All language subtitles for Law & Order (1990) - S03E07 - Self Defense (1080p AMZN WEB-DL x265 ImE)-7.eng

In the criminal
justice system,

the people are represented
by two separate

yet equally important groups:

The police
who investigate crime...

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Put me down
for $10 on the Expos.

Save some for groceries,
big shot.

I know, I know,
Allie's been on my case.

The baby's due in three weeks.

Well, tell her you're
investir in his future.

Yeah, you tell her.

Hey, I got me a bad Ford.

Yeah? I got a Mercedes.

Watch out for that grille, man.

Too late, man.

I already
took out a headlight.

This piece of crap,

bust out a headlight,
it's an improvement.

Holy jeez.

I already told him what.

Pop! Pop! Pop!
I don't know how many times.

Like a car.

What time was that?

9:00 last night.

Did you happen
to look out your window?

In this neighborhood,
you don't wanna look too much.

Thank you, Mrs. Pinsker.
The officer'll see you home.

Oh, don't bother. It would
just attract attention.

Tapped twice in the lower back.

Eyes cloudy, rigor's set in.
Say, 10 hours.

Garland Booker, 21 years old.

323 West 140th. $10.

Plastic from Alexander's.
Maybe his balance was overdue.

Creditors are jumpy these days.

Two entry wounds in the back.

I doubt
the shooter was under the car.

Okay, so Mr. Booker got shot
somewhere out here,

climbed into his car
to bleed to death.

Keys were on the floor. Maybe
he tried to start the car.

What, he was gonna
drive himself to the hospital?

Sergeant, looks like
somebody sprung a leak.

Oh, yeah. A double-header.

Big deal with a big gun.

Looks like
he crawled in here and died.

Cecil Booker, 27.

Somebody's
pruning the family tree.

These guys were brothers?

Oh, yeah,
chalk one up for genetics.

Cecil was in for robbery,

possession with intent,
two assaults.

Garland, grand theft auto,
burglary, assault, possession.

Mom must be very proud.

The birth canal's not
the only thing they shared.

They were both killed
by a. 38.

Uh, and Cecil's. 45?

Minus two bullets.

Oh, great.
So we had a firefight

right in the middle of Dodge,

and nobody saw anything.

Businesses were still closed.

We're gonna hit the
neighborhood this afternoon.

Well, that'd be helpful.

While you're at it,
maybe you could find out

what these two uptown boys

were doing downtown
on Thursday night.

28th and Lex,
it's a hot corner.

What do you think,
a drug buy gone bad?

Cecil had a crack pipe
in his pocket.

They both had priors.

What about the car?

It's registered
to a Laticia Ramis.

Girlfriend? Wife?

Garland didn't do no drugs.

He had himself a real job.
He was a courier.

What about this stuff?

Did it fall off
his delivery truck?

You always blame us first
when there's trouble.

My Garland got killed.
You don't care.

We care about
why he was downtown

last night with his brother.

Cecil owed him money.

He said if Garland goes
with him, he'd pay him back.

Pay him back how?

Cecil just said he knew a place

where he could
get all the jack he needed.

You didn't ask him
for particulars?

How about what you suspected?

I don't know.
Cecil always talked big.

He said he had a connection,
this man he did time with.

A name, Laticia?

Marvin. Marvin Welles.

Garland didn't know
what it was about,

or else he would've told me.

Cecil owed everybody.
He owed me.

You a savings and loan?

You know
what kind of business I'm in.

You're damn right.
I'm just waitir for an excuse

to toss this apartment.

Cleanir lady's
already been here.

I'm spic and span.

Cecil.

Was he your partner?

Not for a long time.

Profits had a way
of goir up in smoke

when he was around.

Look, everybody knows
Cecil was no kind of player.

Only buyir he did
was for his own head.

How much was he into you for?

Enough that
it wouldn't pay to kill him.

Marvin, do you have a gun?

I'm a felon, man. On parole.

If I was gonna use a piece,
I'd make it a throw-away.

Of course, you're welcome
to get a warrant.

Maybe we will, Marvin.

Anytime.

Mr. Rhee, what time
did you close last night?

8:00, I'm gone.

8:00? And you didn't see

the blue Ford parked
right out in front here?

No. These guys, they're dead?

As doornails.

Good.

They're bad dudes.

You go around the corner,

you could see them
selling dope all day.

These two?

These guys, other guys.
They're all bad.

No, no, not other guys,
these guys.

You ever seen them before?

Sure, they come in here
all the time

to get their suits pressed.

Only one reason
people like that come in here:

To take my money.

You've had problems?

No problem. Just a solution.

What, do you think
I, uh, sit around,

watch people walk by
on the street all day?

Your sign says
you're open till 9:00.

Yeah, you got a big net,
you catch more fish.

How were they bitir last night?

Not good. I close at 8:00.

Uh, it's a tough street. L... I
make a big investment here.

You mean like the fresh paint?

Yeah, new paint,
new sign, new alarm.

The insurance company,

every time somebody
gets robbed on the street,

they... they double us.

I do everything they say, but,
uh, still they... they raise me.

I work hard to be a success,
you know.

Not like these bums.
Excuse me.

Another "no see, no hear."

The neighborhood watch
must have skipped this block.

There's a lot of merchandise
here won'th stealing.

Cecil was talkir about
payir back his debts.

His sheet included
armed robbery.

Mr. Costas?

Do you own a gun?

What, are you gonna make us
call the License Division?

Yeah, okay, I got a gun.

I also got a right to
bear arms. Second Amendment.

What kind of gun?

.38.

The gun and the permit, please.

Christine.
That's your wife, huh?

Yeah. No, uh, green card
until three months ago.

No green card, no permit.

So she obliged?

Yes, she,
uh, works in the store also.

She keeps the books.

Everybody in this neighborhood
has a gun.

We need for protection.

We'd like your gun.

Oh, yeah, right.

What am I going to do
with no gun?

Call 911. That's your receipt.

Thank you.

These babies didn't come
from your Mr. Costas' gun.

It's the same caliber,

but the slugs are right-fives
and the gurs a right-six.

Sorry, fellows.

If you were scared
of beir robbed,

would you keep your gun
squirreled away in the back?

Unless
I wanted early retirement, no.

Me, neither.

Helen,
what's the number for Permits?

Speed-dial, three.

What's his wife's name again?

No. No.
We sold that other gun.

Mr. Costas, you are
testing our faith in humanity.

Okay, am I under arrest?

I know my rights,
from citizens' class.

You're not under arrest, okay?

Now, the paint job,
wherd you do it?

Last weekend.

No. It smells
a little fresher than that.

When we start diggir
under this paint,

what are we going to find?
Bullets?

All right. All right.

They had guns.

I think we'd all be more
comfortable at the station.

Okay, fine.
I want to cooperate. Let's go.

This one, he comes in first,
about 8:30.

He tries on Piaget,
Ebel, Can'tier.

He says to me,
"Nice watch, little man."

I knew he was going to take it.

So he tried to steal it?

No, he just left.

About 9:00,
he comes back with this one.

You let them in?

They were in the cage.

The big one,
he takes out his gun.

What choice?
I buzzed them in.

Did you think about
runnir in the back?

What, I am Superman?

These sons of a bitches
had a gun.

I should just let them kill me?

No one is suggesting that,
Mr. Costas. Please go on.

So, you buzzed them in.

My gun,
I... I keep it by the button.

So, you let them in,
then you went for your gun?

I don't want to shoot anybody,
but they were in my store.

My store. I have
a right to self-defense.

Can you tell us exactly
what you did then?

They shoot at me, I shoot back.

I killed them.

How'd the bodies get outside?

They ran out there.
They died there.

Mr. Costas, why didn't you
call the police right away?

I know. I know it was wrong.
But you don't understand.

Goetz, I remember Goetz.

Big hero,
then you put him in jail.

The circumstances
were different.

That's what you say.

But Immigration,
what will they say?

I am not a citizen.

I got the card,
I go to the classes,

but till I swear in front
of the flag, it's nothing.

Nothing.

For six years,
I work to get here.

Now I lose everything because
these bastards want to rob me?

Granted, the cover-up
doesn't work in his favor,

but in his shoes, what
does a guy off the boat know?

Enough to blow smoke in our
face for a day-and-a-half.

Well, what about his story?
Does it walk and talk?

With a limp and an accent. But
after what he's been through,

you can expect this guy to be
a little fuzzy on the details.

Okay, work the store. Maybe
the "I's" will dot themselves.

Two. 45s from Cecil.

Three. 38s from Costas.

Not to mention the three
we dug out of the Bookers.

One of these must be the one
that went through Garland.

That makes a total of six.

Which means
Costas emptied his gun.

Now, he could have retreated
and ducked behind the counter.

Even Carl Lewis
can't outrun a bullet.

So, he chooses
to step to the buzzer,

which is right
next to his gun...

another life choice.

He figures
he's too young to die.

He does what he's told.
Lets them in.

So, he's gonna wait
till they get in the store

and then shoot 'em?

I doubt
if he was thinking it through.

I don't think he had to.

He said he buzzed them in,

shootir starts, they run out.

What did he do, buzz them out?

Maybe one of 'em held it open.

That's not what he told us.

He never let them in, Phil.

He went right for his gun.
Fish in a barrel.

They were stuck
in the damn cage.

"Docket number 774-124.

People versus
George R. Costas."

The charges are two counts of
murder in the second degree.

Give us a plea, Mr. Costas.

Not guilty, Judge.

Your Honor,
in view of the severity

of the crimes charged,

the State asks for bail
in the amount of $750,000.

That's fine.
Let's skip the trial

and go right to the sentencing.

Mr. Costas
controls an inventory

of well over $1 million.

That's retail, Your Honor,
most of it on consignment.

The actual cash value
of my client's assets...

Please, Mr. Drakos, this is
not Benny's Bargain House.

Claims justifiable homicide.

Mr. Robinette, what's the
outlook on pleading this out?

The People are still
reviewing the evidence.

We aren't prepared to
make an offer yet.

What is there to review?

Your case
is like a bad haircut.

Before you waste
the taxpayers' money,

try to work something out
with Mr. Drakos.

Your Honor...

Bail is set at $100,000. Next.

It doesn't matter
how we slice and dice him.

The jury won't buy him
as a vigilante.

They'll buy him as a killer

once they know he lied to
the police at every pass.

Last time he had his
face in the papers,

gang-bangers
tried to kill him.

The jury might conclude,

covering up his involvement
this time wasrt unreasonable.

We can point out
it's not unreasonable

as a function of guilt, either.

A jury'll expect
more than rhetoric.

Grand jury
found it convincing enough.

Yeah, 13 out of 23 isn't
exactly a ringing endorsement.

Are we gonna step on
the bodies and keep walking?

This is the second
and third person he's killed.

Self-defense doesn't allow you
to kill somebody.

Only to keep yourself
from being killed.

It also doesn't leave room
for prosecutorial suicide.

What if Cerreta's right?

Garland was about to attack
Costas with a crowbar?

Try it the other way around,
Paul.

Maybe Garland
was acting in self-defense.

Garland and his brother
were the initial aggressors.

No way
he could claim self-defense.

He could the minute he withdrew

from the first encounter.

After that, he was at the car.

And it's inconceivable that
Costas could mistake the fact

that Garland
was trying to get away.

Now, I don't mind
people getting accolades

for legitimate self-defense,

but an executioner?
Someone who kills two people,

and then complains
about his insurance rates?

For people like him,

maybe that's the cost
of doing business these days.

He says he did everything
to lower his insurance rates.

My homeowner's policy
gives discounts

for having security devices.

It says here all he had
was a security cage.

If he was so concerned
about his safety,

why didn't he have the works?

He says he did.

Security device
covers a lot of ground.

Could be a camera,
could be a dog,

could even be a deadbolt.

For a $200 discount?

Is that what his policy says
he got?

Each quarter,
starting last year.

There he is. Costas, George.
100628th.

Put in a security cage
two years ago.

Last November, he got a Tracon
Five surveillance system.

One camera, one 48-hour
continuous tape machine.

Our investigators didn't
find evidence of a camera.

Do you have
a proof of purchase?

Installed by
Fortas Electronics, Fort Lee,

New Jersey, November 15.

Help yourself to the copier.

Thanks.

How the hell do I know
if he had a camera?

I've been to his store twice.

What do I have,
a photographic brain?

Maybe this'll jog your memory.

According to this,
he bought the camera from you.

George is family.
He wanted to save a few bucks.

He needed a piece of paper,
I gave it to him. So what?

The "what"
is insurance fraud, sir.

A D felony.

If you can prove it,
slap his wrist.

What the hell is this?

A bill of indictment.
Accomplice to murder two.

I'm allowed to present
my side to the grand jury.

I haven't filed yet.

We can walk down
to the grand jury room.

If I find your prints
on that camera, Mr. Fortas,

that's what you'll be facing.

All right.

I sold him the camera,
like the paper says.

Was it working
the night of the robbery?

Yeah, I guess so.

He called me right after.

Asked me
if he should get rid of it.

Of what?

The tape.

I told him, "George,

take the freaking camera down
and talk to a lawyer."

He got hysterical.

He'd already seen his wife
nearly get killed.

Those people,
they drove him to this.

Which people are those?

Poor stiff.

He should have stayed in Crete.

Unless you produce the tape,
Mr. Costas,

you've bought yourself
a ferry ride to Riker's.

Cancel the reservation, Ben.

My client's made no admission
there ever was a tape.

He already has.
To his brother-in-law.

And if you destroyed it,

that's tampering with evidence.

That's small potatoes, but it
could get your bail revoked.

I have the tape.

I advised
against destroying it.

We don't need to tamper with
evidence to make the case.

Don't expect a pat on the back.

I'll send a messenger over
to pick it up.

So much
for the ticker-tape parade.

Well, I'll tell ya',
If I were on the jury,

I'm not sure
which side I'd come down on.

I think it's self-evident.

He reloads and he goes outside
to finish off Garland Booker.

I don't see that on there.

He goes outside.
That's as far as it goes.

We can infer what happened
outside from the evidence.

An ME's report
and slim ballistics?

You'd never buy that
as evidence from us.

Oh, not without the statements
Costas made to you.

What statements?

He never said anything about
shooting anybody outside.

He covered up. He lied.

Lies show
consciousness of guilt.

The jury might never hear it.

Motion to suppress.

Covers the statements
he made to the police

and all evidence
derived therefrom.

When you first interviewed
Costas at the station,

did you Mirandize him?

No. He wasrt in custody.

He says he was.

He was asked to come
to the precinct.

He was placed
in a coercive environment.

He was questioned by the police

for one-and-a-half hours.

The court of appeals has
a word for that. "Custody."

And custody means Miranda.

Mr. Costas
was not under arrest.

He was free to leave
at any time.

Your Honor, the test is
what any reasonable person

in my client's position
would have thought.

A person who is unfamiliar
with the laws of this country.

A person who was already
questioned by the police.

A person who voluntarily
accompanied the officers

to the station house,

a person
who was not in custody,

and not entitled
to Miranda warnings.

That might satisfy
the Supreme Court, Mr. Stone,

but the state of New York
takes a more generous view

of the protections of counsel
awarded a defendant.

I'm going to grant
your motion, Mr. Drakos.

The statements Mr. Costas made
to the police are suppressed.

Your Honor, the tape
was discovered as a result

of my client's statements
to the police.

Spontaneous
pre-custodial statements

made before the police had
reason to suspect Mr. Costas.

They even have signed
affidavits to that effect.

I've read them. I agree.

The statements go,
the rest stays.

Well, so much
for the thousand words.

Better hope
the picture speaks for itself.

Look, the bottom line is,

the Bookers
never got out of the cage.

Our Mr. Costas jumped the gun.

Miss manners never said

you have to give the bad guys
a head start.

Not to mention a couple
of slugs behind the counter

makes a good argument
for self-defense.

What does Costas say?

He denies
they were still in the cage

when the shooting started.

The more he tells us,
the longer his nose gets.

Haitians aren't the only ones
afraid of the INS.

His concern over his
citizenship could be genuine.

I'll start presentations
to the grand jury,

but I'll delay the vote
until you guys

give me something
one way or the other.

See you.
All right.

Well, he stays open
longer than anybody else,

he's got two guns,
he's got a cage.

Maybe he figures he'll
field the first foul ball

that comes through the door.

You take him
for Charlie Bronson?

Everybody's got a role model.

Yeah, well, a witness might be
a little more useful.

You say he keeps one of the
guns in the back of the store?

That's where his wife
does the books.

Uh-huh.
And she has Thursdays off?

They have a saying in Greece:

"The one who doesn't stand up,
others bury alive."

So as far as you're concerned,

your husband
did the right thing?

As far as everybody
on that street is concerned.

It's not like
you were there to protect him.

Could you tell us what you
were doing Thursday night?

I was visiting my parents
in Jersey.

Look,
we're not the criminals here.

Mrs. Costas, justified or not,

your husband
did kill two people.

Do you see us celebrating?

You people are hounding him
like he did something wrong.

He had to defend himself.

You don't know what it's like,
this business.

Go downtown, talk
to the merchants on our block.

We all look out for each other.

Now, that's because of George.

He and the Koreans
organized everybody.

Down there,
we know who the criminals are.

Makes me feel all warm inside

to know that
some well-armed yahoos

are keeping our streets safe.

Isn't self-reliance
supposed to be a virtue?

Maybe they take
the mutual protection oath

one step further.

The dry cleaner, he looks like he'd
be pretty handy with a paintbrush.

He said he closed at 8:00,
remember?

Come on. By the time
he turns off the machine,

counts up the day's receipts,
it's maybe 8:30, 9:00.

Just in time to see his
pal Costas get in trouble.

Everybody was gone at 8:00.

Mr. Rhee, covering up a crime
makes you an accessory.

I'm no accessory.

But if I'd been there,
I would have helped.

The police don't help us.

With people like Mr. Costas,
we don't worry so much.

He's a hero.

Shooting down two guys
in a cage?

You give medals for that
around here?

George knows
how to handle those bums.

He did it in Fort Lee.

He did what?

He showed us pictures.
Newspaper pictures.

He didn't show us any pictures.

Maybe you can tell us
about Fort Lee.

He had a store there.
That's all I know.

Some guys, they got a cloud
over their heads.

Like that guy in Li'I Abner,
what's his name?

George Costas.
Him, too.

Guy was open less than a year

when three kids
do a smash-and-grab on him.

Are robbery's so unusual
in Fort Lee?

No. But eight months later,

some cracked-up mutt walks in
with a sawed-off.

This time Costas drops him.
One shot. We get there,

the mutt has a one-lane tunnel
through his forehead.

Costas is sitting there with a "Look
what I done, Ma" grin on his face.

You file charges?

For what? Lack of remorse?

You're talkir about
a local hero.

Besides,
there was an eyewitness.

Nick Fortas. Is that Greek?

Brother-in-law.
Saw the whole thing go down.

And brother-in-laws
don't have reasons to lie.

First time,
they took $8,000 in watches.

I told George
what he could do about it.

That wouldn't be voting
for more police, would it?

For all the good that does.

I took him down to the range,

fixed him up with an equalizer.

Never fired a gun before
in his life.

In Greece, they got weapons
laws up the ying-yang.

Nice to know we live
in a civilized country.

You're damn right.

Anyway, this Saturday,

this gorilla walks in,
tries to rip him off.

George puts one
between the eyebrows,

just like I taught him.

According to the report,
you were in the store

when the robbery occurred.

I was in the back,
putting in a computer.

So you never saw
the actual shooting?

I saw what needed to be seen.

You talk to him this week?

Sure, we're family.

So he told you what happened.

What is it with you guys?

Somebody does your job for
you, you jump all over him?

Look, Mr. Fortas,
we're only concerned because

some of the things
your brother-in-law told us

don't add up.

Like he never said word one
about the fireworks over here.

You ask around here... every
small businessman I know,

would do exactly
what George did.

Present company included?

Anyone tries to jack me up,

they'll find out
in a heartbeat.

He packs up his guns

and moves across the river
to a target-rich environment.

Doesrt sound like a guy

looking for peace and quiet
to me.

Try fame and fortune.

Yeah, maybe
more than fame and fortune.

The guy just got off
the red-eye from Athens.

He's struggling to make a buck.

What's the first thing
that makes Amos famous?

What, he figures if
shooting one guy paid off,

shooting two
gets him a ticker-tape parade?

He works late, he works alone.

You think he was
a sitting duck by accident?

Yes, I do.

And I think you're breaking
a lot of rock over this guy.

Guns, Phil. Everybody's
gotta have one, right?

Smartest thing
my old man ever did was

never bring
his service revolver home.

But when he was on the job, he
was glad to have the weapon.

Well, he was a beat cop.

Well, do you think standir
behind a cash register

in midtowrs any less dangerous?

The Booker brothers
didn't go in there

to sing Happy Birthday to him.

This seem right to you?

It's Garland's
through-and-through.

"Entry wound in posterior
lower left quadrant.

Exit upper right."

In near the kidney,
out the shoulder.

That's an upward trajectory.

How do you get one of those
runnir out of a store?

I was going to get to this
in time.

You think you've got
the only car in here?

I got two drug busts

and three vehicular homicides
ahead of you.

Well, we certainly appreciate
all the time you can spare.

You say he was laying flat
on the seat?

He might've rolled up there
after he was shot.

Right.
Then if he was down here,

he was probably
searching for his keys.

So, given
the loss of kinetic energy

And the residual velocity,

Your projectile

winds up right here.

The slug is a. 38,

but it's only a probable match
to Costas' gun.

That would make seven slugs
from Costas.

His gun holds six.

He reloaded?

He found Garland in the car.

Garland was reaching down
for his keys.

Costas shot him.

Wait a minute.

CSU found a crowbar
under the seat.

Garland might've been
reaching for it.

To do what, jump up and
take a piece out of Costas?

Why not? He might've had

a legitimate concern
for his safety.

Phil, you'd feel that way

whether there was a crowbar
or not.

At any rate, it doesn't matter.

Once the Bookers
left the store,

Costas had no right
to hunt them down.

Not the way I read it.

A private person may use
deadly force to effect

the arrest of a person
who's committed a robbery.

The justification defense

covers officer-involved
shootings.

Phil has investigated a few...

Nineteen.

And found every
single one of them justified.

All by statute.

This statute says robbery.

The Bookers
didn't take anything.

There was no robbery.

Costas had nothing to recover.

Costas had no reason to be
out in the street with a gun

unless he was looking
to shoot somebody.

How could he have known

they werert gonna come back
to kill him?

Let's remember
that this man was the victim.

No matter how bad
his situation looks,

Costas did have other options.

Deadly physical force

shouldn't be the first club
out of the bag.

We charge him,
murder two, two counts.

What is it,
are we hard up for bad guys?

You'd let him walk?

At least on Cecil Booker.

We'll let a grand jury
make that determination.

Read him his rights.

Mr. Costas,
you mind coming out

from behind the counter,
please?

What do you want?

Mr. Costas, please.

You want to turn around, sir?

What are you doing with him?

George Costas,
you're under arrest

for the murder of Garland
and Cecil Booker.

You have the right
to remain silent.

If you refuse that right,

anything you do say can
and will be used against you

in a court of law.
Do you understand that?

Yes.

You have the right
to an attorney.

In the portion of tape
released by his attorney,

Mr. Costas is seen
exchanging shots

with his would-be robbers.

Mr. Costas' lawyer claims
the tape shows clearly...

Every news director from here
to Albany ran it last night.

Forwards, backwards,
slow motion.

Costas is getting more play
than Zapruder.

With only five seconds'
won'th of tape.

If all the public sees is
what Drakos lets them see...

Before it's over, they'll
make him king for a day.

We can stake our own claims on
the hearts and minds of the jury.

Yeah, you play
the rest of that tape

and quicker than you can
press the stop button,

Drakos'll be
in front of a judge

arguing for a change of venue.

He's already dumped toxins
in the well.

The gun lobby
has canonized Goetz.

They don't need another martyr.

You drop the charge
on Cecil Booker

down to weapons violation,

and you give Costas a plea
on Garland Booker.

Man one, four to 12 years?

Ben, only criminals go to jail.

What do you call someone who
executes people on the street?

An American hero.

Once they entered the store,

my client had every right
to shoot them.

Garland Booker
was mortally wounded.

It's unlikely
he walked 80 yards

from the store to his car.

Look, I get one store owner
on that jury,

and the best you can hope for
is a mistrial.

And you're willing to stake
your client's future on that?

Mr. Costas,
four years at Bedford

is a whole sight better
than 25-to-life at Attica.

Oh, you want me to say it was
wrong for me to defend myself?

He was reaching down
in the car.

He could have had a gun there.

Mr. Costas,
are you now admitting

you shot Garland Booker
at the car?

All right,
this meeting is over.

You want to talk negligent
homicide, you call us.

I don't want a deal.

I am not going one day in jail.

George...

I listen to you, to Nick.
It's enough. I am innocent.

I know other cases like this,
in Baltimore, in Los Angeles.

People like me,
they defend themselves,

they don't go to jail.

And that's not relevant, sir.

You ask anybody on the street.

They will tell you
what I did was right.

Nobody protects us. Nobody.

We'll let a jury decide
who the victim is.

Two armed felons
or Mr. Costas.

It's a closed shop, Adam.
Costas wants a trial.

He has the better odds.

Hung jury is a gift.
Call his lawyer.

If we let him walk, we're
endorsing an armed populace

that metes out justice
as they see fit.

If we tried him and lose,
it's the same message.

With our credibility
as an appetizer.

Adam, I think
we're doing the right thing.

Is that a refusal?

Your call.

In the sequence
we've just seen,

did you measure the change
in position of the victims...

while Mr. Costas fired?

Yes. They moved six feet away
from Mr. Costas

and out the door.

And what conclusion
did you draw from that?

The victims were in retreat
when Mr. Costas fired at them.

The object in Mr. Costas'
left hand,

could you identify it?

That appears
to be an HKS Speedloader.

It's used to quick-load
six rounds into the revolver.

Thank you, Detective.

From earlier testimony,
we learned that Garland Booker

suffered a mortal wound
that entered his back.

From the evidence, could you
determine how he received it?

Yes, he was shot in the back

while sitting in the driver's
seat, leaning down.

And what object, if any,
did you find

on the floor
under the dashboard?

We found a pair of car keys.

Did you find any objects
under the front seat?

Yes. Candy wrappers,
two flares,

and a crowbar approximately
12 inches in length.

And where under the front seat
did you find the crowbar?

Over on the passenger side,
toward the rear of the seat.

Was it within reach
of someone behind the wheel?

No.

Thank you.

Detective, you testified that

when you saw the fresh paint
in my client's store,

that you suspected that he
was the victim of a robbery.

Did you have any other basis
for these suspicions?

Yes. Cecil Booker's rap sheet

had convictions for
armed robbery and assault.

And Garland Booker's rap sheet?

Objection. Irrelevance.

I'll allow it. Detective?

Garland Booker had been

convicted for grand theft
auto, burglary, and assault.

And what was
the assault charge for?

Mr. Booker was pulled over
in a stolen car

while intoxicated.

He then attacked the arresting
officer with a screwdriver.

Thank you.

No, they were not leaving.

They were getting ready
to shoot again.

Why do you think that?

The smaller one,
he was reaching behind him

to his back pocket.

Advance to frame 30-20
at half speed, please.

There! There! Right there.
You see his hand?

I thought he was armed.

I thought
he was going for a gun.

That's why I keep shooting.

Now, when you left your store,

what was going on in your mind?

These men,
they tried to kill me.

They were dangerous.

It was my duty as a citizen
to stop them.

What happened outside?

The, uh,
big one was staggering.

He disappeared into a building.

The other one was running.

I saw him get into the car.

What did you do?

I yelled at him to stop,

but he was grabbing
for something on the floor,

so I shot to defend my life.

Why didn't you call the police
after it was over?

The first time, in Fort Lee,

these animals tried
to kill my wife for revenge.

I did not want that
to happen again.

I was just trying
to do what was right.

Always, just what was right.

Where did you learn
what was right?

In citizenship class.

Where I come from, only
police and soldiers have guns.

People like me cannot defend
ourselves from criminals.

But here I learned everybody
has the right to bear arms,

like the minuteman.

L... I just follow
what I learned.

Thank you.

Mr. Costas, this threatening
movement that you spoke of...

Cecil Booker and
the security cage

are between you
and Garland Booker.

In all this confusion
and all this shooting,

how could you even
see that hand?

On the camera,
everything looks different.

To my eye, it looked like
he was going for a gun.

He was wounded.
He was trying to get away.

You found that threatening?

I was scared.

I thought
he was going to shoot me.

So scared
that you ran out after him?

The first time
that you were robbed,

how did you feel,
scared or angry?

Both.

"Never again."
Isn't that what you thought?

I work hard.
What do you expect?

And you became an expert shot.

Yes.

And if the Booker brothers
ever came into your store,

you'd be ready for 'em.

I was going to
protect my business.

How?
By hunting Garland Booker down

and shooting him in the back?

He was reaching in the car
for a weapon.

He had a crowbar.

Did you see the crowbar?
No.

Did you see the keys
on the floor?

It was self-defense.

It was an execution.

Objection!

You have no right to say that!

These people can come in
off the street and kill me?

Not like you!

Mr. Costas.

It's voodoo lawyering.

A blink becomes
a threatening gesture.

Comes down to whether

the jury believes their eyes
or their ears.

Always think
you have a smoking gun,

till the smoke blows
in your face.

You think it was a mistake
to put in the tape?

You play it once,
it's shocking.

Ten times, interesting.

A hundred times
and your precious tape becomes

whatever the jury
wants to read into it.

Or for whatever
the spin doctors tell them to.

Costas killed a couple of
punks for mom and apple pie.

A jury knows when it's being
sold a bill of goods,

even if it is written in red,
white, and blue.

Depends on the endorsement.
That was Cerreta.

Costas' lawyer
just subpoenaed him.

Detective Cerreta's testimony
can only be a rehash

of what detective Logars
already testified to.

Well, as I read his record,

he's testified
in 19 proceedings

as an expert
on the use of deadly force.

In police shootings,
Your Honor.

That's totally irrelevant.
Justification is justification,

no matter
who pulls the trigger.

Is it irrelevant that he found all
of those 19 shootings justified?

The state of New York
has qualified him

as an expert before,
Mr. Stone.

I see no reason
to break with tradition.

Ben, I was not looking
to get subpoenaed.

But I want you to know, so
there's no misunderstanding.

If he asks my opinion,
I will not perjure myself.

As long as you understand
that when he shot those men

he wasrt wearing a uniform and he
couldn't act under the color of authority.

In other words,
if he were a cop

you would not have indicted.

So as a result
of your investigation

and your viewing the videotape,

have you formed an opinion
about the shooting? Yes.

Detective Cerreta,
limiting your answer

only to the acts
viewed on the videotape,

in your opinion,
do Mr. Costas' actions

constitute a justifiable use
of deadly force?

Only his actions on the tape?

Right. Do they constitute

a justifiable use
of deadly force?

In my opinion,

Mr. Costas' actions
on the tape were justified

under Section 35-15,
Subdivision Two,

Paragraph B of the Penal Code.

Now, finally, Detective,
a hypothetical.

Would a police officer

confronting an armed robbery
suspect,

be justified
in fearing for his life?

I would have to say yes.

Thank you.

Uh, Detective, how long have
you been in law enforcement?

23 years.

And how often have you fired
your gun in the line of duty?

I've never had occasion to.

Are you familiar
with the New York

City Police Department
guidelines

on the use of physical
deadly force?

Yes.

And if you were confronted
with a suspect

who was reaching for something
that might be a gun,

what would you do
according to these guidelines?

I would not
discharge my revolver

until I saw a weapon
in the suspect's hand.

And if you saw a citizen

running down the street
with a gun, chasing someone,

what would you do?

I would probably arrest him.

Thank you, sir.

Every law-abiding citizen
has the right

to reasonably defend himself
from imminent harm.

That's what the law says.

The law also says

that a citizen may not use
deadly force

if he can retreat
with complete safety.

Now, not reasonable safety,

not probable safety,
but complete safety.

Mr. Costas was endangered

the minute that Cecil
and Garland Booker

walked into his store.

Just look at the gun
in Cecil Booker's hand.

A fully loaded
.45 semi-automatic.

Comply or resist, those
were my client's choices.

And in his world,
that's no choice at all.

Look what happened to the
storeowners in Los Angeles.

George Costas didn't give in
to those hoodlums.

He stood his grounds,

as was his right.

George Costas
fired the first shot.

He kept shooting,

even after the Bookers
had retreated from the store.

And after they were gone,
what did he do?

A reasonable man
would have phoned 911.

A reasonable man

would've stayed
in the safety of his store

and waited for the police.

But not George Costas.

He wanted revenge.

And maybe he wanted glory.

But the minute
he crossed his threshold,

to kill Garland Booker,

he stepped far beyond
where the law

allows the use
of physical deadly force.

He became the aggressor.

And it doesn't matter

what kind of life
Garland Booker led.

What matters to this courtroom

is the manner
in which that life was ended.

Finally, you must ask yourself,

do you want to live in a city

where an ordinary citizen

is allowed to run the streets
with a gun,

looking for someone
on whom to wreak vengeance?

Someone
he might mistake you for.

Have you reached a verdict?

Yes, we have, Your Honor.

As to the first count
in the indictment

murder in the second degree
of Cecil Booker,

how does the jury find?

Not guilty.

As to the second count
in the indictment,

murder in the second degree
of Garland Booker,

how does the jury find?

Guilty, Your Honor.

Don't!

Costas filed his appeal.

Public's rallying around.
A defense fund's been set up.

Even the gun lobby's
kicking in.

I know 12 citizens who
won't be joining the crusade.

Eight. Four of the jurors
were on the morning news

saying they felt pressured
to convict Mr. Costas.

Jury's remorse.

It rises with the unpopularity
of the verdict.

Their heads aren't
the only ones on the block.

Unless the victim
qualifies for sainthood,

we shouldn't prosecute?

Lyndon Johnson tried governing
by opinion polls.

It didn't work.