
[woman chattering
on P.A. System]
Let's get it all.
Mr. Five-and-dime.
Broken pencil, string...
paper clips, crack pipe.
Nice to know he had a hobby.
Appointment card at
Friedland Psychiatric...
for Roland Kirk, eight days ago.
No wallet.
He left that in the other
suit with the credit cards.
Yeah, he preferred cash.
Whoa, there's a couple
of grand, here. All in 20s.
So who says clothes
make the man?
Couple who found him, we had to
fight with them to get their names.
Wedding rings didn't match.
They see a guy
with a shopping cart?
Before they came into the
alley, he spare-changed them.
"White male with red hat."
Too early for Christmas.
[rattling]
We found a crack pipe on Kirk.
Stoned and hassling
the locals. That was him.
He had $2,200 on him.
What, was he selling crack
to the other pipeheads?
Between fighting
and getting high...
he hardly had time
for anything else.
This a playground?
That's Kirk's.
(Wheeler) Anybody comes
near it, he decks them.
A nightie?
Christian Dior, still
got the price tags.
A little something
for the missis?
Yeah, right, he was
dating Marla Maples.
(Briscoe) Did Kirk
have any associates?
Aside from the
imaginary ones? No.
(cop) Detective?
This is real. So is the blood.
Hey, get us a shot of this...
It reinforces concrete,
what do you call it? Rebar.
Right there.
(Kelley) Come on.
Hey, I'm walking.
I'm cooperating.
You wanted a guy in a red
hat? Meet George Siddell.
Mr. Siddell, how're
you doing today?
Listen, gotta ask you, were
you here last night after midnight?
I'm not sure. I lost my watch.
A guy named Roland Kirk
got beat up bad last night.
With that.
Now we know you were around.
Roland?
I'm shocked.
I'm desolated. I bet.
You ever hassle with him?
I respected Roland.
He means he was terrified of
Kirk. He's terrified of everybody.
He's harmless.
All right. Get him
a cup of coffee.
We're gonna want to
talk to him later maybe.
Rooms with a view. Want
to start ringing doorbells?
We hear all kinds of
things from the street.
We used to call the police.
Now, we don't bother.
They can't do anything.
Look, I have to perform
a root canal in 20 minutes.
This Roland Kirk. Now,
you saw him around?
Everybody did. He was
a problem around here.
But was he a problem
to anyone in particular?
Yes, the people of New York
City. Now, I really have to go. Bye.
So long. Bye.
We went to the movies.
We got home at 11:00.
This would've happened
around midnight.
The news was on.
We didn't hear anything.
It was a street person?
He was attacked 30 feet
from your living-room window.
I mean, how loud do
you play the news?
We've lived here
for eight years.
We stopped listening to
the street a long time ago.
(Prosky) Twenty years ago,
I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Now, it's like Calcutta. People
living and dying in the streets.
Yeah, but last night
around 12:00, Mr. Prosky?
Yeah, well, I close at 11:00.
11:30, I was halfway
across the Triborough.
When you were leaving did
you happen to see Roland Kirk?
Not last night.
But I've seen him around
with some other lowlife.
A guy in a red hat? I
don't know about a hat...
but I can tell you about the
smell. How about a name?
Yeah, sure. It was, "Hey,
you, stay out of my garbage."
So what else is new?
Nobody heard anything,
nobody saw anything...
and nobody gives a damn. And
the victim was a model citizen.
Roland Kirk, 43.
Multiples for vandalism,
misdemeanor assault...
criminal mischief, disorderly
conduct, possession.
Why wasn't this man in jail?
Hey, the DA keeps
pleading him out...
as an emotionally
disturbed person.
The weapon was a rebar, probably
from a construction site down the street.
Blood and hair are
Kirk's. No prints.
Whoever popped him left his
money, so it wasn't a robbery.
He didn't make $2,200
dealing dime bags.
Maybe he stole it from
someone higher up the food chain.
Maybe he played the ponies. How
much time we gonna spend on this?
As long as it takes
to check off the boxes.
Didn't he have a card from a
hospital? Friedland Psychiatric.
Maybe he was on medication.
If he was getting pills
from some hospital...
he would've had a Medicaid card.
Maybe somebody beat
him up for it. George Siddell?
I like offices. Used
to work in one.
[phone ringing]
Sorting, filing...
Come on, George.
Focus on the card.
Whose name does it say?
Roland Kirk.
(Briscoe) Very good.
But we found it in your
pocket. You see our problem?
People are gonna say you
clobbered Kirk and took his card.
No, I didn't. He gave it
to me, a long time ago.
Yeah. I'm sure he did.
But we're gonna have to keep
you here, until we can ask him.
That's just like the cops. Never
believe anything you tell them.
I used the card.
Tuesday. A week ago.
At the hospital,
bought some pills.
Lithium. Sixty of them.
So where are the pills now?
I sold them.
I like wine.
First admitted, June '77.
Drug-induced psychosis.
Again in '78, '79, right
through till last May.
Most were for
court-order evaluations...
two weeks treatment,
and out he goes.
Oh, right, the miracle cure. I
read about it at the checkout stand.
Hey, we don't
make the guidelines.
Once a patient is no
longer a danger to himself...
or to others, we
have to release him.
Okay, but his prescription,
did you fill it here?
Yes. He's supposed to
come in once a month.
Okay. When was the last time?
Last week. Sixty units, Lithium.
Would he have to show ID?
No. Just his Medicaid card.
Doc, in his file, does it say
anything about his friends...
people he might know on
the outside? A peer group?
No, socialization was
something he needed to work on.
How about next of kin? Sharon
Kirk signed him out two years ago.
When Dad had a heart attack, my
brother never showed up at the funeral.
Three weeks later, we found
out he was living on the street.
There'd been signs before.
He had a routine, he
had his medication.
He seemed to be well,
so they'd release him.
Did he take his pills? Long as
he'd remember to, he'd be fine.
When he stayed with
us, two years ago...
I trusted him to
baby-sit my kids...
and then one day he was gone.
Back to Bedford Street?
He said that was his home.
He said it had something to
do with a sonic convergence.
He tried to explain
it to me, but...
You have any idea why
he had a pocketful of cash?
No. He panhandled.
How much could he have?
$2,200.
What on earth was he doing...
A couple of weeks ago...
he sent me a check for $108.
I figured it was worthless.
He said it was for a doll he
broke when I was four years old.
You still have the
check? I think so.
Account was opened five weeks
ago with a balance of $15,000.
Tax refund. I don't know.
The account was set up for Mr. Kirk
as a trust, with a daily withdrawal limit.
And Kirk maxed out the
limit. Withdrew $200 a day.
$7,000 in five weeks.
Faster than he could
smoke it. Who's the trustee?
Richard Gillrich, Mental
Health Legal Advocates.
His signature's required
on all withdrawals over $200.
I'm amazed to see
you investigating.
Mindless violence against the
homeless is business as usual.
What about lawyers
and trust funds?
Is that business as
usual for the homeless?
If they're being
harassed, it is.
Did you sue the CIA for
putting transistors in Kirk's head?
We did even better than that. We
sued the residents of Bedford Street.
Read our brief.
They tried to have him
classified as an habitual offender.
They tried to get him committed
to Friedland Psychiatric Center.
Where he might've
gotten some help.
Mr. Kirk felt fully capable of
deciding for himself what he wanted.
I see you got him released
from the hospital last February.
Took him home with you or
just left him on the sidewalk?
Spare me the homilies.
Mr. Kirk could've
afforded a different choice.
The Block
Association insisted...
on a gag order, but they
settled for $30,000 plus our costs.
Half this year, half next.
Sounds like a shakedown.
Next time I run out of
beer money, I'll call you.
If your rights are being
violated, maybe you should.
This Block Association.
It had assets?
Individual members did.
This was a civil rights issue.
We have the minutes to
their Association meetings.
The harassment was
clearly premeditated.
(Lantos) I don't think you realize
what Mr. Kirk put us through.
Well, then, he won't find a
vacancy in yuppie heaven.
Too bad he lost his Gold card.
We tried kindness, Detective.
The Block Association isn't interested
in putting the homeless just on the bus.
We tried to find them public
housing, jobs... Now wait a minute...
he picked your
pocket for $30,000.
I mean, is there anybody on
the block that wants a refund?
Everyone was outraged. We
thought he belonged in a hospital.
But the doctors said his
problem wasn't mental...
and the judges said
it wasn't criminal.
Well, being homeless and
crazy isn't against the law.
All right, maybe the guy
was a nuisance. Nuisance?
Let me show you a nuisance.
The last time a judge
released him from the hospital...
our lawyer thought we should
follow Mr. Kirk around with a video...
so the next judge would see
what we have to go through.
Get out! Get out of
here! Get out of the street!
I told you not to come around, didn't
I? What you doing in my street? Get out!
(Kirk) Out of here!
Crazy! This is my street! Bang!
[car horn honking]
Hey.
Out!
Get out of here! Get out!
I told you to get out! I
want you out now! Get out!
Three weeks later, that nuisance
pushed a child into a busy intersection.
♪♪[Kirk humming]
Hey!
(Lantos) Even the
night he was attacked...
he was still at it.
How's that?
I was told he mugged somebody. Irene
Morrissey. Right in front of her house.
Put her in the hospital.
It was about 11:00. I was
coming home from an art class...
and he just attacked me.
Took my shopping bag, and
ran down the middle of the street.
That bag, was there a
nightgown in it? Yeah.
I had bought it that
afternoon from Bergman's.
Why didn't you call the police?
(Morrissey) What's the point?
Last time they arrested him, he
was back on the street two hours later.
It happens, Mr. Morrissey.
When he ran away, did
you see where he went?
I went in the house. I was
upset. He nearly tore her arm off.
I mean, we thought her
shoulder was broken.
It's just a torn rotator
cuff. It'll be all right.
And her face was bloody
where he scratched her...
I took her to the emergency
room over at 12th Street.
Did anybody see you get mugged?
I wasn't paying attention.
When we moved in
here four years ago...
we used to leave
food out for this guy.
You know, a homeless guy
gets attacked with a rebar...
nobody calls the cops. Okay.
But a woman gets mugged,
and still nobody calls the cops?
Let's complain to the union. They're
trying to put us out of business.
Yeah? Well, keep him
awake, okay? Thanks.
Kirk's out of his coma.
[groaning] Oh, man, I hurt.
Who are you?
You don't live on
Bedford Street.
Take it easy. We
work for the city.
We're detectives. You
remember who attacked you?
The other night, Roland.
In the alley on Bedford.
Yeah, I know. It
was a bald woman.
She jumped on my
chest. A bald woman?
Yeah. In a flowered dress.
Pounding on me and kissing me.
Doc...
are we wasting our time here?
There is a hairline
fracture of his breastbone.
I think he remembers
the paramedics...
giving him CPR and
mouth-to-mouth breathing.
You get a lot of bald women
on the ambulances these days?
She was bald. She
had a flowered dress.
You don't believe me,
ask Governor Cuomo.
First of all, he's insane.
Second of all, he was whacked
in the head with a metal bar.
He's gonna make
a terrific witness.
So what? You want us to call
off the search for bald women?
I want you to find out what went on at
the meetings of the Block Association.
$30,000 gets you
some strong opinions.
Kirk's lawyer did say he
subpoenaed the minutes.
Yeah, well, these people
might be mad as hell.
But you really think one of them's
gonna whack him on the head with a rebar?
Look at the minutes.
See who the hotheads are.
Out of two hours, they
spent an hour and 45 on Kirk.
"Kirk smashed my car window with
a brick, and urinated into the car."
As of last month,
216 complaints.
After 50, I'd call the realtor.
And sell for peanuts when your
life savings is holding up the roof?
This is a creative bunch.
One guy thought seeding the
alley with broken glass would...
keep Kirk from
sleeping there. Yeah.
Well, he was a nightmare.
Hey, Mrs. Bundy?
The little old lady who told us she
couldn't hear anything from the alley?
She complained here six times
that Kirk was keeping her awake.
It was after midnight.
I was asleep.
You told your neighbors you
couldn't sleep because of Roland Kirk.
How do you know that?
We're detectives, Mrs. Bundy.
We know how to find things out.
Now why don't you
just tell us the truth.
I was in bed. I heard voices.
What were they
saying? I couldn't tell.
Well, you didn't just go right
back to sleep though, did you?
I got up. I looked down.
I saw two men leaving the alley.
One, I couldn't tell who it was.
The other was
Dr. Creighton. The dentist?
He went into his house,
through the back way.
He was wearing his bathrobe.
I didn't see anything wrong.
The next morning,
after Kirk was found...
didn't it occur to you
to say something?
I didn't see anything wrong.
Mrs. Bundy's a sweetheart.
One evening last week, she
mistook me for her son-in-law.
Night blindness, very
common among the elderly.
Lying afflicts all age groups.
Kirk ever give you any
trouble? I live here, don't I?
Last spring...
my 11-year-old son's
standing at the corner...
waiting for the light to change.
Kirk shoves him out into traffic.
It's a miracle he wasn't killed.
Boy, if somebody messed
with my daughter like that...
It crossed my mind. But
I'm not as crazy as he is.
Creighton's bald, and he
was wearing a bathrobe.
And he's trained to perform
CPR, so it fits what Kirk said.
He said it was a woman.
Maybe Creighton kisses like one.
Are you volunteering
to find out?
The good people
of Bedford Street...
have been putting up
one brick wall after another.
Now, maybe we make an arrest,
maybe we shake something loose.
Your eyewitnesses aren't reliable
enough to support an arrest warrant.
How about a search warrant?
You do CPR on a bleeding
victim, you're gonna get wet.
Hey, that's right.
Maybe Creighton got some
low-rent blood on his silk pajamas.
Convincing a judge to play along
won't be a walk in the spring rain.
(Logan) I already
looked at the calendar.
You got Judge Reisman or
Judge Talbert, take your pick.
Reisman. I've gotten some
shaky drug warrants past him.
This is your basis
for a search warrant?
An elderly witness who wears
glasses? You can't be sure what she saw.
She saw two things
the victim saw.
A robe that could've looked
like a dress and a bald head.
Creighton's a doctor,
he'd know CPR.
If he worked on Kirk that night,
there'd be blood on his robe.
Is that what you're looking
for? Evidence of CPR?
I didn't know that was a crime.
We're after bigger fish, Your
Honor. Attempted murder.
Dr. Creighton's an
oral surgeon, not a thug.
Judge, you ever had
your wisdom teeth pulled?
Give me the warrant.
[police radio chattering]
I've called my attorney.
He'll be here in 10 minutes.
Keep him out of our way.
I can't believe they
have the right to do this.
Ray will take care of it.
Got a robe here.
It's brand-new.
These aren't.
Forensics found blood
on Creighton's slippers.
It matches Kirk's. That
puts him at the scene.
It doesn't tell us when,
or what he did there.
But the old lady puts him
there and at the right time.
Bring him in. And arrest
him for saving Kirk's life?
Hey, who says he
didn't try to kill him first?
There's no direct
evidence of that.
Well, if he didn't swing the
stick, he probably knows who did.
There was a second person there.
I'll prepare the warrant.
Oh, yeah.
I know what's going on now. I
know exactly what's going on.
All right just relax, Roland. Now
you're gonna look at some people...
and you're gonna tell us
if you recognize anybody.
State's key witness, huh? Congratulations.
I can rest my case right now.
Here they come.
Okay, here we go.
The lineup.
Here we go.
Right there. Right
there in the middle.
That's her.
Next case.
"Docket number 63181.
People v. Steven R. Creighton.
(clerk) "The charges are attempted
murder in the second degree...
"assault in the first degree."
What's the plea? Not guilty.
(Sirkin) People? The
People ask for $150,000.
That's ridiculous, Your Honor.
The victim identified the defendant.
The victim doesn't know
his birds from his bees.
The People's case is predicated
on the testimony of an insane person.
Save it for your opening.
Your Honor, my client is
a respected oral surgeon.
You're on thin ice, Counselor.
I've seen Marathon Man.
Bail is set at $150,000.
Next up.
Dr. Creighton
stepped in that blood...
when he took the trash
out the next evening.
The night you're
talking about...
he was enjoying a
good night's sleep.
Not according to
our eyewitnesses.
Yeah, a lunatic and Mrs.
Magoo? This is a farce.
Ray, I don't see the humor in
someone getting beaten by a steel bar.
And, Dr. Creighton, we know that
someone was in the alley with you...
and when we find them, they might
be more cooperative than you are.
What if he had nothing to do with
the attack, if he just administered CPR.
He's a doctor, he left a
man dying in a garbage heap.
He could be facing a
murder charge. I resent that.
I saved his life, for God's sake.
I gave him mouth-to-mouth...
Doctor.
We drop it down
to failure to report.
He pleads no contest.
Will that satisfy you?
It depends on his story.
It was over by the time I
got outside. Prosky was there.
He said he'd called the
paramedics from his restaurant.
Did he say who did
the beating? I didn't ask.
Kirk was barely breathing.
I started compressions.
I did everything necessary.
Except wait for the paramedics.
Prosky said he'd
take care of the rest.
That he'd keep
my name out of it.
I have friends, doctors,
who've been sued over this.
You help somebody in trouble.
Next thing, they take your house.
I was closing up for the night,
when I heard all hell break loose.
By the time I ran to the alley,
nobody was there except Kirk...
flat on his back. Bleeding.
Next thing, Creighton came out.
That's not the story you
told the police. This is great.
You people drop the ball and then
you start pointing the finger at us.
I didn't want to get
Creighton in trouble, all right?
He's worried about lawsuits.
Just being a good neighbor?
How gullible do I look?
Miss, we don't take care of
ourselves, nobody else will.
You told Dr. Creighton
you called the paramedics.
Unfortunately, there's
no record of that call.
I didn't make any calls.
And I sure as hell
didn't tell Creighton I did.
He's lying to save his own ass.
I left him with Kirk. He was
supposed to take care of it.
Well, we have two
suspects passing the buck.
Your victim can't make the
call? We're afraid to ask him.
His performance at the lineup
hardly inspired confidence.
His psychiatric
records indicate that...
when he's off drugs
he's somewhat coherent.
There's a long road between
coherence and competence.
Yeah, you don't want to prosecute.
Even with direct evidence...
it's tough to sell a jury that's
been inundated with the homeless.
That guy terrorized the
neighborhood for three years.
And you think what they did is a
solution to the homeless problem?
What next? Flying squads
in the middle of the night?
If it was my child he pushed
into traffic, I might consider it.
Yeah, that's only
capital punishment.
Or do you make an exception
for people like Roland Kirk?
I'll have Elizabeth talk to him.
When I smoke up, these
people are munchkins.
Little things I can just flick out
of my way. You're not high now.
Is it possible you remember more
about what happened in the alley?
What happened in the alley.
What do you think? I got messed up.
You described a bald
woman. Yeah, the dentist.
He walks around in a
dress, and they say I'm crazy?
Do you remember
anybody else in the alley?
Yeah, I know who.
Mr. "We reserve
the right to serve."
The man with the restaurant.
You mean Leon Prosky?
He'd never even give
me a damn glass of water.
Yeah, he was there.
Do you remember
what he was doing?
I was getting whacked.
I was bleeding.
I tried giving him the bag.
Well, what bag is that? The
one with the purple letters.
He kept pulling at
it. Did he say why?
His wife gives me the
bag. Then he wants it back.
I can't figure these people out.
What is that, Roland?
Can I keep this?
Sure.
Happy birthday.
He drew this while
I was talking to him.
Once the drugs clear his
system. He settles down.
He becomes more lucid.
It explains why they keep
putting him back out on the streets.
Where he resumes his old habits.
The drugs trigger psychotic
episodes, back he goes to the hospital.
At some point, doesn't someone catch
on that he needs long-term treatment?
There's no place for him.
Drug treatment programs won't
take addicts who are mentally ill...
and psychiatric hospitals
don't treat addicts.
So the system's crazier than
the people it's trying to help.
(Stone) Liz...
do you believe Roland Kirk?
I think he's the one person
who has no reason to lie.
You know, I already went
through all this with the police.
Don't you people
talk to each other?
I read your statement. It wasn't
clear what time you got home.
Look, this drug
addict mauled my wife.
He separated her
shoulder, he drew blood.
You've got some nerve making me
feel like I'm the one under investigation.
My questions are very
routine, Mr. Morrissey.
Yeah, right. So tell
me where you live.
Next time we have a problem with
Roland Kirk, we'll send him over.
I have tax reports to do.
Goodbye, Miss Kincaid.
We signed Mrs. Morrissey in at
10:50, and Dr. Parks saw her at 11:15.
Yeah, I remember
Mr. Morrissey now.
Out of a roomful of
emergencies? The squeaky wheel.
You'd think his wife had
been shot through the heart.
Do you know what time they left?
She had blood panels and x-rays,
they were here maybe an hour.
But you're guessing. Look, all
I know is the guy was a pest...
and he took all my
change for the pay phone.
He made one phone call
before his wife went into x-ray...
and one phone call right
before they left. Thanks.
I checked the usage
on the pay phone.
Two calls were made to Prosky's
restaurant between 11:00 and 12:00.
Morrissey is upset. He wants
revenge, and he calls Prosky.
Prosky tells him
Kirk's in the alley.
And Kirk ends up in a coma.
Except the calls don't prove
Morrissey was in the alley.
So we start with Prosky.
Have him come
in with his lawyer.
These are more than just customers,
Mr. Prosky considers them his friends.
Mr. Prosky, we could be looking
at a conspiracy charge here.
Based on what?
Answering the phone?
He acted as a lookout
for Harold Morrissey.
That's enough to make
him an accomplice.
But I didn't do
anything. Leon, please.
I can see a light touch
doesn't come naturally to you.
What are you offering? That
depends on what he says.
Tell them.
I saw Morrissey do it.
He came back from the hospital.
He grabbed a rebar
from the construction site.
He went in the alley,
and he... Wait a minute.
He grabbed the rebar
before he went into the alley?
Yeah. And the
next thing I knew...
(Stone) Call Briscoe.
(Logan) Harold Morrissey,
you're under arrest...
for the attempted
murder of Roland Kirk.
You have the right to remain
silent and anything you say...
can be used against you in a
court of law. Do you understand that?
You have the
right to an attorney.
Should you refuse that right...
He's hiding behind a
justification defense.
(Schiff) Now listen, Ben.
Lawful use of physical
force to terminate a larceny...
is always a good reason
to beat up a mugger.
Mrs. Morrissey was mugged
two hours before the beating.
After three years
of harassment...
the jury's not gonna
start counting minutes.
It is a clear case
of premeditation.
He walked in that
alley with the rebar.
He knew that Roland Kirk was
violent, he was preparing for the worst.
It's called self-preservation.
It is also called vigilantism.
I'm in for a chorus
of Amazing Grace.
I didn't know that he
had time to cool off.
An hour earlier,
Kirk was fair game?
I'm not saying that I'm comfortable
prosecuting a man that...
but for the grace
of God could be me.
If the Almighty looked
away for half a second...
you could also be Roland Kirk.
My wife and I were
returning from a dinner.
We saw Mrs. Morrissey
get out of a cab.
She had a shopping
bag on her arm.
Mr. Kirk pushed her,
grabbed the bag and ran away.
I went to see if
she was all right...
and then Mr. Morrissey
came out of his house.
And did Mr. Morrissey
say anything to you?
He was furious, understandably.
Kirk had scratched her face.
I told him his priority was
getting his wife to the hospital.
That's what he did. They got
into a cab, and I went home.
Did there come a
time later that evening...
when you heard a
disturbance in the alley?
Yes, I went outside. Prosky
was there. Kirk was unconscious.
His breathing was labored...
he was in obvious cardiac
distress, so I administered CPR.
And what time was
this? Around 12:30.
And what time did
you see Mr. Kirk...
take Mrs. Morrissey's
bag? That had to be 10:30.
That's a full two hours
earlier, correct? That's right.
Thank you.
Yes or no, Doctor.
After you administered
CPR to Mr. Kirk...
did you wait around for
the paramedics to arrive?
No.
Did you do anything about the
blood gushing from his head?
He was breathing when
I left. There was... But...
had the paramedics
been delayed...
he could have bled to
death, isn't that right?
It's possible.
True or false.
Six months ago...
Mr. Kirk pushed your 11-year-old
son in front of a moving car.
That's right.
Well, if it'd been my son...
I sure as hell would want
the guy dead. Objection.
Sustained.
Mr. Morrissey called
again from the hospital.
He wanted to know if
Kirk was still in the alley.
I told him yes.
Did you see Mr. Morrissey
later that evening?
It was after midnight.
I was closing up.
I saw him get out of a cab
and head towards the alley.
And what did you do?
This guy Kirk is dangerous.
I didn't want anything to
happen to Mr. Morrissey.
(Prosky) I followed
him into the alley.
(Stone) And what happened
next? The guy deserved it.
He wouldn't let
us live our lives.
Mr. Prosky, please. Just
tell us what happened.
Mr. Morrissey started
hitting him. Where?
On the legs. Anywhere else?
And then the head. With what?
His fists? No.
The rebar. And
where did he get it?
They're fixing up a building next
door. They have them lying around.
And he armed himself with that
before he entered the alley, right?
Yeah, sure, who
wouldn't? Thank you.
Did you see Mr. Kirk try to give the
shopping bag back to Mr. Morrissey?
No.
Did you see Mr. Kirk
attack Mr. Morrissey...
before he started
swinging the rebar?
Yes.
Sidebar, Your Honor. Approach.
This witness has sudden
recall he never told the police.
Are you saying that
I'm suborning perjury?
I am saying that,
that witness is lying.
Credibility is left to
the jury, Counselor.
If you want to discredit
him, call another witness.
Then I am amending
my witness list.
I want to call
Mr. Kirk to the stand.
The man's certifiable.
He's not competent.
Have him in my office. 9:00 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Kirk
becomes delusional.
But typically the
delusions are drug-induced.
He's been under medical care
since the incident, Your Honor.
When he was high as a kite.
(Stone) The issue is not
whether he can stand trial...
but whether he can bear witness.
Now he was there,
he saw what happened.
He remembers, and he can
communicate that to a jury.
With how much coaching, Ben?
He certainly won't perjure
himself, if that's what you mean.
We'll ignore that, Counselors.
Mr. Kirk, how old are
you? I'm 44, next January.
Do you remember where you
were when you were beaten?
I was in the alley.
I often sleep there.
I assume there won't be
any trouble with the oath, Ben.
I'm a very religious
man, Your Honor.
That's good enough for me.
I like to sleep in
the alley. It's quiet.
I was there the night
Mr. Morrissey beat me up.
Well, tell us what you remember.
I was asleep.
All of a sudden,
my legs were on fire.
(Stone) What do you
mean? I was in pain.
I opened my eyes, and I saw
Mr. Morrissey standing over me.
He had a metal bar in his
hand. And what did you do?
I said, "You want the
damn bag so much? Take it."
And did he take it?
He kept hitting me.
How often? Again
and again and again.
Thank you.
Mr. Kirk, when you
first spoke to the police...
did you tell them
this same story? No.
Why was that?
I was out of it. I
was high on crack.
But I remember now.
And when you get high...
you have no idea what's going
on around you, is that right?
No.
Is that why you were
involuntarily committed...
to the Friedland
Psychiatric Center at least...
a dozen times in
the last three years?
When I'm feeling
better, they let me go.
And when you get out of the hospital
this time, where are you gonna go?
My sister said I
could stay with her.
But things didn't work out with your
sister the last time you were there.
Well, it wasn't her fault.
When you left your
sister's, where did you go?
Where I live. Bedford Street.
You see, there's this sonic
convergence... And when you go there...
you get high, don't you, sir?
Yes, I have to. I feel better.
And you buy the crack...
with money you won suing
the residents of Bedford Street.
Isn't that right?
They harassed me. Oh,
they say they're the victims.
I'm the victim. He tried to kill
me. I may never walk right again.
You gonna sue them again,
Mr. Kirk? You better believe it.
And I'll get enough
crack to last me a lifetime.
And every time that son of a
bitch comes out of his house...
he'll see me sitting in my
Rolls-Royce wheelchair...
getting high, and getting
in his pudgy little face.
No more questions.
All I wanted to do was to
get my wife's things back.
Mr. Prosky told me Kirk
was in the alley sleeping.
The bag was next to him.
(Mullen) What happened
when you entered the alley?
Thank God I had the
rebar to protect myself.
As soon as I got near
him he was all over me.
I mean, sure, I hit him. What would
you do? You saw what he was like.
Mr. Morrissey, you testified
that you were scared of...
Mr. Kirk, right? Everyone is.
He's dangerous. That's
why I brought the rebar.
And that you would use
physical force if it were necessary.
Yeah, if I had to.
And at the slightest provocation,
you'd come out swinging, right?
Well, I'm not a wild man.
I defended myself only
when he attacked me.
Did he injure you? I didn't
let him get close enough.
You mean that you broke
his kneecap, is that right?
That's right. And
did that stop him, sir?
No.
So you hit him
again in the legs?
Yes.
Did you have reason
to hit him a third time?
Yes. Where?
On the head. Why?
He kept coming at
me. How could he?
You'd just broken his
legs. He couldn't walk.
I don't remember. I mean,
you know, it happened too fast.
Too fast, Mr. Morrissey?
He has by now two broken legs...
and it's all happening too fast?
Isn't it true...
that you crippled Mr. Kirk with
a surgical strike to the knee...
while he was asleep? No.
And then you proceeded
to beat his brains in...
so that he wouldn't bother
you or your wife ever again?
That's not true. Look, I am
not the animal here. He is.
He should be locked in a
cage, right? That's right...
but you people
can't seem to do that.
You let him ruin our lives.
We're responsible for
Mr. Kirk? You're damn right.
You'd wanna come out here
and beat our brains in, right?
Don't think I
haven't thought of it.
Thank you, Mr. Morrissey.
Roland Kirk smokes crack
and loses contact with reality.
He throws a garbage can
through a plate glass window.
We toss him into a state mental
facility where they clean him up...
brush him off and shove
him back onto the street.
Where does he go? Right
back to Bedford Street.
Where he smokes crack...
loses contact with reality...
and pushes an 11-year-old
boy in front of a moving car.
Again, we toss him back
into the state mental facility...
where they clean him up, brush him
off and shove him back onto the street.
And where does he go?
Back to Bedford Street.
Three years of this,
ladies and gentlemen...
with no end in sight.
Until Harold Morrissey
said, "Enough."
Roland Kirk attacked his
wife and took his property.
Mr. Morrissey
tried to get it back.
And now they want
to put him in jail.
There's something
very wrong here.
Anyone familiar with the Roland
Kirk story has to feel frustrated...
and discouraged.
And, yes, infuriated.
The system broke
down outrageously...
but that's no reason to disregard
the laws of a civilized society.
Now Mr. Morrissey, he
was frustrated and angry.
And the night he
left that hospital...
he found the perfect
device to express his rage.
And he picked it up, and he
walked with it into the alley...
and whatever was on his
mind, he had murder in his heart.
He saw Mr. Kirk asleep.
He shattered his legs,
he shattered his skull...
and he left him there to die.
Now, the law says...
that you can use
physical force...
to prevent your property
from being stolen.
It does not say you
can murder a man...
because the state won't
do anything about him.
Yes, the people of Bedford
Street had their rights violated.
Yes, Mr. Morrissey...
he lost an article of clothing.
But when he took the
law into his own hands...
he lost all connection to what
every citizen must hold sacred.
The rules, the laws...
which we've all
agreed to live by.
And when he struck
Mr. Kirk in his sleep...
he became a menace to society...
greater than Roland
Kirk ever was.
On the first count
of the indictment...
attempt to commit murder in the
second degree, how do you find?
We find the
defendant not guilty.
(Stein) On the second
count of the indictment...
assault in the first
degree, how do you find?
Not guilty.
On the third count
of the indictment...
assault in the second
degree, how do you find?
Guilty.
Thank you very much,
Madam Forewoman.
(Stein) The jury is
excused. Show them out.
I'm ready to deal with
the sentencing right now.
Your Honor, please forgive me...
but you are required to wait
for the pre-sentencing report.
I'm gonna save the Department
of Corrections some ink.
Sit down, Mr. Stone.
Mr. Morrissey...
the statute provides for
mandatory incarceration...
for this crime.
How much time
have you spent in jail?
Two days. Pending
bail, Your Honor.
Very well.
I sentence you to time served...
and two years’
probation. Probation.
Your Honor, please
note my exception...
and the People intend to appeal.
Noted and overruled.
[judge bangs gavel]
Court is adjourned.
(man) Congratulations.
Well, Judge Stein confirmed
the public's greatest fear.
System fails once,
keeps on failing.
That's not the public's
greatest fear. What is?
That Roland Kirk'll move
into their neighborhood.
criminal justice system...
the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups:
the police who
investigate crime...
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
[car horns honking]
Robert, someone
might see us. So?
[chuckling] Oh, God.
[laughing]
(man) Give me
some change? Beat it!
Come on, I'm hungry.
Robert, there's someone.
Yeah, that guy's in
orbit around Pluto. No.
Let's just get a cab. No.
This time we stay, they go.
What are you doing? Hey, buddy.
(Robert) Scram.
Come on, let's go.
[man groaning]
[Cathy and Robert exclaiming]
We worked with him
for over three hours.
Multiple fractures of the skull,
intracranial hemorrhages...
It's a miracle he's alive.
Broken kneecap, broken
leg, he got the full workout.
What do you think, baseball
bat? Narrower, like a pipe.
It left a crisscross
pattern on the wounds.
Any idea when he'll be
conscious? With injuries like this?
Tomorrow, next week, next year.
Assuming he lives out the night.
What about his
name? You find any ID?
I didn't search his pockets.
His clothing is here.
We had to cut it off him.
Your turn to sort the laundry.
[woman chattering
on P.A. System]
Let's get it all.
Mr. Five-and-dime.
Broken pencil, string...
paper clips, crack pipe.
Nice to know he had a hobby.
Appointment card at
Friedland Psychiatric...
for Roland Kirk, eight days ago.
No wallet.
He left that in the other
suit with the credit cards.
Yeah, he preferred cash.
Whoa, there's a couple
of grand, here. All in 20s.
So who says clothes
make the man?
Couple who found him, we had to
fight with them to get their names.
Wedding rings didn't match.
They see a guy
with a shopping cart?
Before they came into the
alley, he spare-changed them.
"White male with red hat."
Too early for Christmas.
[rattling]
We found a crack pipe on Kirk.
Stoned and hassling
the locals. That was him.
He had $2,200 on him.
What, was he selling crack
to the other pipeheads?
Between fighting
and getting high...
he hardly had time
for anything else.
This a playground?
That's Kirk's.
(Wheeler) Anybody comes
near it, he decks them.
A nightie?
Christian Dior, still
got the price tags.
A little something
for the missis?
Yeah, right, he was
dating Marla Maples.
(Briscoe) Did Kirk
have any associates?
Aside from the
imaginary ones? No.
(cop) Detective?
This is real. So is the blood.
Hey, get us a shot of this...
It reinforces concrete,
what do you call it? Rebar.
Right there.
(Kelley) Come on.
Hey, I'm walking.
I'm cooperating.
You wanted a guy in a red
hat? Meet George Siddell.
Mr. Siddell, how're
you doing today?
Listen, gotta ask you, were
you here last night after midnight?
I'm not sure. I lost my watch.
A guy named Roland Kirk
got beat up bad last night.
With that.
Now we know you were around.
Roland?
I'm shocked.
I'm desolated. I bet.
You ever hassle with him?
I respected Roland.
He means he was terrified of
Kirk. He's terrified of everybody.
He's harmless.
All right. Get him
a cup of coffee.
We're gonna want to
talk to him later maybe.
Rooms with a view. Want
to start ringing doorbells?
We hear all kinds of
things from the street.
We used to call the police.
Now, we don't bother.
They can't do anything.
Look, I have to perform
a root canal in 20 minutes.
This Roland Kirk. Now,
you saw him around?
Everybody did. He was
a problem around here.
But was he a problem
to anyone in particular?
Yes, the people of New York
City. Now, I really have to go. Bye.
So long. Bye.
We went to the movies.
We got home at 11:00.
This would've happened
around midnight.
The news was on.
We didn't hear anything.
It was a street person?
He was attacked 30 feet
from your living-room window.
I mean, how loud do
you play the news?
We've lived here
for eight years.
We stopped listening to
the street a long time ago.
(Prosky) Twenty years ago,
I wouldn't live anywhere else.
Now, it's like Calcutta. People
living and dying in the streets.
Yeah, but last night
around 12:00, Mr. Prosky?
Yeah, well, I close at 11:00.
11:30, I was halfway
across the Triborough.
When you were leaving did
you happen to see Roland Kirk?
Not last night.
But I've seen him around
with some other lowlife.
A guy in a red hat? I
don't know about a hat...
but I can tell you about the
smell. How about a name?
Yeah, sure. It was, "Hey,
you, stay out of my garbage."
So what else is new?
Nobody heard anything,
nobody saw anything...
and nobody gives a damn. And
the victim was a model citizen.
Roland Kirk, 43.
Multiples for vandalism,
misdemeanor assault...
criminal mischief, disorderly
conduct, possession.
Why wasn't this man in jail?
Hey, the DA keeps
pleading him out...
as an emotionally
disturbed person.
The weapon was a rebar, probably
from a construction site down the street.
Blood and hair are
Kirk's. No prints.
Whoever popped him left his
money, so it wasn't a robbery.
He didn't make $2,200
dealing dime bags.
Maybe he stole it from
someone higher up the food chain.
Maybe he played the ponies. How
much time we gonna spend on this?
As long as it takes
to check off the boxes.
Didn't he have a card from a
hospital? Friedland Psychiatric.
Maybe he was on medication.
If he was getting pills
from some hospital...
he would've had a Medicaid card.
Maybe somebody beat
him up for it. George Siddell?
I like offices. Used
to work in one.
[phone ringing]
Sorting, filing...
Come on, George.
Focus on the card.
Whose name does it say?
Roland Kirk.
(Briscoe) Very good.
But we found it in your
pocket. You see our problem?
People are gonna say you
clobbered Kirk and took his card.
No, I didn't. He gave it
to me, a long time ago.
Yeah. I'm sure he did.
But we're gonna have to keep
you here, until we can ask him.
That's just like the cops. Never
believe anything you tell them.
I used the card.
Tuesday. A week ago.
At the hospital,
bought some pills.
Lithium. Sixty of them.
So where are the pills now?
I sold them.
I like wine.
First admitted, June '77.
Drug-induced psychosis.
Again in '78, '79, right
through till last May.
Most were for
court-order evaluations...
two weeks treatment,
and out he goes.
Oh, right, the miracle cure. I
read about it at the checkout stand.
Hey, we don't
make the guidelines.
Once a patient is no
longer a danger to himself...
or to others, we
have to release him.
Okay, but his prescription,
did you fill it here?
Yes. He's supposed to
come in once a month.
Okay. When was the last time?
Last week. Sixty units, Lithium.
Would he have to show ID?
No. Just his Medicaid card.
Doc, in his file, does it say
anything about his friends...
people he might know on
the outside? A peer group?
No, socialization was
something he needed to work on.
How about next of kin? Sharon
Kirk signed him out two years ago.
When Dad had a heart attack, my
brother never showed up at the funeral.
Three weeks later, we found
out he was living on the street.
There'd been signs before.
He had a routine, he
had his medication.
He seemed to be well,
so they'd release him.
Did he take his pills? Long as
he'd remember to, he'd be fine.
When he stayed with
us, two years ago...
I trusted him to
baby-sit my kids...
and then one day he was gone.
Back to Bedford Street?
He said that was his home.
He said it had something to
do with a sonic convergence.
He tried to explain
it to me, but...
You have any idea why
he had a pocketful of cash?
No. He panhandled.
How much could he have?
$2,200.
What on earth was he doing...
A couple of weeks ago...
he sent me a check for $108.
I figured it was worthless.
He said it was for a doll he
broke when I was four years old.
You still have the
check? I think so.
Account was opened five weeks
ago with a balance of $15,000.
Tax refund. I don't know.
The account was set up for Mr. Kirk
as a trust, with a daily withdrawal limit.
And Kirk maxed out the
limit. Withdrew $200 a day.
$7,000 in five weeks.
Faster than he could
smoke it. Who's the trustee?
Richard Gillrich, Mental
Health Legal Advocates.
His signature's required
on all withdrawals over $200.
I'm amazed to see
you investigating.
Mindless violence against the
homeless is business as usual.
What about lawyers
and trust funds?
Is that business as
usual for the homeless?
If they're being
harassed, it is.
Did you sue the CIA for
putting transistors in Kirk's head?
We did even better than that. We
sued the residents of Bedford Street.
Read our brief.
They tried to have him
classified as an habitual offender.
They tried to get him committed
to Friedland Psychiatric Center.
Where he might've
gotten some help.
Mr. Kirk felt fully capable of
deciding for himself what he wanted.
I see you got him released
from the hospital last February.
Took him home with you or
just left him on the sidewalk?
Spare me the homilies.
Mr. Kirk could've
afforded a different choice.
The Block
Association insisted...
on a gag order, but they
settled for $30,000 plus our costs.
Half this year, half next.
Sounds like a shakedown.
Next time I run out of
beer money, I'll call you.
If your rights are being
violated, maybe you should.
This Block Association.
It had assets?
Individual members did.
This was a civil rights issue.
We have the minutes to
their Association meetings.
The harassment was
clearly premeditated.
(Lantos) I don't think you realize
what Mr. Kirk put us through.
Well, then, he won't find a
vacancy in yuppie heaven.
Too bad he lost his Gold card.
We tried kindness, Detective.
The Block Association isn't interested
in putting the homeless just on the bus.
We tried to find them public
housing, jobs... Now wait a minute...
he picked your
pocket for $30,000.
I mean, is there anybody on
the block that wants a refund?
Everyone was outraged. We
thought he belonged in a hospital.
But the doctors said his
problem wasn't mental...
and the judges said
it wasn't criminal.
Well, being homeless and
crazy isn't against the law.
All right, maybe the guy
was a nuisance. Nuisance?
Let me show you a nuisance.
The last time a judge
released him from the hospital...
our lawyer thought we should
follow Mr. Kirk around with a video...
so the next judge would see
what we have to go through.
Get out! Get out of
here! Get out of the street!
I told you not to come around, didn't
I? What you doing in my street? Get out!
(Kirk) Out of here!
Crazy! This is my street! Bang!
[car horn honking]
Hey.
Out!
Get out of here! Get out!
I told you to get out! I
want you out now! Get out!
Three weeks later, that nuisance
pushed a child into a busy intersection.
♪♪[Kirk humming]
Hey!
(Lantos) Even the
night he was attacked...
he was still at it.
How's that?
I was told he mugged somebody. Irene
Morrissey. Right in front of her house.
Put her in the hospital.
It was about 11:00. I was
coming home from an art class...
and he just attacked me.
Took my shopping bag, and
ran down the middle of the street.
That bag, was there a
nightgown in it? Yeah.
I had bought it that
afternoon from Bergman's.
Why didn't you call the police?
(Morrissey) What's the point?
Last time they arrested him, he
was back on the street two hours later.
It happens, Mr. Morrissey.
When he ran away, did
you see where he went?
I went in the house. I was
upset. He nearly tore her arm off.
I mean, we thought her
shoulder was broken.
It's just a torn rotator
cuff. It'll be all right.
And her face was bloody
where he scratched her...
I took her to the emergency
room over at 12th Street.
Did anybody see you get mugged?
I wasn't paying attention.
When we moved in
here four years ago...
we used to leave
food out for this guy.
You know, a homeless guy
gets attacked with a rebar...
nobody calls the cops. Okay.
But a woman gets mugged,
and still nobody calls the cops?
Let's complain to the union. They're
trying to put us out of business.
Yeah? Well, keep him
awake, okay? Thanks.
Kirk's out of his coma.
[groaning] Oh, man, I hurt.
Who are you?
You don't live on
Bedford Street.
Take it easy. We
work for the city.
We're detectives. You
remember who attacked you?
The other night, Roland.
In the alley on Bedford.
Yeah, I know. It
was a bald woman.
She jumped on my
chest. A bald woman?
Yeah. In a flowered dress.
Pounding on me and kissing me.
Doc...
are we wasting our time here?
There is a hairline
fracture of his breastbone.
I think he remembers
the paramedics...
giving him CPR and
mouth-to-mouth breathing.
You get a lot of bald women
on the ambulances these days?
She was bald. She
had a flowered dress.
You don't believe me,
ask Governor Cuomo.
First of all, he's insane.
Second of all, he was whacked
in the head with a metal bar.
He's gonna make
a terrific witness.
So what? You want us to call
off the search for bald women?
I want you to find out what went on at
the meetings of the Block Association.
$30,000 gets you
some strong opinions.
Kirk's lawyer did say he
subpoenaed the minutes.
Yeah, well, these people
might be mad as hell.
But you really think one of them's
gonna whack him on the head with a rebar?
Look at the minutes.
See who the hotheads are.
Out of two hours, they
spent an hour and 45 on Kirk.
"Kirk smashed my car window with
a brick, and urinated into the car."
As of last month,
216 complaints.
After 50, I'd call the realtor.
And sell for peanuts when your
life savings is holding up the roof?
This is a creative bunch.
One guy thought seeding the
alley with broken glass would...
keep Kirk from
sleeping there. Yeah.
Well, he was a nightmare.
Hey, Mrs. Bundy?
The little old lady who told us she
couldn't hear anything from the alley?
She complained here six times
that Kirk was keeping her awake.
It was after midnight.
I was asleep.
You told your neighbors you
couldn't sleep because of Roland Kirk.
How do you know that?
We're detectives, Mrs. Bundy.
We know how to find things out.
Now why don't you
just tell us the truth.
I was in bed. I heard voices.
What were they
saying? I couldn't tell.
Well, you didn't just go right
back to sleep though, did you?
I got up. I looked down.
I saw two men leaving the alley.
One, I couldn't tell who it was.
The other was
Dr. Creighton. The dentist?
He went into his house,
through the back way.
He was wearing his bathrobe.
I didn't see anything wrong.
The next morning,
after Kirk was found...
didn't it occur to you
to say something?
I didn't see anything wrong.
Mrs. Bundy's a sweetheart.
One evening last week, she
mistook me for her son-in-law.
Night blindness, very
common among the elderly.
Lying afflicts all age groups.
Kirk ever give you any
trouble? I live here, don't I?
Last spring...
my 11-year-old son's
standing at the corner...
waiting for the light to change.
Kirk shoves him out into traffic.
It's a miracle he wasn't killed.
Boy, if somebody messed
with my daughter like that...
It crossed my mind. But
I'm not as crazy as he is.
Creighton's bald, and he
was wearing a bathrobe.
And he's trained to perform
CPR, so it fits what Kirk said.
He said it was a woman.
Maybe Creighton kisses like one.
Are you volunteering
to find out?
The good people
of Bedford Street...
have been putting up
one brick wall after another.
Now, maybe we make an arrest,
maybe we shake something loose.
Your eyewitnesses aren't reliable
enough to support an arrest warrant.
How about a search warrant?
You do CPR on a bleeding
victim, you're gonna get wet.
Hey, that's right.
Maybe Creighton got some
low-rent blood on his silk pajamas.
Convincing a judge to play along
won't be a walk in the spring rain.
(Logan) I already
looked at the calendar.
You got Judge Reisman or
Judge Talbert, take your pick.
Reisman. I've gotten some
shaky drug warrants past him.
This is your basis
for a search warrant?
An elderly witness who wears
glasses? You can't be sure what she saw.
She saw two things
the victim saw.
A robe that could've looked
like a dress and a bald head.
Creighton's a doctor,
he'd know CPR.
If he worked on Kirk that night,
there'd be blood on his robe.
Is that what you're looking
for? Evidence of CPR?
I didn't know that was a crime.
We're after bigger fish, Your
Honor. Attempted murder.
Dr. Creighton's an
oral surgeon, not a thug.
Judge, you ever had
your wisdom teeth pulled?
Give me the warrant.
[police radio chattering]
I've called my attorney.
He'll be here in 10 minutes.
Keep him out of our way.
I can't believe they
have the right to do this.
Ray will take care of it.
Got a robe here.
It's brand-new.
These aren't.
Forensics found blood
on Creighton's slippers.
It matches Kirk's. That
puts him at the scene.
It doesn't tell us when,
or what he did there.
But the old lady puts him
there and at the right time.
Bring him in. And arrest
him for saving Kirk's life?
Hey, who says he
didn't try to kill him first?
There's no direct
evidence of that.
Well, if he didn't swing the
stick, he probably knows who did.
There was a second person there.
I'll prepare the warrant.
Oh, yeah.
I know what's going on now. I
know exactly what's going on.
All right just relax, Roland. Now
you're gonna look at some people...
and you're gonna tell us
if you recognize anybody.
State's key witness, huh? Congratulations.
I can rest my case right now.
Here they come.
Okay, here we go.
The lineup.
Here we go.
Right there. Right
there in the middle.
That's her.
Next case.
"Docket number 63181.
People v. Steven R. Creighton.
(clerk) "The charges are attempted
murder in the second degree...
"assault in the first degree."
What's the plea? Not guilty.
(Sirkin) People? The
People ask for $150,000.
That's ridiculous, Your Honor.
The victim identified the defendant.
The victim doesn't know
his birds from his bees.
The People's case is predicated
on the testimony of an insane person.
Save it for your opening.
Your Honor, my client is
a respected oral surgeon.
You're on thin ice, Counselor.
I've seen Marathon Man.
Bail is set at $150,000.
Next up.
Dr. Creighton
stepped in that blood...
when he took the trash
out the next evening.
The night you're
talking about...
he was enjoying a
good night's sleep.
Not according to
our eyewitnesses.
Yeah, a lunatic and Mrs.
Magoo? This is a farce.
Ray, I don't see the humor in
someone getting beaten by a steel bar.
And, Dr. Creighton, we know that
someone was in the alley with you...
and when we find them, they might
be more cooperative than you are.
What if he had nothing to do with
the attack, if he just administered CPR.
He's a doctor, he left a
man dying in a garbage heap.
He could be facing a
murder charge. I resent that.
I saved his life, for God's sake.
I gave him mouth-to-mouth...
Doctor.
We drop it down
to failure to report.
He pleads no contest.
Will that satisfy you?
It depends on his story.
It was over by the time I
got outside. Prosky was there.
He said he'd called the
paramedics from his restaurant.
Did he say who did
the beating? I didn't ask.
Kirk was barely breathing.
I started compressions.
I did everything necessary.
Except wait for the paramedics.
Prosky said he'd
take care of the rest.
That he'd keep
my name out of it.
I have friends, doctors,
who've been sued over this.
You help somebody in trouble.
Next thing, they take your house.
I was closing up for the night,
when I heard all hell break loose.
By the time I ran to the alley,
nobody was there except Kirk...
flat on his back. Bleeding.
Next thing, Creighton came out.
That's not the story you
told the police. This is great.
You people drop the ball and then
you start pointing the finger at us.
I didn't want to get
Creighton in trouble, all right?
He's worried about lawsuits.
Just being a good neighbor?
How gullible do I look?
Miss, we don't take care of
ourselves, nobody else will.
You told Dr. Creighton
you called the paramedics.
Unfortunately, there's
no record of that call.
I didn't make any calls.
And I sure as hell
didn't tell Creighton I did.
He's lying to save his own ass.
I left him with Kirk. He was
supposed to take care of it.
Well, we have two
suspects passing the buck.
Your victim can't make the
call? We're afraid to ask him.
His performance at the lineup
hardly inspired confidence.
His psychiatric
records indicate that...
when he's off drugs
he's somewhat coherent.
There's a long road between
coherence and competence.
Yeah, you don't want to prosecute.
Even with direct evidence...
it's tough to sell a jury that's
been inundated with the homeless.
That guy terrorized the
neighborhood for three years.
And you think what they did is a
solution to the homeless problem?
What next? Flying squads
in the middle of the night?
If it was my child he pushed
into traffic, I might consider it.
Yeah, that's only
capital punishment.
Or do you make an exception
for people like Roland Kirk?
I'll have Elizabeth talk to him.
When I smoke up, these
people are munchkins.
Little things I can just flick out
of my way. You're not high now.
Is it possible you remember more
about what happened in the alley?
What happened in the alley.
What do you think? I got messed up.
You described a bald
woman. Yeah, the dentist.
He walks around in a
dress, and they say I'm crazy?
Do you remember
anybody else in the alley?
Yeah, I know who.
Mr. "We reserve
the right to serve."
The man with the restaurant.
You mean Leon Prosky?
He'd never even give
me a damn glass of water.
Yeah, he was there.
Do you remember
what he was doing?
I was getting whacked.
I was bleeding.
I tried giving him the bag.
Well, what bag is that? The
one with the purple letters.
He kept pulling at
it. Did he say why?
His wife gives me the
bag. Then he wants it back.
I can't figure these people out.
What is that, Roland?
Can I keep this?
Sure.
Happy birthday.
He drew this while
I was talking to him.
Once the drugs clear his
system. He settles down.
He becomes more lucid.
It explains why they keep
putting him back out on the streets.
Where he resumes his old habits.
The drugs trigger psychotic
episodes, back he goes to the hospital.
At some point, doesn't someone catch
on that he needs long-term treatment?
There's no place for him.
Drug treatment programs won't
take addicts who are mentally ill...
and psychiatric hospitals
don't treat addicts.
So the system's crazier than
the people it's trying to help.
(Stone) Liz...
do you believe Roland Kirk?
I think he's the one person
who has no reason to lie.
You know, I already went
through all this with the police.
Don't you people
talk to each other?
I read your statement. It wasn't
clear what time you got home.
Look, this drug
addict mauled my wife.
He separated her
shoulder, he drew blood.
You've got some nerve making me
feel like I'm the one under investigation.
My questions are very
routine, Mr. Morrissey.
Yeah, right. So tell
me where you live.
Next time we have a problem with
Roland Kirk, we'll send him over.
I have tax reports to do.
Goodbye, Miss Kincaid.
We signed Mrs. Morrissey in at
10:50, and Dr. Parks saw her at 11:15.
Yeah, I remember
Mr. Morrissey now.
Out of a roomful of
emergencies? The squeaky wheel.
You'd think his wife had
been shot through the heart.
Do you know what time they left?
She had blood panels and x-rays,
they were here maybe an hour.
But you're guessing. Look, all
I know is the guy was a pest...
and he took all my
change for the pay phone.
He made one phone call
before his wife went into x-ray...
and one phone call right
before they left. Thanks.
I checked the usage
on the pay phone.
Two calls were made to Prosky's
restaurant between 11:00 and 12:00.
Morrissey is upset. He wants
revenge, and he calls Prosky.
Prosky tells him
Kirk's in the alley.
And Kirk ends up in a coma.
Except the calls don't prove
Morrissey was in the alley.
So we start with Prosky.
Have him come
in with his lawyer.
These are more than just customers,
Mr. Prosky considers them his friends.
Mr. Prosky, we could be looking
at a conspiracy charge here.
Based on what?
Answering the phone?
He acted as a lookout
for Harold Morrissey.
That's enough to make
him an accomplice.
But I didn't do
anything. Leon, please.
I can see a light touch
doesn't come naturally to you.
What are you offering? That
depends on what he says.
Tell them.
I saw Morrissey do it.
He came back from the hospital.
He grabbed a rebar
from the construction site.
He went in the alley,
and he... Wait a minute.
He grabbed the rebar
before he went into the alley?
Yeah. And the
next thing I knew...
(Stone) Call Briscoe.
(Logan) Harold Morrissey,
you're under arrest...
for the attempted
murder of Roland Kirk.
You have the right to remain
silent and anything you say...
can be used against you in a
court of law. Do you understand that?
You have the
right to an attorney.
Should you refuse that right...
He's hiding behind a
justification defense.
(Schiff) Now listen, Ben.
Lawful use of physical
force to terminate a larceny...
is always a good reason
to beat up a mugger.
Mrs. Morrissey was mugged
two hours before the beating.
After three years
of harassment...
the jury's not gonna
start counting minutes.
It is a clear case
of premeditation.
He walked in that
alley with the rebar.
He knew that Roland Kirk was
violent, he was preparing for the worst.
It's called self-preservation.
It is also called vigilantism.
I'm in for a chorus
of Amazing Grace.
I didn't know that he
had time to cool off.
An hour earlier,
Kirk was fair game?
I'm not saying that I'm comfortable
prosecuting a man that...
but for the grace
of God could be me.
If the Almighty looked
away for half a second...
you could also be Roland Kirk.
My wife and I were
returning from a dinner.
We saw Mrs. Morrissey
get out of a cab.
She had a shopping
bag on her arm.
Mr. Kirk pushed her,
grabbed the bag and ran away.
I went to see if
she was all right...
and then Mr. Morrissey
came out of his house.
And did Mr. Morrissey
say anything to you?
He was furious, understandably.
Kirk had scratched her face.
I told him his priority was
getting his wife to the hospital.
That's what he did. They got
into a cab, and I went home.
Did there come a
time later that evening...
when you heard a
disturbance in the alley?
Yes, I went outside. Prosky
was there. Kirk was unconscious.
His breathing was labored...
he was in obvious cardiac
distress, so I administered CPR.
And what time was
this? Around 12:30.
And what time did
you see Mr. Kirk...
take Mrs. Morrissey's
bag? That had to be 10:30.
That's a full two hours
earlier, correct? That's right.
Thank you.
Yes or no, Doctor.
After you administered
CPR to Mr. Kirk...
did you wait around for
the paramedics to arrive?
No.
Did you do anything about the
blood gushing from his head?
He was breathing when
I left. There was... But...
had the paramedics
been delayed...
he could have bled to
death, isn't that right?
It's possible.
True or false.
Six months ago...
Mr. Kirk pushed your 11-year-old
son in front of a moving car.
That's right.
Well, if it'd been my son...
I sure as hell would want
the guy dead. Objection.
Sustained.
Mr. Morrissey called
again from the hospital.
He wanted to know if
Kirk was still in the alley.
I told him yes.
Did you see Mr. Morrissey
later that evening?
It was after midnight.
I was closing up.
I saw him get out of a cab
and head towards the alley.
And what did you do?
This guy Kirk is dangerous.
I didn't want anything to
happen to Mr. Morrissey.
(Prosky) I followed
him into the alley.
(Stone) And what happened
next? The guy deserved it.
He wouldn't let
us live our lives.
Mr. Prosky, please. Just
tell us what happened.
Mr. Morrissey started
hitting him. Where?
On the legs. Anywhere else?
And then the head. With what?
His fists? No.
The rebar. And
where did he get it?
They're fixing up a building next
door. They have them lying around.
And he armed himself with that
before he entered the alley, right?
Yeah, sure, who
wouldn't? Thank you.
Did you see Mr. Kirk try to give the
shopping bag back to Mr. Morrissey?
No.
Did you see Mr. Kirk
attack Mr. Morrissey...
before he started
swinging the rebar?
Yes.
Sidebar, Your Honor. Approach.
This witness has sudden
recall he never told the police.
Are you saying that
I'm suborning perjury?
I am saying that,
that witness is lying.
Credibility is left to
the jury, Counselor.
If you want to discredit
him, call another witness.
Then I am amending
my witness list.
I want to call
Mr. Kirk to the stand.
The man's certifiable.
He's not competent.
Have him in my office. 9:00 a.m.
Yes, Mr. Kirk
becomes delusional.
But typically the
delusions are drug-induced.
He's been under medical care
since the incident, Your Honor.
When he was high as a kite.
(Stone) The issue is not
whether he can stand trial...
but whether he can bear witness.
Now he was there,
he saw what happened.
He remembers, and he can
communicate that to a jury.
With how much coaching, Ben?
He certainly won't perjure
himself, if that's what you mean.
We'll ignore that, Counselors.
Mr. Kirk, how old are
you? I'm 44, next January.
Do you remember where you
were when you were beaten?
I was in the alley.
I often sleep there.
I assume there won't be
any trouble with the oath, Ben.
I'm a very religious
man, Your Honor.
That's good enough for me.
I like to sleep in
the alley. It's quiet.
I was there the night
Mr. Morrissey beat me up.
Well, tell us what you remember.
I was asleep.
All of a sudden,
my legs were on fire.
(Stone) What do you
mean? I was in pain.
I opened my eyes, and I saw
Mr. Morrissey standing over me.
He had a metal bar in his
hand. And what did you do?
I said, "You want the
damn bag so much? Take it."
And did he take it?
He kept hitting me.
How often? Again
and again and again.
Thank you.
Mr. Kirk, when you
first spoke to the police...
did you tell them
this same story? No.
Why was that?
I was out of it. I
was high on crack.
But I remember now.
And when you get high...
you have no idea what's going
on around you, is that right?
No.
Is that why you were
involuntarily committed...
to the Friedland
Psychiatric Center at least...
a dozen times in
the last three years?
When I'm feeling
better, they let me go.
And when you get out of the hospital
this time, where are you gonna go?
My sister said I
could stay with her.
But things didn't work out with your
sister the last time you were there.
Well, it wasn't her fault.
When you left your
sister's, where did you go?
Where I live. Bedford Street.
You see, there's this sonic
convergence... And when you go there...
you get high, don't you, sir?
Yes, I have to. I feel better.
And you buy the crack...
with money you won suing
the residents of Bedford Street.
Isn't that right?
They harassed me. Oh,
they say they're the victims.
I'm the victim. He tried to kill
me. I may never walk right again.
You gonna sue them again,
Mr. Kirk? You better believe it.
And I'll get enough
crack to last me a lifetime.
And every time that son of a
bitch comes out of his house...
he'll see me sitting in my
Rolls-Royce wheelchair...
getting high, and getting
in his pudgy little face.
No more questions.
All I wanted to do was to
get my wife's things back.
Mr. Prosky told me Kirk
was in the alley sleeping.
The bag was next to him.
(Mullen) What happened
when you entered the alley?
Thank God I had the
rebar to protect myself.
As soon as I got near
him he was all over me.
I mean, sure, I hit him. What would
you do? You saw what he was like.
Mr. Morrissey, you testified
that you were scared of...
Mr. Kirk, right? Everyone is.
He's dangerous. That's
why I brought the rebar.
And that you would use
physical force if it were necessary.
Yeah, if I had to.
And at the slightest provocation,
you'd come out swinging, right?
Well, I'm not a wild man.
I defended myself only
when he attacked me.
Did he injure you? I didn't
let him get close enough.
You mean that you broke
his kneecap, is that right?
That's right. And
did that stop him, sir?
No.
So you hit him
again in the legs?
Yes.
Did you have reason
to hit him a third time?
Yes. Where?
On the head. Why?
He kept coming at
me. How could he?
You'd just broken his
legs. He couldn't walk.
I don't remember. I mean,
you know, it happened too fast.
Too fast, Mr. Morrissey?
He has by now two broken legs...
and it's all happening too fast?
Isn't it true...
that you crippled Mr. Kirk with
a surgical strike to the knee...
while he was asleep? No.
And then you proceeded
to beat his brains in...
so that he wouldn't bother
you or your wife ever again?
That's not true. Look, I am
not the animal here. He is.
He should be locked in a
cage, right? That's right...
but you people
can't seem to do that.
You let him ruin our lives.
We're responsible for
Mr. Kirk? You're damn right.
You'd wanna come out here
and beat our brains in, right?
Don't think I
haven't thought of it.
Thank you, Mr. Morrissey.
Roland Kirk smokes crack
and loses contact with reality.
He throws a garbage can
through a plate glass window.
We toss him into a state mental
facility where they clean him up...
brush him off and shove
him back onto the street.
Where does he go? Right
back to Bedford Street.
Where he smokes crack...
loses contact with reality...
and pushes an 11-year-old
boy in front of a moving car.
Again, we toss him back
into the state mental facility...
where they clean him up, brush him
off and shove him back onto the street.
And where does he go?
Back to Bedford Street.
Three years of this,
ladies and gentlemen...
with no end in sight.
Until Harold Morrissey
said, "Enough."
Roland Kirk attacked his
wife and took his property.
Mr. Morrissey
tried to get it back.
And now they want
to put him in jail.
There's something
very wrong here.
Anyone familiar with the Roland
Kirk story has to feel frustrated...
and discouraged.
And, yes, infuriated.
The system broke
down outrageously...
but that's no reason to disregard
the laws of a civilized society.
Now Mr. Morrissey, he
was frustrated and angry.
And the night he
left that hospital...
he found the perfect
device to express his rage.
And he picked it up, and he
walked with it into the alley...
and whatever was on his
mind, he had murder in his heart.
He saw Mr. Kirk asleep.
He shattered his legs,
he shattered his skull...
and he left him there to die.
Now, the law says...
that you can use
physical force...
to prevent your property
from being stolen.
It does not say you
can murder a man...
because the state won't
do anything about him.
Yes, the people of Bedford
Street had their rights violated.
Yes, Mr. Morrissey...
he lost an article of clothing.
But when he took the
law into his own hands...
he lost all connection to what
every citizen must hold sacred.
The rules, the laws...
which we've all
agreed to live by.
And when he struck
Mr. Kirk in his sleep...
he became a menace to society...
greater than Roland
Kirk ever was.
On the first count
of the indictment...
attempt to commit murder in the
second degree, how do you find?
We find the
defendant not guilty.
(Stein) On the second
count of the indictment...
assault in the first
degree, how do you find?
Not guilty.
On the third count
of the indictment...
assault in the second
degree, how do you find?
Guilty.
Thank you very much,
Madam Forewoman.
(Stein) The jury is
excused. Show them out.
I'm ready to deal with
the sentencing right now.
Your Honor, please forgive me...
but you are required to wait
for the pre-sentencing report.
I'm gonna save the Department
of Corrections some ink.
Sit down, Mr. Stone.
Mr. Morrissey...
the statute provides for
mandatory incarceration...
for this crime.
How much time
have you spent in jail?
Two days. Pending
bail, Your Honor.
Very well.
I sentence you to time served...
and two years’
probation. Probation.
Your Honor, please
note my exception...
and the People intend to appeal.
Noted and overruled.
[judge bangs gavel]
Court is adjourned.
(man) Congratulations.
Well, Judge Stein confirmed
the public's greatest fear.
System fails once,
keeps on failing.
That's not the public's
greatest fear. What is?
That Roland Kirk'll move
into their neighborhood.