T.J. Hooker (1982–1986): Season 4, Episode 8 - A Kind of Rage - full transcript
Corrigan's behavior changes drastically after he receives a blow on the head during an undercover investigation of bag-lady murders.
(catchy instrumental
theme music)
(somber saxophone music)
- OP-1 to 4-Adam-30
I'm in position.
What's your location?
- Roger 30, we just
pulled into an alley
east of Sixth.
Do you have an ops on our man?
- Not yet.
Wait a minute.
Here he comes, doing his thing.
- Ah, roger OP-1,
how does he look?
- [Blonde Woman] Classical.
If the beat cop comes by,
we're gonna have to rescue
him from the drunk tank.
- I put out a code five on him,
so he should be safe for now.
But the Jack
Roller we're after...
Is one bad actor with
an awful wicked knife.
And he makes his hits
hard and fast, so stay awake.
(somber saxophone music)
- OP-1, our man's settled in.
(ominous instrumental music)
OP-1, heads up 30.
We've got a possible.
Male, Caucasian, 6'3 or 4.
230 plus.
He's wearing a light
blue shirt over tan khakis,
he's making a move on our man.
- Sounds like our Jack Roller.
- Wow, this guy is big.
Really big.
He's going down.
- Police!
Oh, do you think you're bad?
Try it.
- Not today, man.
You ain't gonna shoot.
- 4Z16, officer in foot pursuit.
(police sirens)
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- Get the hell out of the way!
(tires screeching)
(police sirens)
- 4-Zebra-16, officer down.
Requesting an ambulance.
(police sirens)
- [Olderi Police
Officer] Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
You should've seen
it, my half gainer
was a definite 10.
(chuckling)
- You took a really bad header.
- I shoulda had my tail kicked
for not taking that turkey down.
- With King Kong
there you needed
Lyle Alzado as a backup.
- Yeah, well thanks anyway
for taking up the slack, Hooker.
- Hard head, consummate cop,
he's always gotta be numero uno.
- Yeah well I tell ya, I got a
numero uno headache here.
- You're going
into the hospital.
- Oh, I'm fine.
- No argument, you're
going in for a checkup.
That's an order, hotshot.
- Put your head down, come on.
(ambulance sirens)
- Audrey!
Audrey, you home?
Audrey?
Audrey?
Audrey?
Oh no!
Oh, Audrey, no!
Oh no, no, no!
(somber saxophone music)
- [Dispatcher] 4-Adam-30,
meet Detective O'Brien in
alley behind 219 East Fifth.
187 on a female transient,
possible strangler killing.
- 4-Adam-30, roger.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- [O'Brien] Hooker.
- We were in the area
working drunk roll detail.
Number four?
- Yeah, street name's Audrey.
- Another rag picker.
Same MO, Lieutenant?
- It's crazy.
- Yeah, mass murder is crazy.
- Not so sure anymore.
There are counties torturing
and killing their own people,
governments sending
children off to war.
Where is the sanity?
- Well kid, since
you put it like that...
Maybe a mass murderer
fits into this world kinda neatly.
- Who found the body?
- Says the won't talk to
anyone else but you, Hooker.
Get me what you can, huh.
I'm resourceful, not inventive,
and I don't have clue
one on these stranglings.
- [Hooker] Millie.
- Hooker.
You don't think Audrey
would mind, do ya?
If I made use of
her bottles, I mean.
- [Hooker] No, I think she'd
want you to have them.
- Was Audrey a
good friend, ma'am?
- Well, she was
someone to talk to.
Maybe that's as good
as anyone could expect
down here on the road.
- Millie, if you can think of
anything that might help us,
we wanna nail the
person who did this.
- This neighborhood has
never been meaner, Hooker.
Life down here gets tougher,
and these stranglings...
You said if you
could ever help me...
I think I still have
a sister in Jersey.
The address is in there.
Promise me, Hooker.
If anything happens...
Just promise me, Hooker.
Please.
Please.
- Her whole life's in here.
Doesn't seem like much.
- Doesn't take
much when you have
memories that go with it.
I remember when
I first met Millie.
I had just busted a gypsy
on a pigeon drop scam,
and along came Millie.
She grabbed my call box keys
and she put in a help call,
saved me from ending
up three for three.
- Sounds like my kinda lady.
- Well Millie's not
your typical rag picker,
she's a survivor but not at
someone else's expense.
- You wonder how
somebody like her
ends up where she is.
- Well not for the
usual reasons.
Drugs, booze, inability to cope.
Millie...
Simply doesn't have anyone
or anywhere else to turn to.
She lost her son in Vietnam,
her husband to cancer.
And...
Like a lot of other people...
She's all alone.
- This strangler, you
think he's gonna hit again?
- If we don't stop him
junior, you can count on it.
- For as long as I've
been a homicide dig,
I've gotta confess.
I never got used to autopsy.
- These the ligatures?
Parachute suspension cord.
- The same kind of
cord the strangler used
on the other three victims.
- Surgeons and locking knots.
- The coroner says it's used
as a surgical suture knot.
- Maybe this strangler has
a prior medical background.
- I've seen those
knots applied to uses
other than medical.
Only I can't put a handle to it.
- Could you put a
handle on this guy for me?
Name is Clovis Glover.
Street name "Joker", did
five of eight for manslaughter
in the strangulation
death of his ex-wife.
- Some joker.
- Well, he's the only strangler
suspect I have right now.
The computer kicked
him out on an MO run
through NCIC.
And Vegas PD wants
him for questioning
in connection with several
strangulations of their own.
And I wanna talk to
the man about ours.
- What makes you
think the man is in town?
- Well, an informant of
mine dropped a dime,
said the man almost never
misses a matinee at the Bijou.
- You mean the main event?
- Yeah.
Isn't it a shame what
they did to that old theater.
- And that leaves at 2 o'clock,
just enough time
to go fight city hall.
- Yeah, later.
- See you Lieutenant.
- Corrigan, James.
- [Blonde Cop] Jim.
- Hey Stace, how goes it?
- How bout you?
You feeling okay?
- Ain't nothing to
it, back in business.
Doctors at Central
Receiving gave me a clean bill
and the full
return to duty slip.
- Are you sure?
- It was just a scab wound.
Hey you know me, my
head's too hard to crack.
- In more ways than one.
Are you positive you're okay?
- I'm great!
I said so, didn't I?
Hey.
How bout you fight...
And I'll ride.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
The Cuban, by the fence...
Pull over.
Good morning.
- No speak English.
(speaking in foreign language)
- And when you answer
it, let's do it in English,
cause I'm not gonna buy the
no speak English bit, okay?
- Okay.
So what you want, man?
I wasn't doing nothing.
(speaking in foreign language)
I'm in no mood
for no stinking ras...
- This here is a
jailhouse tattoo.
Number says you're a refugee
from a Cuban prison gang,
that your criminal specialty
is strong arm robbery.
Probably little old ladies.
What do you say
to that hombre, huh?
(speaking in foreign language)
- Jim!
Jim, back off, back off damn it!
What's the matter with you?
Back off!
Jim... It's me, Stacy.
- He's crazy, man!
Tried to kill me!
And I'll sue you!
- Are you okay?
(speaking in foreign language)
Get the hell outta here, now!
Come on, come on.
- Sergeant Hooker, I'm
sorry but I'm running late
for the city council meeting,
you'll have to excuse me.
- Ms. Gerard, I'm not a
closet social worker, I'm a cop.
I've seen with my own
eyes what happens
to people like Millie.
- I understand
what you're saying,
but you must understand
that there are more important
things on our agenda
than finding a home
for one little old lady.
- I'm trying to keep
this one little old lady
from slipping
through the cracks.
- Look, if it's just a
matter of finding her
a place to live, why
not try the missions?
The detox centers?
She's a wino, isn't she?
- No, just one of the lost.
- Ms. Gerard.
The missions and
detoxification centers
aren't really set up
to take in women,
and then only on
a temporary basis.
- Just exactly what is
it you expect me to do?
- [Young Officer] You
head up the community
redevelopment committee, right?
- Yes, so?
- So...
The city has projects
geared for winos,
but no aid programs
for the other indigents.
The helpless, the homeless.
- Gentlemen, I'm
not Wonder Woman.
- Look, tackling
city council isn't easy
and this issue doesn't
happen in political glamor but
we're here because we care
and we thought we'd find
someone who'd make a difference.
I hope it wasn't a wasted trip.
(dramatic instrumental music)
(catchy jazzy
instrumental music)
I'm glad you guys could make it.
You think you could
give us some backup?
- [Jim] As always.
- [Stacy] What you got?
- Possible 187 suspect.
I'll talk to him about the
stranglings downtown.
His rap sheet says
he carries a .45,
but I'd like to take him
down nice and quiet.
(cheering)
(loud whistle)
(cheering)
(catchy dance music)
(clapping)
(cheering)
- [Clovis] All right!
- Let's do this
nice and easy, pal.
(cheering)
- Everybody get down, get down!
- Be cool!
(intense instrumental music)
- Hold it!
- One move and she's dead meat.
Get out!
- Hold it!
(intense instrumental music)
- It's me, Hooker!
It's me!
For God's sake, get
a hold of yourself.
(somber saxophone music)
- So you like to watch
mud wrestling, huh?
- Yeah, turns me on.
Very artistic, you know?
- Would you call cats
fighting over litter box rights
an expression of art, too?
- Why not?
- So, what made you take
up this kind of work anyway?
- I like body contact.
(chuckling)
- Excuse me.
- First it was the
federal housing agency.
Then it was the rich owners,
and then it was the
health department.
This latest excuse
isn't gonna fly.
Tell her Sergeant Hooker called
and that I have
found a parking ticket
that has gone to warrant.
With the name of Sybil Gerard.
Uh huh, that's right.
And I'd appreciate a call back.
Thank you very much.
- Threats now, huh?
- If she doesn't do
something for Millie,
I'm gonna make a promise.
- How's it going with Glover?
- I told you, I done choked
my old lady dead, all right?
But I had nothing to do
with them stranglings,
and I'm not about to take a fall
because of your
caseload neither.
Like I told you, I
don't know nothing
about them downtown stranglings.
- [Hooker] Same old song.
- Lousy singer.
- You'd look better if
you swallowed a toad,
what's bothering you?
- This scuzzball here
is an ex-con with a gun.
He kidnaps a
hostage, GTA's a ride,
comes close to killing you...
Why should I care if he ends
up taking some extra lumps?
- For the same reason I do.
Excessive force is just that.
- I have no argument
with reasonable force...
- It's not just that, isn't it?
It's something else.
Something's bugging
you and Stacy.
Come on, you got an itch?
Scratch it.
- Okay, come on.
Stacy told me she
and Jim shook down
a Cuban con this morning,
a prison gang member.
Turned out to be a
full blown hassling.
Jim came down hard on the guy
just like he jumped on Glover.
She said he just
sorta went a little crazy.
- Well she's his partner, maybe
he's got a personal problem.
- He told Stacy nothing's wrong.
Figured we oughta
talk about it now
rather than talk to
internal affairs later.
- I need an approval
on my arrest report.
Am I gonna be riding a beef?
- Oh, Glover's not
gonna press the issue.
- What about you?
- No complaints from personnel.
- I tell ya, I don't
know what happened.
I mean I just, I
kinda went blank.
Next thing I know, you're
on top of me hollering.
I swear, I don't
know what happened.
- Yeah well, it's been
a long day for all of us.
You just correct the
mistakes in your report
so I can sign it,
and we'll get out of here.
- What mistakes?
- Altercation, hostage,
other spellings errors.
You also omitted some words
and some incomplete sentences.
- I don't hand in bad reports.
- O'Brien's sure that
Glover's not the strangler.
- Glover is stonewalling,
he may even have an alibi in
Vegas on two of the slayings.
- Detectives are gonna go
back to their computers...
- And we're going
back to the streets.
We'll double the number
of black and whites
in the area where the
crimes have occurred,
and put more officers
in the streets on foot.
Maybe that'll do it.
- You don't sound too enthused.
- Well, this strangler's a
different kind of animal.
And I'm certain
that the difference
is on the inside,
not the outside.
- Ah, most of the time
that's all a street cop's
got to go by, the outside.
- And we don't do too bad.
Jim...
I told Jim that there
wouldn't be a beef to ride
on this Glover thing...
But I just can't
leave it at that.
- I saw him writing
out that report...
You could almost
see him fighting
to hold onto his
thoughts, what's going on?
- I don't know.
I'm gonna have
to find some time,
maybe away from the
job to talk to him about it.
- My suggestion is you do
it sooner rather than later.
- Yeah.
(ominous instrumental music)
(intense instrumental music)
- You see, usually a
killer such as the strangler
comes from a broken family,
and as a child has
suffered physical, emotional,
and sometimes sexual abuse.
Now, as to the
aspects of first garroting
and then binding the victim's
hands behind their backs...
I would have to conclude
that it's in some way
connected with his own abuse.
- Did you get a hold of him?
- He didn't answer his calls,
so I talked to his landlady...
And at first she
tried to cover for him,
she said he had left
earlier this morning.
Then she said there
was some kind of trouble.
- What kind of trouble?
- She wouldn't say.
- But the desk said
a unit was dispatched
last night to Corrigan's place,
on a see the woman 415 call.
The officers logged it,
but no complaint was filed
and no report taken.
- What's going on?
That isn't like Jim.
- The person who is
responsible for these killings
is mentally ill,
beyond any accepted
definition of sanity.
And that's about it.
Lieutenant?
- Thanks Dc, for the
psychological profile,
but I gotta add...
The suspect we have
in custody, Glover,
is weak at best.
So be heads up.
I think we still have
a crazy out there.
- Has this officer suffered
any injuries lately?
Particularly to the head.
- As a matter of fact,
he did take a bad fall.
- Well that could explain it.
The sudden and violent
explosions of anger,
the clumsiness,
the minor problems
with spelling and writing.
- See, the officer
we're talking about
is one of the best.
- Well, it's only
an educated guess
but the symptoms could indicate
episodic dyscontrol syndrome.
- What?
- Well it's kind of a
rage, an explosive rage.
And it's controversial.
Experts in the field of
psychiatry and neurology
disagree that it even exists.
- Well, getting two
or more doctors
to agree on anything new
takes an official
act to the AMA.
- It's kind of like
getting the cops
to agree with the
state Supreme Court.
- Let's talk real
possibilities here.
- Well if it is EDS, I'm
afraid there's no cure.
Only drug treatment.
But the symptoms
that you've described
could also indicate a malignant
tumor or it could be AVM.
Arteriovenous malformation.
- Look, these are
100 dollar words
you're slinging around,
give me something I can bank on.
- Well the only good
word about either condition
is that some cases
are not only treatable
but curable.
- Well that's
something at least.
- Whoever this
officer is, Sergeant...
He or she needs help
as quickly as possible.
Before they hurt
themselves or someone else.
Or worse, before someone dies.
- Thank you, Doctor.
You two team up.
I'm gonna take a run by Jim's.
(ominous instrumental music)
Corrigan.
(knocking)
Jim.
Jim, it's me.
Jim it's me, Hooker.
- Hooker.
My God.
What the hell happened?
- You need help, man.
- Hooker, what's going on?
- You've had an injury that
may or may not be causing
these sudden fits of anger.
- What are you talking about?
- I talked to Doctor Kincaid.
We talked about episodic
dyscontrol syndrome
and some other big
word brain disorders.
- Episodic what?
- It's usually caused
by an injury to the head,
like a bad fall.
- Listen to yourself.
I'm one of the best damn
cops in this department.
You tellin me I've gone
bonkers, looney tunes?
- Look around you, man.
You need help.
- Help?
To end my career?
What you say Hooker, you're
talking about my life here.
I'm a cop!
If I can't control,
if I don't maintain,
that's it, I'm finished!
If I'm not Joe the boss of my
mind and body, I'm nothing!
I don't have a problem!
- Let's say you do.
Let me help you.
That's all I wanna do.
- No!
- Help me, Hooker.
I'm scared to death.
Please... Please
help me, help me.
(ominous instrumental music)
- [Young Kid] I'm
sorry, sorry, sorry!
- [Woman] You're always
sorry, always sorry, sorry.
You won't do that
again, will you?
- [Young Kid] I promise,
please don't tie my hands again.
- [Woman] Bad little
boys get their hands tied.
- [Young Kid] Please, don't!
I won't do it again!
Cross my heart and hope to die!
Please, you're choking me!
- [Woman] I oughta let you
die, you ain't good for nothing.
(saxophone instrumental music)
- [Millie] Help!
Police!
Help, police!
- That watch foot
beat was out on patrol,
came back to their parked car,
there she was, sitting in the
front seat, shaking to death.
Said she wouldn't
talk to anybody but you.
- [Hooker] She's
been here all night?
- Kinda got lost during
change of watches.
The day desk crew just found her
in the holding tank.
- Somebody's
gonna get talked to.
Millie, you okay sweetheart?
- He tried to kill me, Hooker.
- The strangler?
- I couldn't see his face.
But... I saw his boots.
I saw them.
My boy, Kevin.
He wore those same
boots in the army.
- Stace.
She's in bad shape,
how do you feel about
babysitting at your place?
- Well what am I supposed
to tell my boyfriend, Hooker?
I mean we have advanced
past the handholding stage,
know what I mean?
- Well, tell him that
she's your grandmother,
come to town for a few days.
- How many days?
- Until Ms. Gerard
comes up with something.
- Okay.
How's Jim?
- I called in some favors.
He's at the University
Medical Center.
(somber piano music)
- [Woman] I oughta let you
die, you ain't good for nothing!
I oughta let you die,
you ain't good for nothing!
I oughta let you die!
- And now...
You're all gonna die.
(intense instrumental music)
- [Dispatcher] 30, meet
4-W-10 at the Sixth Street
railroad yards on
a DB call, code two.
- Roger, control.
- Same MO, same parachute cord,
same old same old, except
now the body count's five.
At least we have a
witness that can ID
a righteous suspect.
- Vibrant sole,
it's a good clue.
Now all we have to do is
find the guy with the boots.
- Hey, how many
people do we have
walking around
blousing their boots
like a paratrooper
honor guard, eh?
- Well, I can name a couple
of army airborne divisions
for starters, but
I think our man
is ex-military or would
like to have been.
You know the type.
- Yeah, a fantasizer.
One who seems himself
as something he never was
nor ever could be.
- And attaches
himself symbolically.
- A la the blouse boots bit.
- Anyway, it's a theory.
- How many army navy
surplus type stores are there
in this area?
- Post Exchange
near the bus depot,
Sherman Surplus over on Santee.
- Post Exchange,
let's start there.
It's closest.
- We get all kinds in here.
Skinheads,
straight out of boot...
Walk in here, slick sleeve,
go out of here looking
like ol' blood and guts itself.
Figuring that will impress
somebody, you know?
- I figure our
man is ex-military.
- Yeah, well, the vets...
They come here looking
for something they've lost.
Most of the time
they're just praying
they can forget about
it all, but they can't.
(chuckling)
Then there's the 4-Fers.
- The 4Fers?
- Yeah you know, the guys
who wanna be John Wayne
or Audie Murphy but
never could or would.
(chuckling)
- Well like we said, this
guy wears his boots bloused.
- Yeah, well that's common.
You know, paratroopers.
- But it's not common for a
civilian to tuck his pant legs
into boots with ladder laces.
- Yeah.
That's why I remember the guy.
- What guy?
- The guy with the
blouse boots, Rigger.
- The who?
- Rigger, that's
his street name,
on account he used to
pack parachutes in the army.
- That's it.
I was in R&R out of 'Nam,
in Hawaii, bumming and
slumming with a parachute
rigger friend of mine from
the special forces group,
he used to tie everything
with surges and locking knot.
His boot laces, his kit bag,
everything, habit he says.
It's a habit because he
used the knot so much
in packing parachutes
to become a habit.
Where can I find this Rigger?
- He's around.
He stops in now and then,
you know, tells war stories.
Strange kind of duck.
You know, if you ask me...
I'd say his parachute failed
to open, and he bounced.
(somber piano music)
- Arteriovenous malformation.
Isn't that one
hell of a mouthful
for subcranial hemorrhage?
You know what that means?
- From what you've said, it
means you have a chance.
- Yeah, sure.
I can pop pills
the rest of my life,
take a disability pension.
Or I could let them
open up my head
and try to cut out the problem
in which case they can
make a zombie out of me.
- The Corrigan I knew
never gave up without a fight.
- Hey, I'm no quitter.
- Then prove it.
Give yourself a chance to live.
- Hooker, it's
Millie, she's gone.
- What happened?
- I came back from
shopping and she was gone.
- She's probably
headed back for the road.
Come on, I'll communication,
get an APB out on Millie,
Stacy pick up a
car from detectives,
I'll need you in the field.
- Hey Hooker.
- And keep hotshot
here out of trouble.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- [Dispatcher] All units
standby for an APB
on a missing 187 crime witness.
Individual is one
Mildred Jensen,
described as a female
Caucasian, 62 years, 5'3 inches,
105, wearing a gray
sweater, blue dress, black hat.
If seen, stop and
detain for 4-Adam-30.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- There?
- Yeah.
- I think we had her.
- Cross my heart
and hope to die.
Cross my heart and hope to die.
Cross my heart and hope...
- Police, stop!
Stacy, take care of Millie!
4-Xray-16, an attempted
187 just occurred
on the APB wanted
witness Jensen.
- [Dispatcher] Suspect is
described as male Caucasian,
5'10 inches, 180 wearing
a green fatigue jacket
and bloused combat boots.
Last seen running
southbound from Lincoln Supply.
- We can intercept off of 60.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- [Dispatcher] 4-Xray-16 is
in pursuit of a 187 suspect,
now driving a blue Dodge truck.
Adam-Oceanboy-619
headed Eastbound on Sixth.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
4-Xray-16 is now in
pursuit of 187 suspect
headed eastbound in riverbed.
(police sirens)
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- Get him out of there.
(loud explosion)
Now give it up, you've
got no place else to run.
- Then it ends right here, now!
- It doesn't have to!
You need help!
- Help?
You see, I had to kill them.
- [Hooker] Come here.
- You don't care, nobody does.
I had to kill her.
My mother died
before I could kill her.
That's why they had to die,
that's why they all had to die!
- By the end of the week,
this warehouse will
have been converted
into a 150 bed facility
for the homeless indigents
who here too far have
been hopelessly lost
amid the shards of the
alien skid row existence.
- Consummate politician.
- This project which I may add,
I have conceived
with great pains,
has come about...
- Speaking of great
pains, how you doing Jim?
- You know me, the
consummate fighter.
- The doctors put us into shock.
They said when they
opened your head
they actually did
find some brains.
(laughing)
- Hold on you guys,
here comes Millie.
- Mildred Jensen.
A forlorn soul
benevolently chosen by me
as one in need of
adequate shelter.
Mildred here...
Kevin, where's Mildred?
- I don't see her, do you?
- Has anybody seen Mildred?
Does anybody see Millie?
- I do.
- Is it okay for me to be here?
- Of course it is,
it's visiting hours
for family and friends.
- [Sybil] Millie?
Has anybody seen Mildred?
(catchy instrumental
theme music)
theme music)
(somber saxophone music)
- OP-1 to 4-Adam-30
I'm in position.
What's your location?
- Roger 30, we just
pulled into an alley
east of Sixth.
Do you have an ops on our man?
- Not yet.
Wait a minute.
Here he comes, doing his thing.
- Ah, roger OP-1,
how does he look?
- [Blonde Woman] Classical.
If the beat cop comes by,
we're gonna have to rescue
him from the drunk tank.
- I put out a code five on him,
so he should be safe for now.
But the Jack
Roller we're after...
Is one bad actor with
an awful wicked knife.
And he makes his hits
hard and fast, so stay awake.
(somber saxophone music)
- OP-1, our man's settled in.
(ominous instrumental music)
OP-1, heads up 30.
We've got a possible.
Male, Caucasian, 6'3 or 4.
230 plus.
He's wearing a light
blue shirt over tan khakis,
he's making a move on our man.
- Sounds like our Jack Roller.
- Wow, this guy is big.
Really big.
He's going down.
- Police!
Oh, do you think you're bad?
Try it.
- Not today, man.
You ain't gonna shoot.
- 4Z16, officer in foot pursuit.
(police sirens)
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- Get the hell out of the way!
(tires screeching)
(police sirens)
- 4-Zebra-16, officer down.
Requesting an ambulance.
(police sirens)
- [Olderi Police
Officer] Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
You should've seen
it, my half gainer
was a definite 10.
(chuckling)
- You took a really bad header.
- I shoulda had my tail kicked
for not taking that turkey down.
- With King Kong
there you needed
Lyle Alzado as a backup.
- Yeah, well thanks anyway
for taking up the slack, Hooker.
- Hard head, consummate cop,
he's always gotta be numero uno.
- Yeah well I tell ya, I got a
numero uno headache here.
- You're going
into the hospital.
- Oh, I'm fine.
- No argument, you're
going in for a checkup.
That's an order, hotshot.
- Put your head down, come on.
(ambulance sirens)
- Audrey!
Audrey, you home?
Audrey?
Audrey?
Audrey?
Oh no!
Oh, Audrey, no!
Oh no, no, no!
(somber saxophone music)
- [Dispatcher] 4-Adam-30,
meet Detective O'Brien in
alley behind 219 East Fifth.
187 on a female transient,
possible strangler killing.
- 4-Adam-30, roger.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- [O'Brien] Hooker.
- We were in the area
working drunk roll detail.
Number four?
- Yeah, street name's Audrey.
- Another rag picker.
Same MO, Lieutenant?
- It's crazy.
- Yeah, mass murder is crazy.
- Not so sure anymore.
There are counties torturing
and killing their own people,
governments sending
children off to war.
Where is the sanity?
- Well kid, since
you put it like that...
Maybe a mass murderer
fits into this world kinda neatly.
- Who found the body?
- Says the won't talk to
anyone else but you, Hooker.
Get me what you can, huh.
I'm resourceful, not inventive,
and I don't have clue
one on these stranglings.
- [Hooker] Millie.
- Hooker.
You don't think Audrey
would mind, do ya?
If I made use of
her bottles, I mean.
- [Hooker] No, I think she'd
want you to have them.
- Was Audrey a
good friend, ma'am?
- Well, she was
someone to talk to.
Maybe that's as good
as anyone could expect
down here on the road.
- Millie, if you can think of
anything that might help us,
we wanna nail the
person who did this.
- This neighborhood has
never been meaner, Hooker.
Life down here gets tougher,
and these stranglings...
You said if you
could ever help me...
I think I still have
a sister in Jersey.
The address is in there.
Promise me, Hooker.
If anything happens...
Just promise me, Hooker.
Please.
Please.
- Her whole life's in here.
Doesn't seem like much.
- Doesn't take
much when you have
memories that go with it.
I remember when
I first met Millie.
I had just busted a gypsy
on a pigeon drop scam,
and along came Millie.
She grabbed my call box keys
and she put in a help call,
saved me from ending
up three for three.
- Sounds like my kinda lady.
- Well Millie's not
your typical rag picker,
she's a survivor but not at
someone else's expense.
- You wonder how
somebody like her
ends up where she is.
- Well not for the
usual reasons.
Drugs, booze, inability to cope.
Millie...
Simply doesn't have anyone
or anywhere else to turn to.
She lost her son in Vietnam,
her husband to cancer.
And...
Like a lot of other people...
She's all alone.
- This strangler, you
think he's gonna hit again?
- If we don't stop him
junior, you can count on it.
- For as long as I've
been a homicide dig,
I've gotta confess.
I never got used to autopsy.
- These the ligatures?
Parachute suspension cord.
- The same kind of
cord the strangler used
on the other three victims.
- Surgeons and locking knots.
- The coroner says it's used
as a surgical suture knot.
- Maybe this strangler has
a prior medical background.
- I've seen those
knots applied to uses
other than medical.
Only I can't put a handle to it.
- Could you put a
handle on this guy for me?
Name is Clovis Glover.
Street name "Joker", did
five of eight for manslaughter
in the strangulation
death of his ex-wife.
- Some joker.
- Well, he's the only strangler
suspect I have right now.
The computer kicked
him out on an MO run
through NCIC.
And Vegas PD wants
him for questioning
in connection with several
strangulations of their own.
And I wanna talk to
the man about ours.
- What makes you
think the man is in town?
- Well, an informant of
mine dropped a dime,
said the man almost never
misses a matinee at the Bijou.
- You mean the main event?
- Yeah.
Isn't it a shame what
they did to that old theater.
- And that leaves at 2 o'clock,
just enough time
to go fight city hall.
- Yeah, later.
- See you Lieutenant.
- Corrigan, James.
- [Blonde Cop] Jim.
- Hey Stace, how goes it?
- How bout you?
You feeling okay?
- Ain't nothing to
it, back in business.
Doctors at Central
Receiving gave me a clean bill
and the full
return to duty slip.
- Are you sure?
- It was just a scab wound.
Hey you know me, my
head's too hard to crack.
- In more ways than one.
Are you positive you're okay?
- I'm great!
I said so, didn't I?
Hey.
How bout you fight...
And I'll ride.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
The Cuban, by the fence...
Pull over.
Good morning.
- No speak English.
(speaking in foreign language)
- And when you answer
it, let's do it in English,
cause I'm not gonna buy the
no speak English bit, okay?
- Okay.
So what you want, man?
I wasn't doing nothing.
(speaking in foreign language)
I'm in no mood
for no stinking ras...
- This here is a
jailhouse tattoo.
Number says you're a refugee
from a Cuban prison gang,
that your criminal specialty
is strong arm robbery.
Probably little old ladies.
What do you say
to that hombre, huh?
(speaking in foreign language)
- Jim!
Jim, back off, back off damn it!
What's the matter with you?
Back off!
Jim... It's me, Stacy.
- He's crazy, man!
Tried to kill me!
And I'll sue you!
- Are you okay?
(speaking in foreign language)
Get the hell outta here, now!
Come on, come on.
- Sergeant Hooker, I'm
sorry but I'm running late
for the city council meeting,
you'll have to excuse me.
- Ms. Gerard, I'm not a
closet social worker, I'm a cop.
I've seen with my own
eyes what happens
to people like Millie.
- I understand
what you're saying,
but you must understand
that there are more important
things on our agenda
than finding a home
for one little old lady.
- I'm trying to keep
this one little old lady
from slipping
through the cracks.
- Look, if it's just a
matter of finding her
a place to live, why
not try the missions?
The detox centers?
She's a wino, isn't she?
- No, just one of the lost.
- Ms. Gerard.
The missions and
detoxification centers
aren't really set up
to take in women,
and then only on
a temporary basis.
- Just exactly what is
it you expect me to do?
- [Young Officer] You
head up the community
redevelopment committee, right?
- Yes, so?
- So...
The city has projects
geared for winos,
but no aid programs
for the other indigents.
The helpless, the homeless.
- Gentlemen, I'm
not Wonder Woman.
- Look, tackling
city council isn't easy
and this issue doesn't
happen in political glamor but
we're here because we care
and we thought we'd find
someone who'd make a difference.
I hope it wasn't a wasted trip.
(dramatic instrumental music)
(catchy jazzy
instrumental music)
I'm glad you guys could make it.
You think you could
give us some backup?
- [Jim] As always.
- [Stacy] What you got?
- Possible 187 suspect.
I'll talk to him about the
stranglings downtown.
His rap sheet says
he carries a .45,
but I'd like to take him
down nice and quiet.
(cheering)
(loud whistle)
(cheering)
(catchy dance music)
(clapping)
(cheering)
- [Clovis] All right!
- Let's do this
nice and easy, pal.
(cheering)
- Everybody get down, get down!
- Be cool!
(intense instrumental music)
- Hold it!
- One move and she's dead meat.
Get out!
- Hold it!
(intense instrumental music)
- It's me, Hooker!
It's me!
For God's sake, get
a hold of yourself.
(somber saxophone music)
- So you like to watch
mud wrestling, huh?
- Yeah, turns me on.
Very artistic, you know?
- Would you call cats
fighting over litter box rights
an expression of art, too?
- Why not?
- So, what made you take
up this kind of work anyway?
- I like body contact.
(chuckling)
- Excuse me.
- First it was the
federal housing agency.
Then it was the rich owners,
and then it was the
health department.
This latest excuse
isn't gonna fly.
Tell her Sergeant Hooker called
and that I have
found a parking ticket
that has gone to warrant.
With the name of Sybil Gerard.
Uh huh, that's right.
And I'd appreciate a call back.
Thank you very much.
- Threats now, huh?
- If she doesn't do
something for Millie,
I'm gonna make a promise.
- How's it going with Glover?
- I told you, I done choked
my old lady dead, all right?
But I had nothing to do
with them stranglings,
and I'm not about to take a fall
because of your
caseload neither.
Like I told you, I
don't know nothing
about them downtown stranglings.
- [Hooker] Same old song.
- Lousy singer.
- You'd look better if
you swallowed a toad,
what's bothering you?
- This scuzzball here
is an ex-con with a gun.
He kidnaps a
hostage, GTA's a ride,
comes close to killing you...
Why should I care if he ends
up taking some extra lumps?
- For the same reason I do.
Excessive force is just that.
- I have no argument
with reasonable force...
- It's not just that, isn't it?
It's something else.
Something's bugging
you and Stacy.
Come on, you got an itch?
Scratch it.
- Okay, come on.
Stacy told me she
and Jim shook down
a Cuban con this morning,
a prison gang member.
Turned out to be a
full blown hassling.
Jim came down hard on the guy
just like he jumped on Glover.
She said he just
sorta went a little crazy.
- Well she's his partner, maybe
he's got a personal problem.
- He told Stacy nothing's wrong.
Figured we oughta
talk about it now
rather than talk to
internal affairs later.
- I need an approval
on my arrest report.
Am I gonna be riding a beef?
- Oh, Glover's not
gonna press the issue.
- What about you?
- No complaints from personnel.
- I tell ya, I don't
know what happened.
I mean I just, I
kinda went blank.
Next thing I know, you're
on top of me hollering.
I swear, I don't
know what happened.
- Yeah well, it's been
a long day for all of us.
You just correct the
mistakes in your report
so I can sign it,
and we'll get out of here.
- What mistakes?
- Altercation, hostage,
other spellings errors.
You also omitted some words
and some incomplete sentences.
- I don't hand in bad reports.
- O'Brien's sure that
Glover's not the strangler.
- Glover is stonewalling,
he may even have an alibi in
Vegas on two of the slayings.
- Detectives are gonna go
back to their computers...
- And we're going
back to the streets.
We'll double the number
of black and whites
in the area where the
crimes have occurred,
and put more officers
in the streets on foot.
Maybe that'll do it.
- You don't sound too enthused.
- Well, this strangler's a
different kind of animal.
And I'm certain
that the difference
is on the inside,
not the outside.
- Ah, most of the time
that's all a street cop's
got to go by, the outside.
- And we don't do too bad.
Jim...
I told Jim that there
wouldn't be a beef to ride
on this Glover thing...
But I just can't
leave it at that.
- I saw him writing
out that report...
You could almost
see him fighting
to hold onto his
thoughts, what's going on?
- I don't know.
I'm gonna have
to find some time,
maybe away from the
job to talk to him about it.
- My suggestion is you do
it sooner rather than later.
- Yeah.
(ominous instrumental music)
(intense instrumental music)
- You see, usually a
killer such as the strangler
comes from a broken family,
and as a child has
suffered physical, emotional,
and sometimes sexual abuse.
Now, as to the
aspects of first garroting
and then binding the victim's
hands behind their backs...
I would have to conclude
that it's in some way
connected with his own abuse.
- Did you get a hold of him?
- He didn't answer his calls,
so I talked to his landlady...
And at first she
tried to cover for him,
she said he had left
earlier this morning.
Then she said there
was some kind of trouble.
- What kind of trouble?
- She wouldn't say.
- But the desk said
a unit was dispatched
last night to Corrigan's place,
on a see the woman 415 call.
The officers logged it,
but no complaint was filed
and no report taken.
- What's going on?
That isn't like Jim.
- The person who is
responsible for these killings
is mentally ill,
beyond any accepted
definition of sanity.
And that's about it.
Lieutenant?
- Thanks Dc, for the
psychological profile,
but I gotta add...
The suspect we have
in custody, Glover,
is weak at best.
So be heads up.
I think we still have
a crazy out there.
- Has this officer suffered
any injuries lately?
Particularly to the head.
- As a matter of fact,
he did take a bad fall.
- Well that could explain it.
The sudden and violent
explosions of anger,
the clumsiness,
the minor problems
with spelling and writing.
- See, the officer
we're talking about
is one of the best.
- Well, it's only
an educated guess
but the symptoms could indicate
episodic dyscontrol syndrome.
- What?
- Well it's kind of a
rage, an explosive rage.
And it's controversial.
Experts in the field of
psychiatry and neurology
disagree that it even exists.
- Well, getting two
or more doctors
to agree on anything new
takes an official
act to the AMA.
- It's kind of like
getting the cops
to agree with the
state Supreme Court.
- Let's talk real
possibilities here.
- Well if it is EDS, I'm
afraid there's no cure.
Only drug treatment.
But the symptoms
that you've described
could also indicate a malignant
tumor or it could be AVM.
Arteriovenous malformation.
- Look, these are
100 dollar words
you're slinging around,
give me something I can bank on.
- Well the only good
word about either condition
is that some cases
are not only treatable
but curable.
- Well that's
something at least.
- Whoever this
officer is, Sergeant...
He or she needs help
as quickly as possible.
Before they hurt
themselves or someone else.
Or worse, before someone dies.
- Thank you, Doctor.
You two team up.
I'm gonna take a run by Jim's.
(ominous instrumental music)
Corrigan.
(knocking)
Jim.
Jim, it's me.
Jim it's me, Hooker.
- Hooker.
My God.
What the hell happened?
- You need help, man.
- Hooker, what's going on?
- You've had an injury that
may or may not be causing
these sudden fits of anger.
- What are you talking about?
- I talked to Doctor Kincaid.
We talked about episodic
dyscontrol syndrome
and some other big
word brain disorders.
- Episodic what?
- It's usually caused
by an injury to the head,
like a bad fall.
- Listen to yourself.
I'm one of the best damn
cops in this department.
You tellin me I've gone
bonkers, looney tunes?
- Look around you, man.
You need help.
- Help?
To end my career?
What you say Hooker, you're
talking about my life here.
I'm a cop!
If I can't control,
if I don't maintain,
that's it, I'm finished!
If I'm not Joe the boss of my
mind and body, I'm nothing!
I don't have a problem!
- Let's say you do.
Let me help you.
That's all I wanna do.
- No!
- Help me, Hooker.
I'm scared to death.
Please... Please
help me, help me.
(ominous instrumental music)
- [Young Kid] I'm
sorry, sorry, sorry!
- [Woman] You're always
sorry, always sorry, sorry.
You won't do that
again, will you?
- [Young Kid] I promise,
please don't tie my hands again.
- [Woman] Bad little
boys get their hands tied.
- [Young Kid] Please, don't!
I won't do it again!
Cross my heart and hope to die!
Please, you're choking me!
- [Woman] I oughta let you
die, you ain't good for nothing.
(saxophone instrumental music)
- [Millie] Help!
Police!
Help, police!
- That watch foot
beat was out on patrol,
came back to their parked car,
there she was, sitting in the
front seat, shaking to death.
Said she wouldn't
talk to anybody but you.
- [Hooker] She's
been here all night?
- Kinda got lost during
change of watches.
The day desk crew just found her
in the holding tank.
- Somebody's
gonna get talked to.
Millie, you okay sweetheart?
- He tried to kill me, Hooker.
- The strangler?
- I couldn't see his face.
But... I saw his boots.
I saw them.
My boy, Kevin.
He wore those same
boots in the army.
- Stace.
She's in bad shape,
how do you feel about
babysitting at your place?
- Well what am I supposed
to tell my boyfriend, Hooker?
I mean we have advanced
past the handholding stage,
know what I mean?
- Well, tell him that
she's your grandmother,
come to town for a few days.
- How many days?
- Until Ms. Gerard
comes up with something.
- Okay.
How's Jim?
- I called in some favors.
He's at the University
Medical Center.
(somber piano music)
- [Woman] I oughta let you
die, you ain't good for nothing!
I oughta let you die,
you ain't good for nothing!
I oughta let you die!
- And now...
You're all gonna die.
(intense instrumental music)
- [Dispatcher] 30, meet
4-W-10 at the Sixth Street
railroad yards on
a DB call, code two.
- Roger, control.
- Same MO, same parachute cord,
same old same old, except
now the body count's five.
At least we have a
witness that can ID
a righteous suspect.
- Vibrant sole,
it's a good clue.
Now all we have to do is
find the guy with the boots.
- Hey, how many
people do we have
walking around
blousing their boots
like a paratrooper
honor guard, eh?
- Well, I can name a couple
of army airborne divisions
for starters, but
I think our man
is ex-military or would
like to have been.
You know the type.
- Yeah, a fantasizer.
One who seems himself
as something he never was
nor ever could be.
- And attaches
himself symbolically.
- A la the blouse boots bit.
- Anyway, it's a theory.
- How many army navy
surplus type stores are there
in this area?
- Post Exchange
near the bus depot,
Sherman Surplus over on Santee.
- Post Exchange,
let's start there.
It's closest.
- We get all kinds in here.
Skinheads,
straight out of boot...
Walk in here, slick sleeve,
go out of here looking
like ol' blood and guts itself.
Figuring that will impress
somebody, you know?
- I figure our
man is ex-military.
- Yeah, well, the vets...
They come here looking
for something they've lost.
Most of the time
they're just praying
they can forget about
it all, but they can't.
(chuckling)
Then there's the 4-Fers.
- The 4Fers?
- Yeah you know, the guys
who wanna be John Wayne
or Audie Murphy but
never could or would.
(chuckling)
- Well like we said, this
guy wears his boots bloused.
- Yeah, well that's common.
You know, paratroopers.
- But it's not common for a
civilian to tuck his pant legs
into boots with ladder laces.
- Yeah.
That's why I remember the guy.
- What guy?
- The guy with the
blouse boots, Rigger.
- The who?
- Rigger, that's
his street name,
on account he used to
pack parachutes in the army.
- That's it.
I was in R&R out of 'Nam,
in Hawaii, bumming and
slumming with a parachute
rigger friend of mine from
the special forces group,
he used to tie everything
with surges and locking knot.
His boot laces, his kit bag,
everything, habit he says.
It's a habit because he
used the knot so much
in packing parachutes
to become a habit.
Where can I find this Rigger?
- He's around.
He stops in now and then,
you know, tells war stories.
Strange kind of duck.
You know, if you ask me...
I'd say his parachute failed
to open, and he bounced.
(somber piano music)
- Arteriovenous malformation.
Isn't that one
hell of a mouthful
for subcranial hemorrhage?
You know what that means?
- From what you've said, it
means you have a chance.
- Yeah, sure.
I can pop pills
the rest of my life,
take a disability pension.
Or I could let them
open up my head
and try to cut out the problem
in which case they can
make a zombie out of me.
- The Corrigan I knew
never gave up without a fight.
- Hey, I'm no quitter.
- Then prove it.
Give yourself a chance to live.
- Hooker, it's
Millie, she's gone.
- What happened?
- I came back from
shopping and she was gone.
- She's probably
headed back for the road.
Come on, I'll communication,
get an APB out on Millie,
Stacy pick up a
car from detectives,
I'll need you in the field.
- Hey Hooker.
- And keep hotshot
here out of trouble.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- [Dispatcher] All units
standby for an APB
on a missing 187 crime witness.
Individual is one
Mildred Jensen,
described as a female
Caucasian, 62 years, 5'3 inches,
105, wearing a gray
sweater, blue dress, black hat.
If seen, stop and
detain for 4-Adam-30.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- There?
- Yeah.
- I think we had her.
- Cross my heart
and hope to die.
Cross my heart and hope to die.
Cross my heart and hope...
- Police, stop!
Stacy, take care of Millie!
4-Xray-16, an attempted
187 just occurred
on the APB wanted
witness Jensen.
- [Dispatcher] Suspect is
described as male Caucasian,
5'10 inches, 180 wearing
a green fatigue jacket
and bloused combat boots.
Last seen running
southbound from Lincoln Supply.
- We can intercept off of 60.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- [Dispatcher] 4-Xray-16 is
in pursuit of a 187 suspect,
now driving a blue Dodge truck.
Adam-Oceanboy-619
headed Eastbound on Sixth.
(suspenseful instrumental music)
4-Xray-16 is now in
pursuit of 187 suspect
headed eastbound in riverbed.
(police sirens)
(suspenseful instrumental music)
- Get him out of there.
(loud explosion)
Now give it up, you've
got no place else to run.
- Then it ends right here, now!
- It doesn't have to!
You need help!
- Help?
You see, I had to kill them.
- [Hooker] Come here.
- You don't care, nobody does.
I had to kill her.
My mother died
before I could kill her.
That's why they had to die,
that's why they all had to die!
- By the end of the week,
this warehouse will
have been converted
into a 150 bed facility
for the homeless indigents
who here too far have
been hopelessly lost
amid the shards of the
alien skid row existence.
- Consummate politician.
- This project which I may add,
I have conceived
with great pains,
has come about...
- Speaking of great
pains, how you doing Jim?
- You know me, the
consummate fighter.
- The doctors put us into shock.
They said when they
opened your head
they actually did
find some brains.
(laughing)
- Hold on you guys,
here comes Millie.
- Mildred Jensen.
A forlorn soul
benevolently chosen by me
as one in need of
adequate shelter.
Mildred here...
Kevin, where's Mildred?
- I don't see her, do you?
- Has anybody seen Mildred?
Does anybody see Millie?
- I do.
- Is it okay for me to be here?
- Of course it is,
it's visiting hours
for family and friends.
- [Sybil] Millie?
Has anybody seen Mildred?
(catchy instrumental
theme music)