Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 22, Episode 1 - Episode #22.1 - full transcript
- In the criminal justice
system,
sexually based offenses
are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City,
the dedicated detectives
who investigate
these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as
the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
- You need to leave now!
- I have a right to be here.
Okay, ma'am?
- Not near my child you don't.
- Mommy, let's go.
- Okay.
I am calling the police.
- Don't do that.
I'm not bothering you.
- Yes, there is a black man
threatening me and my son.
- There she goes, y'all.
What? I am just working out!
- We're Central Park
in the Ramble.
Please hurry. - This is America.
2020.
Let's see what we got.
- Okay, folks, what's going on?
- Officers, nothing's going on.
- This is him. This is the man.
- Officers, listen,
I've done nothing to her.
- Yo, big guy, back it up.
- Me?
I'm not doing anything.
- Mom, I need to go get my ball.
- Dylan, stay here.
He is scaring my son.
- How? Because I'm black?
Listen, officers, I'm out here
minding my own business.
She comes...
- Sir, do you have your ID
on you?
- I don't have
to show you anything.
I know my rights.
- Mommy, mommy, come look.
There's a man.
- Dylan, get back here.
- He's not moving.
- Everyone stay where you are.
We got a vic.
- Honey, move away from there.
- Semi-conscious male
bleeding from the head.
I need a bus.
- Oh, my God, that's why
he was acting so crazy.
He just attacked someone.
- What?
No, I don't know anything
about that.
- Sir, put the phone down
and put your hands behind back.
- Why?
- Hands behind your back, now!
- Listen...
- Stop resisting!
- I'm not resisting!
- Stop resisting!
Stop resisting!
- I'm not resisting!
Stop resisting, stop!
- We found him bleeding,
pants down.
- Captain Benson.
Hi, I'm a police officer.
Can you tell me your name?
- Eric.
- Hey, Eric.
- I need you to step back.
- It's legal, blondie.
- Okay.
- Eric, what happened?
- He went nuts.
He raped me.
- Who? You know him?
- I have a right to film.
- I just need you to move back.
Now.
- Eric. Eric, stay with me.
- We need to move him now.
- Okay.
Officer Tamin will ride
with you.
- Sorry, COVID.
- I'll meet them there.
- Woman's kid found the vic.
- Said the suspect
was on the scene
menacing her and her kid.
- Rollins, take her statement.
- Copy that.
- And how did you make him
as a suspect?
- He was combative, aggressive.
- You arrested him
for being aggressive?
- No, sir, I ran his ID.
Two outstanding warrants.
- Ow.
You?
I know you, don't I?
- How 'bout I ask the questions?
What were you doing in the park?
- I'm not answering
any of your questions.
Why am I even under arrest?
- You have outstanding warrants.
- For protesting.
- I knew he was up to no good.
- How'd you know that?
- His body language,
the way he raised his voice.
He was scaring my son.
Hey, I-I'm not one
of those Karens.
- Do we have to do it this way?
We're profiling this guy.
- I know.
Listen, he's got warrants.
He's not helping himself here.
Plus, this is only
gonna get worse.
- Put him in the car!
- Yo, for what, man? Come on!
- Stop resisting!
- Get your hands off me, man!
- Stop resisting.
Duck your head.
- Hey, come on!
- I got you covering your cam.
- Get off me, man, come on!
- This is livestreaming!
- Get in there.
- Yes, there is a black man
threatening me and my son.
- There she goes, y'all.
Ma'am, I am just working out.
- We're in Central Park
in the Ramble.
- I'm just...
- Please hurry!
- Hold up, the mom called
the cops on Jayvon
before anyone found the body?
The unis didn't tell us that.
- But you did have probable
cause to arrest, right?
- We didn't arrest him.
He was cuffed when we got there.
- And you think he's good
for the assault?
- We don't know.
He was in the vicinity,
he refused to talk,
he has warrants.
- For what?
- BLM curfew arrest.
He missed his desk appearance.
- We're not prosecuting those.
- He also had a sealed juvie
for a public disturbance,
noise complaint.
- So no sexual assault?
Nothing violent?
Did the vic ID him,
or was it just the mom?
- The vic, Eric Aquino,
26, lost consciousness
before we could get
a full statement.
- So no?
Has Jayvon lawyered up yet?
- He's handling himself
pretty well without one.
- If he's good for this,
I need an airtight case.
With that video going viral
and the way half the city thinks
about the cops right now...
- Understood.
- I told the cops at the scene.
That's where I work out
every morning.
Had nothing to do
with that guy being hurt.
- At 7:00 A.M.?
Where were you coming from?
- Night shift.
I sort for Empire Parcel.
- Okay, what time
do you get off of work?
- Are y'all even asking
that white woman questions?
Look, I expect
this nonsense from her,
but doesn't this get old
for you, man?
- Eric's one of the good guys.
Who the hell would do this?
- You know him?
- Yeah, he was a resident.
They bumped him up during COVID
to work ER.
I'm sorry. - It's okay.
Were you able to do a rape kit?
- Not yet.
He's still unconscious.
But there was some anal trauma.
I can get you his clothes
to run DNA.
- That'd be great.
And as soon as
we can talk to him...
- We're waiting on a scan.
I told his family
that you were here.
They're Filipino Catholics,
so they may not be aware
of his orientation.
- Okay.
- Every time he works
a night shift, I worry.
I wait up for him to come home.
I called. No answer.
- How does he usually
get home from work?
- He walks.
- Through the park?
- I tell him not to.
It's dangerous.
She wants to know if
it was the guy in the video.
- The black guy.
- We are talking to him.
I'm gonna ask you if
you know anything about...
Eric's social life,
his friends and relationships.
- No.
No time for that.
All work
and family.
He's a good boy.
- He's a good guy, the doctor,
but walking through
the Ramble at night...
Can they really not know?
- When I told my family,
they had absolutely no idea.
If you ask them now,
they still don't know.
- Wow.
Maybe you should
tell them again.
- Not right now.
We still have relatives
in Beirut.
Between that and COVID,
they got a lot on their plate.
- Detectives.
I didn't want to say this
in front of my mother.
Eric texted me last night,
told me not to wait up.
- Do you know where he went?
- Eric likes to unwind
after a shift.
Those outdoor bars
on Ninth Avenue,
it's a party scene now.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
- Start checking traffic cams?
- Yeah, run his credit cards,
see if we get lucky.
- Just please, listen,
that's not necessary.
- How bad is it?
- Jayvon's video's got
five million hits,
and you don't wanna know how
many calls I've been getting.
Please tell me
that he is good for this.
- Well, he hasn't confessed,
but I checked his alibi.
There's a problem
with the timeline.
- Good, good,
that gives me some leverage.
Let's get to the bottom of this.
- Jayvon, this is ADA Carisi.
- The ADA?
That supposed
to make me nervous?
- Not at all, Mr. Brown.
We all want the same thing...
To get to the truth.
- You already have the truth.
- No, not all of it.
You got to the park at 7:00,
but we found out
that you punched out at 5:00.
- And there's a gap
in your timeline, Mr. Brown,
the same time Eric Aquino
was attacked in the Ramble.
- I had nothing to do with that.
- Okay, if you didn't,
just tell us where you were.
Help yourself out, Jayvon.
I was having coffee
with my sponsor
before our 6:00 A.M. meeting.
- 6:00 A.M. meeting?
What program?
- NA.
Last spring, I hurt my back.
I got hooked on oxy.
I'm clean now.
- So why didn't you
just tell us that?
- I wanna advance.
Drivers get better benefits,
better pay.
I didn't want you
telling my boss
I was at a meeting.
- There's no way your boss
will ever hear that from us,
but I'm gonna need
your sponsor's number.
- That the kid who
was attacked in the park?
It's all over the news.
- Do you recognize him
from last night?
Because he was here
charging drinks at closing.
- That right?
I don't remember him.
- How 'bout this guy?
- Him? Yeah, I think so.
But it was busy.
Everyone was outside.
Nobody at the bar.
When I'm slammed,
I only got eyes for the green.
- All right, well,
we'll need to take a look
at your security cam footage.
- Sorry, no can do. It's busted.
- Mr. Donovan, we don't care
if you black out your windows,
stay open past last call.
- I run a reputable place.
- Okay, so you won't mind
a couple of my tech guys
come down and see
if they can find anything?
- Not without a warrant.
- Rollins.
We might not need him.
Just got
the traffic cam footage.
- Well, it's definitely
not Jayvon.
Hold on.
That guy was at the park.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah, he was mouthing off,
filming us at the arrest.
Son of a bitch.
- This guy was in the park?
Any chance you got an ID?
- He was just filming,
which, as we've been told
repeatedly, is not illegal.
- He was brazen enough to go
back to his own crime scene,
so maybe he posted it.
- Okay, text me those photos.
See if TARU
can track down the video.
Aquino's still unconscious?
- Mm-hmm.
- See if the brother
can ID this guy.
- Liv...
I got Jayvon's sponsor
on the line.
He's a corporate lawyer.
He says he'll only talk to us
if Jayvon gives him permission.
- Okay.
- Corey, it's okay
to talk to them.
- That's all I need to hear.
- This is Captain Benson.
Can you tell us
when you last saw Jayvon?
- This morning.
We met at 5:30 for coffee
and a walk.
At 6:00, we went to
our NA meeting
in the garden at St. Clair's.
At 7:00, we said goodbye.
He was his way to the park
to work out, Captain.
- That's what I been
telling her.
- Jayvon has been diligently
working his program.
I don't see him doing anything
that would jeopardize
his recovery or his job,
and I could get a dozen others
to vouch for him as well.
- Thank you very much.
- Jayvon, do you need a lawyer?
I can send someone from my firm.
- That's up to them.
Am I free to go?
- Yes, we just have
to call the DA
and get him to drop the charges.
- Yeah. I would do that.
- As soon as possible, Captain.
Jayvon,
call if you need anything.
- Fin.
- Start the paperwork? On it.
Jayvon, can we ask you
another question?
- Do I have a choice?
- There may be another suspect,
and we were hoping
that you could help us.
- You want my help now?
- He was in the park
this morning at the scene.
Did you notice him?
- Before or after the cops
threw me in the squad car?
Even if I did notice him,
why would I help you?
- I get it.
You have the right to be angry.
- Don't tell me
I have a right to my anger.
I already know that.
- All those machines...
All the tests...
The doctors have no idea
when or if Eric
is going to wake up.
- I am so sorry.
- He is in God's hands now.
How could that man in the park
just leave him there?
- We don't think it was him.
Do you recognize this man?
- No.
I know Eric's friends
from high school, but...
That was a long time ago.
- He is Eric's type.
Straight-looking, preppy.
Calls him his "Chino Boys."
- You ever meet him?
- It's not like he ever
brought these guys home
for Sunday chicken adobo. - Hmm.
Anyone in Eric's life
who might know?
- My brother compartmentalized.
Med school in one box,
family another.
- Hookups in a third.
- Kat?
- One sec.
- TARU may have something.
- "Hottie Cop Telling Me
to Move"?
Seriously?
- I have a right to film.
- Guys, move back, thank you.
- NYPD, man, protecting
and serving themselves.
Defund the police.
Defund the police!
- We have an ID on this guy?
- Just a handle. ThirstTrap94.
- "Thirst trap"?
Wow, this dude's
feeling himself.
- Yeah.
I checked his other posts,
and I found this.
Danielle and Hana.
Start there?
- Find the one
that he didn't tag.
She may have a more interesting
story to tell.
- Always.
- Captain.
- Chief.
- I know it's late,
but I need a word with you
and Sergeant Tutuola...
Jayvon Brown has filed
a lawsuit against NYPD.
You've both been named.
- Jayvon Brown had
outstanding warrants.
He wouldn't answer questions...
- There was a crowd.
You know how fast
they turn now...
- Stop.
You both sound defensive.
These days,
that's not a good look.
- Chief, we were by the book.
- That's the book
that got us here!
After George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor, this city,
this country, are on boil.
Business as usual will not work.
- We hear you.
- Good.
1PP has launched
an investigation,
and IAB wants to start with you.
- When?
- Tomorrow.
Keep in mind,
we're under a microscope.
When you go in there,
short answers.
Don't overexplain.
- Okay.
- And bring a lawyer.
- Sergeant, walk me out.
- Captain did nothing wrong.
- I know you two are close,
but I have to ask.
Would things have
played out differently
if Jayvon were white?
- Yeah, I mean,
the woman, Colleen,
she would've never called
the police in the first place,
and if she did, the precinct
cop wouldn't have cuffed him.
- I concur.
And when SVU got there,
do you think racial bias
played any part
in how things were handled?
- Not consciously.
I've worked with Captain Benson
for over 20 years.
Her only bias is for the victim.
- All right. Thank you.
Sergeant...
I know I'm not someone
you relate to,
but we have one thing in common.
We're both Black and blue.
We've been on this job
a long time.
Did you know my father
joined the force in the '70s?
- No, I didn't know that.
- Made Sergeant.
Those days,
that was about as far
as they'd let us go.
Those days are over.
Things are changing.
Know how many times
I've heard that?
The one thing I do know
is this country will always
break your heart.
- Ah, this time's different.
This is a true inflection point.
- If you say so, Chief.
- We are. I know it.
I also know the old guard
won't go down without a fight.
There's gonna be a purge.
- Hold up.
So what are you saying?
- I appreciate your loyalty,
but you need to watch out
for yourself.
This is your second lawsuit
this year.
You shot a black man
in his home.
- Who was trying
to kill his son.
- It was a good shooting,
but that doesn't matter.
None of us are safe.
Not me, not you,
not Captain Benson.
- What did Joe do now?
- Joe? You got a last name?
- Joe Murphy.
- How do you know him?
- We used to have a thing
for, like, a minute.
He needs to be canceled.
- We noticed he untagged you.
- Yeah, he couldn't take it
that I broke up with him.
He can be a real charmer,
but he's a different person
once he hits
the tequila turnpike.
- How so?
- When he couldn't get it up,
he'd go off on me.
He'd come back the next day
with flowers,
but that got old fast.
What was I thinking?
Twenty-five, and he still
lives with his mother.
- Mrs. Murphy?
- Yeah?
- We're here to see
your son, Joe.
- I don't think he's home.
- I'm right here, Ma.
Hey, blondie cop.
I hope you're not upset
about my video.
- No, it was very helpful.
- Look, I know I was all
"BLM" in the park.
But really, you cops
didn't do anything wrong.
I heard that thug's
filing a lawsuit.
Do you need me to back you up?
- Actually, yes.
Yeah, it would be great if you
could come down to the station
and just give us a statement.
- Sure. Whatever you guys need.
- Joe.
- It's all right, Ma.
If I can help...
- Joe, Joe.
You need a mask.
- He came in willingly?
- Yeah, he made a big show
of wanting to help.
For what it's worth,
Eric Aquino's brother did say
he's Eric's type.
- The lab found DNA
on Aquino's underwear.
You think Murphy's
cooperative enough
to give us a sample?
- We don't have to ask him.
He's wearing a mask.
- Hmm.
- Why don't I get him
a fresh one?
- Keep me posted.
I gotta head to IAB.
Hey, by the way,
Garland say anything about me?
- Yeah. Watch your back.
- Hey, you mind swapping out
for a mask with a filter?
NYPD protocol.
- Sure.
Can't be too careful, right?
- No.
- So did you see Jayvon Brown
do anything suspicious?
- No, when I got there,
he was cuffed.
- Hmm, okay, and the vic?
You ever seen him before?
- No, sorry.
- Really?
So this isn't you?
- Oh, wait. That's the guy?
Wow, I didn't put
two and two together.
- So you don't remember
having drinks with him
at Owney Madden's?
Leaving after last call?
- Whoa, whoa. No.
It's not like that.
He followed me out of the bar.
He was kinda hitting on me.
I didn't want to be rude,
so I let him walk with me.
- All the way to the park?
- Dude, do I look gay?
I'm engaged.
I went right to
my fiancée's place.
- This was when?
4:30? 5:00?
- So how did you end up
back in the park?
- Well, Ashley lives
by the park.
- Oh.
- I heard all the sirens outside
and went down to check it out.
- So I'll need to talk
to Ashley.
- Sure, I'll call her.
- We'll do that.
- Captain Benson?
- Yes.
- Captain Curry.
- Hi. Nice to meet you.
- Actually, we've met...
Briefly, at Ed Tucker's funeral.
- Oh, yes, of course.
I'm sorry,
I wasn't myself that day.
- Neither was I.
Ed was my rabbi.
His poor wife.
- Yes.
Are you recording this?
- Once we start the interview.
We can wait for your lawyer.
- I'm not bringing one.
I know that that video
went viral,
but our conduct was...
Was by the book.
- Then this shouldn't take long.
- He's sleeping.
Good. Means he's guilty.
How's his alibi? - Bogus.
- What about the DNA?
- Not back yet.
- He doesn't need to know that.
- Joe. Joe!
- Ashley back me up?
- And then some.
She told us that you got
to her place
around 10:00 P.M.
- What can I say? She's loyal.
- And she's a liar.
How 'bout you?
- What are you talking about?
- Oh, we're taking your DNA
from your mask.
Now is there any reason
it might be a match
to the DNA
that we found on Aquino?
- Uh...
Okay, I might've left this out.
The guy asked me
to come into the park,
smoke a joint.
I'm drunk, I say yes,
then he gets persuasive.
- Meaning?
- He says, "Close your eyes.
Pretend I'm a girl.
I'm gonna give you
the greatest blow..."
Forgive me.
He offers to service me.
- And then what happened?
- He starts to unzip me.
Like I say, I'm not gay,
so I freak out.
I push him off of me and run.
- How hard you push him?
- Not hard.
I look back,
he's running after me.
He was a lot more drunk
than I was.
He must've taken a fall.
- Did you see him take a fall?
- Mr. Murphy's attorney's here.
- Thanks, Sonny.
Tell your sister, Teresa,
I say hi.
- They'll need the room.
- Hold up, he's lawyering up?
Why don't we just arraign
his ass?
- Wait, I didn't ask
for a lawyer.
- Zito, Joe.
Mr. Donovan hired me.
He's looking out for you
and your mother.
- The owner of the bar
and your mom.
That's why he covered for you.
- He did? He's loyal too.
Good people.
I drink for free every night.
- The victim, Eric Aquino,
couldn't describe his assailant
because he was unconscious.
- So other than the park mother,
Colleen Reynold's
false accusation,
you had no reason
to suspect Jayvon Brown?
- As I said, Mr. Brown
was already under arrest
for outstanding warrants
when we got there.
- So you're saying
you had no choice?
- A crowd was gathering.
He wasn't cooperating.
I didn't wanna release him
before ruling him out
as a suspect.
- Okay.
Captain Benson, had you ever
encountered Mr. Brown before?
- No, not to my knowledge.
- Do you recall a stop
and frisk of a black male
on August 6, 2013
outside the Wagner Houses?
- Can you give me
a little bit more context?
- Detective Nick Amaro
filed the 2-50.
He was your partner then?
The Jolene Castille case?
- The chef. Right, right, right.
- Ms. Castille, a white woman,
shot Mehcad Carter,
an innocent Black teen,
falsely claiming
he was a rapist.
- That was a tragedy,
and we tried to remedy
that situation, but...
- Captain, one of the Black
males you and your partner
stopped and frisked that day
was Jayvon Brown.
- He must have fit the profile.
We were pursuing
a black male serial rapist.
- And what profile
did he fit yesterday?
- Again, the arresting officers
had run his name,
and they found
outstanding warrants.
- Did you ask the officers
to run Colleen Reynolds' name?
- No, I did not.
- She has a history
of false accusations
and her ex has a restraining
order against her.
- I should have
run her name too.
That... that was my mistake.
- Have you given any thought as
to why you made that mistake?
- If you're suggesting
that I'm biased, I'm not.
And I am well aware
of false accusations,
especially with men of color.
- I'm gonna stop you here
before you tell me
you're an ally.
- Excuse me?
- Since George Floyd, I've
taken statement after statement
from two kinds of cops:
the baton swinging gladiators
who take one look at me
and can barely hide
their disdain...
- And I'm sorry that you
had to experience that.
- And the well-intentioned,
guardian cops
who never see
themselves as racist,
but are in denial
about their complicity
in the systemic racism
within the NYPD...
Cops like you, Captain Benson.
- I'm well aware
there's racism in NYPD.
- And what about your own bias?
- I'm not racist.
- I'm sure you're not,
explicitly.
But implicitly?
If you grew up in this country,
it's in you and me.
I struggle every day
with my own biases.
For too many people,
law enforcement has
lost all credibility,
and until every one of us
takes a serious self-inventory,
we can't begin to get it back.
- Ah. After speaking to Joe,
I found a way out
of this unfortunate situation.
- Have you?
- Yeah, as my client stated,
he was lured to the park
by Mr. Aquino,
who gave him drugs
and became sexually aggressive.
- Really, so why is Mr. Aquino
in the ICU, unconscious,
a victim of rape?
- That's how things
sometimes go wrong
when drugs, alcohol, and
misplaced passion are involved.
- Okay, you wanna sell that
to a jury?
Go ahead. Book him.
Attempted murder, assault one,
and criminal sexual act.
- Hold up, Counselor.
Given the unfortunate
turn of events,
Joe would be willing
to consider mis-d assault.
- Mr. Aquino has
bruising, trauma,
and your client's DNA
in his underwear.
- Which can happen
with consensual sex.
- Consensual?
He tried to force himself on me.
- All right, Joe, if I may...
- All right,
get him out of here.
- Stand up, Joe.
You're under arrest.
- All right, good luck
getting an indictment.
Aside from that viral video
of cops arresting
an innocent black man,
you don't even have a "he said,
he said" here, Counselor.
Your vic's in a coma.
- Let's go.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Thanks for meeting me.
- Of course.
- I know it's been a long day.
- Yeah.
- Where are we?
- We arrested Joe Murphy.
He admitted to sex with Aquino
but denies having assaulted him.
- And Aquino's
still unconscious?
- Yes.
- It may be better
if Sergeant Tutuola
testifies at the grand jury.
Rather than a white woman,
Captain?
- How'd it go at IAB?
- What have you heard?
- Not a word, which worries me.
- Chief, I didn't sleep
last night.
Been going over and over
and over in my head
about what happened
in that park,
and trying to figure out
what I could've
done differently,
and...
And what I missed.
- And what do you think?
- I think that I
have been so focused
on the victims
that my own bias
didn't even occur to me.
- And now?
- I don't know.
How much did that bias
affect my choices,
affect my decisions
as a cop?
I'm reeling.
- We all are.
The level
of community outrage...
There's a freight train coming.
1PP senses it too.
My worry is,
they're more interested in
the optics than actual change.
- Is that why you had Fin
tell me to watch my back?
- When an organization
feels threatened,
if they believe they can
protect themselves
by sacrificing a few pawns,
they will not hesitate.
- You worked with Eric Aquino.
- He's selfless.
A gentle soul.
- Can you describe his injuries?
- A head wound so severe
that he still hasn't
regained consciousness
and anal trauma consistent
with sexual assault.
- Was there DNA?
- Joe Murphy's DNA was a match
for the semen found
in Aquino's underwear.
- Mr. Aquino is unable
to testify here today.
Can you tell us what happened
when the police discovered him?
- He was bleeding from the head.
His pants were down and bloody.
He was able to make
a brief statement
which led us to proceed
with the sexual assault
investigation.
- Thank you, Sergeant.
- Can I ask a question?
- You can ask me, and I'll...
- That's okay, I'll ask.
Did the victim say
who had assaulted him?
- No.
- But isn't this the case
where you arrested
Jayvon Brown first?
- The police were called.
He had outstanding warrants.
- So you all assume
it was a black man
just because he was there?
- We didn't know
what we were looking at.
- So why should we
believe you now?
- Miss, there's a process here,
and if you have questions,
you need to...
- I have a lot of questions.
The only reason Jayvon
was arrested
was because of that Karen
saying she was threatened,
right?
- That is not relevant
to these proceedings,
and the Sergeant does not
have to answer that.
- Jayvon Brown was arrested
according to standard
police procedure.
"Police procedure"?
The same procedure you used
when you shot that boy's father,
another black man
in the projects?
- That was a train wreck.
You know I'm losing control
of the grand jury?
- Was not my idea to testify.
- Because you didn't agree
with the way
Jayvon's arrest went down?
- I didn't say that.
- No, but the grand jury
all heard it.
- Well, even if they did,
Joe Murphy is guilty.
That has nothing to do
with Jayvon.
- Try saying that in there.
Don't you see
they're looking for reasons
not to trust the cops right now,
and when you...
When you get on the stand,
and you testify like
you're being held hostage,
that doesn't help me
get the indictment!
- Is that what this is about?
'Cause I'm sorry, Counselor,
if we didn't give this case
to you wrapped up
in a nice little bow. - Fin.
If you had second thoughts
about arresting Jayvon,
you should've told me
before you went up there.
- Maybe you should know.
After all your years
of being a cop,
you've never seen
black cops stand back
during stop and frisk?
- Oh, what does this
have to do with me?
- I'm just saying.
You can take a cop out
of Staten Island...
- What, are you
calling me racist?
What the hell is that, huh?
- No, no, no, no.
No one is saying that!
- Folks, calm down.
You're making a scene.
- I'm in the middle
of a grand jury, Mr. Freddo.
What are you doing here?
My client decided to testify.
- Oh, really?
Does he understand that
he has to waive immunity?
- He knows. Buckle up, Sonny.
- Perp walking in
to a grand jury?
Something's up.
- Well, whatever lies
Murphy tells,
he's locked into a trial.
- If this goes to trial.
They're rolling the dice
that I won't get an indictment.
- Yes. Okay.
I lied to the police.
I had met Mr. Aquino in a bar,
and he and I did walk
into the park together.
- And didn't you also lie
about what happened
once you got to the park?
- Yes.
And this is not easy for me.
The truth is
we were drunk, high.
He unzipped me,
initiated a sexual encounter.
- And so you lied to the cops
about that too, right?
- I was ashamed.
My fiancée, my mom,
I didn't want them to know...
I'm bi.
- I appreciate your bravery
in outing yourself here today,
but can you tell us truthfully
what happened after
your sexual encounter?
- Nothing.
Nothing happened after that.
- I'm sorry, what?
- Eric and I had
a brief sexual moment.
I'm not proud of it,
but like I said, I was drunk.
I zipped up.
I went home to my fiancée.
I have no idea what happened
to Eric after that.
- Mr. Murphy, didn't you
tell the detectives
that Eric had gotten
aggressive with you,
and you pushed him off?
- Yeah, well,
I was just telling them
what they wanted to hear.
- You mean you lied again?
Okay, so basically, today,
you have admitted
to every detail
of your encounter
until the point that
Eric Aquino was assaulted.
I'm sorry, but this sounds
like you're admitting
what you can't deny
and denying
what you can't admit,
so why... why should
we believe you now?
- The confession was coerced.
One of the cops told me
they were mad at me
for filming Jayvon's arrest.
They got a lot of flack
for arresting him,
and I was going to have
to take the fall.
- So even though
Eric Aquino was raped,
and is still in a coma,
you're the victim here?
That is your testimony? - No.
We're all victims here.
Eric, Jayvon, and me.
- Mr. Murphy,
we've heard enough.
Thank you. - Excuse me.
Let the man finish.
- I'm horrified about
what happened to Eric,
but that has nothing
to do with me.
I did not hurt him.
That's why I came in today
even though my lawyer
advised me not to.
The cops are lying to you.
I'm not.
- This your new office?
- Take a seat.
- How you doing?
- Not good.
- It's only been a few hours.
- For a grand jury,
that is a lifetime.
He lied through his teeth.
He knew exactly
what cards to play.
The more I went after him,
the more the grand jurors
sympathized with him.
- Juries are smart, Dominick.
- Usually.
But they're so mad
at the NYPD right now,
they wanna punish us.
- Hey, Sonny.
Well, win some, lose some.
Warden just told me
they voted No Bill.
Joey walks.
You should've taken
the mis-d, kiddo.
- It's not over.
- No, it's not.
Somebody still needs to tell
Eric Aquino's family
what just happened.
- This man leaves my son
to die, and he goes free?
How could this happen?
- He told the grand jury
we framed him.
- And they believed him
over the police.
- It's a complicated time.
- I don't understand.
- What she means, Mom,
is NYPD screwed up.
- Mark Peter, be polite.
- This is all on you!
If you hadn't arrested
Jayvon Brown,
none of this would've happened,
would it?
- Hey, Noah.
Time for bed, honey.
What are you watching?
- The video of you
arresting the wrong guy.
Everybody at school's seen it.
- Okay.
You wanna talk about it?
- Why did you arrest him?
Are you racist?
- Noah...
Come on.
Noah, you know that I'm not.
- Did you tell him you're sorry?
- There's a lawsuit,
and my bosses told me that I...
That I shouldn't talk to him.
- Why?
You always tell me to apologize
when I do something wrong.
- Mr. Brown...
Can I talk to you?
Don't you have anything
better to do
than pressure me
into dropping my complaint?
- That's not why I'm here.
- So you know I got laid off.
Somehow it was all in
the papers that I'm in NA.
- I'm sorry,
and I can call your boss...
- Don't.
You've done enough.
- I wanted to let you know
that the DA is pursuing charges
against Colleen Reynolds
for filing a false report.
- Okay,
so... so I lose my job,
Murphy walks,
and now you think
you can just distract everyone
and claim some moral high
ground by charging that woman?
- The NYPD has...
I have a lot of work to do.
- Yeah.
You do.
system,
sexually based offenses
are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City,
the dedicated detectives
who investigate
these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as
the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
- You need to leave now!
- I have a right to be here.
Okay, ma'am?
- Not near my child you don't.
- Mommy, let's go.
- Okay.
I am calling the police.
- Don't do that.
I'm not bothering you.
- Yes, there is a black man
threatening me and my son.
- There she goes, y'all.
What? I am just working out!
- We're Central Park
in the Ramble.
Please hurry. - This is America.
2020.
Let's see what we got.
- Okay, folks, what's going on?
- Officers, nothing's going on.
- This is him. This is the man.
- Officers, listen,
I've done nothing to her.
- Yo, big guy, back it up.
- Me?
I'm not doing anything.
- Mom, I need to go get my ball.
- Dylan, stay here.
He is scaring my son.
- How? Because I'm black?
Listen, officers, I'm out here
minding my own business.
She comes...
- Sir, do you have your ID
on you?
- I don't have
to show you anything.
I know my rights.
- Mommy, mommy, come look.
There's a man.
- Dylan, get back here.
- He's not moving.
- Everyone stay where you are.
We got a vic.
- Honey, move away from there.
- Semi-conscious male
bleeding from the head.
I need a bus.
- Oh, my God, that's why
he was acting so crazy.
He just attacked someone.
- What?
No, I don't know anything
about that.
- Sir, put the phone down
and put your hands behind back.
- Why?
- Hands behind your back, now!
- Listen...
- Stop resisting!
- I'm not resisting!
- Stop resisting!
Stop resisting!
- I'm not resisting!
Stop resisting, stop!
- We found him bleeding,
pants down.
- Captain Benson.
Hi, I'm a police officer.
Can you tell me your name?
- Eric.
- Hey, Eric.
- I need you to step back.
- It's legal, blondie.
- Okay.
- Eric, what happened?
- He went nuts.
He raped me.
- Who? You know him?
- I have a right to film.
- I just need you to move back.
Now.
- Eric. Eric, stay with me.
- We need to move him now.
- Okay.
Officer Tamin will ride
with you.
- Sorry, COVID.
- I'll meet them there.
- Woman's kid found the vic.
- Said the suspect
was on the scene
menacing her and her kid.
- Rollins, take her statement.
- Copy that.
- And how did you make him
as a suspect?
- He was combative, aggressive.
- You arrested him
for being aggressive?
- No, sir, I ran his ID.
Two outstanding warrants.
- Ow.
You?
I know you, don't I?
- How 'bout I ask the questions?
What were you doing in the park?
- I'm not answering
any of your questions.
Why am I even under arrest?
- You have outstanding warrants.
- For protesting.
- I knew he was up to no good.
- How'd you know that?
- His body language,
the way he raised his voice.
He was scaring my son.
Hey, I-I'm not one
of those Karens.
- Do we have to do it this way?
We're profiling this guy.
- I know.
Listen, he's got warrants.
He's not helping himself here.
Plus, this is only
gonna get worse.
- Put him in the car!
- Yo, for what, man? Come on!
- Stop resisting!
- Get your hands off me, man!
- Stop resisting.
Duck your head.
- Hey, come on!
- I got you covering your cam.
- Get off me, man, come on!
- This is livestreaming!
- Get in there.
- Yes, there is a black man
threatening me and my son.
- There she goes, y'all.
Ma'am, I am just working out.
- We're in Central Park
in the Ramble.
- I'm just...
- Please hurry!
- Hold up, the mom called
the cops on Jayvon
before anyone found the body?
The unis didn't tell us that.
- But you did have probable
cause to arrest, right?
- We didn't arrest him.
He was cuffed when we got there.
- And you think he's good
for the assault?
- We don't know.
He was in the vicinity,
he refused to talk,
he has warrants.
- For what?
- BLM curfew arrest.
He missed his desk appearance.
- We're not prosecuting those.
- He also had a sealed juvie
for a public disturbance,
noise complaint.
- So no sexual assault?
Nothing violent?
Did the vic ID him,
or was it just the mom?
- The vic, Eric Aquino,
26, lost consciousness
before we could get
a full statement.
- So no?
Has Jayvon lawyered up yet?
- He's handling himself
pretty well without one.
- If he's good for this,
I need an airtight case.
With that video going viral
and the way half the city thinks
about the cops right now...
- Understood.
- I told the cops at the scene.
That's where I work out
every morning.
Had nothing to do
with that guy being hurt.
- At 7:00 A.M.?
Where were you coming from?
- Night shift.
I sort for Empire Parcel.
- Okay, what time
do you get off of work?
- Are y'all even asking
that white woman questions?
Look, I expect
this nonsense from her,
but doesn't this get old
for you, man?
- Eric's one of the good guys.
Who the hell would do this?
- You know him?
- Yeah, he was a resident.
They bumped him up during COVID
to work ER.
I'm sorry. - It's okay.
Were you able to do a rape kit?
- Not yet.
He's still unconscious.
But there was some anal trauma.
I can get you his clothes
to run DNA.
- That'd be great.
And as soon as
we can talk to him...
- We're waiting on a scan.
I told his family
that you were here.
They're Filipino Catholics,
so they may not be aware
of his orientation.
- Okay.
- Every time he works
a night shift, I worry.
I wait up for him to come home.
I called. No answer.
- How does he usually
get home from work?
- He walks.
- Through the park?
- I tell him not to.
It's dangerous.
She wants to know if
it was the guy in the video.
- The black guy.
- We are talking to him.
I'm gonna ask you if
you know anything about...
Eric's social life,
his friends and relationships.
- No.
No time for that.
All work
and family.
He's a good boy.
- He's a good guy, the doctor,
but walking through
the Ramble at night...
Can they really not know?
- When I told my family,
they had absolutely no idea.
If you ask them now,
they still don't know.
- Wow.
Maybe you should
tell them again.
- Not right now.
We still have relatives
in Beirut.
Between that and COVID,
they got a lot on their plate.
- Detectives.
I didn't want to say this
in front of my mother.
Eric texted me last night,
told me not to wait up.
- Do you know where he went?
- Eric likes to unwind
after a shift.
Those outdoor bars
on Ninth Avenue,
it's a party scene now.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
- Start checking traffic cams?
- Yeah, run his credit cards,
see if we get lucky.
- Just please, listen,
that's not necessary.
- How bad is it?
- Jayvon's video's got
five million hits,
and you don't wanna know how
many calls I've been getting.
Please tell me
that he is good for this.
- Well, he hasn't confessed,
but I checked his alibi.
There's a problem
with the timeline.
- Good, good,
that gives me some leverage.
Let's get to the bottom of this.
- Jayvon, this is ADA Carisi.
- The ADA?
That supposed
to make me nervous?
- Not at all, Mr. Brown.
We all want the same thing...
To get to the truth.
- You already have the truth.
- No, not all of it.
You got to the park at 7:00,
but we found out
that you punched out at 5:00.
- And there's a gap
in your timeline, Mr. Brown,
the same time Eric Aquino
was attacked in the Ramble.
- I had nothing to do with that.
- Okay, if you didn't,
just tell us where you were.
Help yourself out, Jayvon.
I was having coffee
with my sponsor
before our 6:00 A.M. meeting.
- 6:00 A.M. meeting?
What program?
- NA.
Last spring, I hurt my back.
I got hooked on oxy.
I'm clean now.
- So why didn't you
just tell us that?
- I wanna advance.
Drivers get better benefits,
better pay.
I didn't want you
telling my boss
I was at a meeting.
- There's no way your boss
will ever hear that from us,
but I'm gonna need
your sponsor's number.
- That the kid who
was attacked in the park?
It's all over the news.
- Do you recognize him
from last night?
Because he was here
charging drinks at closing.
- That right?
I don't remember him.
- How 'bout this guy?
- Him? Yeah, I think so.
But it was busy.
Everyone was outside.
Nobody at the bar.
When I'm slammed,
I only got eyes for the green.
- All right, well,
we'll need to take a look
at your security cam footage.
- Sorry, no can do. It's busted.
- Mr. Donovan, we don't care
if you black out your windows,
stay open past last call.
- I run a reputable place.
- Okay, so you won't mind
a couple of my tech guys
come down and see
if they can find anything?
- Not without a warrant.
- Rollins.
We might not need him.
Just got
the traffic cam footage.
- Well, it's definitely
not Jayvon.
Hold on.
That guy was at the park.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah, he was mouthing off,
filming us at the arrest.
Son of a bitch.
- This guy was in the park?
Any chance you got an ID?
- He was just filming,
which, as we've been told
repeatedly, is not illegal.
- He was brazen enough to go
back to his own crime scene,
so maybe he posted it.
- Okay, text me those photos.
See if TARU
can track down the video.
Aquino's still unconscious?
- Mm-hmm.
- See if the brother
can ID this guy.
- Liv...
I got Jayvon's sponsor
on the line.
He's a corporate lawyer.
He says he'll only talk to us
if Jayvon gives him permission.
- Okay.
- Corey, it's okay
to talk to them.
- That's all I need to hear.
- This is Captain Benson.
Can you tell us
when you last saw Jayvon?
- This morning.
We met at 5:30 for coffee
and a walk.
At 6:00, we went to
our NA meeting
in the garden at St. Clair's.
At 7:00, we said goodbye.
He was his way to the park
to work out, Captain.
- That's what I been
telling her.
- Jayvon has been diligently
working his program.
I don't see him doing anything
that would jeopardize
his recovery or his job,
and I could get a dozen others
to vouch for him as well.
- Thank you very much.
- Jayvon, do you need a lawyer?
I can send someone from my firm.
- That's up to them.
Am I free to go?
- Yes, we just have
to call the DA
and get him to drop the charges.
- Yeah. I would do that.
- As soon as possible, Captain.
Jayvon,
call if you need anything.
- Fin.
- Start the paperwork? On it.
Jayvon, can we ask you
another question?
- Do I have a choice?
- There may be another suspect,
and we were hoping
that you could help us.
- You want my help now?
- He was in the park
this morning at the scene.
Did you notice him?
- Before or after the cops
threw me in the squad car?
Even if I did notice him,
why would I help you?
- I get it.
You have the right to be angry.
- Don't tell me
I have a right to my anger.
I already know that.
- All those machines...
All the tests...
The doctors have no idea
when or if Eric
is going to wake up.
- I am so sorry.
- He is in God's hands now.
How could that man in the park
just leave him there?
- We don't think it was him.
Do you recognize this man?
- No.
I know Eric's friends
from high school, but...
That was a long time ago.
- He is Eric's type.
Straight-looking, preppy.
Calls him his "Chino Boys."
- You ever meet him?
- It's not like he ever
brought these guys home
for Sunday chicken adobo. - Hmm.
Anyone in Eric's life
who might know?
- My brother compartmentalized.
Med school in one box,
family another.
- Hookups in a third.
- Kat?
- One sec.
- TARU may have something.
- "Hottie Cop Telling Me
to Move"?
Seriously?
- I have a right to film.
- Guys, move back, thank you.
- NYPD, man, protecting
and serving themselves.
Defund the police.
Defund the police!
- We have an ID on this guy?
- Just a handle. ThirstTrap94.
- "Thirst trap"?
Wow, this dude's
feeling himself.
- Yeah.
I checked his other posts,
and I found this.
Danielle and Hana.
Start there?
- Find the one
that he didn't tag.
She may have a more interesting
story to tell.
- Always.
- Captain.
- Chief.
- I know it's late,
but I need a word with you
and Sergeant Tutuola...
Jayvon Brown has filed
a lawsuit against NYPD.
You've both been named.
- Jayvon Brown had
outstanding warrants.
He wouldn't answer questions...
- There was a crowd.
You know how fast
they turn now...
- Stop.
You both sound defensive.
These days,
that's not a good look.
- Chief, we were by the book.
- That's the book
that got us here!
After George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor, this city,
this country, are on boil.
Business as usual will not work.
- We hear you.
- Good.
1PP has launched
an investigation,
and IAB wants to start with you.
- When?
- Tomorrow.
Keep in mind,
we're under a microscope.
When you go in there,
short answers.
Don't overexplain.
- Okay.
- And bring a lawyer.
- Sergeant, walk me out.
- Captain did nothing wrong.
- I know you two are close,
but I have to ask.
Would things have
played out differently
if Jayvon were white?
- Yeah, I mean,
the woman, Colleen,
she would've never called
the police in the first place,
and if she did, the precinct
cop wouldn't have cuffed him.
- I concur.
And when SVU got there,
do you think racial bias
played any part
in how things were handled?
- Not consciously.
I've worked with Captain Benson
for over 20 years.
Her only bias is for the victim.
- All right. Thank you.
Sergeant...
I know I'm not someone
you relate to,
but we have one thing in common.
We're both Black and blue.
We've been on this job
a long time.
Did you know my father
joined the force in the '70s?
- No, I didn't know that.
- Made Sergeant.
Those days,
that was about as far
as they'd let us go.
Those days are over.
Things are changing.
Know how many times
I've heard that?
The one thing I do know
is this country will always
break your heart.
- Ah, this time's different.
This is a true inflection point.
- If you say so, Chief.
- We are. I know it.
I also know the old guard
won't go down without a fight.
There's gonna be a purge.
- Hold up.
So what are you saying?
- I appreciate your loyalty,
but you need to watch out
for yourself.
This is your second lawsuit
this year.
You shot a black man
in his home.
- Who was trying
to kill his son.
- It was a good shooting,
but that doesn't matter.
None of us are safe.
Not me, not you,
not Captain Benson.
- What did Joe do now?
- Joe? You got a last name?
- Joe Murphy.
- How do you know him?
- We used to have a thing
for, like, a minute.
He needs to be canceled.
- We noticed he untagged you.
- Yeah, he couldn't take it
that I broke up with him.
He can be a real charmer,
but he's a different person
once he hits
the tequila turnpike.
- How so?
- When he couldn't get it up,
he'd go off on me.
He'd come back the next day
with flowers,
but that got old fast.
What was I thinking?
Twenty-five, and he still
lives with his mother.
- Mrs. Murphy?
- Yeah?
- We're here to see
your son, Joe.
- I don't think he's home.
- I'm right here, Ma.
Hey, blondie cop.
I hope you're not upset
about my video.
- No, it was very helpful.
- Look, I know I was all
"BLM" in the park.
But really, you cops
didn't do anything wrong.
I heard that thug's
filing a lawsuit.
Do you need me to back you up?
- Actually, yes.
Yeah, it would be great if you
could come down to the station
and just give us a statement.
- Sure. Whatever you guys need.
- Joe.
- It's all right, Ma.
If I can help...
- Joe, Joe.
You need a mask.
- He came in willingly?
- Yeah, he made a big show
of wanting to help.
For what it's worth,
Eric Aquino's brother did say
he's Eric's type.
- The lab found DNA
on Aquino's underwear.
You think Murphy's
cooperative enough
to give us a sample?
- We don't have to ask him.
He's wearing a mask.
- Hmm.
- Why don't I get him
a fresh one?
- Keep me posted.
I gotta head to IAB.
Hey, by the way,
Garland say anything about me?
- Yeah. Watch your back.
- Hey, you mind swapping out
for a mask with a filter?
NYPD protocol.
- Sure.
Can't be too careful, right?
- No.
- So did you see Jayvon Brown
do anything suspicious?
- No, when I got there,
he was cuffed.
- Hmm, okay, and the vic?
You ever seen him before?
- No, sorry.
- Really?
So this isn't you?
- Oh, wait. That's the guy?
Wow, I didn't put
two and two together.
- So you don't remember
having drinks with him
at Owney Madden's?
Leaving after last call?
- Whoa, whoa. No.
It's not like that.
He followed me out of the bar.
He was kinda hitting on me.
I didn't want to be rude,
so I let him walk with me.
- All the way to the park?
- Dude, do I look gay?
I'm engaged.
I went right to
my fiancée's place.
- This was when?
4:30? 5:00?
- So how did you end up
back in the park?
- Well, Ashley lives
by the park.
- Oh.
- I heard all the sirens outside
and went down to check it out.
- So I'll need to talk
to Ashley.
- Sure, I'll call her.
- We'll do that.
- Captain Benson?
- Yes.
- Captain Curry.
- Hi. Nice to meet you.
- Actually, we've met...
Briefly, at Ed Tucker's funeral.
- Oh, yes, of course.
I'm sorry,
I wasn't myself that day.
- Neither was I.
Ed was my rabbi.
His poor wife.
- Yes.
Are you recording this?
- Once we start the interview.
We can wait for your lawyer.
- I'm not bringing one.
I know that that video
went viral,
but our conduct was...
Was by the book.
- Then this shouldn't take long.
- He's sleeping.
Good. Means he's guilty.
How's his alibi? - Bogus.
- What about the DNA?
- Not back yet.
- He doesn't need to know that.
- Joe. Joe!
- Ashley back me up?
- And then some.
She told us that you got
to her place
around 10:00 P.M.
- What can I say? She's loyal.
- And she's a liar.
How 'bout you?
- What are you talking about?
- Oh, we're taking your DNA
from your mask.
Now is there any reason
it might be a match
to the DNA
that we found on Aquino?
- Uh...
Okay, I might've left this out.
The guy asked me
to come into the park,
smoke a joint.
I'm drunk, I say yes,
then he gets persuasive.
- Meaning?
- He says, "Close your eyes.
Pretend I'm a girl.
I'm gonna give you
the greatest blow..."
Forgive me.
He offers to service me.
- And then what happened?
- He starts to unzip me.
Like I say, I'm not gay,
so I freak out.
I push him off of me and run.
- How hard you push him?
- Not hard.
I look back,
he's running after me.
He was a lot more drunk
than I was.
He must've taken a fall.
- Did you see him take a fall?
- Mr. Murphy's attorney's here.
- Thanks, Sonny.
Tell your sister, Teresa,
I say hi.
- They'll need the room.
- Hold up, he's lawyering up?
Why don't we just arraign
his ass?
- Wait, I didn't ask
for a lawyer.
- Zito, Joe.
Mr. Donovan hired me.
He's looking out for you
and your mother.
- The owner of the bar
and your mom.
That's why he covered for you.
- He did? He's loyal too.
Good people.
I drink for free every night.
- The victim, Eric Aquino,
couldn't describe his assailant
because he was unconscious.
- So other than the park mother,
Colleen Reynold's
false accusation,
you had no reason
to suspect Jayvon Brown?
- As I said, Mr. Brown
was already under arrest
for outstanding warrants
when we got there.
- So you're saying
you had no choice?
- A crowd was gathering.
He wasn't cooperating.
I didn't wanna release him
before ruling him out
as a suspect.
- Okay.
Captain Benson, had you ever
encountered Mr. Brown before?
- No, not to my knowledge.
- Do you recall a stop
and frisk of a black male
on August 6, 2013
outside the Wagner Houses?
- Can you give me
a little bit more context?
- Detective Nick Amaro
filed the 2-50.
He was your partner then?
The Jolene Castille case?
- The chef. Right, right, right.
- Ms. Castille, a white woman,
shot Mehcad Carter,
an innocent Black teen,
falsely claiming
he was a rapist.
- That was a tragedy,
and we tried to remedy
that situation, but...
- Captain, one of the Black
males you and your partner
stopped and frisked that day
was Jayvon Brown.
- He must have fit the profile.
We were pursuing
a black male serial rapist.
- And what profile
did he fit yesterday?
- Again, the arresting officers
had run his name,
and they found
outstanding warrants.
- Did you ask the officers
to run Colleen Reynolds' name?
- No, I did not.
- She has a history
of false accusations
and her ex has a restraining
order against her.
- I should have
run her name too.
That... that was my mistake.
- Have you given any thought as
to why you made that mistake?
- If you're suggesting
that I'm biased, I'm not.
And I am well aware
of false accusations,
especially with men of color.
- I'm gonna stop you here
before you tell me
you're an ally.
- Excuse me?
- Since George Floyd, I've
taken statement after statement
from two kinds of cops:
the baton swinging gladiators
who take one look at me
and can barely hide
their disdain...
- And I'm sorry that you
had to experience that.
- And the well-intentioned,
guardian cops
who never see
themselves as racist,
but are in denial
about their complicity
in the systemic racism
within the NYPD...
Cops like you, Captain Benson.
- I'm well aware
there's racism in NYPD.
- And what about your own bias?
- I'm not racist.
- I'm sure you're not,
explicitly.
But implicitly?
If you grew up in this country,
it's in you and me.
I struggle every day
with my own biases.
For too many people,
law enforcement has
lost all credibility,
and until every one of us
takes a serious self-inventory,
we can't begin to get it back.
- Ah. After speaking to Joe,
I found a way out
of this unfortunate situation.
- Have you?
- Yeah, as my client stated,
he was lured to the park
by Mr. Aquino,
who gave him drugs
and became sexually aggressive.
- Really, so why is Mr. Aquino
in the ICU, unconscious,
a victim of rape?
- That's how things
sometimes go wrong
when drugs, alcohol, and
misplaced passion are involved.
- Okay, you wanna sell that
to a jury?
Go ahead. Book him.
Attempted murder, assault one,
and criminal sexual act.
- Hold up, Counselor.
Given the unfortunate
turn of events,
Joe would be willing
to consider mis-d assault.
- Mr. Aquino has
bruising, trauma,
and your client's DNA
in his underwear.
- Which can happen
with consensual sex.
- Consensual?
He tried to force himself on me.
- All right, Joe, if I may...
- All right,
get him out of here.
- Stand up, Joe.
You're under arrest.
- All right, good luck
getting an indictment.
Aside from that viral video
of cops arresting
an innocent black man,
you don't even have a "he said,
he said" here, Counselor.
Your vic's in a coma.
- Let's go.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Thanks for meeting me.
- Of course.
- I know it's been a long day.
- Yeah.
- Where are we?
- We arrested Joe Murphy.
He admitted to sex with Aquino
but denies having assaulted him.
- And Aquino's
still unconscious?
- Yes.
- It may be better
if Sergeant Tutuola
testifies at the grand jury.
Rather than a white woman,
Captain?
- How'd it go at IAB?
- What have you heard?
- Not a word, which worries me.
- Chief, I didn't sleep
last night.
Been going over and over
and over in my head
about what happened
in that park,
and trying to figure out
what I could've
done differently,
and...
And what I missed.
- And what do you think?
- I think that I
have been so focused
on the victims
that my own bias
didn't even occur to me.
- And now?
- I don't know.
How much did that bias
affect my choices,
affect my decisions
as a cop?
I'm reeling.
- We all are.
The level
of community outrage...
There's a freight train coming.
1PP senses it too.
My worry is,
they're more interested in
the optics than actual change.
- Is that why you had Fin
tell me to watch my back?
- When an organization
feels threatened,
if they believe they can
protect themselves
by sacrificing a few pawns,
they will not hesitate.
- You worked with Eric Aquino.
- He's selfless.
A gentle soul.
- Can you describe his injuries?
- A head wound so severe
that he still hasn't
regained consciousness
and anal trauma consistent
with sexual assault.
- Was there DNA?
- Joe Murphy's DNA was a match
for the semen found
in Aquino's underwear.
- Mr. Aquino is unable
to testify here today.
Can you tell us what happened
when the police discovered him?
- He was bleeding from the head.
His pants were down and bloody.
He was able to make
a brief statement
which led us to proceed
with the sexual assault
investigation.
- Thank you, Sergeant.
- Can I ask a question?
- You can ask me, and I'll...
- That's okay, I'll ask.
Did the victim say
who had assaulted him?
- No.
- But isn't this the case
where you arrested
Jayvon Brown first?
- The police were called.
He had outstanding warrants.
- So you all assume
it was a black man
just because he was there?
- We didn't know
what we were looking at.
- So why should we
believe you now?
- Miss, there's a process here,
and if you have questions,
you need to...
- I have a lot of questions.
The only reason Jayvon
was arrested
was because of that Karen
saying she was threatened,
right?
- That is not relevant
to these proceedings,
and the Sergeant does not
have to answer that.
- Jayvon Brown was arrested
according to standard
police procedure.
"Police procedure"?
The same procedure you used
when you shot that boy's father,
another black man
in the projects?
- That was a train wreck.
You know I'm losing control
of the grand jury?
- Was not my idea to testify.
- Because you didn't agree
with the way
Jayvon's arrest went down?
- I didn't say that.
- No, but the grand jury
all heard it.
- Well, even if they did,
Joe Murphy is guilty.
That has nothing to do
with Jayvon.
- Try saying that in there.
Don't you see
they're looking for reasons
not to trust the cops right now,
and when you...
When you get on the stand,
and you testify like
you're being held hostage,
that doesn't help me
get the indictment!
- Is that what this is about?
'Cause I'm sorry, Counselor,
if we didn't give this case
to you wrapped up
in a nice little bow. - Fin.
If you had second thoughts
about arresting Jayvon,
you should've told me
before you went up there.
- Maybe you should know.
After all your years
of being a cop,
you've never seen
black cops stand back
during stop and frisk?
- Oh, what does this
have to do with me?
- I'm just saying.
You can take a cop out
of Staten Island...
- What, are you
calling me racist?
What the hell is that, huh?
- No, no, no, no.
No one is saying that!
- Folks, calm down.
You're making a scene.
- I'm in the middle
of a grand jury, Mr. Freddo.
What are you doing here?
My client decided to testify.
- Oh, really?
Does he understand that
he has to waive immunity?
- He knows. Buckle up, Sonny.
- Perp walking in
to a grand jury?
Something's up.
- Well, whatever lies
Murphy tells,
he's locked into a trial.
- If this goes to trial.
They're rolling the dice
that I won't get an indictment.
- Yes. Okay.
I lied to the police.
I had met Mr. Aquino in a bar,
and he and I did walk
into the park together.
- And didn't you also lie
about what happened
once you got to the park?
- Yes.
And this is not easy for me.
The truth is
we were drunk, high.
He unzipped me,
initiated a sexual encounter.
- And so you lied to the cops
about that too, right?
- I was ashamed.
My fiancée, my mom,
I didn't want them to know...
I'm bi.
- I appreciate your bravery
in outing yourself here today,
but can you tell us truthfully
what happened after
your sexual encounter?
- Nothing.
Nothing happened after that.
- I'm sorry, what?
- Eric and I had
a brief sexual moment.
I'm not proud of it,
but like I said, I was drunk.
I zipped up.
I went home to my fiancée.
I have no idea what happened
to Eric after that.
- Mr. Murphy, didn't you
tell the detectives
that Eric had gotten
aggressive with you,
and you pushed him off?
- Yeah, well,
I was just telling them
what they wanted to hear.
- You mean you lied again?
Okay, so basically, today,
you have admitted
to every detail
of your encounter
until the point that
Eric Aquino was assaulted.
I'm sorry, but this sounds
like you're admitting
what you can't deny
and denying
what you can't admit,
so why... why should
we believe you now?
- The confession was coerced.
One of the cops told me
they were mad at me
for filming Jayvon's arrest.
They got a lot of flack
for arresting him,
and I was going to have
to take the fall.
- So even though
Eric Aquino was raped,
and is still in a coma,
you're the victim here?
That is your testimony? - No.
We're all victims here.
Eric, Jayvon, and me.
- Mr. Murphy,
we've heard enough.
Thank you. - Excuse me.
Let the man finish.
- I'm horrified about
what happened to Eric,
but that has nothing
to do with me.
I did not hurt him.
That's why I came in today
even though my lawyer
advised me not to.
The cops are lying to you.
I'm not.
- This your new office?
- Take a seat.
- How you doing?
- Not good.
- It's only been a few hours.
- For a grand jury,
that is a lifetime.
He lied through his teeth.
He knew exactly
what cards to play.
The more I went after him,
the more the grand jurors
sympathized with him.
- Juries are smart, Dominick.
- Usually.
But they're so mad
at the NYPD right now,
they wanna punish us.
- Hey, Sonny.
Well, win some, lose some.
Warden just told me
they voted No Bill.
Joey walks.
You should've taken
the mis-d, kiddo.
- It's not over.
- No, it's not.
Somebody still needs to tell
Eric Aquino's family
what just happened.
- This man leaves my son
to die, and he goes free?
How could this happen?
- He told the grand jury
we framed him.
- And they believed him
over the police.
- It's a complicated time.
- I don't understand.
- What she means, Mom,
is NYPD screwed up.
- Mark Peter, be polite.
- This is all on you!
If you hadn't arrested
Jayvon Brown,
none of this would've happened,
would it?
- Hey, Noah.
Time for bed, honey.
What are you watching?
- The video of you
arresting the wrong guy.
Everybody at school's seen it.
- Okay.
You wanna talk about it?
- Why did you arrest him?
Are you racist?
- Noah...
Come on.
Noah, you know that I'm not.
- Did you tell him you're sorry?
- There's a lawsuit,
and my bosses told me that I...
That I shouldn't talk to him.
- Why?
You always tell me to apologize
when I do something wrong.
- Mr. Brown...
Can I talk to you?
Don't you have anything
better to do
than pressure me
into dropping my complaint?
- That's not why I'm here.
- So you know I got laid off.
Somehow it was all in
the papers that I'm in NA.
- I'm sorry,
and I can call your boss...
- Don't.
You've done enough.
- I wanted to let you know
that the DA is pursuing charges
against Colleen Reynolds
for filing a false report.
- Okay,
so... so I lose my job,
Murphy walks,
and now you think
you can just distract everyone
and claim some moral high
ground by charging that woman?
- The NYPD has...
I have a lot of work to do.
- Yeah.
You do.