Matlock (1986–1995): Season 1, Episode 10 - The Angel - full transcript
Come on.
There's nothing here. It's empty.
Where's the shipment?
Joey, Joey, Joey,
all you gotta do is knock, huh?
All right, who tipped you?
- Don't know what you're talking about.
- Come on, who was it?
Just because
you made a little mistake here,
let's not get paranoid, Joey.
You call me Joey one more time,
I'm gonna make you eat this flashlight.
- Take it easy.
- I ought to--
I'd give up my pension
for just five minutes alone
with this guy.
Two minutes is all I need.
- Hey, come on.
- Joe, stop.
- Come on, get real.
- Joe!
- For you, I'll use my bare hands.
- Hey.
- Come here.
- Hold on.
All right, it's all right.
Everything's all right, under control.
Your bosses are gonna hear
that you muscled me, I promise you.
No, you're gonna hear from me too.
You just cut the tag off your mattress,
I'm gonna be right in your face.
It's all right, I'm all right.
All right there.
See, you can fix a lot of things, Harry,
but I'm one thing you can't fix, huh?
Let's go. Come on.
WATB sending
groovy sounds your way
at 8/32
on this cloudy Atlanta morning.
But it looks like the rain is over
for now.
Temperature downtown at the--
- Yeah, so?
- So I'll see you.
See you later.
There you are.
I've been looking all over for you.
What happened to you?
- I cut myself shaving.
- With a machete?
- I got mugged.
- Get out of here.
You got mugged?
- Did you find them?
- No, not yet.
But Harry Landers sent them.
- You can be sure of that.
- Harry La--?
You got Harry Landers on the brain,
you know.
This is no ordinary mugging.
They took my badge and my gun.
Okay. Okay.
Look, Joe, go home,
cool off, all right?
I'll cover for you.
That's a good idea.
I got some things to do.
Joe. Joe, don't.
Look, I grabbed one of the guys.
I ripped his pocket.
Found a laundry slip
from an all-night joint on 1 1th.
I'm gonna go back there,
recognise those guys.
- I'm gonna nail them.
- Joe, don't go crazy.
I gotta get my badge and my gun back,
find those punks,
and then I'm gonna
balance the books with Harry.
May I?
You just bring the goods
to Freddie's place
and I'll take delivery there.
Everything else
is the same as always.
No, nothing, nothing.
I've just got a little heat on me.
It's merely a temporary thing,
believe me.
All right. I'll expect to hear from you.
What are you doing here?
Harry Landers?
Michael.
Just got the call, captain.
Where's Joe Peters?
We were on surveillance
and the suspects split up,
so we had to follow them separately.
So you don't know where he is,
do you?
No, sir, not at the moment, no.
Michael,
you've a long career ahead of you.
Don't you let one rotten apple
spoil it for you, you hear?
I don't know what you mean, sir.
I want you to tell me the truth,
Michael.
Did Joe Peters do this?
It's a beauty, Roy. Runs like a top.
This truck will take any hill in Georgia
in high gear.
How'd you come by it?
- Did you know George Gibson?
- No.
Well, I helped George make out his will
just before he died.
- And he paid you with the truck.
- Paid me with the truck.
How much you want for it?
Five hundred dollars.
Well, look at the tyres
and the shape it's in.
- But it needs paint.
- Well, just a few places.
Listen to this. This is the heart of it.
Sounds like a Budapest symphony.
- How much did you say?
- Five hundred.
- I'll give you 300.
- I'll take 4 75.
- Three twenty-five.
- Four sixty.
- Three fifty.
- Four fifty.
- Three seventy-five.
- I'll tell you what.
Take it home,
have Estelle drive it a couple of weeks.
If she likes it, give me 400.
If she doesn't,
just have her park it out back.
Tell Estelle happy birthday
and drive it in good health.
- Well, Joe, off today, huh?
- Hi, Ben.
- Your office said you'd be here.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
A lot of stuff to do around here.
It'll stop that as soon as it warms up.
- I've gotta talk to you.
- Let's walk along.
You heard about Harry Landers?
He was the biggest fence around,
and he always knew
when a bust was going down.
- Well, somebody was tipping him off.
- You don't say.
I think Landers was iced
by somebody in the department,
the same guy he was paying off.
Joe Peters is guilty.
There's no doubt about it.
Joe Peters is a lot of things,
but dirty he's not.
We've got his gun.
The boys found it in a sewer
a couple of blocks
from Landers' warehouse,
where he tossed it afterwards.
And Ballistics says it's the same bullet
they dug out of Harry Landers.
And we've got an eyewitness
that puts him at the scene.
I thought he had an alibi.
So did he.
My partner tried to cover for me,
but it's--
It's not gonna scan.
- Have you got a knife?
- Landers was shot.
I mean to open this sack of feed.
- Internal Affairs is on the case.
- Thank you.
Yeah, they like me
for taking out Landers.
I was staking out a cleaning joint,
looking for the guys who mugged me
when Landers was killed,
but I can't substantiate
that I was there.
- Here, chick, chick, chick.
- My gun was found near the scene.
Here, chick, chick, chick.
Those clowns who took it
were working for whoever set me up.
- Peters was on Landers' payroll.
- Well, it doesn't make any sense.
If he was on his payroll,
why would he kill him?
- What are you, his lawyer?
- No, I'm not his lawyer.
The man was a cop, my cop,
and I wanna know what kind of case
you got against him before I run out
and charge him with murder.
This is a copy of his bank statement.
You'll notice
a deposit was made ten days ago.
Fifty thousand dollars.
And you're saying
this is bribe money?
Well, he didn't get it
from the tooth fairy.
Get. Get out of here.
That banty rooster's got his eye
on that Rhode Island Red hen.
Every time
that big rooster comes around,
he wants to fight.
Kind of silly, isn't it?
Well, you gonna take my case
or not?
The last time I saw you
was in a courtroom.
You were trying to railroad my client
Mr. James Plesko,
into the penitentiary.
Seems like you're about to get
the same deal you gave Mr. Plesko.
I was just doing my job.
And who's to say he didn't do it?
The jury found him innocent.
All right,
if you're not gonna take my case,
why didn't you just say so
to begin with?
I didn't say I wouldn't take your case.
Just seems kind of poetic,
the turn of circumstances here.
Ben, this is my neck.
Those guys don't like me to begin with.
I mean, they're gonna nail me.
Ben, I need you.
Now, what's it gonna be?
Well, if I'm going into town,
I've got to go in the house and change.
You're not the smartest cop I ever saw,
but I don't think you're dumb enough
to kill this fellow
and concoct a story like this one.
Ben, I didn't do it.
That's just what Mr. Plesko said.
- Hey, the door's opening.
- Hey, here he comes.
- Joe, Joe, why did you--?
- Joe?
- Hold it.
- Joe? Joe?
- Hold it, hold it, hold it!
- Joe.
It's true Joe Peters
has been disciplined for using force.
But he has three citations for valour
and a commendation
from the mayor's office.
He's been hospitalized five times
for injuries received in the line of duty.
Joe Peters is innocent
and expects to be vindicated
by the court.
- Hold it.
- What about the--?
Hold it, hold it, hold it!
- That's all.
- Oh, but what about--?
- Come on.
- Give me a break.
- What say, Tyler?
- Not much.
There's dozens of prints in there,
but they're all smudged.
Landers' .357 Magnum's
in the desk drawer.
- Hadn't been fired.
- You know Joe Peters?
- We've met.
- Where was the body?
Over here in this little office.
Now, whoever pulled the trigger
was standing
directly across the desk from him
when they fired the shot.
- Thank you, Mr. Coyle.
- You're welcome.
What's his story?
He's the eyewitness
who says he saw you running away.
- He's lying.
- No.
You don't talk to or touch anybody.
If you get any bright ideas,
check them with me.
- Say hello to my daughter Charlene.
- How do you do?
All right, so, what do we do?
Well, I'd say,
let's try to find those fellows
who took your gun and badge.
I'll stake out that laundry.
They'll be back sooner or later.
Tyler, you go with him.
If he sees them, you make contact.
You just look and point.
Do I make myself clear?
Absolutely.
Let's go.
You're sending me on a stakeout
with Dirty Harry?
Somebody has to do it,
and I'm too old.
Shall I have a talk with his partner,
Danello?
Yeah. I'll be at the department.
See if anybody down there
remembers my name.
- Morning, gentlemen.
- Ben.
- You here on the Peters case?
- Yeah.
Good luck.
Well, what'd you expect, Ben?
I was hoping maybe Joe Peters
had a friend or two.
Joe Peters is not a very popular man
around here nowadays, Ben.
What about you?
Well, I'll say this for him:
He was a hard charger.
But he also had
the lowest conviction rate
on my squad.
The guy would charge out half-cocked.
Bad warrants, insufficient evidence.
Well, what happens
to the Harry Landers investigation
if he goes to prison?
I don't know, maybe we'll do better.
Are you saying
you think Joe was on his payroll?
Well, how would you explain 50 grand
in his bank account?
Anybody could've
deposited that money
without Joe's knowledge.
Fifty thousand dollars?
That's a drop in the bucket
to a big operation.
Besides, if he was paying him,
why kill the goose
that laid the golden egg?
I don't know.
I sure would like to take a look
at the Harry Landers file.
Now, come on, Ben.
You know I can't do that.
The files are confidential.
It's an ongoing investigation.
I can make a discovery motion.
Well, if you do, you'll have to come
back to me with the judge's signature.
You know that.
Let me ask you this.
How long do you think Joe will last
in prison?
I don't know. It's out of my hands.
Yeah. I guess it is. See you, Frank.
Tony, another round
for the boys here.
- Put it on my tab.
- You ain't got no tab.
So start me a tab.
I don't work with Peters anymore.
This guy--
When I worked with Joe,
he made me pay cash for everything
in case something happened.
Isn't that right?
Do you remember, you?
Detective Danello?
That's me. What can I do you for?
I work with Ben Matlock.
They said I could find you here.
Yeah, well, they were right.
- I need to talk with you.
- My pleasure. Shall we take a table?
Wish me luck.
- Can I get you a drink?
- No, thank you.
Some guys...
Some guys get all the breaks.
Joe's even got a beautiful attorney.
- You were a good friend to Joe?
- Yeah. Better than he deserved.
- How's that?
- I'll tell you, darling.
The life expectancy for Joe's partners
was about two years.
By then, they either got killed
or quit the force.
Joe is not exactly
what you call ''a rabbit's foot.''
I see.
You said he was on that stakeout
with you.
He needed an alibi.
That's what partners do, they...
Whether they love each other or not.
You got any more questions?
Because if not,
we could have dinner
at a place a lot nicer than this.
- Detective Danello--
- Call me Mike.
According to the police-radio log,
it took seven minutes
from the time you answered the call
to get to Harry Landers' warehouse.
So?
You reported in from Center and 1 1th,
and it takes 20 minutes
to get from there
to Landers' warehouse.
You're wrong.
No, I'm not. I drove it myself.
- Well, I was in a police car.
- Yes, but it was an unmarked car.
And again, according to the log,
you responded Code 2,
which means that you weren't using
your lights or your siren
and you should've been
obeying the speed limit.
- So maybe I went a little too fast.
- Maybe.
- What's this, a speeding ticket?
- No. It's your subpoena.
I'll see you in court.
Do you mind?
Yes, I do.
You don't like me, do you, friend?
Let's just say
you played it kind of rough
with a few of my buddies.
That's them.
- Hey, just wait a minute.
- Let's go.
Hey, hey, hey.
Come on.
Stop. Police.
Hey.
Get out.
- My leg.
- Just lay still.
Just-- Joe. Hold still.
Dr. Klein. Paging Dr. Klein.
Dr. Caro. Surgery, please. Dr. Caro.
Ma'am.
Joe, how are you?
Terrific.
Thanks. I'm all right.
- Well, that's good to hear.
- Why shouldn't I be?
I've got a broken leg
and I'm being railroaded for murder.
We ran the license number on that car
through the DMV.
- Do you know a Donald Styles?
- No.
Tyler's tracking down the address
on his registration.
- Lots of luck.
- We'll see.
- Your partner, Mike Danello?
- What about him?
His alibi for the Landers killing
was as phoney
as the one he gave you.
He wasn't at that surveillance, either.
- I know.
- Where was he?
Probably with some bimbo.
Your doctor says
you won't be up and about
for another month.
- That's what I hear.
- We'll have your trial continued.
- No. You finish it now.
- Joe, you have a right to be there.
Listen, just do me a favour.
However it turns out,
just get it over with.
For God's sake, finish it.
Sorry to bother you, ma'am,
but I'm looking for a Donald Styles.
- Are you the police?
- No, I'm an old friend of his.
There's nobody by that name.
I'm here all alone.
Go away or I'll call the cops.
As I approached the building,
I heard what sounded to me
like a gunshot.
Then what happened?
Well, then the side door
of the warehouse flung open
and this man came running out.
Well, did you recognise him?
Yes, sir, I did.
It was Detective Joseph Peters.
- Are you certain?
- Oh, yes, sir.
I recognized him from the day before,
when he attacked Mr. Landers.
There's no doubt about it. It was him.
Thank you.
Nothing further, Your Honour.
Mr. Coyle, how long had you worked
at the warehouse
before Mr. Landers was killed?
Four days.
And how did you obtain this position
in the first place?
Well, I saw it in an ad
in the newspaper.
Had you ever done
this kind of work before?
- No.
- Did you carry a gun on the job?
Yes.
Mr. Coyle, this is an application
to become a bonded security guard
carrying a gun in this state.
Now, it's my understanding
it takes 90 days
to become permanently bonded.
Well, that's right,
but you can start working
as soon as you finish
filling out the application.
Well, tell me this, Mr. Coyle.
Have you ever been convicted
of a felony?
Yes.
And isn't it true
that you've had over 30 arrests?
- Objection. Improper questioning.
- Sustained.
But the felony,
that was a conviction
for armed robbery, wasn't it?
Yes.
Mr. Coyle, it states very clearly
on this application
that you cannot have
a felony conviction
and become a bonded security guard
in this state.
- Were you aware of that?
- No.
Well, didn't you read the application
before you signed it?
- Yes, but maybe I missed that part.
- Or maybe you're lying.
It seems to me you never intended
to be a security guard very long.
Maybe four days was enough,
just enough to bear false witness
in the Harry Landers murder.
- Objection.
- No further questions, Your Honour.
- Thanks for coming, Frank.
- A free lunch? Why not?
I had Tom Coyle on the stand.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
He's had 32 arrests,
all nickel-and-dime stuff, but arrests.
One conviction.
He's an informant.
That's how he keeps getting off.
He's working for somebody
in your department.
- Someone on my police department?
- Yep.
Well, I find that just a little hard
to believe, Ben.
Sure looks like it.
I need to know who.
Damn, Ben.
And if somebody on the department
is doing something illegal
and got that kind of an informant,
you don't go into the files and get it.
- I mean, he'd keep it to himself.
- Ain't nothing easy, Frank.
Now, you and I go back a long ways.
And all either of us ever wanted
was the truth.
Without it,
Joe Peters is gonna be convicted
of a murder he didn't commit.
Now, somebody in the department
was tipping off Harry Landers,
and that same somebody
got Tom Coyle
to point the finger at Joe.
Yeah,
but what you're asking me to do--
I mean,
that puts me in a bad spot, Ben.
I know it does, but you arrested him.
You've got a stake in this
whether you like it or not.
Oh, come on,
I'd rather take a beating.
The truth, Frank, the truth.
Without it, Joe's out of luck
and so am I and so are you.
Ben, I've been a cop for 23 years,
and I have never--
I have never.
--spied on my brother officer.
All I'm asking is you look into it.
Then if you don't think
there's a connection,
I'll forget the whole thing,
and you're off the hook.
Yeah, thanks, Ben.
I show you this police revolver
marked ''People's Exhibit 7.''
- Can you identify it?
- Yes, sir. It has my initials.
Would you...?
Would you tell the court
where you found it?
On a ledge in a sewer
three blocks west
of Harry Landers' warehouse.
Had it not dropped on the ledge,
had it fallen all the way into the sewer,
what would've become of this gun?
I think it's safe to say
it never would've been found.
As part of your duties,
did you have a ballistics test performed
on this weapon?
- Yes, sir, I did.
- And what were the results?
Bullets taken from the deceased
and those fired
in laboratory tests of this weapon
showed a significant number
of points of comparison.
In your opinion,
it was the murder weapon, correct?
In my opinion, yes, sir.
As requested,
did you bring with you today
the departmental records
reflecting the ownership
and the registration
of Officer Peters' service revolvers?
- Yes, sir, I did.
- And?
The weapon is registered
to Detective Joseph Peters.
- No further questions, Your Honour.
- Cross-examine.
Officer Price, would you characterise
the decedent and Detective Peters
as friends or as enemies?
- As enemies.
- I see.
Did you participate in the search
of the premises after the murder?
Yes, ma'am, I did.
Would you mind telling the court
what you found
in the upper right-hand drawer
of Mr. Landers' desk?
A .357 Magnum revolver.
Now, if Mr. Landers
and Detective Peters were enemies,
as you say, don't you find it strange
that Mr. Landers
didn't take out his gun?
Unless, of course,
it was somebody else
that Harry Landers
let into his office that day,
somebody Landers thought
was a friend.
And that's why
he never took out his gun.
- Objection.
- No further questions, Your Honour.
What is it?
Have you seen Frank Daniels
anywhere?
No. Why?
Well, I was hoping he'd come through
with a little inside information.
- You think he will?
- I don't know. It is pretty hard on him.
- Well, I'm going to lunch.
- I'd better hang around here.
- All right, I have some errands to do.
- Charlene?
Could you lend me out a five?
I left my money in my other suit.
What other suit?
- Could you lend me out a five?
- Okay.
Let's see. What have we got?
One, two, three...
That's four. Here's five.
- Now, stay away from the hot dogs.
- Yeah.
- Ben, there's a phone call for you.
- Thank you.
Thanks for the--
And soon as-- Soon as I...
- Ben Matlock.
- Yeah, Ben, it's Tyler.
I went to the address
on Donny Styles' registration.
There's nobody there
but an old lady in a wheelchair,
says she lives alone.
But I did spot some fresh oil
in the driveway.
- Any sign of his car?
- Guess what.
About ten minutes ago, he pulled up,
parked it in the garage.
Good work, Tyler.
Keep an eye on him.
I didn't have any breakfast.
Hello, Frank.
- Oh, evening, counsellor.
- Evening.
You know,
the more I get into this case,
the more certain I am
that Harry Landers had an informant
inside the department.
What's that gonna do for your client?
Well, with a little bit of luck
and an intelligent jury,
I think it's gonna clear him.
See, Joe Peters
wasn't the inside man.
- You were.
- I was?
See, when Joe started getting close,
you had to shut things down
pretty fast,
so you planted your man Tom Coyle.
Then you either killed Harry Landers
or you had him killed,
and Tom Coyle was right there
to hang the murder on Joe.
You don't think
I can convince the jury of this, do you?
- No.
- Come see for yourself.
This subpoena guarantees you
the best seat in the house.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Donny, it's time we had a little talk.
- Morning, Donny.
- Who are you?
I'm Joe Peters' lawyer.
- Well, what do you want from me?
- I wanna help you.
Help me, huh?
Help you keep from getting in
any deeper, Donny.
I don't know
what you're talking about.
We're talking about murder.
Who sent you
to steal Joe Peters' gun?
I didn't steal any gun.
Donny, let's play a ''let's say'' game.
Let's say that I'm somebody,
maybe a cop,
and I wanna
get rid of a couple of guys.
I wanna kill Harry Landers
and I want Joe Peters
to get the blame for it.
Now, what do you think
would be a good move for me?
I don't know. Why don't you tell me?
Well, how about this?
How about I hire a couple of kids,
and one of them
is a pretty good pickpocket?
And I hired this kid
to steal Joe Peters' gun.
While he's at it,
he takes his badge too,
but that's okay.
Now, I don't tell the kid
that the gun's gonna be used
for murder.
He might not like that.
He just gets the gun.
Then later, if he wants to holler,
I can get rid of the kid any time,
one way or another.
The gun you stole
was used to kill Harry Landers.
You're an accessory to murder,
Donny.
And like they used to say
in the movies,
that buys the big ticket.
Now, unless you cooperate,
it's just gonna get worse.
- Get out of my way.
- Here.
My number's on that. Call any time.
- That's the last we'll see of him.
- Maybe.
Okay, I'm here. What's the problem?
That cop's lawyer,
he came and saw me yesterday.
He knows who we are.
Correction:
He knows who you are, Donny.
You didn't give him anything else,
did you?
Now, you look.
I shined him on,
but you gotta get him off of me.
Now, he says
that I could be an accessory.
Now, I said I would take care of you,
and I will.
Don't worry.
But you futz around with me, boy,
and there's places I can lose you
as easy as a paper clip.
Now, I got guys on the inside
who owe me favours.
You'd be worth maybe-- Maybe.
--a pack of cigarettes.
Now, you got that?
Yeah. Right.
Right, anything you say.
Fine. Fine.
Everything's gonna be fine.
We're gonna look back on this
and we're gonna laugh,
I promise you.
Just to be on the safe side,
I got something I want you to do,
Eddie, okay?
Absolutely, Mr. B. You bet.
Captain Braddock,
for the last 1 8 months,
you've headed a task force
investigating the criminal activities
of Mr. Harry Landers, have you not?
Yes.
Mr. Landers is reputed to be a fence,
that is, a receiver and dealer
in stolen goods.
- Is that correct?
- Yes.
As a result of your investigations,
did you determine
that Mr. Landers dealt
in thousands of dollars of materials
or hundreds of thousands
or in the millions?
- Probably in the millions.
- A large operation, in other words.
Where did he keep
all this merchandise?
In various places,
warehouses around the city.
Did you ever
raid these various places?
Oh, yes.
According to departmental records,
27 separate raids
on these warehouses.
Does that sound about right to you?
I don't remember the exact number,
but that sounds right.
As a result of these raids,
were you able to obtain an arrest
and conviction of Mr. Landers?
Never.
- Not even once?
- No.
That's remarkable.
One might assume
that he knew when you were coming.
Yes, sir.
It's my opinion that Detective Peters
was tipping Mr. Landers off.
Objection. Highly improper.
Move to strike.
Granted.
The statement shall be stricken.
Captain Braddock,
you've been in the witness box before.
You know the game.
I ask the questions,
you answer just my questions.
No opinions. No speculations.
- Do we understand each other?
- Objection.
Mr. Matlock
is harassing his own witness.
I apologise to the court
and withdraw the last question.
Mr. Braddock,
before these raids happened,
who knew the time and place?
Peters always knew.
As head of the task force,
you must have known.
- Yes.
- And who else?
The judge who signed the warrant,
the clerk of his court,
backup personnel, watch commander,
desk sergeant, motor-pool officers.
Did I leave out anybody?
Dr. Warner wanted in Radiology,
please.
Dr. Warner.
Dr. Klein. Paging Dr. Klein.
Captain Braddock,
the most telling evidence
against Detective Peters
is that his gun
has been positively identified
as the murder weapon.
But defence contends
that that gun was stolen
24 hours
before the murder took place.
Yes, sir.
I'm aware that is your contention.
Now, Detective Peters' badge
was also stolen at the same time,
we assume by the same people.
The gun's been found by officers
working under your supervision,
but the shield is still missing.
- Where do you suppose it is?
- I have no idea.
Whoever stole that gun
or had it stolen
is likely responsible
for Harry Landers' murder.
- If your contention is correct.
- If our contention is correct.
Now, let me make it clear.
Detective Peters' badge
was also stolen at the same time.
Now, you will agree.
If we knew who has that badge,
it would go a long ways
to support defence's claim.
Well, I suppose theoretically, yes.
Would Mr. Donny Styles
please stand?
Do you recognise this man?
No.
You've never seen him before?
- No.
- Objection, Your Honour.
- Question was asked and answered.
- Sustained.
Captain Braddock,
this young man says he knows you.
He stepped forward this morning
and made a deposition under oath
that he and a friend
stole Detective Peters' gun
at your instructions
and in the process
took his badge as well.
That is a complete fabrication.
Objection. If defence has a witness,
let's swear him in
and put him on the stand.
- Otherwise--
- Mr. Prosecutor,
I intend to do just that
if it becomes necessary.
But right now I would like
to continue my examination
of the witness already on the stand.
- Proceed, counsellor.
- Thank you, Your Honour.
Captain Braddock,
isn't it a departmental rule
that Atlanta policemen
must carry their shields at all times?
Yes.
- Do you have yours with you now?
- Yes.
May I take a look at it, please?
Don't hand it to me.
Just hold it up so I can look at it.
- What's the number?
- Eight-three-oh.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, I'm sure.
That's interesting.
It doesn't say 830.
This is a detective's badge, 7 7 1 .
That's Joe Peters' badge.
Your Honour,
we'd like to offer this badge
as Defendant's Exhibit G.
Captain Braddock,
how did you come
to be in possession of this badge?
Then I'll tell you.
Donny Styles
is an expert pickpocket.
When you met with him
and Eddie Leeds this morning,
he bumped you, and in so doing,
he switched your badge
and holder for Joe Peters'.
You're the one
Harry Landers was paying off.
No, sir. Absolutely not.
He threatened to expose you
unless you got Joe Peters off his back.
That's not true.
So you hired Donny Styles
and Eddie Leeds
to steal Joe Peters' gun.
Then you used that gun
to kill Harry Landers.
These questions are insulting
and defamatory.
And isn't it true,
at this very moment,
Eddie Leeds
is at County General Hospital,
sent there by you to kill Joe Peters?
Drop it or I'll break your arm.
If Joe Peters were killed,
there would be
no further investigations
into this matter.
And so Eddie Leeds,
acting on orders
from Captain Braddock,
did in fact try to kill Joe Peters
while he lay helpless in a hospital bed.
What the court decides to do
with Captain Braddock
is out of my hands.
What I'm asking of you,
ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
is that you set Joe Peters,
an innocent man, free of all charges.
Thank you.
Be seated.
- Has the jury reached a verdict?
- Yes, we have, Your Honour.
We find the defendant not guilty.
Court is adjourned.
- I wanna thank you.
- Why don't you?
- Thanks. Thank you.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
- Hey, you know what?
I'm glad I caught you.
There's nothing here. It's empty.
Where's the shipment?
Joey, Joey, Joey,
all you gotta do is knock, huh?
All right, who tipped you?
- Don't know what you're talking about.
- Come on, who was it?
Just because
you made a little mistake here,
let's not get paranoid, Joey.
You call me Joey one more time,
I'm gonna make you eat this flashlight.
- Take it easy.
- I ought to--
I'd give up my pension
for just five minutes alone
with this guy.
Two minutes is all I need.
- Hey, come on.
- Joe, stop.
- Come on, get real.
- Joe!
- For you, I'll use my bare hands.
- Hey.
- Come here.
- Hold on.
All right, it's all right.
Everything's all right, under control.
Your bosses are gonna hear
that you muscled me, I promise you.
No, you're gonna hear from me too.
You just cut the tag off your mattress,
I'm gonna be right in your face.
It's all right, I'm all right.
All right there.
See, you can fix a lot of things, Harry,
but I'm one thing you can't fix, huh?
Let's go. Come on.
WATB sending
groovy sounds your way
at 8/32
on this cloudy Atlanta morning.
But it looks like the rain is over
for now.
Temperature downtown at the--
- Yeah, so?
- So I'll see you.
See you later.
There you are.
I've been looking all over for you.
What happened to you?
- I cut myself shaving.
- With a machete?
- I got mugged.
- Get out of here.
You got mugged?
- Did you find them?
- No, not yet.
But Harry Landers sent them.
- You can be sure of that.
- Harry La--?
You got Harry Landers on the brain,
you know.
This is no ordinary mugging.
They took my badge and my gun.
Okay. Okay.
Look, Joe, go home,
cool off, all right?
I'll cover for you.
That's a good idea.
I got some things to do.
Joe. Joe, don't.
Look, I grabbed one of the guys.
I ripped his pocket.
Found a laundry slip
from an all-night joint on 1 1th.
I'm gonna go back there,
recognise those guys.
- I'm gonna nail them.
- Joe, don't go crazy.
I gotta get my badge and my gun back,
find those punks,
and then I'm gonna
balance the books with Harry.
May I?
You just bring the goods
to Freddie's place
and I'll take delivery there.
Everything else
is the same as always.
No, nothing, nothing.
I've just got a little heat on me.
It's merely a temporary thing,
believe me.
All right. I'll expect to hear from you.
What are you doing here?
Harry Landers?
Michael.
Just got the call, captain.
Where's Joe Peters?
We were on surveillance
and the suspects split up,
so we had to follow them separately.
So you don't know where he is,
do you?
No, sir, not at the moment, no.
Michael,
you've a long career ahead of you.
Don't you let one rotten apple
spoil it for you, you hear?
I don't know what you mean, sir.
I want you to tell me the truth,
Michael.
Did Joe Peters do this?
It's a beauty, Roy. Runs like a top.
This truck will take any hill in Georgia
in high gear.
How'd you come by it?
- Did you know George Gibson?
- No.
Well, I helped George make out his will
just before he died.
- And he paid you with the truck.
- Paid me with the truck.
How much you want for it?
Five hundred dollars.
Well, look at the tyres
and the shape it's in.
- But it needs paint.
- Well, just a few places.
Listen to this. This is the heart of it.
Sounds like a Budapest symphony.
- How much did you say?
- Five hundred.
- I'll give you 300.
- I'll take 4 75.
- Three twenty-five.
- Four sixty.
- Three fifty.
- Four fifty.
- Three seventy-five.
- I'll tell you what.
Take it home,
have Estelle drive it a couple of weeks.
If she likes it, give me 400.
If she doesn't,
just have her park it out back.
Tell Estelle happy birthday
and drive it in good health.
- Well, Joe, off today, huh?
- Hi, Ben.
- Your office said you'd be here.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
A lot of stuff to do around here.
It'll stop that as soon as it warms up.
- I've gotta talk to you.
- Let's walk along.
You heard about Harry Landers?
He was the biggest fence around,
and he always knew
when a bust was going down.
- Well, somebody was tipping him off.
- You don't say.
I think Landers was iced
by somebody in the department,
the same guy he was paying off.
Joe Peters is guilty.
There's no doubt about it.
Joe Peters is a lot of things,
but dirty he's not.
We've got his gun.
The boys found it in a sewer
a couple of blocks
from Landers' warehouse,
where he tossed it afterwards.
And Ballistics says it's the same bullet
they dug out of Harry Landers.
And we've got an eyewitness
that puts him at the scene.
I thought he had an alibi.
So did he.
My partner tried to cover for me,
but it's--
It's not gonna scan.
- Have you got a knife?
- Landers was shot.
I mean to open this sack of feed.
- Internal Affairs is on the case.
- Thank you.
Yeah, they like me
for taking out Landers.
I was staking out a cleaning joint,
looking for the guys who mugged me
when Landers was killed,
but I can't substantiate
that I was there.
- Here, chick, chick, chick.
- My gun was found near the scene.
Here, chick, chick, chick.
Those clowns who took it
were working for whoever set me up.
- Peters was on Landers' payroll.
- Well, it doesn't make any sense.
If he was on his payroll,
why would he kill him?
- What are you, his lawyer?
- No, I'm not his lawyer.
The man was a cop, my cop,
and I wanna know what kind of case
you got against him before I run out
and charge him with murder.
This is a copy of his bank statement.
You'll notice
a deposit was made ten days ago.
Fifty thousand dollars.
And you're saying
this is bribe money?
Well, he didn't get it
from the tooth fairy.
Get. Get out of here.
That banty rooster's got his eye
on that Rhode Island Red hen.
Every time
that big rooster comes around,
he wants to fight.
Kind of silly, isn't it?
Well, you gonna take my case
or not?
The last time I saw you
was in a courtroom.
You were trying to railroad my client
Mr. James Plesko,
into the penitentiary.
Seems like you're about to get
the same deal you gave Mr. Plesko.
I was just doing my job.
And who's to say he didn't do it?
The jury found him innocent.
All right,
if you're not gonna take my case,
why didn't you just say so
to begin with?
I didn't say I wouldn't take your case.
Just seems kind of poetic,
the turn of circumstances here.
Ben, this is my neck.
Those guys don't like me to begin with.
I mean, they're gonna nail me.
Ben, I need you.
Now, what's it gonna be?
Well, if I'm going into town,
I've got to go in the house and change.
You're not the smartest cop I ever saw,
but I don't think you're dumb enough
to kill this fellow
and concoct a story like this one.
Ben, I didn't do it.
That's just what Mr. Plesko said.
- Hey, the door's opening.
- Hey, here he comes.
- Joe, Joe, why did you--?
- Joe?
- Hold it.
- Joe? Joe?
- Hold it, hold it, hold it!
- Joe.
It's true Joe Peters
has been disciplined for using force.
But he has three citations for valour
and a commendation
from the mayor's office.
He's been hospitalized five times
for injuries received in the line of duty.
Joe Peters is innocent
and expects to be vindicated
by the court.
- Hold it.
- What about the--?
Hold it, hold it, hold it!
- That's all.
- Oh, but what about--?
- Come on.
- Give me a break.
- What say, Tyler?
- Not much.
There's dozens of prints in there,
but they're all smudged.
Landers' .357 Magnum's
in the desk drawer.
- Hadn't been fired.
- You know Joe Peters?
- We've met.
- Where was the body?
Over here in this little office.
Now, whoever pulled the trigger
was standing
directly across the desk from him
when they fired the shot.
- Thank you, Mr. Coyle.
- You're welcome.
What's his story?
He's the eyewitness
who says he saw you running away.
- He's lying.
- No.
You don't talk to or touch anybody.
If you get any bright ideas,
check them with me.
- Say hello to my daughter Charlene.
- How do you do?
All right, so, what do we do?
Well, I'd say,
let's try to find those fellows
who took your gun and badge.
I'll stake out that laundry.
They'll be back sooner or later.
Tyler, you go with him.
If he sees them, you make contact.
You just look and point.
Do I make myself clear?
Absolutely.
Let's go.
You're sending me on a stakeout
with Dirty Harry?
Somebody has to do it,
and I'm too old.
Shall I have a talk with his partner,
Danello?
Yeah. I'll be at the department.
See if anybody down there
remembers my name.
- Morning, gentlemen.
- Ben.
- You here on the Peters case?
- Yeah.
Good luck.
Well, what'd you expect, Ben?
I was hoping maybe Joe Peters
had a friend or two.
Joe Peters is not a very popular man
around here nowadays, Ben.
What about you?
Well, I'll say this for him:
He was a hard charger.
But he also had
the lowest conviction rate
on my squad.
The guy would charge out half-cocked.
Bad warrants, insufficient evidence.
Well, what happens
to the Harry Landers investigation
if he goes to prison?
I don't know, maybe we'll do better.
Are you saying
you think Joe was on his payroll?
Well, how would you explain 50 grand
in his bank account?
Anybody could've
deposited that money
without Joe's knowledge.
Fifty thousand dollars?
That's a drop in the bucket
to a big operation.
Besides, if he was paying him,
why kill the goose
that laid the golden egg?
I don't know.
I sure would like to take a look
at the Harry Landers file.
Now, come on, Ben.
You know I can't do that.
The files are confidential.
It's an ongoing investigation.
I can make a discovery motion.
Well, if you do, you'll have to come
back to me with the judge's signature.
You know that.
Let me ask you this.
How long do you think Joe will last
in prison?
I don't know. It's out of my hands.
Yeah. I guess it is. See you, Frank.
Tony, another round
for the boys here.
- Put it on my tab.
- You ain't got no tab.
So start me a tab.
I don't work with Peters anymore.
This guy--
When I worked with Joe,
he made me pay cash for everything
in case something happened.
Isn't that right?
Do you remember, you?
Detective Danello?
That's me. What can I do you for?
I work with Ben Matlock.
They said I could find you here.
Yeah, well, they were right.
- I need to talk with you.
- My pleasure. Shall we take a table?
Wish me luck.
- Can I get you a drink?
- No, thank you.
Some guys...
Some guys get all the breaks.
Joe's even got a beautiful attorney.
- You were a good friend to Joe?
- Yeah. Better than he deserved.
- How's that?
- I'll tell you, darling.
The life expectancy for Joe's partners
was about two years.
By then, they either got killed
or quit the force.
Joe is not exactly
what you call ''a rabbit's foot.''
I see.
You said he was on that stakeout
with you.
He needed an alibi.
That's what partners do, they...
Whether they love each other or not.
You got any more questions?
Because if not,
we could have dinner
at a place a lot nicer than this.
- Detective Danello--
- Call me Mike.
According to the police-radio log,
it took seven minutes
from the time you answered the call
to get to Harry Landers' warehouse.
So?
You reported in from Center and 1 1th,
and it takes 20 minutes
to get from there
to Landers' warehouse.
You're wrong.
No, I'm not. I drove it myself.
- Well, I was in a police car.
- Yes, but it was an unmarked car.
And again, according to the log,
you responded Code 2,
which means that you weren't using
your lights or your siren
and you should've been
obeying the speed limit.
- So maybe I went a little too fast.
- Maybe.
- What's this, a speeding ticket?
- No. It's your subpoena.
I'll see you in court.
Do you mind?
Yes, I do.
You don't like me, do you, friend?
Let's just say
you played it kind of rough
with a few of my buddies.
That's them.
- Hey, just wait a minute.
- Let's go.
Hey, hey, hey.
Come on.
Stop. Police.
Hey.
Get out.
- My leg.
- Just lay still.
Just-- Joe. Hold still.
Dr. Klein. Paging Dr. Klein.
Dr. Caro. Surgery, please. Dr. Caro.
Ma'am.
Joe, how are you?
Terrific.
Thanks. I'm all right.
- Well, that's good to hear.
- Why shouldn't I be?
I've got a broken leg
and I'm being railroaded for murder.
We ran the license number on that car
through the DMV.
- Do you know a Donald Styles?
- No.
Tyler's tracking down the address
on his registration.
- Lots of luck.
- We'll see.
- Your partner, Mike Danello?
- What about him?
His alibi for the Landers killing
was as phoney
as the one he gave you.
He wasn't at that surveillance, either.
- I know.
- Where was he?
Probably with some bimbo.
Your doctor says
you won't be up and about
for another month.
- That's what I hear.
- We'll have your trial continued.
- No. You finish it now.
- Joe, you have a right to be there.
Listen, just do me a favour.
However it turns out,
just get it over with.
For God's sake, finish it.
Sorry to bother you, ma'am,
but I'm looking for a Donald Styles.
- Are you the police?
- No, I'm an old friend of his.
There's nobody by that name.
I'm here all alone.
Go away or I'll call the cops.
As I approached the building,
I heard what sounded to me
like a gunshot.
Then what happened?
Well, then the side door
of the warehouse flung open
and this man came running out.
Well, did you recognise him?
Yes, sir, I did.
It was Detective Joseph Peters.
- Are you certain?
- Oh, yes, sir.
I recognized him from the day before,
when he attacked Mr. Landers.
There's no doubt about it. It was him.
Thank you.
Nothing further, Your Honour.
Mr. Coyle, how long had you worked
at the warehouse
before Mr. Landers was killed?
Four days.
And how did you obtain this position
in the first place?
Well, I saw it in an ad
in the newspaper.
Had you ever done
this kind of work before?
- No.
- Did you carry a gun on the job?
Yes.
Mr. Coyle, this is an application
to become a bonded security guard
carrying a gun in this state.
Now, it's my understanding
it takes 90 days
to become permanently bonded.
Well, that's right,
but you can start working
as soon as you finish
filling out the application.
Well, tell me this, Mr. Coyle.
Have you ever been convicted
of a felony?
Yes.
And isn't it true
that you've had over 30 arrests?
- Objection. Improper questioning.
- Sustained.
But the felony,
that was a conviction
for armed robbery, wasn't it?
Yes.
Mr. Coyle, it states very clearly
on this application
that you cannot have
a felony conviction
and become a bonded security guard
in this state.
- Were you aware of that?
- No.
Well, didn't you read the application
before you signed it?
- Yes, but maybe I missed that part.
- Or maybe you're lying.
It seems to me you never intended
to be a security guard very long.
Maybe four days was enough,
just enough to bear false witness
in the Harry Landers murder.
- Objection.
- No further questions, Your Honour.
- Thanks for coming, Frank.
- A free lunch? Why not?
I had Tom Coyle on the stand.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
He's had 32 arrests,
all nickel-and-dime stuff, but arrests.
One conviction.
He's an informant.
That's how he keeps getting off.
He's working for somebody
in your department.
- Someone on my police department?
- Yep.
Well, I find that just a little hard
to believe, Ben.
Sure looks like it.
I need to know who.
Damn, Ben.
And if somebody on the department
is doing something illegal
and got that kind of an informant,
you don't go into the files and get it.
- I mean, he'd keep it to himself.
- Ain't nothing easy, Frank.
Now, you and I go back a long ways.
And all either of us ever wanted
was the truth.
Without it,
Joe Peters is gonna be convicted
of a murder he didn't commit.
Now, somebody in the department
was tipping off Harry Landers,
and that same somebody
got Tom Coyle
to point the finger at Joe.
Yeah,
but what you're asking me to do--
I mean,
that puts me in a bad spot, Ben.
I know it does, but you arrested him.
You've got a stake in this
whether you like it or not.
Oh, come on,
I'd rather take a beating.
The truth, Frank, the truth.
Without it, Joe's out of luck
and so am I and so are you.
Ben, I've been a cop for 23 years,
and I have never--
I have never.
--spied on my brother officer.
All I'm asking is you look into it.
Then if you don't think
there's a connection,
I'll forget the whole thing,
and you're off the hook.
Yeah, thanks, Ben.
I show you this police revolver
marked ''People's Exhibit 7.''
- Can you identify it?
- Yes, sir. It has my initials.
Would you...?
Would you tell the court
where you found it?
On a ledge in a sewer
three blocks west
of Harry Landers' warehouse.
Had it not dropped on the ledge,
had it fallen all the way into the sewer,
what would've become of this gun?
I think it's safe to say
it never would've been found.
As part of your duties,
did you have a ballistics test performed
on this weapon?
- Yes, sir, I did.
- And what were the results?
Bullets taken from the deceased
and those fired
in laboratory tests of this weapon
showed a significant number
of points of comparison.
In your opinion,
it was the murder weapon, correct?
In my opinion, yes, sir.
As requested,
did you bring with you today
the departmental records
reflecting the ownership
and the registration
of Officer Peters' service revolvers?
- Yes, sir, I did.
- And?
The weapon is registered
to Detective Joseph Peters.
- No further questions, Your Honour.
- Cross-examine.
Officer Price, would you characterise
the decedent and Detective Peters
as friends or as enemies?
- As enemies.
- I see.
Did you participate in the search
of the premises after the murder?
Yes, ma'am, I did.
Would you mind telling the court
what you found
in the upper right-hand drawer
of Mr. Landers' desk?
A .357 Magnum revolver.
Now, if Mr. Landers
and Detective Peters were enemies,
as you say, don't you find it strange
that Mr. Landers
didn't take out his gun?
Unless, of course,
it was somebody else
that Harry Landers
let into his office that day,
somebody Landers thought
was a friend.
And that's why
he never took out his gun.
- Objection.
- No further questions, Your Honour.
What is it?
Have you seen Frank Daniels
anywhere?
No. Why?
Well, I was hoping he'd come through
with a little inside information.
- You think he will?
- I don't know. It is pretty hard on him.
- Well, I'm going to lunch.
- I'd better hang around here.
- All right, I have some errands to do.
- Charlene?
Could you lend me out a five?
I left my money in my other suit.
What other suit?
- Could you lend me out a five?
- Okay.
Let's see. What have we got?
One, two, three...
That's four. Here's five.
- Now, stay away from the hot dogs.
- Yeah.
- Ben, there's a phone call for you.
- Thank you.
Thanks for the--
And soon as-- Soon as I...
- Ben Matlock.
- Yeah, Ben, it's Tyler.
I went to the address
on Donny Styles' registration.
There's nobody there
but an old lady in a wheelchair,
says she lives alone.
But I did spot some fresh oil
in the driveway.
- Any sign of his car?
- Guess what.
About ten minutes ago, he pulled up,
parked it in the garage.
Good work, Tyler.
Keep an eye on him.
I didn't have any breakfast.
Hello, Frank.
- Oh, evening, counsellor.
- Evening.
You know,
the more I get into this case,
the more certain I am
that Harry Landers had an informant
inside the department.
What's that gonna do for your client?
Well, with a little bit of luck
and an intelligent jury,
I think it's gonna clear him.
See, Joe Peters
wasn't the inside man.
- You were.
- I was?
See, when Joe started getting close,
you had to shut things down
pretty fast,
so you planted your man Tom Coyle.
Then you either killed Harry Landers
or you had him killed,
and Tom Coyle was right there
to hang the murder on Joe.
You don't think
I can convince the jury of this, do you?
- No.
- Come see for yourself.
This subpoena guarantees you
the best seat in the house.
I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Donny, it's time we had a little talk.
- Morning, Donny.
- Who are you?
I'm Joe Peters' lawyer.
- Well, what do you want from me?
- I wanna help you.
Help me, huh?
Help you keep from getting in
any deeper, Donny.
I don't know
what you're talking about.
We're talking about murder.
Who sent you
to steal Joe Peters' gun?
I didn't steal any gun.
Donny, let's play a ''let's say'' game.
Let's say that I'm somebody,
maybe a cop,
and I wanna
get rid of a couple of guys.
I wanna kill Harry Landers
and I want Joe Peters
to get the blame for it.
Now, what do you think
would be a good move for me?
I don't know. Why don't you tell me?
Well, how about this?
How about I hire a couple of kids,
and one of them
is a pretty good pickpocket?
And I hired this kid
to steal Joe Peters' gun.
While he's at it,
he takes his badge too,
but that's okay.
Now, I don't tell the kid
that the gun's gonna be used
for murder.
He might not like that.
He just gets the gun.
Then later, if he wants to holler,
I can get rid of the kid any time,
one way or another.
The gun you stole
was used to kill Harry Landers.
You're an accessory to murder,
Donny.
And like they used to say
in the movies,
that buys the big ticket.
Now, unless you cooperate,
it's just gonna get worse.
- Get out of my way.
- Here.
My number's on that. Call any time.
- That's the last we'll see of him.
- Maybe.
Okay, I'm here. What's the problem?
That cop's lawyer,
he came and saw me yesterday.
He knows who we are.
Correction:
He knows who you are, Donny.
You didn't give him anything else,
did you?
Now, you look.
I shined him on,
but you gotta get him off of me.
Now, he says
that I could be an accessory.
Now, I said I would take care of you,
and I will.
Don't worry.
But you futz around with me, boy,
and there's places I can lose you
as easy as a paper clip.
Now, I got guys on the inside
who owe me favours.
You'd be worth maybe-- Maybe.
--a pack of cigarettes.
Now, you got that?
Yeah. Right.
Right, anything you say.
Fine. Fine.
Everything's gonna be fine.
We're gonna look back on this
and we're gonna laugh,
I promise you.
Just to be on the safe side,
I got something I want you to do,
Eddie, okay?
Absolutely, Mr. B. You bet.
Captain Braddock,
for the last 1 8 months,
you've headed a task force
investigating the criminal activities
of Mr. Harry Landers, have you not?
Yes.
Mr. Landers is reputed to be a fence,
that is, a receiver and dealer
in stolen goods.
- Is that correct?
- Yes.
As a result of your investigations,
did you determine
that Mr. Landers dealt
in thousands of dollars of materials
or hundreds of thousands
or in the millions?
- Probably in the millions.
- A large operation, in other words.
Where did he keep
all this merchandise?
In various places,
warehouses around the city.
Did you ever
raid these various places?
Oh, yes.
According to departmental records,
27 separate raids
on these warehouses.
Does that sound about right to you?
I don't remember the exact number,
but that sounds right.
As a result of these raids,
were you able to obtain an arrest
and conviction of Mr. Landers?
Never.
- Not even once?
- No.
That's remarkable.
One might assume
that he knew when you were coming.
Yes, sir.
It's my opinion that Detective Peters
was tipping Mr. Landers off.
Objection. Highly improper.
Move to strike.
Granted.
The statement shall be stricken.
Captain Braddock,
you've been in the witness box before.
You know the game.
I ask the questions,
you answer just my questions.
No opinions. No speculations.
- Do we understand each other?
- Objection.
Mr. Matlock
is harassing his own witness.
I apologise to the court
and withdraw the last question.
Mr. Braddock,
before these raids happened,
who knew the time and place?
Peters always knew.
As head of the task force,
you must have known.
- Yes.
- And who else?
The judge who signed the warrant,
the clerk of his court,
backup personnel, watch commander,
desk sergeant, motor-pool officers.
Did I leave out anybody?
Dr. Warner wanted in Radiology,
please.
Dr. Warner.
Dr. Klein. Paging Dr. Klein.
Captain Braddock,
the most telling evidence
against Detective Peters
is that his gun
has been positively identified
as the murder weapon.
But defence contends
that that gun was stolen
24 hours
before the murder took place.
Yes, sir.
I'm aware that is your contention.
Now, Detective Peters' badge
was also stolen at the same time,
we assume by the same people.
The gun's been found by officers
working under your supervision,
but the shield is still missing.
- Where do you suppose it is?
- I have no idea.
Whoever stole that gun
or had it stolen
is likely responsible
for Harry Landers' murder.
- If your contention is correct.
- If our contention is correct.
Now, let me make it clear.
Detective Peters' badge
was also stolen at the same time.
Now, you will agree.
If we knew who has that badge,
it would go a long ways
to support defence's claim.
Well, I suppose theoretically, yes.
Would Mr. Donny Styles
please stand?
Do you recognise this man?
No.
You've never seen him before?
- No.
- Objection, Your Honour.
- Question was asked and answered.
- Sustained.
Captain Braddock,
this young man says he knows you.
He stepped forward this morning
and made a deposition under oath
that he and a friend
stole Detective Peters' gun
at your instructions
and in the process
took his badge as well.
That is a complete fabrication.
Objection. If defence has a witness,
let's swear him in
and put him on the stand.
- Otherwise--
- Mr. Prosecutor,
I intend to do just that
if it becomes necessary.
But right now I would like
to continue my examination
of the witness already on the stand.
- Proceed, counsellor.
- Thank you, Your Honour.
Captain Braddock,
isn't it a departmental rule
that Atlanta policemen
must carry their shields at all times?
Yes.
- Do you have yours with you now?
- Yes.
May I take a look at it, please?
Don't hand it to me.
Just hold it up so I can look at it.
- What's the number?
- Eight-three-oh.
- Are you sure?
- Yes, I'm sure.
That's interesting.
It doesn't say 830.
This is a detective's badge, 7 7 1 .
That's Joe Peters' badge.
Your Honour,
we'd like to offer this badge
as Defendant's Exhibit G.
Captain Braddock,
how did you come
to be in possession of this badge?
Then I'll tell you.
Donny Styles
is an expert pickpocket.
When you met with him
and Eddie Leeds this morning,
he bumped you, and in so doing,
he switched your badge
and holder for Joe Peters'.
You're the one
Harry Landers was paying off.
No, sir. Absolutely not.
He threatened to expose you
unless you got Joe Peters off his back.
That's not true.
So you hired Donny Styles
and Eddie Leeds
to steal Joe Peters' gun.
Then you used that gun
to kill Harry Landers.
These questions are insulting
and defamatory.
And isn't it true,
at this very moment,
Eddie Leeds
is at County General Hospital,
sent there by you to kill Joe Peters?
Drop it or I'll break your arm.
If Joe Peters were killed,
there would be
no further investigations
into this matter.
And so Eddie Leeds,
acting on orders
from Captain Braddock,
did in fact try to kill Joe Peters
while he lay helpless in a hospital bed.
What the court decides to do
with Captain Braddock
is out of my hands.
What I'm asking of you,
ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
is that you set Joe Peters,
an innocent man, free of all charges.
Thank you.
Be seated.
- Has the jury reached a verdict?
- Yes, we have, Your Honour.
We find the defendant not guilty.
Court is adjourned.
- I wanna thank you.
- Why don't you?
- Thanks. Thank you.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
- Hey, you know what?
I'm glad I caught you.