Street Justice (1991–1993): Season 2, Episode 11 - Black or Blue - full transcript
so this is why i never see you accepted
group
well that's a full-time job man
i tutor kids every night spend my days
trying to find
employers willing to hire a former gang
banger and my weekends are spent having
people like you come speak
sounds like quite a load it's the most
rewarding thing i've ever done
but it's a lot of work for one man
hey what am i oh miguel
oh miguel yeah my friend you'd like a
patient helping the doctor run the
assignment but you're good
oh i think there's a common
thing no teddy
i don't know what i have to offer these
kids that they want to hear i'm a cop
yeah but you're a man who comes from a
similar background as they do you know
their world what they're up against
oh man they need strong male role models
like you
oh
you know i'm not much of a public
speaker
oh it sounds like you better get the
show on the road before your chickens
out yeah i heard that okay
all right everybody hey listen up all
y'all come on now
come on everybody get down here and take
a seat come on
pick it up pick it up pick it up
let's go all right
now our speaker for tonight is detective
sergeant adam boudreau
from the police department give him some
props
as mr willis said i'm sergeant with
metro pd
i didn't really prepare anything i
thought we could you know
just shoot the bull
maybe i can answer some questions about
becoming a police officer
i got a question yes
are you black are you blue
excuse me are you a brother or you a cop
i'm both you can't be both
clint once you give the man a chance the
man's five vote man
they don't help people like us they bust
people like
us i'd like to help you if you give me a
chance
how you going to help us
well for example if you really don't
want to get busted
i give you some tips on what not to do
to give the police just cause
just cause this is just cause man a
black face you know that
that can also be used as a cop-out
that's a fact okay clint
that's enough you know something for the
first time you're right that is enough
i'm not sitting here listening to this
garbage i'm out of here
okay
rich is dead that's him
hey up here i just saw a guy run out i
think he's still in here
yeah that's him all right [ __ ] just
blew the guy away
yo you calling a [ __ ] listen to now
just calm down and listen
somebody shot at me i think the guy ran
in here
what are you doing in this neighborhood
i stopped to get a pizza all right oh
hardly worth killing a man over is it
i told you i didn't kill anybody i told
you to shut up
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[Applause]
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oh glenn is the shortest way to your
house from the youth center
so i stopped there to get a pizza
man was i stupid to stop in that part of
town after midnight no
they got a sign outside that says open
for business anybody's got a right to go
in
don't worry this nightmare is going to
be over for you as soon as we find that
murder weapon
oh great great so uh what are the odds
of that
well pretty good the clerk had a 40
caliber slug in him now
very few companies even make a 40
caliber gun so there can't be that many
around
i'm checking all the gun stores you're
my top priority no no no wait adam
don't make me your top priority
look man you're like a brother to me i'm
not just gonna stand here and let wait a
minute adam what i mean is i want you to
make my kids your top priority
you talking about the youth rescue yeah
they need you man
need me willis look
you remember what happened there
yesterday oh come on adam
one kid gave you a hard time so what man
now look these kids are walking a very
thin line they're gonna need somebody
there you're
a very strong role model no i'm here for
you can't miguel handled into your back
i will be fine and miguel can barely
keep himself
out of trouble now adam
me being arrested is about all the
excuse these kids need to drive them
back to their old ways now i'm asking
you man
as a favorite of me adam
please man what be a role model first
and a cop
look it should only be a matter of days
before we clear mr willis
but right now his biggest worry is that
some of you are going to mess up
that on blair street what are you doing
on blair street
why you all in my business
you know blast street's a farmer's
market for everything illegal
you know it i know it i came here to
listen to your bull crap now you're
gonna give me the third degree man
or you're buying guns you know shaman
if it wasn't for my probation i wouldn't
even be here
my man came to hear what you have to say
i believe in your badge outside today
okay you're right
thanks for coming no more questions
all right we're here got something to
say
look it's this simple i came here
to ask you all not to overreact to this
situation mr willis will be out in two
days
two days he shouldn't have been in there
in the first place
only reason he's even there is cause
he's black
yo i've been doing some thinking too and
i was thinking
that we should go down to oakland we
should get them punks and we should get
the truth out of them today
right now just hold on all right you go
down to oakland you fall right into what
they want to believe that you're just a
black gang terrorizing whites
you know you're better than that got a
better plan boudreaux
you know my answer is miguel let the law
handle this
the law
in case you didn't notice black man the
law don't seem to work for us people
look clint i understand where you're
coming from
but just chill out give me two days
that's all i'm asking for two days
in two days
that's all you got after that it's on
you want to see me actually i did
adam boudreau you know councilman
wallace sergeant pedro
always honored to meet one of our city's
finest
what can i do for your councilman i came
to make a special request of you
i'd like you to stay away from the ted
willis case
ted willis is one of my closest friends
exactly why you can't work the case
the people in that neighborhood won't
take it well if an obviously biased
officer
and how would they know my relationship
to the man
i think that relationship will be quite
obvious based on what
[Music]
i think what's obvious is that you don't
want a black cop work in this case
because it's in an all-white area
i'm offended at the implication sergeant
color is not the issue
well you're up for re-election next
month right
we wouldn't want to start a controversy
now would we
i'd say color is the issue got him where
are you going
this guy doesn't know me charlie but
damn it you know me better than they
expect me to stand by and watch my
friend get railroaded
because the councilman here is worried
about losing a racist vote
foreign
foreign
[Music]
what happened younger guys claim to be
eyewitnesses to the shooting
they both are deep willis they're lying
yeah
but why same reason they always do
the man's a brother so he must have done
something
what are you wanting i'm just keeping an
eye on things
you when your boys ain't got much time
left
i i want to help b all right i mean i'll
i'll go down
hang out with the guys that are accusing
him and see what they have to no
no why not
because i'm not interested in having my
white friend go solve this problem for
me
what about maybe just having your friend
period huh
this is no color try to understand
something
i've been a cop for 20 years a black cop
yeah when i first went on the force
it was mostly a white institution
man there was a lot of racism there and
i'm telling you there still
is i wanted to see
if i could be the best cop i could be
and change all this stuff irrespective
of color
so what do you think now i don't know
but maybe i'm about to find out
hi can i help you
yeah you can i'm looking for the owner
why
i just want to ask him a few questions
about what
that's between him and me now is he here
or is he
me
now you don't move i just call the cops
wait a minute i am the cop i said don't
move
i don't want to kill nobody i'm not even
one of your kind
all right just calm down i want to show
you my badge
give me some credit you ain't no cop
if you were you would show me your badge
when you walked in maybe i should have
i want to show it to you now i'm not
gonna let you pull the gun blow me away
like your partner did richie
what part i know how you boys work
you want to kill somebody you want to
scare the witnesses that's ridiculous
all right now just let me show you all
right
your hands behind your head are you
crazy what's probable cause it put them
up now
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i'm a cop
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i said you were off the case
the only thing i did out of procedure
was i didn't identify
myself as a police officer as soon as i
went in you did a lot of things on a
procedure
why didn't you id yourself i was there
unofficially
i'm off the case remember come on adam
truth charlie i wanted to see if what
happened to willis would happen to me
you had to check it out to know i had to
be certain
because when it comes to black skin
charlie
this badge can act just like a mask
so you had to see what would happen
without the mask
yeah now i'm asking you to let me be
involved here
it's important to me for more than one
reason you're not working on this case
and that's final
if i hear about you going anywhere near
it i will personally assure
you that you spend the rest of your
nights walking a beat
on skid row
wow sorry i'm late and i miss the
dancing girls
you want to see me eric i want you to
drop all your other cases and work
exclusively on the ted willis case
what charlie
oh charlie rothman isn't the man to
assign to this case
why not no offense rodman but you have
no idea what you're up against
well offense taken sarge i think i have
a damn good idea of what i'm up against
if prejudice is what you're talking
about
look that's exactly what i'm talking
about okay sarge you seem to forget that
i'm a jew
i i used to come home from grade school
in tears because the other kids called
me
[ __ ] and god knows what else when i was
10 years old somebody painted a swastika
on the side of the house
you ever walk across the street in the
crosswalk and people lock their car
doors when they see you
what if i go for a job interview because
they liked your resume and then you get
there
and they decide that you're not right
for the job as soon as they see you
the difference is you don't wear your
jewishness on your skin
okay fair enough for what i understand
we have to have a white cop
on this case i mean is that true yeah
that seems to be the party line
so can you think of a better choice i
mean at least i have some understanding
okay you're right you're right but i'm
going with you i don't
you heard what law said yeah
i heard what he said what do we have
okay we ran the 40 caliber only one
store in oak glen has ever sold one to a
mike bishop
anybody pick him up no he died last year
cancer but you'll love this
his son jeff is one of the kids who id'd
willis in the lineup
now both he and the other kid work his
caddies at the oakfield country club
so let's go
hey rockman
don't mistake the intensity of the
feelings that i have about all this for
any hostility toward you
i understand
start over already did
i'm sorry members only and how do you
know we're not members
because i know my members and i suppose
none of them are black
as a matter of fact no how about jews
nope
you've just made an exception
don't worry we'll try not to get any
black or jew prince on the carpet
listen my old man told me a real
interesting statistic
three out of five male [ __ ] are in
jail
three out of five that makes it okay for
this willis guy to go to jail
yes i mean
they're all criminals man actually some
of them are cops
adam pedro metropd
that word [ __ ] falls from your lips
awfully easily doesn't it
so why so what you eavesdropping on us
huh
eavesdropping no no no no by the way the
actual statistic
is four out of five and it refers to
criminals four out of five
criminals are in jail
in this case it could be one in two or
maybe two and two
what are you talking about i'm talking
about the two of you
i figure one of you killed a man at the
pizza shop
the other one's covering it up eeny
meeny miny moe
you
what's your name doug johnson
what'd you see at the pizza shop on
friday night doug johnson
but i already told you guys
all right uh i was across the street and
i could see
through the window of the pizza shop
when that uh
that black guy willis shot richie
rothman yeah i think we're wasting our
time with these uh
these gentlemen when we
nail one of you boys and we will nail
you
the other one's going to go away as an
accessory
and you think about that and then you
give us a call
and as chairman of the council's police
committee i've ordered the police
department to implement operation cage
i promise the police will contain this
violence in the inner city and keep it
out of neighborhoods like oakland
on that note i'm pleased to announce
that just one hour ago
the d.a passed down an indictment
against theodore willis the black man
who shot and killed a white teen in
oakland friday night
i'll be happy to answer more questions
later right now i have an important
meeting with lieutenant pine
thank you thank you i have a question
sorry where you going if willis's guys
see this there's no telling what they do
relax clint okay just because they
indicted him does not mean that pedro
can't still clear him
now you relax miguel check this in
i know who the chumps are who testify i
know where they live and i know we can
get some gas so let's do this no guns
clint
okay let's go just in time you turn it
into a punk on me man
you and your cop y'all don't want to
help willis till it's really time to do
it
oh so why are you helping him you just
met him he's your brother in trouble man
that's only brother in trouble do as
long as you get a party out of it
what's your name
what police officer asks you a question
boy you answer
my name ain't boy it's miguel mendez oh
that's
better now why don't you tell me what
you're doing in this neighborhood
you don't look like you belong here
is there a climb against a latino
hanging out in the black neighborhood
there is when he robs the liquor store
there
well i get it this is the guy that rob
liquor stores described as latino so it
must be the first one that you come
across
soon hey got the new man he's been here
with us oh is that
son how many liquor stores you've done
in the past week hey let him go
let him go and who are you is pappy
detective sergeant adam pedro
we are just following orders sir
uh operation cage it's getting all about
operation
cage and it doesn't involve rousting
anyone because the color of his skin
yeah well what makes you think he's so
innocent huh
you don't want to get my face right now
i want badge numbers i want you out of
here now
you still don't get it
those cops they play this albuquerque
color of our skin
that's why you can't be black and blue
you don't get it clint that's exactly
why i have to be both
look it's easier to change things from
the inside i saw on tv they indicted
willis so much for changes
the agreement was two days i still have
one day
then what are you doing here miguel
the reason i'm here is because all
willis cares about
is keeping these guys and you out of
trouble man nothing changes i stay
straight all this time and the cops
still hassle me
oh look just just keep a clear head here
huh
willis means a lot to these guys and me
too
i'm not sure i disagree with what
they're planning oh okay
and what are they planning on what are
they gonna do they're gonna go down to
oh glenn bust some heads maybe kill
somebody
and then what miguel guys from oak glen
they come down into the hood
they kill somebody too they were not
afraid of them of course not
you can always go back there break some
more heads kill somebody else right
violence only breeds violence i know you
told me a million times
yeah i was hoping maybe one day you'd
hear me
i make no promises
come on man when you see it the cop he
doesn't have anything
he's just trying to scare you into
giving him something that's all don't
worry jeff
i mean we've been friends since we was
three i'm not about to turn you in to
see the
hide of some black
[Applause]
so
[Music]
i want to know who did it
well i hope you're happy because by
shooting up those people's house
you gave wallace exactly what he wanted
a reason to come down hard on anybody
from the hood
why are you pointing a finger at us look
i understand why you're angry what i
don't understand is why you won't give
me a chance to work this thing out
we can't give you a chance because there
is no chance for us you understand that
you know that's a bunch of brainwashed
crap there is a chance for you
but not if you go around shooting up
people's houses there's a chance to get
justice if you work from within the
system
the system you are so caught up in the
white man's game you don't even
understand your own people anymore man
you're a cop
and i'm a man a black man
seemed pretty obvious to me you can't
have it both ways
i may be the one sitting in jail at him
but you're the one that looks like the
prisoner
look i'm
the truth is i'm just uh i'm not
comfortable with having this pressure
to do what's right having everything
riding on on my next move
well your next move is
what's in your heart no that's just it
and for the first time in a long time
i'm having a question exactly what that
is
damn you know um when these people
accuse me of this
when that man
hit me with his gun
and moaning to kill somebody
i mean i wanted to kill somebody
i haven't felt like that since enough
i'm putting on behind me and i'm putting
this behind me
i guess you just have to have faith in
yourself
people
with all that's come down on you you
still believe all that come on believing
in that's about the only thing keeping
me going now
and you know something tells me it's the
same for you
[Applause]
good morning
have a nice day
what the hell are you doing here
cleaning up your house
don't you think you people have done
enough
too much
excuse me
i did what you asked i don't know such a
good idea one spark
boom we're here to put the fire out
look you better get out of here
we're not here to cause trouble doug oh
no we're just being in this neighborhood
is trouble
it's time all that changed come on guys
let's go
all right
here we go let's go
you should have pulled a gun
they weren't doing anything they were
just cleaning up yeah right they waltzed
into our neighborhoods right with brooms
in their hands by day so
so we could see them yeah but they won't
be holding no
brooms in their hands when they come
back tonight yeah yeah well they're not
coming back
tomorrow you got that right
hey put it away man it's hunting season
put it away man there's been enough
trouble whose side are you
want dougie it's just that you can't go
around blowing we just said nothing man
we're only giving them what they deserve
not with guns jeff
look you could either come with us
or you can stay here and cry
let's go
b there's uh a guy here asking about you
i'm telling you i'm busy right now uh
now
stay calm but i actually think this
is one of those caddies you were telling
me about
yeah what can i do for you we need to
talk
[Music]
they'd kill me if they know i came here
they
don't you mean bishop
just got off the edge man he's gonna do
something crazy
he's got that same out of control look
in his eyes that he
that he had that night the night he
killed the pizza clerk
i told him not to do it you know i told
him
nah you covered for him you're just as
guilty
i knew we'd never get away with it
trying to pin it all on that
willis guy what prompted you to come
forward now
because it's getting out of control
because someone else is going to get
killed
what are you talking about doug
jeff has gone to get payback there's
going to be blood tonight
where where
the rec center where they all hang out
i'm gonna want to talk to you later
don't disappear pete
you mind if uh your white friend comes
along
yeah i do
but i'd welcome my friend period
all right
[Music]
why your knees looking so slow man is it
from getting down to kiss all that over
there at oakland
no
been getting out in the gutter so i can
look you in the eye
let's go
what you want from the white boys huh
you want a shot of getting a job
cleaning their houses or something
no i want respect
suddenly you're not going to get the
rachel going we think they respect you
gotta give it to get it
yo a bunch of white boys outside
trashing in front of the rec
center yo it's time to go to work fellas
oh no no that's a good idea go straight
to the level that'll get you plenty of
respect we're gonna see who gets what
miguel
all right let's go
sorry to interrupt your game boys but uh
this won't take long true indeed
wait wait wait wait wait everybody's
gonna kill each other and then what
we're left with nothing
should have thought of that before we
started shooting up her neighborhood
right yo clint
let's waste these boys great great waste
some of them they'll waste some of us
and then what
bring it on
[Music]
all right hold it right there police
[Music]
[Music]
head behind your head behind your head
okay this hurts damn it miguel what are
you doing in the middle of this
job
[Music]
[Applause]
stop
all right that's far don't don't move
son
come on
all right right there so typical man
you nail me when you let all your black
brothers scatter free
like roaches you're not wanted for
murder and you
are and you're under arrest now come on
i take no credit other than remaining
diligent in expediting teddy willis's
journey to justice
though it was an honest mistake on the
part of mr willis's accusers
i thank the good lord the truth did
finally come out
and i'm proud of this police force for
containing what could have become a
powder keg situation
and that's all for now thank you thank
you thank you
uh frank over here
i'll need and tidy a wallace it is what
it is sergeant
i hope there are no hard feelings hard
feelings
they're probably more hard feelings and
hurt feelings out there than you'll ever
know
priority one believe me i hope i'll have
your support
yeah well either way i'll still win
probably too bad the voters can't see
what they'll really be getting huh
why not why not what
why not let the voters know what they're
really getting
because as sad as it is miguel wallace
is the lesser of two evils
wait so that's it nothing changes you
just walk away
walk away no we're just getting started
man
doing what changing things
because the politicians the wallaces of
the world
they won't do it for us people like you
and me we gotta show some courage and do
it for ourselves bit by bit
wave a magic wand boudreaux
with young men like you i don't need one
[Music]
adam
[Music]
i don't know how to thank you man
i should thank you teddy i learned a lot
from the way you handled this
hey guys
[Music]
uh
[Music]
you got a spare brush
[Music]
elbows
looks like we could all learn a lot from
these kids
[Music]
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you
group
well that's a full-time job man
i tutor kids every night spend my days
trying to find
employers willing to hire a former gang
banger and my weekends are spent having
people like you come speak
sounds like quite a load it's the most
rewarding thing i've ever done
but it's a lot of work for one man
hey what am i oh miguel
oh miguel yeah my friend you'd like a
patient helping the doctor run the
assignment but you're good
oh i think there's a common
thing no teddy
i don't know what i have to offer these
kids that they want to hear i'm a cop
yeah but you're a man who comes from a
similar background as they do you know
their world what they're up against
oh man they need strong male role models
like you
oh
you know i'm not much of a public
speaker
oh it sounds like you better get the
show on the road before your chickens
out yeah i heard that okay
all right everybody hey listen up all
y'all come on now
come on everybody get down here and take
a seat come on
pick it up pick it up pick it up
let's go all right
now our speaker for tonight is detective
sergeant adam boudreau
from the police department give him some
props
as mr willis said i'm sergeant with
metro pd
i didn't really prepare anything i
thought we could you know
just shoot the bull
maybe i can answer some questions about
becoming a police officer
i got a question yes
are you black are you blue
excuse me are you a brother or you a cop
i'm both you can't be both
clint once you give the man a chance the
man's five vote man
they don't help people like us they bust
people like
us i'd like to help you if you give me a
chance
how you going to help us
well for example if you really don't
want to get busted
i give you some tips on what not to do
to give the police just cause
just cause this is just cause man a
black face you know that
that can also be used as a cop-out
that's a fact okay clint
that's enough you know something for the
first time you're right that is enough
i'm not sitting here listening to this
garbage i'm out of here
okay
rich is dead that's him
hey up here i just saw a guy run out i
think he's still in here
yeah that's him all right [ __ ] just
blew the guy away
yo you calling a [ __ ] listen to now
just calm down and listen
somebody shot at me i think the guy ran
in here
what are you doing in this neighborhood
i stopped to get a pizza all right oh
hardly worth killing a man over is it
i told you i didn't kill anybody i told
you to shut up
[Music]
[Applause]
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[Applause]
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[Applause]
[Music]
oh glenn is the shortest way to your
house from the youth center
so i stopped there to get a pizza
man was i stupid to stop in that part of
town after midnight no
they got a sign outside that says open
for business anybody's got a right to go
in
don't worry this nightmare is going to
be over for you as soon as we find that
murder weapon
oh great great so uh what are the odds
of that
well pretty good the clerk had a 40
caliber slug in him now
very few companies even make a 40
caliber gun so there can't be that many
around
i'm checking all the gun stores you're
my top priority no no no wait adam
don't make me your top priority
look man you're like a brother to me i'm
not just gonna stand here and let wait a
minute adam what i mean is i want you to
make my kids your top priority
you talking about the youth rescue yeah
they need you man
need me willis look
you remember what happened there
yesterday oh come on adam
one kid gave you a hard time so what man
now look these kids are walking a very
thin line they're gonna need somebody
there you're
a very strong role model no i'm here for
you can't miguel handled into your back
i will be fine and miguel can barely
keep himself
out of trouble now adam
me being arrested is about all the
excuse these kids need to drive them
back to their old ways now i'm asking
you man
as a favorite of me adam
please man what be a role model first
and a cop
look it should only be a matter of days
before we clear mr willis
but right now his biggest worry is that
some of you are going to mess up
that on blair street what are you doing
on blair street
why you all in my business
you know blast street's a farmer's
market for everything illegal
you know it i know it i came here to
listen to your bull crap now you're
gonna give me the third degree man
or you're buying guns you know shaman
if it wasn't for my probation i wouldn't
even be here
my man came to hear what you have to say
i believe in your badge outside today
okay you're right
thanks for coming no more questions
all right we're here got something to
say
look it's this simple i came here
to ask you all not to overreact to this
situation mr willis will be out in two
days
two days he shouldn't have been in there
in the first place
only reason he's even there is cause
he's black
yo i've been doing some thinking too and
i was thinking
that we should go down to oakland we
should get them punks and we should get
the truth out of them today
right now just hold on all right you go
down to oakland you fall right into what
they want to believe that you're just a
black gang terrorizing whites
you know you're better than that got a
better plan boudreaux
you know my answer is miguel let the law
handle this
the law
in case you didn't notice black man the
law don't seem to work for us people
look clint i understand where you're
coming from
but just chill out give me two days
that's all i'm asking for two days
in two days
that's all you got after that it's on
you want to see me actually i did
adam boudreau you know councilman
wallace sergeant pedro
always honored to meet one of our city's
finest
what can i do for your councilman i came
to make a special request of you
i'd like you to stay away from the ted
willis case
ted willis is one of my closest friends
exactly why you can't work the case
the people in that neighborhood won't
take it well if an obviously biased
officer
and how would they know my relationship
to the man
i think that relationship will be quite
obvious based on what
[Music]
i think what's obvious is that you don't
want a black cop work in this case
because it's in an all-white area
i'm offended at the implication sergeant
color is not the issue
well you're up for re-election next
month right
we wouldn't want to start a controversy
now would we
i'd say color is the issue got him where
are you going
this guy doesn't know me charlie but
damn it you know me better than they
expect me to stand by and watch my
friend get railroaded
because the councilman here is worried
about losing a racist vote
foreign
foreign
[Music]
what happened younger guys claim to be
eyewitnesses to the shooting
they both are deep willis they're lying
yeah
but why same reason they always do
the man's a brother so he must have done
something
what are you wanting i'm just keeping an
eye on things
you when your boys ain't got much time
left
i i want to help b all right i mean i'll
i'll go down
hang out with the guys that are accusing
him and see what they have to no
no why not
because i'm not interested in having my
white friend go solve this problem for
me
what about maybe just having your friend
period huh
this is no color try to understand
something
i've been a cop for 20 years a black cop
yeah when i first went on the force
it was mostly a white institution
man there was a lot of racism there and
i'm telling you there still
is i wanted to see
if i could be the best cop i could be
and change all this stuff irrespective
of color
so what do you think now i don't know
but maybe i'm about to find out
hi can i help you
yeah you can i'm looking for the owner
why
i just want to ask him a few questions
about what
that's between him and me now is he here
or is he
me
now you don't move i just call the cops
wait a minute i am the cop i said don't
move
i don't want to kill nobody i'm not even
one of your kind
all right just calm down i want to show
you my badge
give me some credit you ain't no cop
if you were you would show me your badge
when you walked in maybe i should have
i want to show it to you now i'm not
gonna let you pull the gun blow me away
like your partner did richie
what part i know how you boys work
you want to kill somebody you want to
scare the witnesses that's ridiculous
all right now just let me show you all
right
your hands behind your head are you
crazy what's probable cause it put them
up now
[Music]
i'm a cop
[Music]
i said you were off the case
the only thing i did out of procedure
was i didn't identify
myself as a police officer as soon as i
went in you did a lot of things on a
procedure
why didn't you id yourself i was there
unofficially
i'm off the case remember come on adam
truth charlie i wanted to see if what
happened to willis would happen to me
you had to check it out to know i had to
be certain
because when it comes to black skin
charlie
this badge can act just like a mask
so you had to see what would happen
without the mask
yeah now i'm asking you to let me be
involved here
it's important to me for more than one
reason you're not working on this case
and that's final
if i hear about you going anywhere near
it i will personally assure
you that you spend the rest of your
nights walking a beat
on skid row
wow sorry i'm late and i miss the
dancing girls
you want to see me eric i want you to
drop all your other cases and work
exclusively on the ted willis case
what charlie
oh charlie rothman isn't the man to
assign to this case
why not no offense rodman but you have
no idea what you're up against
well offense taken sarge i think i have
a damn good idea of what i'm up against
if prejudice is what you're talking
about
look that's exactly what i'm talking
about okay sarge you seem to forget that
i'm a jew
i i used to come home from grade school
in tears because the other kids called
me
[ __ ] and god knows what else when i was
10 years old somebody painted a swastika
on the side of the house
you ever walk across the street in the
crosswalk and people lock their car
doors when they see you
what if i go for a job interview because
they liked your resume and then you get
there
and they decide that you're not right
for the job as soon as they see you
the difference is you don't wear your
jewishness on your skin
okay fair enough for what i understand
we have to have a white cop
on this case i mean is that true yeah
that seems to be the party line
so can you think of a better choice i
mean at least i have some understanding
okay you're right you're right but i'm
going with you i don't
you heard what law said yeah
i heard what he said what do we have
okay we ran the 40 caliber only one
store in oak glen has ever sold one to a
mike bishop
anybody pick him up no he died last year
cancer but you'll love this
his son jeff is one of the kids who id'd
willis in the lineup
now both he and the other kid work his
caddies at the oakfield country club
so let's go
hey rockman
don't mistake the intensity of the
feelings that i have about all this for
any hostility toward you
i understand
start over already did
i'm sorry members only and how do you
know we're not members
because i know my members and i suppose
none of them are black
as a matter of fact no how about jews
nope
you've just made an exception
don't worry we'll try not to get any
black or jew prince on the carpet
listen my old man told me a real
interesting statistic
three out of five male [ __ ] are in
jail
three out of five that makes it okay for
this willis guy to go to jail
yes i mean
they're all criminals man actually some
of them are cops
adam pedro metropd
that word [ __ ] falls from your lips
awfully easily doesn't it
so why so what you eavesdropping on us
huh
eavesdropping no no no no by the way the
actual statistic
is four out of five and it refers to
criminals four out of five
criminals are in jail
in this case it could be one in two or
maybe two and two
what are you talking about i'm talking
about the two of you
i figure one of you killed a man at the
pizza shop
the other one's covering it up eeny
meeny miny moe
you
what's your name doug johnson
what'd you see at the pizza shop on
friday night doug johnson
but i already told you guys
all right uh i was across the street and
i could see
through the window of the pizza shop
when that uh
that black guy willis shot richie
rothman yeah i think we're wasting our
time with these uh
these gentlemen when we
nail one of you boys and we will nail
you
the other one's going to go away as an
accessory
and you think about that and then you
give us a call
and as chairman of the council's police
committee i've ordered the police
department to implement operation cage
i promise the police will contain this
violence in the inner city and keep it
out of neighborhoods like oakland
on that note i'm pleased to announce
that just one hour ago
the d.a passed down an indictment
against theodore willis the black man
who shot and killed a white teen in
oakland friday night
i'll be happy to answer more questions
later right now i have an important
meeting with lieutenant pine
thank you thank you i have a question
sorry where you going if willis's guys
see this there's no telling what they do
relax clint okay just because they
indicted him does not mean that pedro
can't still clear him
now you relax miguel check this in
i know who the chumps are who testify i
know where they live and i know we can
get some gas so let's do this no guns
clint
okay let's go just in time you turn it
into a punk on me man
you and your cop y'all don't want to
help willis till it's really time to do
it
oh so why are you helping him you just
met him he's your brother in trouble man
that's only brother in trouble do as
long as you get a party out of it
what's your name
what police officer asks you a question
boy you answer
my name ain't boy it's miguel mendez oh
that's
better now why don't you tell me what
you're doing in this neighborhood
you don't look like you belong here
is there a climb against a latino
hanging out in the black neighborhood
there is when he robs the liquor store
there
well i get it this is the guy that rob
liquor stores described as latino so it
must be the first one that you come
across
soon hey got the new man he's been here
with us oh is that
son how many liquor stores you've done
in the past week hey let him go
let him go and who are you is pappy
detective sergeant adam pedro
we are just following orders sir
uh operation cage it's getting all about
operation
cage and it doesn't involve rousting
anyone because the color of his skin
yeah well what makes you think he's so
innocent huh
you don't want to get my face right now
i want badge numbers i want you out of
here now
you still don't get it
those cops they play this albuquerque
color of our skin
that's why you can't be black and blue
you don't get it clint that's exactly
why i have to be both
look it's easier to change things from
the inside i saw on tv they indicted
willis so much for changes
the agreement was two days i still have
one day
then what are you doing here miguel
the reason i'm here is because all
willis cares about
is keeping these guys and you out of
trouble man nothing changes i stay
straight all this time and the cops
still hassle me
oh look just just keep a clear head here
huh
willis means a lot to these guys and me
too
i'm not sure i disagree with what
they're planning oh okay
and what are they planning on what are
they gonna do they're gonna go down to
oh glenn bust some heads maybe kill
somebody
and then what miguel guys from oak glen
they come down into the hood
they kill somebody too they were not
afraid of them of course not
you can always go back there break some
more heads kill somebody else right
violence only breeds violence i know you
told me a million times
yeah i was hoping maybe one day you'd
hear me
i make no promises
come on man when you see it the cop he
doesn't have anything
he's just trying to scare you into
giving him something that's all don't
worry jeff
i mean we've been friends since we was
three i'm not about to turn you in to
see the
hide of some black
[Applause]
so
[Music]
i want to know who did it
well i hope you're happy because by
shooting up those people's house
you gave wallace exactly what he wanted
a reason to come down hard on anybody
from the hood
why are you pointing a finger at us look
i understand why you're angry what i
don't understand is why you won't give
me a chance to work this thing out
we can't give you a chance because there
is no chance for us you understand that
you know that's a bunch of brainwashed
crap there is a chance for you
but not if you go around shooting up
people's houses there's a chance to get
justice if you work from within the
system
the system you are so caught up in the
white man's game you don't even
understand your own people anymore man
you're a cop
and i'm a man a black man
seemed pretty obvious to me you can't
have it both ways
i may be the one sitting in jail at him
but you're the one that looks like the
prisoner
look i'm
the truth is i'm just uh i'm not
comfortable with having this pressure
to do what's right having everything
riding on on my next move
well your next move is
what's in your heart no that's just it
and for the first time in a long time
i'm having a question exactly what that
is
damn you know um when these people
accuse me of this
when that man
hit me with his gun
and moaning to kill somebody
i mean i wanted to kill somebody
i haven't felt like that since enough
i'm putting on behind me and i'm putting
this behind me
i guess you just have to have faith in
yourself
people
with all that's come down on you you
still believe all that come on believing
in that's about the only thing keeping
me going now
and you know something tells me it's the
same for you
[Applause]
good morning
have a nice day
what the hell are you doing here
cleaning up your house
don't you think you people have done
enough
too much
excuse me
i did what you asked i don't know such a
good idea one spark
boom we're here to put the fire out
look you better get out of here
we're not here to cause trouble doug oh
no we're just being in this neighborhood
is trouble
it's time all that changed come on guys
let's go
all right
here we go let's go
you should have pulled a gun
they weren't doing anything they were
just cleaning up yeah right they waltzed
into our neighborhoods right with brooms
in their hands by day so
so we could see them yeah but they won't
be holding no
brooms in their hands when they come
back tonight yeah yeah well they're not
coming back
tomorrow you got that right
hey put it away man it's hunting season
put it away man there's been enough
trouble whose side are you
want dougie it's just that you can't go
around blowing we just said nothing man
we're only giving them what they deserve
not with guns jeff
look you could either come with us
or you can stay here and cry
let's go
b there's uh a guy here asking about you
i'm telling you i'm busy right now uh
now
stay calm but i actually think this
is one of those caddies you were telling
me about
yeah what can i do for you we need to
talk
[Music]
they'd kill me if they know i came here
they
don't you mean bishop
just got off the edge man he's gonna do
something crazy
he's got that same out of control look
in his eyes that he
that he had that night the night he
killed the pizza clerk
i told him not to do it you know i told
him
nah you covered for him you're just as
guilty
i knew we'd never get away with it
trying to pin it all on that
willis guy what prompted you to come
forward now
because it's getting out of control
because someone else is going to get
killed
what are you talking about doug
jeff has gone to get payback there's
going to be blood tonight
where where
the rec center where they all hang out
i'm gonna want to talk to you later
don't disappear pete
you mind if uh your white friend comes
along
yeah i do
but i'd welcome my friend period
all right
[Music]
why your knees looking so slow man is it
from getting down to kiss all that over
there at oakland
no
been getting out in the gutter so i can
look you in the eye
let's go
what you want from the white boys huh
you want a shot of getting a job
cleaning their houses or something
no i want respect
suddenly you're not going to get the
rachel going we think they respect you
gotta give it to get it
yo a bunch of white boys outside
trashing in front of the rec
center yo it's time to go to work fellas
oh no no that's a good idea go straight
to the level that'll get you plenty of
respect we're gonna see who gets what
miguel
all right let's go
sorry to interrupt your game boys but uh
this won't take long true indeed
wait wait wait wait wait everybody's
gonna kill each other and then what
we're left with nothing
should have thought of that before we
started shooting up her neighborhood
right yo clint
let's waste these boys great great waste
some of them they'll waste some of us
and then what
bring it on
[Music]
all right hold it right there police
[Music]
[Music]
head behind your head behind your head
okay this hurts damn it miguel what are
you doing in the middle of this
job
[Music]
[Applause]
stop
all right that's far don't don't move
son
come on
all right right there so typical man
you nail me when you let all your black
brothers scatter free
like roaches you're not wanted for
murder and you
are and you're under arrest now come on
i take no credit other than remaining
diligent in expediting teddy willis's
journey to justice
though it was an honest mistake on the
part of mr willis's accusers
i thank the good lord the truth did
finally come out
and i'm proud of this police force for
containing what could have become a
powder keg situation
and that's all for now thank you thank
you thank you
uh frank over here
i'll need and tidy a wallace it is what
it is sergeant
i hope there are no hard feelings hard
feelings
they're probably more hard feelings and
hurt feelings out there than you'll ever
know
priority one believe me i hope i'll have
your support
yeah well either way i'll still win
probably too bad the voters can't see
what they'll really be getting huh
why not why not what
why not let the voters know what they're
really getting
because as sad as it is miguel wallace
is the lesser of two evils
wait so that's it nothing changes you
just walk away
walk away no we're just getting started
man
doing what changing things
because the politicians the wallaces of
the world
they won't do it for us people like you
and me we gotta show some courage and do
it for ourselves bit by bit
wave a magic wand boudreaux
with young men like you i don't need one
[Music]
adam
[Music]
i don't know how to thank you man
i should thank you teddy i learned a lot
from the way you handled this
hey guys
[Music]
uh
[Music]
you got a spare brush
[Music]
elbows
looks like we could all learn a lot from
these kids
[Music]
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you