Matlock (1986–1995): Season 3, Episode 6 - The Captain - full transcript

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After you left your men to
investigate the murder scene,

what did you do?

A family had just been
slaughtered like animals.

What the hell do
you think I did?

Your Honor...

I went looking for
the man who did it.

You mean someone to pin it on?



Why did you stop
Mr. Edmunds' automobile?

I wanted to talk to him.

After he was
fired by Mr. Mailer,

he was heard making threats

against him and his family.

Come on, Captain Hanna.

Did any witness place
my client at the scene?

No, but... Was
there any evidence

connecting my client
with the murders?

Not at that time, but...

Did any reliable source
provide any information or tip?

I don't rely on tips.

So, with not one
shred of evidence,

or anything remotely
resembling probable cause,



you stopped my client,
and without his consent,

searched both him
and his automobile?

The murder weapon
was in the trunk.

I had the guy cold.

Your Honor, the
seizure of this weapon

violated the fourth amendment

of the Constitution.

It must be suppressed.

He's guilty as sin.

You can't let him walk!

Further, upon exclusion
of this evidence...

The only link between
my client and this crime...

Defense moves that this case be

dismissed for lack of evidence.

In light of the flagrant abuse

of the defendant's
constitutional rights,

I have no choice but
to dismiss this case.

Hey, Edward? Ed Hanna.

Hey! Ben.

Ben, it's been too long.

Yeah.

What say we catch up over
T-bones at the steak house?

We used to be
their best customers.

Great idea. We'll do that soon.

Um, I'll give you a call, Ben.

Is, uh...?

Is everything all right?

Oh, couldn't be
better. Just busy.

I understand that.

Good to see you.

Right, Ben.

Good wrap, buddy.
I can't believe it.

Yeah, the good old
American way, huh?

Take it easy, man.

All right, see you, Bo.

What?

Hey, get those people back.

Come on.

That's your good buddy.

Hold on to your hat, honey.

What do you got?

Homicide some time last night.

Coroner's on his way.

What do you know?

Just what I said.

Single shot through the
base of the skull with this...

.22, taped handle,

no prints... no way to trace it.

Yeah, Mob hit.

The Mob didn't do this.

Look, when you've been
32 years on the force,

you'll know a Mob
execution when you see one.

This is how it's done.

Edmunds wasn't Mob.

And he didn't slaughter
the Mailer family, either.

Hey, Shanley!

I expect you to be
green, but not stupid.

Last night, Frank Caliguire

walked into the
station and confessed.

Caliguire's nothing.

He's a punk. He's a punk

high on PCP looking
for drug money.

He tore up the Mailer
house and then killed them.

The PCP ran out, he crashed.

He got scared, got
religion... who knows?

But he gave himself up.

I don't buy it.

We had hard evidence on Edmunds.

The gun.

Caliguire said he planted it.

Put a call in to the precinct.

Morrison'll tell you.

Edmunds was scum.

His last conviction,
he assaulted a cop.

Could've killed him.

Whoever did Edmunds,
did this city a favor.

Whoever did Edmunds
is guilty of murder.

And I don't think
this is the first time

this has happened.

Meaning?

I think you know.

Shanley, let's bag
the rest of the evidence

Get it down to the lab. Come on.

Listen, Jim. You've
got to stop calling

Captain Hanna "The Mad Hatter."

Stop telling people
he's flipped out.

What do you call it, Reese?

He's a good officer

trying to keep
us alive out there.

He's over the edge.

He's a Section Eight.

I'm telling you,
he's flipped out.

I told you to can it!

♪ ♪

Take a hike, punk.

Time to talk again, Malcolm.

Man, forget it. Hey!

Right. Now!

Hello, Captain.

I'd like to talk to you.

I've been thinking
about you, Shanley.

You went to college,
didn't you? Captain...

Maybe you should go
back, get your law degree.

Start defending those
creeps you're so crazy about.

Listen, Captain... ACLU's
the place for you, Shanley.

Not my precinct.

I'm a cop, Captain.

Yeah, well, wait till
someone you know

gets blown away.

Let's see if you're still
screaming "due process."

Everybody knows what
happened to your wife, Captain.

In less than two years,

five guys who slipped
through the system

have been wasted.

I think I found the connection.

That a fact?

In each case,

you were the arresting officer.

I talked to a guy named Malcolm,

he says he's done
business lately with a cop.

Sounds like you're building

a case against
somebody, Shanley.

You got any proof?

I don't have anything yet.

And I don't want
to have anything.

Captain, you've got 30 years.

More decorations

than most generals. Hell, you're

a legend at the academy:

Edward Hanna, the cop's cop.

What do you want
from me, Shanley?

Retire, Captain.

Pack it in.

I'm afraid I can't do that.

I want you to know
I'm investigating this.

And sooner or later, I'll have

to go to Internal Affairs.

Retirement's no
dishonor, Captain.

Think about it.

♪ ♪

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Who is it? Edward Hanna.

I've been thinking
about what you said

about retirement.

It's not the worst
idea I ever heard.

That's a relief, Captain.

And I'll pack it in.

Let some hotshot
like you take over.

Now, you get over here
to the phone. Come on.

Now... You dial
5-5-5... 5-8-1-3.

That'll be Sergeant Reese.

You tell him to meet you
in the Pike Street alley

in 20 minutes.

Dial.

Stop right here.

Look... I wrote everything down.

Something happens to
me, they're going to find

my notes and know you did it.

Shut up and turn around.

You'll never get
away with it. Come on!

Shanley!

Shanley, oh, God!

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Freeze it right there, buddy.

Get up real slow.

For the twentieth
time, he called, I went.

I heard a shot.

I investigated I got clobbered.

Why'd you give Shanley $5,000?

I didn't!

What were you doing
with a quarter pound

of coke in your car?

I don't know.

Anything? Still sticking
to his story like glue.

Well, then, damn it,
he's telling the truth.

Shanley, Reese...
both good cops.

I can't believe they'd
be dealing in drugs.

What about the guy

in the red sweatshirt
seen in the alley?

I'll find him.

Just up from Ballistics.

Eh, thanks.

Ah... The bullet
that killed Shanley

came from Reese's gun.

Damn it.

Book him.

When I came to,

two officers were
standing over me

and Officer Shanley was

lying there... dead.

I know how it looks.

But I didn't kill him.

I guess they took your
picture when they booked you?

Yeah, it's standard procedure.

We'll have a record

of that bruise on your neck.

How did you and Officer
Shanley get along?

You're not going to like this.

I thought Shanley was a jerk.

He was always blowing off

about Captain Hanna,

calling him "The Mad Hatter."

"Mad Hatter"?

Captain Hanna's a good cop.

Okay, he may be
a little hard-nosed.

Try a lot hard-nosed.

You know him?

Since my hair was brown
and his was a crew cut.

Long time.

Officer Shanley's partner,

what can you tell me about him?

Her, Mr. Matlock.

Donna Dawson's a good cop.

Clearheaded, quick on her feet.

And loyal.

Especially to Shanley.

Officer Dawson!

Hi, I'm, uh, Ben Matlock,

Jerry Reese's attorney.

My partner wasn't
dirty, Mr. Matlock.

Uh, then you
don't buy the theory

that, uh, he and,
uh, Jerry Reese

were dealing drugs? Never.

Jim was set up.

And when I find out who and why,

then I'll know why
Jerry Reese killed him.

Uh, you don't think,
uh, someone else

set up Jerry Reese as well?

Look, Mr. Matlock,

Jerry Reese was
found at the scene,

and his gun was
the murder weapon.

The only thing I'm
missing is motive.

And I'm digging.

Maybe we could work together.

You gotta be kidding.

I've known a lot of people.

But there was only one
person I would trust my life with.

And did, every day.

That was Jim Shanley.

Now, if Jerry Reese killed him,

why in hell would I help you?

Well, I'll tell you.

In the first place,

Jerry Reese didn't
kill your partner.

And I intend to prove that.

And when I do prove it,

it'll clear Jerry Reese,

and it'll clear Jim
Shanley's name as well.

Jim is investigating
our precinct captain.

Edward Hanna?

Captain Hanna's wife was
murdered by some punk on parole.

And since then, the
captain's been... difficult.

Well, he had a terrible
thing happen to him.

But the captain's
pulled some stuff.

It's gone way past bizarre.

And Jim was keeping a list.

I've known Edward
Hanna for 30 years.

Jim told me that when he
was through investigating

Captain Hanna, he'd be
going to the review board,

maybe even Internal Affairs.

Do you have any
idea where your partner

was keeping this list?

You want to know the names

of the most attractive
women in Atlanta?

Right here.

Shanley dated them all.

I figured if he

was dealing, he
might've kept a ledger.

Something in here.

Any luck?

Oh, nothing.

Call just came in.

One of our men
talked to somebody

and said they saw a guy in a red

sweatshirt sleeping it off

behind a Dumpster this morning.

Where?

700 block of Pike.

Here, do something with this.

Hey, man!

Game's over.

Who's next?!

Malcolm, old buddy.

I want you to meet
a friend of mine,

Ben Matlock. How you doing?

He's aka "Alice."

Short for Alice's Restaurant.

Anything you
need, Alice can get.

Fake birth certificates,
new driver's license,

hot cars, untraceable firearms.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Jim Shanley was
in here yesterday.

What did he want?

Must have missed him.

Been downtown lately, Alice?

Go ahead.

I'd rather be rousted than
wind up dead in some alley.

Are you saying
that Officer Shanley

was killed because of
something you told him?

I'm saying nothing.

It was guns, wasn't it?

He wanted to find
out who's been getting

cold .22s off of you.

What did you tell
him? That I'm lousy

at remembering names.
How about the name

Edward Hanna?

Look... Ain't no way

is anyone going to
get a name out of me.

Being out of
business is one thing.

Being dead is another.

I'm looking for a guy
wearing a red sweatshirt.

You know, the kind with a
hood... Alley red... a boozer.

Have you seen him around here?

Nope.

Don't walk away
from me! Hey, let go!

Think about it, hair-brain!

A guy with a red
sweatshirt, a boozer.

Now, where have you seen him?!

I-I... Have you seen him
anywhere around here?!

No, I haven't, man! I
swear. I swear. Ah, sh...!

I heard you were down here.

Ben.

Weren't you a
little rough on him.

Should've been a lot rougher.

Things have changed, Ben.

Punks carry Uzis
instead of switchblades.

Crack is cheap.
Life is a lot cheaper.

You let down for a minute,

they're playing
"Taps" over your coffin.

Life hasn't improved.

Of course, you can't
take care of it by yourself.

Why are you

conducting this
investigation personally?

Well, when you want
something done right, Ben,

you do it yourself.

I want to thank you
for taking on Reese.

You know, he's a good man.

I don't know what
the hell happened.

How did, uh, Officer
Shanley measure up?

He made his share of mistakes,
but he showed a lot of promise.

Do you know, uh...

the talk was that,
uh, he didn't like you.

He called you "The Mad Hatter."

He kept some kind of crazy list

with things you had done

and he was telling people

that you ought to
resign from the force.

I'm not surprised.

When a person
shows a lot of potential,

I'm a lot tougher on them.

But as far as his
writing down stuff,

believe me, he had
better things to do.

I kept that kid hopping.

Look, I've got a
lot of work to do.

I'll call you next week, okay?

Okay, Ed. Take care, Ben.

Okay.

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Freeze.

Don't move.

Officer Dawson.

Cops can see in the dark,

Mr. Matlock, but lawyers...

Well, the lights were on when...

Hmm.

Well, I could have
sworn I heard somebody.

You did.

They treating you all right?

Nobody looks me in the eye.

Well, a cop accused
of killing a cop...

I'm okay.

Good.

Now... your gun
killed Jim Shanley

but you didn't?

Who could have
switched guns with you?

My gun is either
on me or locked up.

When is it locked up?

When I shower at the precinct

or when I work out.

Then it's in my locker.

Did you work out the day
Jim Shanley was killed?

Every day, after my shift.

Is there a master
key to those lockers?

Sure, in the office.

You mean anybody in that office

could've opened your locker
while you were working out

and switched guns with you?

Anybody authorized
to go in the office

can go in any locker.

That's procedure.

Oh.

Are you trying to
say another cop?

You don't think that's possible?

Hell no.

Why would...? No,
it's not possible.

Hmm.

I looked through your
belongings in the property room.

I noticed you had
a St. Jude medal.

I saw one exactly like it
in Jim Shanley's effects.

Captain Hanna gave them
to everybody one Christmas.

It was his wife's idea.

She should have
given one to herself.

Mr. Matlock.

I was just going to call you.

I did some investigating.

Five suspects freed
on technicalities

wound up shot to
death a short time later.

Captain Hanna was
involved in all five cases.

And, just this week, a guy named
Bo Edmunds was found dead

the day after a murder case
against him was dismissed.

Know why it was dismissed?

No. Captain Hanna performed

an illegal search and seizure.

Hey.

Hey, Ben.

How's uh, how's Jerry Reese?

Oh, he's-he's holding on.

Did you find the man
in the red sweatshirt?

Oh, just a matter of time.

How about you?

You getting anywhere?

You know, I was thinking
on the way over here

about how we met.

Yeah, I was just a
rookie, and you were...

Scared out of my shoes.

My first case.

You won it.

Your testimony didn't hurt.

You were the best
rookie I ever saw.

And the best cop.

Well, I believe in justice.

So do you.

That's why we're friends.

Uh... I've got a theory.

You want to hear it?

Yeah.

Shoot.

Okay, here it is.

Now, Jim Shanley was
killed by another officer,

that's a fact, but
not Jerry Reese.

A third officer was involved.

What makes you
think it was a cop?

Because of the
bruises on his neck.

They were made by
a police choke hold.

And that patrol car
that just happened by.

Hell, the killer knew that
patrol car was coming by

because the killer was a cop.

Interesting theory, huh?

Yeah.

I'll tell ya, why don't you
keep me posted, huh?

Yeah.

Oh!

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Did you know that Jim Shanley
was keeping a Mad Hatter list?

I found some notes
scribbled on a pad

in his house the other night.

Did you really do
all those things?

I don't know. I
never saw the list.

Oh, here's a copy.

This it?

Yeah.

The way this is written,

it makes me out a nut case.

I can't figure Jim Shanley.

Keep it, keep it, keep it.

I'll see ya.

Take care, Ben.

I'm looking for a guy
wearing a red sweatshirt.

You know, the kind
with a hood... alley red.

Any of you gals seen a
guy like that around here?

If you see him, let
me know, all right?

Get away from me! No,
come on, work with me.

You still looking for that
guy in the red sweatshirt?

Yeah, have you seen him?

Yeah, in an alley on St. Claire

between Seventh and Eighth.

Yeah? He was
looking for breakfast.

Wait. Hey, what's
in it for me, huh?

Son of a...

Stop, stop.

♪ ♪

Freeze!

Don't shoot!

I wouldn't do that, Edward.

I didn't want to believe it.

You were going to
shoot him, Edward.

Because you were afraid

he could identify you.

He never saw Officer
Shanley murdered.

He never saw you.

He ran because he heard a siren.

People who sleep
behind Dumpsters

don't think of policemen
as their friends.

I don't presume to know what
goes on in your head, Ben,

other than getting
your client off.

I was merely pursuing a
witness in a murder case.

And now that you've
determined he's not a witness...

we can all go home.

Jim Shanley, Bo Edmunds,

Tavares, Taylor,
Hill and Fremont.

You killed them all.

Ben, think about
what you're saying.

Edward Hanna,

captain of police,
guilty of murder?

This is Sergeant Shanley's list.

I saw the list.

It's nothing.

It'll do for openers.

And I have evidence.

What kind of evidence?

You'll hear it in court.

You'll tell me now.

Sorry.

Ben... don't count
on our friendship.

Edward...

I don't know you.

Where's your medal?

What medal?

Your St. Jude medal
your wife gave you.

At home in a drawer.

Or maybe Sergeant
Shanley put up a struggle,

tore it off.

Maybe it's still
somewhere in the alley.

Detain him! Barnes, Drucker!

Captain, you want us...?

You put him in

a holding room and don't
let him out of your sight.

You want us to...?

Are you questioning
my order, officer?

Sorry, Mr. Matlock.

What the hell are
you gawking at?

Go on!

My name is Captain
Edward Calvin Hanna.

I work for the Atlanta
police department.

I reside at 645 Biloxi
Street in Atlanta, Georgia.

How long have you been a
policeman, Captain Hanna?

32 years.

And you've been
a captain for...?

Ten years.

And in that time,
you have acquired

a most impressive reputation.

I believe they call
you the "cop's cop."

I've heard that.

And in your 32 years,

you've received dozes
of citizen commendations.

You've been awarded
the Police Star,

you're the only
officer on the APD

to have twice received
the Medal of Valor.

Any officer in the world

would be proud of your record.

I am.

Some cases are harder
than others, Captain Hanna.

But of course, you know that.

When did the people
who work under you

start calling you
"The Mad Hatter"?

Nobody's ever called
me that to my face,

so, uh, I wouldn't know.

You know where the
nickname came from?

No idea.

I might.

The decedent, James
Shanley, wrote it down.

Objection:

Mr. Matlock is testifying,
not asking questions.

I seriously doubt the
relevancy of any of this.

Goes to motive, Your Honor.

I certainly hope
so, Mr. Matlock.

Proceed.

Thank you.

When a patrol officer lost

his Atlanta Police Department
baseball cap a couple years ago,

you suspended him for
three weeks without pay.

That is indeed true.

Three weeks without pay.

Officer Shanley

thought that was
fairly irrational,

so he started calling
you "The Mad Hatter."

There was no irrationality.

The emblem of the
Atlanta Police Department

is on our baseball caps.

It looks like a badge.

Anyone wearing one would be
presumed to be a police officer.

If a street punk got
his hands on one,

he could pass
himself off as a cop.

Anything could happen.

By severely punishing
one of my officers,

I taught them all a
very important lesson.

If they saw fit to call me
names after that, so be it.

Hm.

Then there was the, uh,
Officer Parsons incident.

Your Honor,

I still fail to see
the relevance.

Mr. Matlock,

as Captain Hanna
himself has just stated,

his actions may
have been extreme,

but they were not
necessarily irrational.

And they hardly justify
the very serious allegations

you seem to be making.

Not by themselves, Your
Honor, no, probably not.

But Jim Shanley wrote
down something else.

At this time, I would like

the last page of these notes
to be entered into evidence

as Defense Exhibit B.

I have made copies.

It's a... a list of names: five.

All five of these men
were involved in cases

in which Captain
Hanna was also involved.

They were all arrested
for one reason or another.

And each was released
on a technicality,

and each was found shot to death

a short time later.

Isn't that true, Captain Hanna?

You knew that Jim Shanley
had figured it out, didn't you?

The names... the
untraceable guns.

What are you talking
about, Mr. Matlock?

Didn't he tell you that he
didn't have enough proof

to go to the D.A.,

but he would keep digging
and digging until he did?

This is total fabrication.

You have unlimited access

to the police property
room, don't you?

Yes, I do.

And the day after Jim
Shanley was murdered,

a quarter pound of cocaine
turned up missing, didn't it?

That's right.

You recently sold your

old pickup truck, didn't you?

Well, yes, I did.

For $5,000 cash?

Of course, cash.

And there's a master key

to all the policemen's
lockers at the precinct,

including Jerry
Reese, isn't that right?

For emergency use, yes.

And you know
where that key is kept!

It's my job to know.

Isn't this what really
happened, Captain Hanna?

That night at the bar,
Jim Shanley told you

as soon as he had
enough evidence,

he was going to the Review
Board or Internal Affairs.

An official inquiry.

That could mean the
end of your career.

Destroy your reputation.

Place you in prison.

Captain Edward
Hanna, the cop's cop.

You got scared, didn't you?

You went back to the precinct,

and while Jerry Reese
was working out in the gym,

you opened his locker

and switched revolvers with him.

Then you went to
Jim Shanley's home,

forced him to call Jerry
Reese, told him to meet him

at the Pike Street alley, and
there you killed Jim Shanley.

And when Officer
Reese showed up,

you choked him out,

put the $5,000 in Jim Shanley's
pocket, planted the cocaine

in Officer Reese's
car and took off.

Ben... this is garbage.

Right here.

St. Jude medal.

Your wife gave you one of these

a year or two before
she died, didn't she?

Yes.

Was anything
inscribed on the back?

Yes.

"For luck forever.

Love, Emily."

Your men tell me you
wear that medal every day.

Like it so much, you
gave each of them one.

I wear it frequently,
but not every day.

How about the night
Jim Shanley was killed?

You wear it then?

I don't remember.
Of course you did.

Somehow, in his death struggle,

he tore it from your neck.

It fell to the ground.

You probably scrambled
around looking for it.

But then when
Officer Reese arrived,

you had other work to do.

And then when the third
car, the patrol car, arrived,

you had to leave
without finding it,

hoping no one else would.

Am I right?

Sorry, counselor.

Oh... so you found it.

It was never lost.

Oh, but it was... right up until

the moment you thought I
was going to go look for it.

You had me detained
at the precinct

while you went and
looked for it yourself.

This is my medal,

inscribed to me by my wife.

Read the inscription.

"For luck..." forever.

Love, Emily."

There's something else
inscribed on the medal, isn't there?

At the very bottom,
in very small letters.

Read the initials on
the bottom of the medal.

The initials are... B.L.M.

Benjamin Leighton Matlock.

My initials.

We find the defendant,
Jerry Reese, not guilty.