Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 3, Episode 4 - Rooftop - full transcript
An HIV-positive man with a habit of carrying out sexual trysts with teenage girls on the roofs of buildings is caught by the detectives, who are determined to put him back prison. But when a series of rapes and murders throughout Har
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.
Hey, wait, wait. Hold on, hold on,
hold on. Let's go someplace else.
I got a better place. Come on.
Where you take
all your other girls?
Come on now. You know I
don't have nobody but you.
What's over here?
The view is better.
What's that?
It's nothing. It's nothing. Relax.
Come on now. Relax. It's nothing.
I hear footsteps.
Look, I don't hear nothing.
What's up? Do you want me or not?
We want you, Leon.
Who's that? TATE: Oh,
man, that's the sex police.
Why they want you?
It's this cop, man. He got this
thing for me or something like that.
Not even out of prison two weeks.
I told you he's not gonna stop.
Over there.
Come here. What he do?
Come here with me. I didn't
do nothing, man. He framed me.
Keep right on thinking
that, Leon. What'd he do?
How old are you? Fourteen.
Oh, you's a lying bitch.
Yo, man, Nashika told me
she graduated high school.
Yo, tell them I
ain't forced you.
I wanted to be with him. Okay.
The law says you're not old
enough to make that decision.
Now, was he gonna use
protection? We didn't talk about it.
I bet he didn't even mention
that he's HIV positive, did he?
Bastard has the virus? Man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Nashika, come here.
Settle, settle, settle.
Yo, man, you can't give that up.
I just did. What are
you gonna do about it?
Look at me. It's okay. Nashika,
have you ever had sex with him?
Tonight would have
been the first time.
Okay, let's go.
So how many little girls have you
had sex with since you been out?
Yo, man, you ain't have
no right to follow me.
Hey. Hey. Don't tell me how to
do my job. Answer the question.
So you can put me
away again for nothing?
Man, listen, the young
ladies feel me, it's not my fault.
It is if they're jailbait.
They want to pleasure
me, who am I to stop them?
And if you infect them with your
HIV, it's their problem, too, right?
Look, man, you ambushed us before
I even had an opportunity to tell her.
I had protection.
Her protection is me putting
you back in your little cage.
Why don't you just get off my
case, man? 'Cause I don't like you.
All right, well, I don't have nothing
else to say until my legal aid gets here.
I'm surprised he said
as much as he did.
He has the personality
of a repeater.
He can do no wrong.
Nothing is his fault.
What was he in prison
for? Five years, sodomy two.
After I finally convinced
one of the numerous underage
girls he had oral sex with
to come forward
and file a complaint.
Now he's escalating to
intercourse. You're speculating, Elliot.
He wasn't in the act when you
stopped him. That's a problem.
Attempted rape two, attempted
reckless endangerment,
because he didn't disclose
that he was HIV positive.
Where's the problem here?
We can't hold him based
on what he might do.
So we're supposed to wait
until after he infects the girl?
She consented.
His attorney will say he was carrying
condoms and planned to use them.
We can't prove otherwise.
We know that Leon was about to
have unprotected sex with a minor.
Now, we cut him
loose, he's going to.
You got anything in your bag of tricks,
Counselor, now is the time to pull it out.
I have something,
but I'll have to check.
And I'll have to involve your
psychiatrist. I'll give him a call.
Get him Tate's prison history, arrest
records, whatever you could find.
Leon's rap sheet starts
when he was seven years old.
He had 11 arrests
by his 13th birthday.
The record was sealed
because he was a juvenile.
Let's get them unsealed.
Elliot, close the door.
Yeah?
I don't remember telling
you to tail Leon Tate.
I heard he was out. Just
keeping my eye on him.
Well, this squad doesn't
have enough bodies
for you and your
partner to go freelancing.
I like to think that we saved
a young girl's life tonight.
And we would need a new unit
if we were to follow every perv
that we thought might repeat.
Leon Tate did his time.
And until somebody makes
a complaint, he has rights.
This guy's penis is a deadly weapon
and he's got a thing for young girls.
They got rights, too.
Until Cabot gives us the word,
you back off. Are we clear?
We can't charge
Leon Tate with a crime,
so you wanna lock him
up in a mental institution?
The Supreme Court in Kansas
v. Hendricks upheld States' rights
to commit sexual predators
after their prison sentences.
Yes, Kansas and 16 other states
have laws specifically for that purpose.
New York does not.
We can use the existing
mental hygiene law.
All we have to do is prove
Leon Tate has a mental illness
that poses a likelihood of
danger to himself or to others.
You really want to risk trying to
set a precedent with this case?
Leon Tate is a sexual
predator with HIV.
I think we have a responsibility
to protect people from
him and others like him.
All right. You give me
something to work with.
I'll see if the
D.A. will go for it.
Problem is even if the woman lies
about her age, it's still the man's fault.
Ignorance is no defense.
Nashika Morris is 14. She's
not a woman, she's a girl.
What's a guy supposed to do,
check the girl's birth certificate?
I'm just as opposed to rape
as everybody else in this room,
but if she wanted to have sex,
that's her choice. She wasn't forced.
She's a minor. What
she wants isn't relevant.
Are we interrupting? Friendly
disagreement. Care to join in?
I came to tell you that the D.A.'s
allowing us to move on Leon Tate.
On what grounds?
Based upon the reports that I've
read, I think that I can make a case
that Mr. Tate has anti-social
personality disorder.
That's what I've
been saying all along.
No empathy, no conscience,
no thought for the possible
consequences of his actions.
So he knows what he's doing
is wrong. And he doesn't care.
Most people with HIV act responsibly
when it comes to practicing safe sex.
Tate either can't control or
won't control his impulses,
which make him a
repeat sex offender.
Yeah, he's a sexual predator. Now
he's definitely a danger to others.
Which is the standard
set by the Supreme Court.
Do we know how he contracted
HIV? Yeah, shooting dope.
He found out when
he was tested in prison.
One fix wipes away any
self-control that Tate has left,
making him even more likely to
have unprotected sex with a minor.
And this is already
in the works?
We argue the motion for a
commitment hearing this afternoon.
It would be a big help
if you could be there
in case the judge has
questions about Tate's past.
I wouldn't miss
it for the world.
Your Honor, it's double
jeopardy disguised as treatment.
Supreme Court
Kansas v. Hendricks,
civil commitment of a
sexual predator is not punitive.
They arrested Mr. Tate and
couldn't make the charges stick,
so they put a label on him for a
one-way trip to the funny farm.
I get the point, Ms. Regal.
Doctor Huang. Yes?
Other than an
anti-social personality,
did you find any evidence that the
defendant has a sexual disorder?
Yes.
Mr. Tate expresses his narcissism
and his anger by having unprotected sex
with underage, powerless girls and
not disclosing that he's HIV positive.
Detective Stabler, when you arrested
Mr. Tate, how did you know for certain
that he was going to
have sex with the girl?
Ms. Morris told us so.
We found condoms on
Tate when we searched him.
Well, wouldn't that indicate
that Mr. Tate planned safe sex?
Even so, the girl's a
minor. That's rape two.
Your Honor, Detective Stabler
can in no way predict what my client
may or may not
have done that night.
Your client likes little girls
and if we don't stop him now,
he's gonna kill one
of them. Enough.
I agree something has to be
done about repeat sexual offenders,
but I am not gonna put this man
through a civil commitment hearing
unless you can prove that
his intent was unprotected sex.
Judge was afraid
to stick her neck out.
Maybe she'll change her mind when
we wheel a body into her chambers.
Who's catching? That
would be me. What's up?
Rape. Rooftop in Harlem, 15-year-old
victim at Metro Hospital's ER.
It's Tate's m.o. We'll
take it. Be my guest.
Elliot, I've got two days to finish
up the paperwork on the Wilson case
or I'm in contempt of court.
I'll go. CRAGEN: All right.
I don't want you trying to pin
Tate to every sex crime in Harlem.
I met him in the park down
the block from our apartment.
He told me he could get me a rap
audition, that he was a promoter.
I fell for it.
Shareen, it's not your fault.
Did he tell you his name? Andre.
He seemed nice.
Said I was smart and talented.
What happened?
He took me out to
a real restaurant.
Then he walked me home.
When we got to my door,
he said it was a beautiful night,
and that I was aglow like the stars,
that we should
go to the rooftop.
He started to kiss
me. I told him to stop.
He slapped me,
pulled a knife,
ripped off my clothes,
and then he...
Did he say anything
during the attack?
That I was lucky to experience
him 'cause he was so handsome.
He was the love machine,
and that he was gonna make me
into a woman when he was done.
We'll be right back.
She's got a detached
retina, concussion.
Basically, he used her
face for a punching bag.
Okay, tell the doctor that
the rapist may have HIV.
Okay. Where are you going?
Back to the office.
That "love machine"
line? I've heard it before.
In '93 right after I got here,
13-year-old rape victim Vanessa Hiltz.
Perp said he was gonna make a woman
out of her, that he was the love machine.
You get anywhere on the case?
Was gonna run the DNA in '95
when they first started testing,
but back then you couldn't get it
done unless you already had the collar.
And you think Leon
Tate is our guy.
I contacted the
victim. She's got AIDS.
Perp sweet-talked
her just like Leon.
I don't know how I missed it.
Well, banging your head
against the wall isn't gonna help.
Pick Tate up and see if his victims
are in any kind of shape for a lineup.
I pounded on his door. If he's in
there, he's got a bad headache.
You okay?
Yeah. I just don't like some guy making
my home turf dangerous for young girls.
I thought you grew up in Brooklyn.
Nope. About 10 blocks from here.
Ground zero for the '68 riots.
What was that like?
I was six. My mother said the only
way we're leaving our apartment
was if somebody burned it down.
This your guy?
Son of a bitch is at it again.
You, come here.
Yo, come on, man. Yo,
she's 17. checked her ID.
We didn't do nothing.
Assume the position.
See how they do? So what's up,
man? The hood got you scared,
you had to bring Uncle Tom
with you? You didn't mean that.
You know something? I
think you just upset my partner.
You should apologize.
Yeah, go ahead with...
All right, all right, all right.
I apologize, I apologize.
You know Casanova here has HIV?
That the truth? Yo,
man, don't believe them.
No. Is it the truth?
Yo, I got protection.
I don't care if you got a
bulletproof vest for that thing.
You should have told me.
Oh, now there she go.
Yo, man, my legal aid told me I
can sue you for telling anybody.
Yeah, so go ahead and do it.
We'll say it slipped out while we
busted you for rape and assault.
Do what? Yo, I
ain't raped nobody.
Yeah, I'll bet you're not
the love machine, either.
Yo, man, what you talking about,
man? Why y'all doing this to me?
"Doing it to me." It's all
about you, huh, Leon?
It's been a while.
It's okay, Vanessa.
Do you recognize
any of these men?
I'm not sure.
Take your time. No
coaching, Counselor.
I wish I could tell you one
of them's him. I'm sorry.
It's all right. It's all right. It's all
right. Okay. Come on. Thank you.
Okay, you ready? They can't
see you. They can't see you.
Help me up. Yeah. Come on.
Do you recognize
any of these men?
Which one?
I can't tell.
Maybe when I can
see a little better.
Okay.
It's all right.
I'm taking my client home now.
Cut him loose.
That son of a bitch wins again.
I'm on my way home and this
flaming shoe hit the ground.
I look up and here
comes the rest of her.
Did you see anyone
else up there?
No, man, I was busy
putting out the fire.
Okay, thank you. If you remember
anything else, give us a call.
They wake you up, too?
Yeah. I was just leaving the
office when the call came in.
I had the desk page you. Girl on
a rooftop. I figured you'd want in.
What's with fire?
Perp lit the victim up
before he threw her off.
Who is she?
Aisha Thompson, 14.
Used to live about two
blocks away from here.
Tosses her off a roof. Leon's
trying to send me a message now?
Hey.
Full thickness burns to the body, but
she was dead before he torched her.
How?
Ligature strangulation after
she performed oral sex on him.
We ran the Luma Light around
the scene, she has fluids on her face.
Leon lives a dozen
blocks from here.
Where is she? Where is she, man?
Hold up. Yo, she's my sister.
Let him through. Let him
through. Let him through.
Didn't know you had a sister.
Rodney. Rodney.
Come on. All right.
You know him? He
looks just like his father.
You used to come around
all the time when I was a kid.
You know, your parents
and I got busy with our lives,
fell out of touch when
I moved to Brooklyn.
How they doing?
Dad got hooked on dope,
disappeared, and mom brought us up,
but she died two years
ago, breast cancer,
so it was just me and Aisha.
I was out all night
looking for her.
When did you realize
she was missing?
She went to the library
to do a project for school,
but when she didn't come home by
10:00, I just started calling her friends,
but nobody saw her, so...
Did she have a boyfriend?
Anybody paying attention to her?
Aisha told me everything, okay.
She just got accepted to Stuyvesant.
You know, that school for the gifted kids?
She was gonna be somebody.
What are you
gonna do about this?
We got a line on this guy.
We think we know who he is
and we're gonna get him. He's
not gonna kill any more girls.
How does Fin know
the victim's family?
He grew up with Rodney
and Aisha's mother.
This has got Tate
written all over it.
We need a warrant
for his apartment.
Do you have evidence it was him?
We believe he beat up Shareen
White when he raped her.
Maybe this time he didn't
wanna leave any witnesses.
It's not enough.
And he's missing
and the victim fits Tate's profile
and she was raped on that rooftop.
And murdered and set on fire,
neither of which Tate has ever done.
We don't know everything
Leon Tate's done.
Now, how are we doing on
getting his records unsealed?
Motion's in, but it's
gonna take some time.
We don't have time. We
need the information now.
Corporation counsel would have
prosecuted Tate because he was a juvie.
Maybe somebody
there remembers him.
I keep my notes on
all my own cases.
The day I start this job,
they put that little bastard's
overstuffed file right on my desk.
Our shrink pegged him with
anti-social personality disorder.
Yeah, well, that sounds mild compared
to the psych evals I read back then.
Said little Leon was a
serial killer in the making.
Based on what?
Based on his love of torturing
and killing the neighbors' pets.
Two when he was just seven,
and that's just for starters.
What happened?
Kiddie probation. In
other words, nothing.
My luck I got a judge
sympathetic to the kid.
His sheet says he was
back six months later.
Hey, I argued he
should be put away,
but Judge Bleeding Heart wanted me to
exhaust every possible treatment option.
Don't tell me, His Honor said
Leon could be rehabilitated?
Until his last arrest, which
I handled five years later.
What made the judge
change his mind?
Leon torched the treatment
facility. Nobody else would touch him.
Leon set fires?
Nine out of his 11
collars are for arson.
The ACC who prosecuted
says Tate told the psychiatrists
he killed puppies to
see what it felt like.
Add the pyromania
and Leon scores two out of
three on the triad of sociopathy.
Bed-wetting would
make him three for three.
So Tate shows a reckless disregard
for life from the time he was seven.
And he had five years to think about
what he was gonna do when he got out.
So why didn't he kill
the first girl he seduced?
Rape is about anger, but I'm not
sure it's the women that set him off.
I think following him might
have made his anger boil over.
Oh, so Aisha Thompson's
death is our fault?
Well, that's the way he's gonna play
it every time he kills, until you find him.
So we should have
just done nothing, right?
I'm profiling, I'm not accusing.
All right, where are we?
Three shifts on Leon's crib
around the clock, no sign of him.
Tate have any friends or
relatives he might be holed up with?
His mother moved from
the address in his file.
Nobody could tell
us where she went.
All right. Well, let's just check
his phone records from prison.
If you were away for five
years, you'd call your mother, too.
If he's not with her, have
his building canvassed.
John, start pulling every rape
and sexual homicide of girls
that fit the type Tate
liked. All five boroughs.
How far back?
Let's start with 10 years.
This guy is serial
killer material.
He might have sweet-talked a
lot more girls than we know about.
You come to take another
five years from my son?
When was the last
time you saw him?
You should know, the way
you've been following him around.
Mrs. Tate, when
was the last time...
You sent him to prison because some
14-year-old hussy told him she was 21.
So it was her fault?
Girl never led you on?
A girl was murdered last night.
He didn't kill anybody. I told
him to stay away from those girls.
Well, Leon's not
taking your advice,
because he was with one
when I saw him two nights ago.
I don't know why
he's the way he is.
I tried to raise him right,
gave him plenty of love.
Now he's got this HIV.
I don't know what happened.
Mrs. Tate, if he contacts you...
I'm afraid that he is
shooting dope again.
Why do you think that?
He said you were dogging him,
and he wasn't sure he could
handle going back to prison.
Did he tell you that when
you saw him? Last night.
- What do you want with me?
- You seen Leon Tate?
I mind my own business.
Why don't you try knocking
on his door? We did.
Then I guess I can't help you.
All right. Well, if you
see him give me a call.
Where to now?
Well, Leon likes rooftops.
Spent a lot of time on my
rooftop when I was a kid.
It was safe back then.
Doing the wild thing
with your girlfriend?
You know, when you live here
you can't afford a vacation to Aruba,
so you went to "Isle
of Aroofa," tar beach.
Plus the guys like
to come up here
'cause this is where the
girls would come hang out.
I grew up in Queens.
All I ever wanted was
the excitement of the city.
Sounds like all you ever wanted
was quiet. We should've traded places.
Large family in a small apartment. I
used to come up here at night, too.
Used to look at the view and
the lights in the distance, think.
About the meaning of life?
That I had to get off that rooftop.
Well, well, Leon, I guess you
wanted to get off the rooftop, too.
Who you talking to?
Check this out.
It's Leon.
Took a taste and OD'd.
He could have been up here since last
night and nobody would have seen him.
ME says he's been
down at least 18 hours,
but he still could have
murdered Aisha Thompson.
Guy OD's two weeks out of
prison. Talk about bad karma.
Well, maybe for Leon.
For his potential
victims it's all upside.
Yeah, thanks. Maybe not.
What?
Another rooftop, another body.
Guy came up to feed
the pigeons, found her.
Anybody else up here
besides him and the victim?
Nobody. Thanks.
How old is this one, Doc?
I'd say no more than 16.
Raped before she was killed.
Any ID? Nothing on her.
Perp did a real
number on her face.
With what? Brick.
Pieces of it broke
off in her skull.
This was on her right
index finger. May help ID her.
Well, if it's Leon's
work, he's improvising.
It couldn't have been Leon Tate.
What are you talking about?
The victim's still in rigor.
Probably killed this morning.
Tate was dead by last night.
Elliot... I wanted
it to be Leon.
Everything fit. We wasted time.
Another girl's dead because
I went down the wrong road.
You happy now?
Mrs. Tate, I'm sorry about Leon.
Don't you dare say you're sorry.
You're glad he's dead.
He didn't kill those girls,
but you killed him anyway.
You murdered him.
Mrs. Tate, Detective
Stabler was doing his job.
My son was innocent.
Your son was gonna kill
somebody with his HIV.
We had to stop him.
We didn't put the needle
in his arm. You didn't.
But you all stick
together, don't you?
Who's our victim?
Tiffany Purcell, 14.
Mother ID'ed her ring.
Fin, thanks for taking
my back with Mrs. Tate.
Leon was scum.
He was gonna kill some
innocent girl if you didn't stop him.
We're checking every
parolee in the last two years
who was ever collared for
anything violent against women.
None of these
m.o.'s are the same.
The pattern's in
the victimology.
All the victims are black, young,
good students, never been in trouble.
This is no wild-eyed psycho.
Your perp is most likely
well-educated, attractive.
He seems trustworthy.
He has good social skills.
Every time he cons a girl into submission,
he's proving how much smarter he is.
Okay, that could explain why
he changes locations and m.o.'s.
That's part of his strategy.
He knew how much harder it would be
for you guys to put his pattern together.
He was right. What about
this victim that he set on fire?
Something about her
sent him over the edge.
Maybe she physically injured him
or she said something that
would trigger that level of violence.
You mean like
challenging his manhood?
Any challenge to his sense of
control. That's what this is all about.
These men often have wives or
steady girlfriends who are submissive.
They seek
unconditional approval.
Well, my old man never
approved of a single thing I ever did.
I don't go around raping
and killing young girls.
This perp was told that he was no good
enough times to think that it was true.
All any of these girls has to say is
"stop" and that's likely to set him off.
A rape and two murders in one
week tells me we're on borrowed time
before he kills again.
Get all the victims' descriptions
of the perp. Make a composite.
We've got company.
I'll take him.
I thought you had him, man? We
were wrong. We're gonna get him.
You aren't doing a
damn thing, are you?
What, 'cause it happened
north of 96th street?
You can save that for somebody
else, okay? I know your family.
We're from the same place
and we're the same color.
Fin. What happened?
Another girl.
What do we got, Doc?
Cause of death is
ligature strangulation.
Some kind of thick shoelace,
maybe from a sneaker.
Dead about 12 hours.
Raped?
And she put up a
fight, tried to resist.
She's got finger-size bruises on the inside
of her thighs where he pried her legs apart.
This wacko's out of control.
Well, I can't tell you it's the same
wacko until I compare the DNA.
I've known her since she
was a baby. It's horrible.
Tina was a sweet girl. I
try to keep the building safe.
What do you know
about Tina and her family?
Her parents are nice,
responsible people.
They're never late with the
rent, took care of their apartment.
Do they know? Her mother
does. She's downstairs.
Father sails on cargo ships.
They're trying to reach him now.
Did you see Tina
last night? Sorry.
We're gonna need you to
take us down to her apartment.
I sent Tina to the store on the
corner for some milk and bread.
Do you remember what
time? Around 10:00 last night.
We walked out together.
I work graveyard
at the post office.
This is gonna kill her daddy.
Was she here when you
came home this morning?
I did a couple of hours overtime.
I assumed Tina went to school.
Does she ever have any
friends over while you're at work?
No, only when I'm here.
How about boyfriends?
Tina is very shy around boys.
She said some kid at
school had a crush on her.
That's all I know about.
Who would do
something like this?
I'll be just a minute.
Piece of paper in her room
had some numbers on it.
I'll call them and have
someone run them down.
Her mother give you anything?
Tina's last stop
was the corner store.
Yeah, she did come in here.
I was getting ready to close.
She come in with anybody? No.
Some guy did come in
behind her. They started talking.
This him?
This guy had a shaved
head and no beard.
You ever see him in here before? I
just started working here last week.
What'd they talk about?
I didn't hear, but they was
talking and laughing and stuff
like they knew each other.
They left together, too.
Thanks, man. All right.
Shaved head? One of my tenants
just went for the cue-ball look.
Which one? Malik Harris.
3B. Shaved his beard, too.
When? Last few days.
Didn't even recognize him.
Malik Harris?
That's what it says on my birth certificate,
but I'm known professionally as King.
We wanna talk to you,
Malik. You gonna invite us in?
Now is not a convenient time.
Who's there, baby?
Nobody that concerns you.
I guess we're interrupting.
I told you I was busy.
Sweetie.
Baby, I was just wondering...
You see I'm speaking
to these officers?
What do you want?
Are you aware of
what's going on upstairs?
I haven't been
out, enlighten me.
A girl was murdered
on the rooftop.
Who? Tina Dupree. You know her?
Yeah, I seen her around. Damn.
Somebody saw you
with her last night.
On the corner at the
store. I walked her home.
Little girl like that
shouldn't be out so late.
Can you tell us where you
were the rest of the night?
Baby, now you may dialogue.
We ain't left the apartment.
We been busy. You
know what I am saying?
"Baby, now you may
dialogue"? Please.
He was the last
person to see her.
Pretty big risk if he's our serial
killer, striking where he lives.
Unless Tina was a
victim of opportunity.
Harris goes to the store,
sees her, walks her home,
knows her mother works
at night, father's out of town.
Yeah, police just putting on
a big show for us, that's all.
Just what we need.
I got this. You got a problem?
Yeah, that you cops don't give a
rat's ass what's going on up here.
You don't think so? Well, we're
here. You know who's not here?
The press, the TV news.
If you got any beef, you
got beef with them, not us.
They can't make money off
us. They don't care. Word up.
Don't tell me. Tell them. Why
don't y'all give them a call, all right?
Meanwhile, does anybody have
any information that could help us?
Okay, people, please go back to
your business, and let us do our job.
Not you.
Why do you wanna make this
harder on yourself than it already is?
Aisha was all I had left, all right?
Now some scum took her away,
and I'm supposed to stand here
and watch you not catch him?
What's harder than that, man?
Checked the phone numbers
we found in Tina Dupree's room.
One belongs to a girlfriend.
The other, Malik Harris.
Harris have a rap sheet?
Never arrested, but came up on the
computer as a victim of vehicular assault.
Hit by a car in '94. Right
after the third murder.
His legs were shattered,
almost lost them.
Hospitalized in rehab
for nearly a year,
spent the next two
learning how to walk again.
So Harris was only out
of action for three years.
Our perp waited seven.
He gets social security
disability. From '97 to last year,
his checks were sent
to an address in Detroit.
Harris has a sister
who lives there.
Get Detroit Homicide on the phone,
see if they have any unsolved killings
matching our victim
profiles. Fin, my office, now.
I just got off the phone
with the Deputy Commissioner
for public information.
Now, he wants to know
why one of my detectives is
bad-mouthing the media up in Harlem.
I was just telling
them the truth.
What the hell were you thinking?
That those people were right.
That's not your
judgment to make.
If these girls were murdered in
the Village or the Upper West Side,
the media would be all over it.
1PP would issue a task force.
Five black girls aren't
even on their radar.
Are you finished? No,
I'm just getting started.
This is no different than
any other investigation.
No? An East Side socialite
disappears, we got 50 cops on it.
Black girls start getting
executed, we got four cops.
That sounds equal to you?
Look, I know where you're coming from.
No, you don't know where I'm coming from.
There's no way you can
know where I'm coming from.
Don't you dare presume
to know what's in my head.
No matter what you say, Captain,
you're not black and
you're not from the hood.
Slow down.
That crowd could have
turned ugly. I diffused it.
Cragen didn't know that. Who
you defending? Him or me?
Both of you. Just take a
deep breath. No time for that.
Where are we going?
I'm going to meet
an informant. Alone.
I'm busy. This better be good.
How about a little respect.
Time is money, and I'm
losing it talking to you.
What the hell are you doing
back there? Sit up like a man.
Yeah, I get seen with you,
my customers go elsewhere
for their merchandise.
You got something for me, Benny,
or did you just come
here to run your mouth?
Word's out you're looking to
jam up King. Where you hear that?
I got sources just like you.
What do your sources know about
him? That King's a rap promoter wannabe.
Manages a few unknowns, but
doesn't have the goods to make it big.
He uses the rap line
mostly to pick up women.
So far you're boring me.
How about he buys his coke and
dope from one of my corner boys?
Now you're talking.
Where's he get his cash?
King's a kept man.
Smooth-talks one of his ladies
into paying for his lifestyle,
till they wise up, dump him.
What's in this for you,
Benny? I don't like him.
Consider it a freebie.
Harris admits to walking
Tina Dupree home,
and we got witnesses
that saw them together.
That doesn't mean he killed her.
We took the composites
from all the rapes
and had the artist remove the
hair. That's Malik Harris dead-on.
A judge isn't going to give us
a search warrant based on that.
What about a lineup?
We risk tipping our hand.
I got an informant, a drug
dealer I busted a few years ago.
He says his boys sell Malik Harris
dope and coke on a regular basis.
Well, write the warrant
for the drugs only.
That'll allow you to
search almost everywhere.
Anything you find
on top of that is gravy.
I can't talk to you right
now. I'm cutting a track here.
Yeah, maybe you should
be recording jailhouse rock.
Man, what are you talking
about? You're under arrest.
For what? Possession of
narcotics in the third degree.
What? We tossed your crib.
What you gonna do? Make
her a star and then kill her, too?
What is up with that?
You're putting me through all of this
for some recreational pharmaceuticals?
You like big words, King? How
about execution or lethal injection?
What, you gonna give
me the death penalty
for a little cocaine and heroin?
Your handiwork. Remember?
Poor girls.
And you think that I have
something to do with killing them?
You were the last one with
Tina before she was found dead.
Feel free to dialogue.
I told you I walked her home. Anything
after that I'm not accountable for.
And, of course, you've
met my lovely alibi.
Who'll say anything
once you doped her up.
I am innocent.
Then you won't mind
taking a little trip with us.
Open wide, please.
This'll only take a moment.
What are you doing? Just
taking a little DNA sample
to prove your innocence.
I can't allow that. You
got something to hide?
It violates my religious
tenets. I'm a Jehovah's Witness.
Prove it.
He doesn't have to. He
says it, I can't take the sample.
We haven't been properly
introduced. I'm King.
We should get together sometime
under circumstances more conducive.
You fill in the blanks.
She's choice.
Don't you ever want to... Your
thoughts aren't very religious.
Well, we all worship
in our own way.
You know how much
those cost, man?
Sorry about that. Let
me get that for you.
Oh, man. Shoot.
Partner, you gotta
be more careful.
Don't worry. We'll replace
them by tomorrow morning.
Frames are from Italy.
You have our
sincerest apologies.
Most people secrete
oils right onto the lenses.
The cells I found that were
usable were on the nose pieces.
So what's the verdict?
His Majesty's DNA is a match
on all six murders and eight rapes.
Got him. Thanks.
This motion to suppress
is totally without merit.
Malik Harris's right to
genetic privacy was violated.
The police have gotten DNA off
of coffee cups, lipstick, telephones,
even a suspect's spit on the
street. All of it upheld in court.
People discard coffee
cups and spit voluntarily.
Detective Tutuola assaulted
my client and stole his glasses.
When Mr. Harris's sunglasses fell, he
demanded the detectives replace them.
He discarded them, which
makes them fair game.
So what we're saying here
is that the police, at any time,
can obtain a
person's genetic code?
The DNA obtained by the police
conclusively links the defendant
to the murders of a half
a dozen teenage girls.
What about their rights?
Mr. Harris's guilt or
innocence isn't the issue here.
How the police
gathered the evidence is.
Your Honor, reasonable
deception on the part of the police
has been upheld by
the Supreme Court.
Yes, and if the police had tricked
Mr. Harris into giving up his sunglasses,
we'd be out of here.
They forced him, that's
coercion, the DNA is out.
The DNA is all the police have
tying my client to these murders.
Then I have no other choice but to
drop the charges against Mr. Harris.
And when your detectives blame the judge,
tell them that they're the ones that blew it.
No, no, no. We didn't screw
up. We got Harris off the street.
Your judge let him go.
What did you
expect? A little justice.
Then maybe you
should have done better.
We got you all the
evidence you needed.
If you'd done it legally, this
wouldn't have happened.
All right, come on. This
isn't getting us anywhere.
What do we have left?
Possession three on the drugs
that we found in his apartment.
Is there anything we can do
with that to keep him off the street?
First offense, Harris'll make
bail. Just gonna give up?
I will ask for remand, but
the judge will never go for it.
And I can't mention the murders.
Harris gets out,
we stick with him.
I want all four of you in the
courtroom for the arraignment.
Don't let him out of your sight.
If he so much as sneezes,
I want the Kleenex.
Remand, Ms. Cabot? On a
third degree possession charge?
Mr. Harris provided the
drugs to young women.
The People believe he is
a danger to the community.
Counsel approach.
Ms. Cabot, I have 40
more cases on the docket
and you're wasting my time
on this frivolous garbage?
Your Honor, it is the
People's position that we...
You screwed up your murder case
and now you want me to
do your dirty work for you.
Not gonna happen. Step back.
Bail is set at
$2,000, cash only.
Next case.
Let's go.
Son of a bitch!
- You killed my sister, man!
- Order. Officer.
He's a cold-blooded murderer.
Officer. Officer, clear the court!
Bastard bit me! Bastard bit me!
Bring it. Come on, bring
it. Remove that man!
Officer, order. All right,
we'll take him. We'll take him.
Order! THOMPSON: You'll take me?
Yeah, you're under arrest
for assault. Whoa. Hold it.
He gets away with murdering
my sister, and you taking me?
Harris, let's see your hands,
now. You're under arrest.
It's over, Your Highness.
You ain't got nothing on me.
Just taking a bite out of crime.
Just like you took a bite out
of Rodney Thompson's arm.
And left your DNA. Thought
you were smarter than that.
Fin? Counselor?
You and Rodney Thompson
put on quite a performance
when you led him out of court.
What are you talking
about? Setting Harris up
by telling Thompson the only way
we were going to get Harris's DNA
is if he attacked him.
Thompson's not a perp.
I can't force him
to do anything.
No, but you could
have given him the idea.
Did you?
You really want to know?
No.
It was a setup.
We arranged for your client
to bite Rodney Thompson?
I don't think so.
Bit yourself in the ass with
your big mouth this time, King.
This is entrapment. CABOT: Ask
your attorney. She'll tell you it's not.
I just heard from
Detroit. Malik's DNA.
Matches four
homicides, five rapes,
all during the time he
was living with his sister.
I want a deal. FIN:
You want a deal?
How about right before we
execute you for killing those girls,
I bring you your last
meal? How's that?
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.
Hey, wait, wait. Hold on, hold on,
hold on. Let's go someplace else.
I got a better place. Come on.
Where you take
all your other girls?
Come on now. You know I
don't have nobody but you.
What's over here?
The view is better.
What's that?
It's nothing. It's nothing. Relax.
Come on now. Relax. It's nothing.
I hear footsteps.
Look, I don't hear nothing.
What's up? Do you want me or not?
We want you, Leon.
Who's that? TATE: Oh,
man, that's the sex police.
Why they want you?
It's this cop, man. He got this
thing for me or something like that.
Not even out of prison two weeks.
I told you he's not gonna stop.
Over there.
Come here. What he do?
Come here with me. I didn't
do nothing, man. He framed me.
Keep right on thinking
that, Leon. What'd he do?
How old are you? Fourteen.
Oh, you's a lying bitch.
Yo, man, Nashika told me
she graduated high school.
Yo, tell them I
ain't forced you.
I wanted to be with him. Okay.
The law says you're not old
enough to make that decision.
Now, was he gonna use
protection? We didn't talk about it.
I bet he didn't even mention
that he's HIV positive, did he?
Bastard has the virus? Man!
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Nashika, come here.
Settle, settle, settle.
Yo, man, you can't give that up.
I just did. What are
you gonna do about it?
Look at me. It's okay. Nashika,
have you ever had sex with him?
Tonight would have
been the first time.
Okay, let's go.
So how many little girls have you
had sex with since you been out?
Yo, man, you ain't have
no right to follow me.
Hey. Hey. Don't tell me how to
do my job. Answer the question.
So you can put me
away again for nothing?
Man, listen, the young
ladies feel me, it's not my fault.
It is if they're jailbait.
They want to pleasure
me, who am I to stop them?
And if you infect them with your
HIV, it's their problem, too, right?
Look, man, you ambushed us before
I even had an opportunity to tell her.
I had protection.
Her protection is me putting
you back in your little cage.
Why don't you just get off my
case, man? 'Cause I don't like you.
All right, well, I don't have nothing
else to say until my legal aid gets here.
I'm surprised he said
as much as he did.
He has the personality
of a repeater.
He can do no wrong.
Nothing is his fault.
What was he in prison
for? Five years, sodomy two.
After I finally convinced
one of the numerous underage
girls he had oral sex with
to come forward
and file a complaint.
Now he's escalating to
intercourse. You're speculating, Elliot.
He wasn't in the act when you
stopped him. That's a problem.
Attempted rape two, attempted
reckless endangerment,
because he didn't disclose
that he was HIV positive.
Where's the problem here?
We can't hold him based
on what he might do.
So we're supposed to wait
until after he infects the girl?
She consented.
His attorney will say he was carrying
condoms and planned to use them.
We can't prove otherwise.
We know that Leon was about to
have unprotected sex with a minor.
Now, we cut him
loose, he's going to.
You got anything in your bag of tricks,
Counselor, now is the time to pull it out.
I have something,
but I'll have to check.
And I'll have to involve your
psychiatrist. I'll give him a call.
Get him Tate's prison history, arrest
records, whatever you could find.
Leon's rap sheet starts
when he was seven years old.
He had 11 arrests
by his 13th birthday.
The record was sealed
because he was a juvenile.
Let's get them unsealed.
Elliot, close the door.
Yeah?
I don't remember telling
you to tail Leon Tate.
I heard he was out. Just
keeping my eye on him.
Well, this squad doesn't
have enough bodies
for you and your
partner to go freelancing.
I like to think that we saved
a young girl's life tonight.
And we would need a new unit
if we were to follow every perv
that we thought might repeat.
Leon Tate did his time.
And until somebody makes
a complaint, he has rights.
This guy's penis is a deadly weapon
and he's got a thing for young girls.
They got rights, too.
Until Cabot gives us the word,
you back off. Are we clear?
We can't charge
Leon Tate with a crime,
so you wanna lock him
up in a mental institution?
The Supreme Court in Kansas
v. Hendricks upheld States' rights
to commit sexual predators
after their prison sentences.
Yes, Kansas and 16 other states
have laws specifically for that purpose.
New York does not.
We can use the existing
mental hygiene law.
All we have to do is prove
Leon Tate has a mental illness
that poses a likelihood of
danger to himself or to others.
You really want to risk trying to
set a precedent with this case?
Leon Tate is a sexual
predator with HIV.
I think we have a responsibility
to protect people from
him and others like him.
All right. You give me
something to work with.
I'll see if the
D.A. will go for it.
Problem is even if the woman lies
about her age, it's still the man's fault.
Ignorance is no defense.
Nashika Morris is 14. She's
not a woman, she's a girl.
What's a guy supposed to do,
check the girl's birth certificate?
I'm just as opposed to rape
as everybody else in this room,
but if she wanted to have sex,
that's her choice. She wasn't forced.
She's a minor. What
she wants isn't relevant.
Are we interrupting? Friendly
disagreement. Care to join in?
I came to tell you that the D.A.'s
allowing us to move on Leon Tate.
On what grounds?
Based upon the reports that I've
read, I think that I can make a case
that Mr. Tate has anti-social
personality disorder.
That's what I've
been saying all along.
No empathy, no conscience,
no thought for the possible
consequences of his actions.
So he knows what he's doing
is wrong. And he doesn't care.
Most people with HIV act responsibly
when it comes to practicing safe sex.
Tate either can't control or
won't control his impulses,
which make him a
repeat sex offender.
Yeah, he's a sexual predator. Now
he's definitely a danger to others.
Which is the standard
set by the Supreme Court.
Do we know how he contracted
HIV? Yeah, shooting dope.
He found out when
he was tested in prison.
One fix wipes away any
self-control that Tate has left,
making him even more likely to
have unprotected sex with a minor.
And this is already
in the works?
We argue the motion for a
commitment hearing this afternoon.
It would be a big help
if you could be there
in case the judge has
questions about Tate's past.
I wouldn't miss
it for the world.
Your Honor, it's double
jeopardy disguised as treatment.
Supreme Court
Kansas v. Hendricks,
civil commitment of a
sexual predator is not punitive.
They arrested Mr. Tate and
couldn't make the charges stick,
so they put a label on him for a
one-way trip to the funny farm.
I get the point, Ms. Regal.
Doctor Huang. Yes?
Other than an
anti-social personality,
did you find any evidence that the
defendant has a sexual disorder?
Yes.
Mr. Tate expresses his narcissism
and his anger by having unprotected sex
with underage, powerless girls and
not disclosing that he's HIV positive.
Detective Stabler, when you arrested
Mr. Tate, how did you know for certain
that he was going to
have sex with the girl?
Ms. Morris told us so.
We found condoms on
Tate when we searched him.
Well, wouldn't that indicate
that Mr. Tate planned safe sex?
Even so, the girl's a
minor. That's rape two.
Your Honor, Detective Stabler
can in no way predict what my client
may or may not
have done that night.
Your client likes little girls
and if we don't stop him now,
he's gonna kill one
of them. Enough.
I agree something has to be
done about repeat sexual offenders,
but I am not gonna put this man
through a civil commitment hearing
unless you can prove that
his intent was unprotected sex.
Judge was afraid
to stick her neck out.
Maybe she'll change her mind when
we wheel a body into her chambers.
Who's catching? That
would be me. What's up?
Rape. Rooftop in Harlem, 15-year-old
victim at Metro Hospital's ER.
It's Tate's m.o. We'll
take it. Be my guest.
Elliot, I've got two days to finish
up the paperwork on the Wilson case
or I'm in contempt of court.
I'll go. CRAGEN: All right.
I don't want you trying to pin
Tate to every sex crime in Harlem.
I met him in the park down
the block from our apartment.
He told me he could get me a rap
audition, that he was a promoter.
I fell for it.
Shareen, it's not your fault.
Did he tell you his name? Andre.
He seemed nice.
Said I was smart and talented.
What happened?
He took me out to
a real restaurant.
Then he walked me home.
When we got to my door,
he said it was a beautiful night,
and that I was aglow like the stars,
that we should
go to the rooftop.
He started to kiss
me. I told him to stop.
He slapped me,
pulled a knife,
ripped off my clothes,
and then he...
Did he say anything
during the attack?
That I was lucky to experience
him 'cause he was so handsome.
He was the love machine,
and that he was gonna make me
into a woman when he was done.
We'll be right back.
She's got a detached
retina, concussion.
Basically, he used her
face for a punching bag.
Okay, tell the doctor that
the rapist may have HIV.
Okay. Where are you going?
Back to the office.
That "love machine"
line? I've heard it before.
In '93 right after I got here,
13-year-old rape victim Vanessa Hiltz.
Perp said he was gonna make a woman
out of her, that he was the love machine.
You get anywhere on the case?
Was gonna run the DNA in '95
when they first started testing,
but back then you couldn't get it
done unless you already had the collar.
And you think Leon
Tate is our guy.
I contacted the
victim. She's got AIDS.
Perp sweet-talked
her just like Leon.
I don't know how I missed it.
Well, banging your head
against the wall isn't gonna help.
Pick Tate up and see if his victims
are in any kind of shape for a lineup.
I pounded on his door. If he's in
there, he's got a bad headache.
You okay?
Yeah. I just don't like some guy making
my home turf dangerous for young girls.
I thought you grew up in Brooklyn.
Nope. About 10 blocks from here.
Ground zero for the '68 riots.
What was that like?
I was six. My mother said the only
way we're leaving our apartment
was if somebody burned it down.
This your guy?
Son of a bitch is at it again.
You, come here.
Yo, come on, man. Yo,
she's 17. checked her ID.
We didn't do nothing.
Assume the position.
See how they do? So what's up,
man? The hood got you scared,
you had to bring Uncle Tom
with you? You didn't mean that.
You know something? I
think you just upset my partner.
You should apologize.
Yeah, go ahead with...
All right, all right, all right.
I apologize, I apologize.
You know Casanova here has HIV?
That the truth? Yo,
man, don't believe them.
No. Is it the truth?
Yo, I got protection.
I don't care if you got a
bulletproof vest for that thing.
You should have told me.
Oh, now there she go.
Yo, man, my legal aid told me I
can sue you for telling anybody.
Yeah, so go ahead and do it.
We'll say it slipped out while we
busted you for rape and assault.
Do what? Yo, I
ain't raped nobody.
Yeah, I'll bet you're not
the love machine, either.
Yo, man, what you talking about,
man? Why y'all doing this to me?
"Doing it to me." It's all
about you, huh, Leon?
It's been a while.
It's okay, Vanessa.
Do you recognize
any of these men?
I'm not sure.
Take your time. No
coaching, Counselor.
I wish I could tell you one
of them's him. I'm sorry.
It's all right. It's all right. It's all
right. Okay. Come on. Thank you.
Okay, you ready? They can't
see you. They can't see you.
Help me up. Yeah. Come on.
Do you recognize
any of these men?
Which one?
I can't tell.
Maybe when I can
see a little better.
Okay.
It's all right.
I'm taking my client home now.
Cut him loose.
That son of a bitch wins again.
I'm on my way home and this
flaming shoe hit the ground.
I look up and here
comes the rest of her.
Did you see anyone
else up there?
No, man, I was busy
putting out the fire.
Okay, thank you. If you remember
anything else, give us a call.
They wake you up, too?
Yeah. I was just leaving the
office when the call came in.
I had the desk page you. Girl on
a rooftop. I figured you'd want in.
What's with fire?
Perp lit the victim up
before he threw her off.
Who is she?
Aisha Thompson, 14.
Used to live about two
blocks away from here.
Tosses her off a roof. Leon's
trying to send me a message now?
Hey.
Full thickness burns to the body, but
she was dead before he torched her.
How?
Ligature strangulation after
she performed oral sex on him.
We ran the Luma Light around
the scene, she has fluids on her face.
Leon lives a dozen
blocks from here.
Where is she? Where is she, man?
Hold up. Yo, she's my sister.
Let him through. Let him
through. Let him through.
Didn't know you had a sister.
Rodney. Rodney.
Come on. All right.
You know him? He
looks just like his father.
You used to come around
all the time when I was a kid.
You know, your parents
and I got busy with our lives,
fell out of touch when
I moved to Brooklyn.
How they doing?
Dad got hooked on dope,
disappeared, and mom brought us up,
but she died two years
ago, breast cancer,
so it was just me and Aisha.
I was out all night
looking for her.
When did you realize
she was missing?
She went to the library
to do a project for school,
but when she didn't come home by
10:00, I just started calling her friends,
but nobody saw her, so...
Did she have a boyfriend?
Anybody paying attention to her?
Aisha told me everything, okay.
She just got accepted to Stuyvesant.
You know, that school for the gifted kids?
She was gonna be somebody.
What are you
gonna do about this?
We got a line on this guy.
We think we know who he is
and we're gonna get him. He's
not gonna kill any more girls.
How does Fin know
the victim's family?
He grew up with Rodney
and Aisha's mother.
This has got Tate
written all over it.
We need a warrant
for his apartment.
Do you have evidence it was him?
We believe he beat up Shareen
White when he raped her.
Maybe this time he didn't
wanna leave any witnesses.
It's not enough.
And he's missing
and the victim fits Tate's profile
and she was raped on that rooftop.
And murdered and set on fire,
neither of which Tate has ever done.
We don't know everything
Leon Tate's done.
Now, how are we doing on
getting his records unsealed?
Motion's in, but it's
gonna take some time.
We don't have time. We
need the information now.
Corporation counsel would have
prosecuted Tate because he was a juvie.
Maybe somebody
there remembers him.
I keep my notes on
all my own cases.
The day I start this job,
they put that little bastard's
overstuffed file right on my desk.
Our shrink pegged him with
anti-social personality disorder.
Yeah, well, that sounds mild compared
to the psych evals I read back then.
Said little Leon was a
serial killer in the making.
Based on what?
Based on his love of torturing
and killing the neighbors' pets.
Two when he was just seven,
and that's just for starters.
What happened?
Kiddie probation. In
other words, nothing.
My luck I got a judge
sympathetic to the kid.
His sheet says he was
back six months later.
Hey, I argued he
should be put away,
but Judge Bleeding Heart wanted me to
exhaust every possible treatment option.
Don't tell me, His Honor said
Leon could be rehabilitated?
Until his last arrest, which
I handled five years later.
What made the judge
change his mind?
Leon torched the treatment
facility. Nobody else would touch him.
Leon set fires?
Nine out of his 11
collars are for arson.
The ACC who prosecuted
says Tate told the psychiatrists
he killed puppies to
see what it felt like.
Add the pyromania
and Leon scores two out of
three on the triad of sociopathy.
Bed-wetting would
make him three for three.
So Tate shows a reckless disregard
for life from the time he was seven.
And he had five years to think about
what he was gonna do when he got out.
So why didn't he kill
the first girl he seduced?
Rape is about anger, but I'm not
sure it's the women that set him off.
I think following him might
have made his anger boil over.
Oh, so Aisha Thompson's
death is our fault?
Well, that's the way he's gonna play
it every time he kills, until you find him.
So we should have
just done nothing, right?
I'm profiling, I'm not accusing.
All right, where are we?
Three shifts on Leon's crib
around the clock, no sign of him.
Tate have any friends or
relatives he might be holed up with?
His mother moved from
the address in his file.
Nobody could tell
us where she went.
All right. Well, let's just check
his phone records from prison.
If you were away for five
years, you'd call your mother, too.
If he's not with her, have
his building canvassed.
John, start pulling every rape
and sexual homicide of girls
that fit the type Tate
liked. All five boroughs.
How far back?
Let's start with 10 years.
This guy is serial
killer material.
He might have sweet-talked a
lot more girls than we know about.
You come to take another
five years from my son?
When was the last
time you saw him?
You should know, the way
you've been following him around.
Mrs. Tate, when
was the last time...
You sent him to prison because some
14-year-old hussy told him she was 21.
So it was her fault?
Girl never led you on?
A girl was murdered last night.
He didn't kill anybody. I told
him to stay away from those girls.
Well, Leon's not
taking your advice,
because he was with one
when I saw him two nights ago.
I don't know why
he's the way he is.
I tried to raise him right,
gave him plenty of love.
Now he's got this HIV.
I don't know what happened.
Mrs. Tate, if he contacts you...
I'm afraid that he is
shooting dope again.
Why do you think that?
He said you were dogging him,
and he wasn't sure he could
handle going back to prison.
Did he tell you that when
you saw him? Last night.
- What do you want with me?
- You seen Leon Tate?
I mind my own business.
Why don't you try knocking
on his door? We did.
Then I guess I can't help you.
All right. Well, if you
see him give me a call.
Where to now?
Well, Leon likes rooftops.
Spent a lot of time on my
rooftop when I was a kid.
It was safe back then.
Doing the wild thing
with your girlfriend?
You know, when you live here
you can't afford a vacation to Aruba,
so you went to "Isle
of Aroofa," tar beach.
Plus the guys like
to come up here
'cause this is where the
girls would come hang out.
I grew up in Queens.
All I ever wanted was
the excitement of the city.
Sounds like all you ever wanted
was quiet. We should've traded places.
Large family in a small apartment. I
used to come up here at night, too.
Used to look at the view and
the lights in the distance, think.
About the meaning of life?
That I had to get off that rooftop.
Well, well, Leon, I guess you
wanted to get off the rooftop, too.
Who you talking to?
Check this out.
It's Leon.
Took a taste and OD'd.
He could have been up here since last
night and nobody would have seen him.
ME says he's been
down at least 18 hours,
but he still could have
murdered Aisha Thompson.
Guy OD's two weeks out of
prison. Talk about bad karma.
Well, maybe for Leon.
For his potential
victims it's all upside.
Yeah, thanks. Maybe not.
What?
Another rooftop, another body.
Guy came up to feed
the pigeons, found her.
Anybody else up here
besides him and the victim?
Nobody. Thanks.
How old is this one, Doc?
I'd say no more than 16.
Raped before she was killed.
Any ID? Nothing on her.
Perp did a real
number on her face.
With what? Brick.
Pieces of it broke
off in her skull.
This was on her right
index finger. May help ID her.
Well, if it's Leon's
work, he's improvising.
It couldn't have been Leon Tate.
What are you talking about?
The victim's still in rigor.
Probably killed this morning.
Tate was dead by last night.
Elliot... I wanted
it to be Leon.
Everything fit. We wasted time.
Another girl's dead because
I went down the wrong road.
You happy now?
Mrs. Tate, I'm sorry about Leon.
Don't you dare say you're sorry.
You're glad he's dead.
He didn't kill those girls,
but you killed him anyway.
You murdered him.
Mrs. Tate, Detective
Stabler was doing his job.
My son was innocent.
Your son was gonna kill
somebody with his HIV.
We had to stop him.
We didn't put the needle
in his arm. You didn't.
But you all stick
together, don't you?
Who's our victim?
Tiffany Purcell, 14.
Mother ID'ed her ring.
Fin, thanks for taking
my back with Mrs. Tate.
Leon was scum.
He was gonna kill some
innocent girl if you didn't stop him.
We're checking every
parolee in the last two years
who was ever collared for
anything violent against women.
None of these
m.o.'s are the same.
The pattern's in
the victimology.
All the victims are black, young,
good students, never been in trouble.
This is no wild-eyed psycho.
Your perp is most likely
well-educated, attractive.
He seems trustworthy.
He has good social skills.
Every time he cons a girl into submission,
he's proving how much smarter he is.
Okay, that could explain why
he changes locations and m.o.'s.
That's part of his strategy.
He knew how much harder it would be
for you guys to put his pattern together.
He was right. What about
this victim that he set on fire?
Something about her
sent him over the edge.
Maybe she physically injured him
or she said something that
would trigger that level of violence.
You mean like
challenging his manhood?
Any challenge to his sense of
control. That's what this is all about.
These men often have wives or
steady girlfriends who are submissive.
They seek
unconditional approval.
Well, my old man never
approved of a single thing I ever did.
I don't go around raping
and killing young girls.
This perp was told that he was no good
enough times to think that it was true.
All any of these girls has to say is
"stop" and that's likely to set him off.
A rape and two murders in one
week tells me we're on borrowed time
before he kills again.
Get all the victims' descriptions
of the perp. Make a composite.
We've got company.
I'll take him.
I thought you had him, man? We
were wrong. We're gonna get him.
You aren't doing a
damn thing, are you?
What, 'cause it happened
north of 96th street?
You can save that for somebody
else, okay? I know your family.
We're from the same place
and we're the same color.
Fin. What happened?
Another girl.
What do we got, Doc?
Cause of death is
ligature strangulation.
Some kind of thick shoelace,
maybe from a sneaker.
Dead about 12 hours.
Raped?
And she put up a
fight, tried to resist.
She's got finger-size bruises on the inside
of her thighs where he pried her legs apart.
This wacko's out of control.
Well, I can't tell you it's the same
wacko until I compare the DNA.
I've known her since she
was a baby. It's horrible.
Tina was a sweet girl. I
try to keep the building safe.
What do you know
about Tina and her family?
Her parents are nice,
responsible people.
They're never late with the
rent, took care of their apartment.
Do they know? Her mother
does. She's downstairs.
Father sails on cargo ships.
They're trying to reach him now.
Did you see Tina
last night? Sorry.
We're gonna need you to
take us down to her apartment.
I sent Tina to the store on the
corner for some milk and bread.
Do you remember what
time? Around 10:00 last night.
We walked out together.
I work graveyard
at the post office.
This is gonna kill her daddy.
Was she here when you
came home this morning?
I did a couple of hours overtime.
I assumed Tina went to school.
Does she ever have any
friends over while you're at work?
No, only when I'm here.
How about boyfriends?
Tina is very shy around boys.
She said some kid at
school had a crush on her.
That's all I know about.
Who would do
something like this?
I'll be just a minute.
Piece of paper in her room
had some numbers on it.
I'll call them and have
someone run them down.
Her mother give you anything?
Tina's last stop
was the corner store.
Yeah, she did come in here.
I was getting ready to close.
She come in with anybody? No.
Some guy did come in
behind her. They started talking.
This him?
This guy had a shaved
head and no beard.
You ever see him in here before? I
just started working here last week.
What'd they talk about?
I didn't hear, but they was
talking and laughing and stuff
like they knew each other.
They left together, too.
Thanks, man. All right.
Shaved head? One of my tenants
just went for the cue-ball look.
Which one? Malik Harris.
3B. Shaved his beard, too.
When? Last few days.
Didn't even recognize him.
Malik Harris?
That's what it says on my birth certificate,
but I'm known professionally as King.
We wanna talk to you,
Malik. You gonna invite us in?
Now is not a convenient time.
Who's there, baby?
Nobody that concerns you.
I guess we're interrupting.
I told you I was busy.
Sweetie.
Baby, I was just wondering...
You see I'm speaking
to these officers?
What do you want?
Are you aware of
what's going on upstairs?
I haven't been
out, enlighten me.
A girl was murdered
on the rooftop.
Who? Tina Dupree. You know her?
Yeah, I seen her around. Damn.
Somebody saw you
with her last night.
On the corner at the
store. I walked her home.
Little girl like that
shouldn't be out so late.
Can you tell us where you
were the rest of the night?
Baby, now you may dialogue.
We ain't left the apartment.
We been busy. You
know what I am saying?
"Baby, now you may
dialogue"? Please.
He was the last
person to see her.
Pretty big risk if he's our serial
killer, striking where he lives.
Unless Tina was a
victim of opportunity.
Harris goes to the store,
sees her, walks her home,
knows her mother works
at night, father's out of town.
Yeah, police just putting on
a big show for us, that's all.
Just what we need.
I got this. You got a problem?
Yeah, that you cops don't give a
rat's ass what's going on up here.
You don't think so? Well, we're
here. You know who's not here?
The press, the TV news.
If you got any beef, you
got beef with them, not us.
They can't make money off
us. They don't care. Word up.
Don't tell me. Tell them. Why
don't y'all give them a call, all right?
Meanwhile, does anybody have
any information that could help us?
Okay, people, please go back to
your business, and let us do our job.
Not you.
Why do you wanna make this
harder on yourself than it already is?
Aisha was all I had left, all right?
Now some scum took her away,
and I'm supposed to stand here
and watch you not catch him?
What's harder than that, man?
Checked the phone numbers
we found in Tina Dupree's room.
One belongs to a girlfriend.
The other, Malik Harris.
Harris have a rap sheet?
Never arrested, but came up on the
computer as a victim of vehicular assault.
Hit by a car in '94. Right
after the third murder.
His legs were shattered,
almost lost them.
Hospitalized in rehab
for nearly a year,
spent the next two
learning how to walk again.
So Harris was only out
of action for three years.
Our perp waited seven.
He gets social security
disability. From '97 to last year,
his checks were sent
to an address in Detroit.
Harris has a sister
who lives there.
Get Detroit Homicide on the phone,
see if they have any unsolved killings
matching our victim
profiles. Fin, my office, now.
I just got off the phone
with the Deputy Commissioner
for public information.
Now, he wants to know
why one of my detectives is
bad-mouthing the media up in Harlem.
I was just telling
them the truth.
What the hell were you thinking?
That those people were right.
That's not your
judgment to make.
If these girls were murdered in
the Village or the Upper West Side,
the media would be all over it.
1PP would issue a task force.
Five black girls aren't
even on their radar.
Are you finished? No,
I'm just getting started.
This is no different than
any other investigation.
No? An East Side socialite
disappears, we got 50 cops on it.
Black girls start getting
executed, we got four cops.
That sounds equal to you?
Look, I know where you're coming from.
No, you don't know where I'm coming from.
There's no way you can
know where I'm coming from.
Don't you dare presume
to know what's in my head.
No matter what you say, Captain,
you're not black and
you're not from the hood.
Slow down.
That crowd could have
turned ugly. I diffused it.
Cragen didn't know that. Who
you defending? Him or me?
Both of you. Just take a
deep breath. No time for that.
Where are we going?
I'm going to meet
an informant. Alone.
I'm busy. This better be good.
How about a little respect.
Time is money, and I'm
losing it talking to you.
What the hell are you doing
back there? Sit up like a man.
Yeah, I get seen with you,
my customers go elsewhere
for their merchandise.
You got something for me, Benny,
or did you just come
here to run your mouth?
Word's out you're looking to
jam up King. Where you hear that?
I got sources just like you.
What do your sources know about
him? That King's a rap promoter wannabe.
Manages a few unknowns, but
doesn't have the goods to make it big.
He uses the rap line
mostly to pick up women.
So far you're boring me.
How about he buys his coke and
dope from one of my corner boys?
Now you're talking.
Where's he get his cash?
King's a kept man.
Smooth-talks one of his ladies
into paying for his lifestyle,
till they wise up, dump him.
What's in this for you,
Benny? I don't like him.
Consider it a freebie.
Harris admits to walking
Tina Dupree home,
and we got witnesses
that saw them together.
That doesn't mean he killed her.
We took the composites
from all the rapes
and had the artist remove the
hair. That's Malik Harris dead-on.
A judge isn't going to give us
a search warrant based on that.
What about a lineup?
We risk tipping our hand.
I got an informant, a drug
dealer I busted a few years ago.
He says his boys sell Malik Harris
dope and coke on a regular basis.
Well, write the warrant
for the drugs only.
That'll allow you to
search almost everywhere.
Anything you find
on top of that is gravy.
I can't talk to you right
now. I'm cutting a track here.
Yeah, maybe you should
be recording jailhouse rock.
Man, what are you talking
about? You're under arrest.
For what? Possession of
narcotics in the third degree.
What? We tossed your crib.
What you gonna do? Make
her a star and then kill her, too?
What is up with that?
You're putting me through all of this
for some recreational pharmaceuticals?
You like big words, King? How
about execution or lethal injection?
What, you gonna give
me the death penalty
for a little cocaine and heroin?
Your handiwork. Remember?
Poor girls.
And you think that I have
something to do with killing them?
You were the last one with
Tina before she was found dead.
Feel free to dialogue.
I told you I walked her home. Anything
after that I'm not accountable for.
And, of course, you've
met my lovely alibi.
Who'll say anything
once you doped her up.
I am innocent.
Then you won't mind
taking a little trip with us.
Open wide, please.
This'll only take a moment.
What are you doing? Just
taking a little DNA sample
to prove your innocence.
I can't allow that. You
got something to hide?
It violates my religious
tenets. I'm a Jehovah's Witness.
Prove it.
He doesn't have to. He
says it, I can't take the sample.
We haven't been properly
introduced. I'm King.
We should get together sometime
under circumstances more conducive.
You fill in the blanks.
She's choice.
Don't you ever want to... Your
thoughts aren't very religious.
Well, we all worship
in our own way.
You know how much
those cost, man?
Sorry about that. Let
me get that for you.
Oh, man. Shoot.
Partner, you gotta
be more careful.
Don't worry. We'll replace
them by tomorrow morning.
Frames are from Italy.
You have our
sincerest apologies.
Most people secrete
oils right onto the lenses.
The cells I found that were
usable were on the nose pieces.
So what's the verdict?
His Majesty's DNA is a match
on all six murders and eight rapes.
Got him. Thanks.
This motion to suppress
is totally without merit.
Malik Harris's right to
genetic privacy was violated.
The police have gotten DNA off
of coffee cups, lipstick, telephones,
even a suspect's spit on the
street. All of it upheld in court.
People discard coffee
cups and spit voluntarily.
Detective Tutuola assaulted
my client and stole his glasses.
When Mr. Harris's sunglasses fell, he
demanded the detectives replace them.
He discarded them, which
makes them fair game.
So what we're saying here
is that the police, at any time,
can obtain a
person's genetic code?
The DNA obtained by the police
conclusively links the defendant
to the murders of a half
a dozen teenage girls.
What about their rights?
Mr. Harris's guilt or
innocence isn't the issue here.
How the police
gathered the evidence is.
Your Honor, reasonable
deception on the part of the police
has been upheld by
the Supreme Court.
Yes, and if the police had tricked
Mr. Harris into giving up his sunglasses,
we'd be out of here.
They forced him, that's
coercion, the DNA is out.
The DNA is all the police have
tying my client to these murders.
Then I have no other choice but to
drop the charges against Mr. Harris.
And when your detectives blame the judge,
tell them that they're the ones that blew it.
No, no, no. We didn't screw
up. We got Harris off the street.
Your judge let him go.
What did you
expect? A little justice.
Then maybe you
should have done better.
We got you all the
evidence you needed.
If you'd done it legally, this
wouldn't have happened.
All right, come on. This
isn't getting us anywhere.
What do we have left?
Possession three on the drugs
that we found in his apartment.
Is there anything we can do
with that to keep him off the street?
First offense, Harris'll make
bail. Just gonna give up?
I will ask for remand, but
the judge will never go for it.
And I can't mention the murders.
Harris gets out,
we stick with him.
I want all four of you in the
courtroom for the arraignment.
Don't let him out of your sight.
If he so much as sneezes,
I want the Kleenex.
Remand, Ms. Cabot? On a
third degree possession charge?
Mr. Harris provided the
drugs to young women.
The People believe he is
a danger to the community.
Counsel approach.
Ms. Cabot, I have 40
more cases on the docket
and you're wasting my time
on this frivolous garbage?
Your Honor, it is the
People's position that we...
You screwed up your murder case
and now you want me to
do your dirty work for you.
Not gonna happen. Step back.
Bail is set at
$2,000, cash only.
Next case.
Let's go.
Son of a bitch!
- You killed my sister, man!
- Order. Officer.
He's a cold-blooded murderer.
Officer. Officer, clear the court!
Bastard bit me! Bastard bit me!
Bring it. Come on, bring
it. Remove that man!
Officer, order. All right,
we'll take him. We'll take him.
Order! THOMPSON: You'll take me?
Yeah, you're under arrest
for assault. Whoa. Hold it.
He gets away with murdering
my sister, and you taking me?
Harris, let's see your hands,
now. You're under arrest.
It's over, Your Highness.
You ain't got nothing on me.
Just taking a bite out of crime.
Just like you took a bite out
of Rodney Thompson's arm.
And left your DNA. Thought
you were smarter than that.
Fin? Counselor?
You and Rodney Thompson
put on quite a performance
when you led him out of court.
What are you talking
about? Setting Harris up
by telling Thompson the only way
we were going to get Harris's DNA
is if he attacked him.
Thompson's not a perp.
I can't force him
to do anything.
No, but you could
have given him the idea.
Did you?
You really want to know?
No.
It was a setup.
We arranged for your client
to bite Rodney Thompson?
I don't think so.
Bit yourself in the ass with
your big mouth this time, King.
This is entrapment. CABOT: Ask
your attorney. She'll tell you it's not.
I just heard from
Detroit. Malik's DNA.
Matches four
homicides, five rapes,
all during the time he
was living with his sister.
I want a deal. FIN:
You want a deal?
How about right before we
execute you for killing those girls,
I bring you your last
meal? How's that?