The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 2, Episode 1 - A Wrongful Death - full transcript

( funky jazz theme playing )

ANNOUNCER:

ANNOUNCER:

ANNOUNCER:

( alarm ringing )

Central 4 to headquarters.
We have an audible alarm.

Possible 459 at The
Cannery. We're going in.

( dramatic theme playing )

Tell them to hurry up, Spence.

Hold it!

( gunshot )



MAN ( over radio
): Attention all units.

Four-oh-six at The
Cannery, Leavenworth Street.

Central 4 has been shot.

Respond.

Eighty-one to The Cannery.

( tires squealing )

( sirens blaring )

( alarm rings continually )

( siren approaching )

( tires squeal )

Inspectors 81 to headquarters.

This is Stone.

I'm at The Cannery,
Leavenworth entrance.

Four-oh-eight, got an
officer here losing blood fast.



Get that wagon in gear.

( glass rattles )

( dramatic theme playing )

Hold it! Police!

Right there!

( footsteps approaching )

( mysterious theme playing )

( sirens approaching )

( alarm stops )

( footsteps )

STONE: Steve.

You all right?

Dead? Yeah.

He had a gun, Mike.

Where is it?

I don't know. But I
saw it. He had one.

Okay.

They get younger
every day, don't they?

This one's not.

Spencer Davies.

Come here. Stay with him.

We're gonna call
another ambulance.

Mike, he had a gun.
Never mind. Come on.

He had a gun. Find it.

( sighs )

How about a cup of coffee?

I don't think so, Mike.

Come on, you got me at
a weak moment. My treat.

No, thanks. You sure?

Yeah.

You want me to do that?

Thanks, Mike. I
can finish it up.

( door closes )

That the other kid?

Yeah, we nailed him a
couple of blocks away.

Said he was taking a short
cut through The Cannery,

heard the shooting and ran.

Well, it's the truth.
I didn't do anything.

Okay, okay, son.

Why don't you just tell us
exactly what it is you heard.

I heard shots. Gunshots.

Where were you coming from?

The movies.

Alone?

No, I was with a buddy.

Well, where is this buddy now?

We heard the shots, we broke up.

What does this friend
of yours look like?

I don't have to tell you.

I don't have to tell
anybody anything.

You're not gonna
pin it on him either.

We're not trying to pin
anything on anybody, son.

We just wanna
know what happened.

Now, a couple of police
officers have been hurt.

Now, nobody's trying to
blame your friend for anything.

We just have to know his name.

Spence.

Spence Davies.

( dramatic theme playing )

MAN: I said, "Listen, if
I'm out, then the umpire..."

Excuse me, I'm
looking for Al Davies.

( men laughing )

Yes, he's behind the bar.

Thank you.

Wait, you said you played pro.

Yeah, I played pro.

Well, let's put it like this.

I had a cup of
coffee in the pros.

Twenty-two games in the
bullpen for the Brownies.

The... The who?

The St. Louis Browns, 1949.

Forget it, it's
before your time.

And don't ask me about
any earned run averages,

because when you
hear the way I lie about it,

you'll wonder why I wasn't
playing for the Yankees.

( all laugh )

Yes, sir.

You're Al Davies?

That's right. What
can I do for you?

My name is Stone.

What, are you coming
to check the wallpaper?

It's kosher. I had it
renewed last May.

I wish it were just about
a license, Mr. Davies,

but it's not.

( clears throat )

Could I have a glass
of water, please?

Yeah, sure.

It's about your son, Mr. Davies.

Which one?

Spencer.

( laughs )

Spence?

Ah, come on, don't tell me
he's in any kind of trouble.

What happened?

There's been a
shooting, Mr. Davies.

A what?

There was a shooting,
and... Is he hurt?

Your son is dead.

Hi, I'm, uh, Keller. Homicide.

I was one of the guys
who rolled in your 406.

You get him?

I thought maybe, uh,

maybe you could
give us a description.

It was dark.

I didn't see much.

Yeah.

I did... see one of them.

He was tall, 6... 6'2 ", 6'3".

Blond.

Thin.

Beanpole.

Wait a minute. How
many were there?

Two.

Only saw two.

We got a couple of guys.

One's about, 5'9".

He's got long hair, sandy blond.

He's about 150 pounds.

He's a young kid, he's about 15.

Didn't see him.

The other one is, uh...

the other one's a little,

little thinner and he's shorter.

He's got black hair,
and he's about 15 too.

No.

You sure?

Couldn't have been.

But they were running
when we were pulling up.

Different guys.

Not the way these two
handled themselves.

The gun.

Taking on Anders.

Couldn't have been 15.

More like 20.

And tough.

Inspector, please.

I think you'd better
let Mr. Berger rest now.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you.

MAN: The body is that
of a Caucasian male

weighing approximately
170 pounds.

Measuring 70 and
three-quarters inches.

The head is bald.
Sides are shaved.

Eyes are brown.

There's a small
scar on the right ear.

The nose and the mouth
are essentially unremarkable,

the exception of cavities
in the upper right incisor

and the lower right molar.

We can go now.

Pop, let's go.

Mr. Davies.

Who did it?

Who killed my son?

I told you, an officer.

Your son had a gun.

My son had a gun?

This boy?

Mister, you don't know my son.

Your officer had the
gun and I want him.

He's gonna pay.

Come on.

Send in Steve Keller.

( knock on door )

Rudy.

I read your report, Steve.

Tell me, what about the gun?

Haven't found it yet.

You're sure there was one?

Yes, Rudy. There was a gun.

You better read this.

"Wrongful death"?

Civil suit.

Five hundred thousand dollars?

And I'm afraid that's
just for openers, Steve.

I don't have to tell you

that this is one of the
most sensitive situations

that we can get into.

What will you do?
Nail me to a desk?

I'm not sitting in a squad room
doing paper work while some...

I wish it were just that, Steve.
I'm afraid it's gonna be more.

There'll be an
inquest to determine

whether or not there's
sufficient grounds

to try you for manslaughter.

Manslaughter?

Rudy, the kid had a gun.

He already shot an
officer and he fired at me.

Then we'll do our
damnedest to prove it, Steve.

But until we do,

or until we know if the DA's
office is gonna bring charges,

I'm gonna have
to ask for your gun.

And your badge.

( dramatic theme playing )

( dramatic theme playing )

What're you doing?
Early Christmas shopping?

You know what I'm doing.

Now wait a minute.

I know what you're
supposed to be doing.

Now, sitting it out
means sitting it out.

Michael, it is all hanging out.

A little thing called my life.
Now, I gotta find that gun.

Oh, no. No, no, we've gotta
find that gun, buddy boy.

The rest of us. Not you.

Now, I talked to Olsen.

The Police Officers
Association is trying to get

Pete Flynn to represent
you. Remember him?

Yeah, but that... He knows
the law inside and out.

Wait a minute, what
does the association...

I told you, you're
not in this alone.

We could've all been
in the same boat.

That's the lousy
part of this job.

It's happened before
and it'll happen again.

It's a great thought
to have to live with.

Now look.

Come here.

Now that moment in your
life, when you first decided,

maybe a cop, why not?

While you were shaving.

Some gal at the movies,
cutting a class in college,

trying to decide what
to do with your future.

Now, I don't know,

but somewhere in that moment,
it must have crossed your mind

that what happened last night

might just happen to you, right?

I guess, yeah.

Don't guess. I know.

It's the same with all of us.

But I don't know.

Nobody's found that gun.

Beginning to have
a few doubts myself.

Now you listen to me.

You looked me in
the eyes last night

and you said there was a gun.

Then there was.

And we're going to find it.

( jazzy theme playing )

( doorbell rings )

I'm sorry about Spence.

Yeah.

Where's Al?

He's getting dressed.

Hello, Lainie.

Al?

Are you really going
to court with this?

It was murder, Lainie.

It wasn't any accident.

I don't know about that, Dad.

You don't know about what?

Well, I mean, how are
you gonna handle it?

You gotta get a lawyer.

I got a lawyer.

Yeah, but they
cost a lot of dough.

And the cops,

you know how
they stick together.

I don't think you
can really fight them.

What's the matter
with you? Is it...?

If I don't fight them, it's
like everything they're saying

about your brother is
true. Is that what you want?

Is that the kind of an epitaph
you want for your own brother?

The best kid that ever...

Jack, I'm gonna fight them.

With everything I got left.

Jack, he did...
He didn't mean it.

I gotta go, Lainie.
I'm late for work.

( phone rings )

Hello?

Yes.

No, no. Just a minute please.

Al?

Yeah.

Funeral home.

Yeah.

Well...

Yeah, t-that's fine.

Yeah, that's fine.

They, uh... wanna know if, uh,

a blue tie was all right.

How do I know if a
blue tie is all right?

Blue.

Isn't that something.

That you remember sometimes.

I remember a
little blue tricycle.

And Spence.

Remember how he
was a regular southpaw?

That kid was a left-hander

from the time he
was born, practically.

Well, uh, once,
for his birthday...

It was his third one,

I got him this blue trike, see.

And all the other
kids had a red one.

I got him a blue
one. Bright blue.

And, uh...

And he got on it, see,
and he started to pedal.

Well, stupid thing
started to go backwards.

I said to his mother,

"Marie, I think our
son is left-footed too."

And, uh, and, Marie,

sick as she was...

She knew she was
dying even then.

( sobbing )

well, she started to laugh, see.

She started to laugh.

And then I started laughing.

And we laughed.

Oh, my God.

Stupid blue trike.

It's junk.

It's junk now,
probably. Just... broken.

Rusty.

It's just gone.

Oh! Hey.

Thanks.

Say, uh, you fellows
know a Spence Davies?

You fuzz, man?

Yeah, that's right.

How about the ball?

How about a nice quiet talk?

Just give us the
ball, man, okay?

I don't wanna hassle you.

Your name Saunders?

That's right.

I thought so.

All-city about two
years ago, right?

Yeah, man, look, uh, you're
holding up the game, you know?

Yeah, I know. I'm
sorry about that.

But you see, there is
an officer in the hospital

with a bullet in him.

There's another
one in intensive care,

just barely holding on,

and I'm just trying to
find out what happened.

Yeah, well, the way we hear it,

there's a kid that's dead
who didn't do nothing.

Maybe.

Maybe?

Funeral's tomorrow, man.

How about that ball, okay?

Look.

I want the truth
like anybody else.

I need a name.

You came to the
wrong place, Charlie.

Cool it.

Look, we don't know nothing.

We don't want no trouble.

You know names.

Now, he was about
your height, your age.

Blond.

What's he done?

He may be the guy
who started the shooting.

Yeah, well, maybes
don't cut it here.

All we know is
one thing for sure.

And that's one of your
boys ended the shooting.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( action theme playing )

( blows whistle )

( funky theme playing )

Some coffee, Mr. Davies?

Oh, uh, no, thank you.

Pete? Mr. Mendoza?

No, thank you.

JERRY: Steve.

Jerry.

Sorry, I'm late.

No problem, Steve.

Inspector Keller,
this is Mr. Mendoza,

who represents
Mr. Davies. Mr. Mendoza.

Inspector. Mr. Davies
asked to be here today.

Mr. Davies.

And you know Pete
Flynn, of course.

Yes. Steve.

Sit down, Steve.

I think you understand
what a deposition is.

Just the taking of a
statement by both sides

prior to the hearing.

All right, I think we can begin.

Mr. Mendoza?

Just give us your
version, inspector.

Using your own words.

I was cruising the north
sector with my partner.

Lieutenant Michael Stone.

That's right.

It was about 11:30
in the evening

when we picked up a 406

and an alert that an
officer had been shot.

Four-oh-six?

That's right. It's a,
uh, it's a code number.

It means an officer
needs assistance.

And it came from The
Cannery over on Leavenworth,

and we were in the
vicinity, so we rolled on it.

Anyway, when we
approached the area,

we saw two males running
from the scene of the crime.

Crime? What crime?

There had been a burglary.

That's why Berger
and Anders were there

and they got jumped
and Berger got shot.

And you knew all
that at that time?

Just from one code?

No.

All you really knew was
that an officer called in,

asking for assistance.

Yes.

And that he'd been shot.

Thank you, inspector.

You may continue.

Jack?

Yeah?

Jack.

I've got to talk to you.

I gotta get this done, Lainie.

Jack, we've got to talk.

What about?

What happened with Spence?

You know what
happened. He got shot.

What was he doing there?

You know that too.

He was coming home from
the movies with Billy Garner.

Jack, it's me.

You've trusted me before.

He was coming home
from the movies, Lainie,

and that cop saw him
running and shot him.

That's what happened.

You didn't want your father
to press charges before.

Now, why not?

You heard.

Yeah, I heard.

I heard excuses.

Now I wanna hear the truth.

Leave it alone,
will you, Lainie.

Spence is dead and that cop
shot him and that's the truth.

MR. MENDOZA: You saw a gun.

Yes.

But not a face.

No, not clearly.

Look, Mr. Mendoza, I know
what you're trying to do.

Steve, just answer
the questions.

Mr. Mendoza?

All right, go ahead, Steve.

And when I told them to halt,

he moved again,

turned around...

Like I said, he
fired at me before.

So I figured... He
fired at you before.

My son never held
a gun in his life.

You're the one with the gun.

Here. While you were winning
all your medals for marksmanship,

my son was winning
these for sportsmanship.

For something clean and
good. Here, you take them.

Mr. Davies, please.

No, I want him to have them.

I want him to always remember
the kind of a kid he killed

with that gun
that he lives with.

A boy that was good
enough to win all of these.

Here, take them.

Mr. Davies, any more outbursts
out of you and you leave.

I think I know
how he feels, Jerry.

That's the biggest lie of all.

Nobody can know how I feel,

but least of all, the man
that murdered my son.

( dramatic theme playing )

The only thing I
think now, lieutenant,

is I better let you take a
look at a couple yearbooks

that go back quite a ways.

Well, he must've
played ball here.

If he didn't, the coaches
missed a good bet.

The way he could move,
the way he took those walls.

From what you said, he knew
the grounds pretty well too.

I'm sure he went
through that gym before.

Sports are in the back.

Anything?

Nope.

How about him? Jimmy Quayle.

Real good ball player, but
a real pack of trouble too.

No, no.

This guy was taller.

Blond. Had almost white hair.

Wait a minute. Maybe we're
not going back far enough.

We had a kid here who
only played for us a year.

One of the finest-looking
sophomores

we had in a long time.

Here you go. Lonny Carter.

That's him. Lonny Carter.

You got a file on him?

I'll give you what we had.

Played ball only one year, huh?

That's right. How come?

Dropped out.

Anybody know why?

Our number one
crippler today, lieutenant.

Drugs.

( knocking on door )

( knocking )

You're police.

Mrs. Carter?

Lonny's not home.

Where can I find him?

What's he done now?

I'd like to ask him a
couple of questions.

Look, I tried with that boy.

My husband and me,
we tried and he's clean.

He promised us. He's
got a job and he's clean.

A job? Where is
the job, Mrs. Carter?

H-he works in the afternoon.

He starts at 4:00.
He'll be there.

And if he's not, I wanna
know because I told him,

"You lose a job,
you lose a home."

Where, Mrs. Carter?

He works at the museum
near the wharf. Ripley's.

( jazzy theme playing )

( dramatic theme playing )

Police. Get these
people out of here.

Say, has that got a back door?

Come on, stop this
car. Get out of here.

( laughing over speakers )

( yells )

Now, you freeze.

It's him.

Carter, I read you the
rights, you know the rules.

Now, you don't
have to say anything,

but if you want to,
let's start with names.

Okay, sure.

But you gotta know,
I didn't shoot nobody.

I didn't have no gun.

STONE: Somebody did.

Yeah.

Who?

Jack.

Jack who?

Jack Davies.

( suspenseful theme playing )

Hey, uh, What?

How do I get to Parkhurst
and Clay from here?

Well, go down three
blocks... So I got 30 bucks.

You got more than that,
man. All those cameras.

( sighs ) All right, 50.

But that's it because we had
to stash the rest of the stuff.

Sorry about your brother, man.

Hey, did you hear about Lonny?

What about him?

He just got busted.

Sweet dreams.

( dramatic theme playing )

( dramatic theme playing )

Sorry you had to wait.

Not at all. Thank you.

I hope that's not too strong.

( door closes )

Mr. Davies, we've got to talk.

I got nothing to
talk about with you.

Any more talk comes
from my lawyer.

Then I'll talk and you listen.

We picked up one of the
kids. Name is Lonny Carter.

Do you know him? No.

He knows your son, Jack.

Listen, Stone. Get out of here
or so help me, cop or no cop,

I'm gonna hand you your head.

I've got a statement.

You got a statement.

How you got it is
something else again, isn't it?

Would you, Miss Russo?

I lost my glasses chasing
the kid who gave us that.

Elaine.

We have to hear it sometime, Al.

"There was me and Jack Davies.

We always work together."

His words, not mine.

"Jack always brought a gun.

"The first time
I saw it, I said,

"'Hey, man, we
don't want any blood.

"Just bread for stuff.'

"But Jack, he's more
hooked than me.

"He shoots the hard stuff.

And those cats don't listen.
No way I could make him listen."

What are you trying to do to me?

You're trying to tell me
both of my sons are rotten?

You expect me to believe that?

Not both of your
sons, Mr. Davies.

Then what?

"I didn't know Spence
and the other kids

"were even going
to be there that night.

"We always worked alone. Before.

"But this was a
bigger job, chancier.

"And Jack had them
stay outside as lookouts.

"I don't know why
they came, really.

They weren't users."

We picked up the Garner
boy again. He confirmed this.

And I spoke to
Jack's boss at the pier.

He said Jack left
early last night.

Complained of a sore throat.

Didn't want to stay out
in that late-night breeze

coming off the water.

If I remember correctly,

he told you that
he had worked late.

That's why he didn't
know where Spencer was.

Don't you remember
that, Mr. Davies?

Do you know where Jack is now?

Well, if you happen
to hear from him,

I'd appreciate hearing from you.

STONE: He could
still have that gun.

A lot of people have
been hurt already.

I'll be downtown.

My sons.

Al!

Thieves, that's what I had.

Al, don't. Spence
was a good kid.

You know that.

Don't do this to yourself.

Al, couldn't you see what
was happening with Jack?

Couldn't you see
that he was sick?

Did you know?

Yes.

And you didn't tell me?

Well, I wanted to.

I must have tried
a hundred times,

but you wouldn't let me.

I wanted to take your hand
and push you to him and say,

"Look. Look at him."
I wanted you to see.

But how could I?

I'm not his mother.

And I'm not even your wife.

I'm sorry, Elaine.

I'm sorry.

It should've never
been your problem.

Al? Al?

Steve.

Yeah.

Where have you
been? Been walking.

We tried to find you. Mike
nailed your blond phantom.

When?

About an hour ago.

Do you have the gun?

Not yet, but the guy
says there was one.

Where's Mike
now? ( phone rings )

Over with the kid's old
man. He said he'd call in if...

( rings )

Hello?

Is Lieutenant
Stone there, please?

Uh, no, he's not. Can
I take a message?

Yes.

Um, tell him Elaine
Russo is calling.

That, um, that Jack
Davies is at the pier

and his father
has gone after him.

Please, it's very important.

( tires squealing )

Jack!

( screams ): Where are you?

( action theme playing )

( jazzy theme playing )

( dramatic theme playing )

Use it on me.

That's what you
wanna do, isn't it?

I don't know what I wanna do.

( sobbing )

Why? Why Spence? Why?

Why your own brother?

Don't. Why?

Davies!

That's enough.
It's over. It's over.

It's not over.

It's not over until I know
why Spence was there.

Why did he have that gun?

( sobbing ): He didn't
have the gun. I had it.

I shot, then I fell.
Spence was there.

He saw me drop the gun.

He knew that they
might trace it back to me,

so he went back
and picked it up.

And after he got shot,

he fell and I grabbed it again.

And you ran.

You left your
brother there to die?

He was dead already.

Why was he there? Why?

He was trying to help me.

He knew I was hooked.

He knew I couldn't
go to you for help.

He saw me when I needed help.

He saw what you never saw.

When Mom died, you
needed somebody to love.

Only it couldn't be me.

I couldn't do what
Spence could do.

I couldn't make ball
clubs, I couldn't...

I couldn't do what
counted with you.

All you could think
of was Spence.

( melancholy theme playing )

MAN ( over radio
): Here comes a...

Johnny Bench. He'll
blast it out of the park.

Don't pitch to him.

I'll be right back.

( people chattering )

Hi, Mr. Davies.

Hello, Steve.

Hi, Elaine. Hello, Steve.

Get you something?

No, no, I just... I came
by to see how Jack was.

Thanks.

Well, Lainie and I went out

and saw him for
about an hour today.

It looks like that methadone
thing might do some good.

Good. Good, I'm glad.

Now I'm not kidding
myself, mind you.

He's gotta put in
the time, I know that.

I just thank God that
guy he hit pulled through.

He won't have that
on his conscience

for the rest of his life.

Well, he's got the right
man in his corner too.

I hope so.

I think that's half
the battle, right?

Right.

Take care.

Bye, Steve.

( over radio ): Foul
into the stands.

And again, made a good
catch over there. But it's...

How's he doing? All right?

Winds up. He's all right.

Fast ball and there she goes.

Hey, we're gonna be
doing okay too, buddy boy.

McCovey just packed one.

( jazzy theme playing )

( funky jazz theme playing )