Original subtitles

Me, Lieutenant?

You. Get in.

Well, what's the problem?

You haven't got any reason to bust me.

Get in.

Why? I'm clean.

Sure you are.

That's why you're wearing long sleeves when it's a hundred degrees in the

Look, Lieutenant.

Now, who's feeding you this stuff? Where's it coming from?

What stuff?

I'm off it.

I kicked it.

You kicked it?

Absolutely.

I'm telling you the truth.

I learned my lesson.

All right, show me your arm.

I don't know where it's coming from. I'm supposed to meet a couple of guys

tonight. What guys? Who?

I don't know.

They're going to phone.

Look at me.

As soon as they contact you, you call me, understand?

I don't want to have to go looking for you, Joe.

McKinney. Spooner.

Well?

I'll call. I'll call.

Hey, Joey.

Hiya, man.

What's the matter? Your feet hurt?

Taxi's too expensive? You got a ride with the fuzz now?

Hey.

Hey, hey.

Didn't your mother ever tell you to cover your mouth when you cough, junkie?

Huh?

What'd you tell Harris?

Did you tell him about us?

That's why he gave you a pass?

You make a deal?

I didn't tell him nothing.

Nothing?

Hey, picky boy, you hear that?

Lieutenant Harris gives this junkie a pass for nothing.

Must be Christmas.

No, McKinney, it's too hot for Christmas.

Maybe it's be kind to Junkie Week.

Please, I told him I was sick.

Hey, there's blood on my tie.

Ten bucks for a good tie. Look at this mess.

He's dead.

You're kidding.

What do you want, a coroner's report?

Now what?

He... He was with Harith.

It's, uh, too bad. Harris killed him.

Okay.

The FBI.

A Quinn Martin Warner Brothers production.

Starring Ephraim Zimbalist Jr.

Also starring Philip Abbott.

Stephen Brooks.

With guest stars Andrew Duggan.

Larry Gates.

Tonight's episode, A Question of Guilt.

Within 24 hours after the body of narcotic addict Joseph Spooner was

Detective Lieutenant Frank Harris had been positively identified by

as the last person to see Spooner alive.

A charge of police brutality was immediately brought against Harris by

man's mother.

Harris was summoned before the Bureau of Personnel.

If proven, the charge would be changed to murder.

The department record will show that Detective Lieutenant Harris, assigned to

the narcotics detail, appeared at Central Headquarters Bureau of Personnel

July and was apprised of an allegation filed against him and of his rights as

officer and a citizen.

Lieutenant Harris, it has been alleged that on 12 July you inflicted severe

physical injuries on the person of Joseph Spooner, injuries which

led to his death.

Certificate of examining physician at County Morgue is attached.

Departmental OA report is attached.

A departmental board of inquiry will be convened at 1 p .m. on 16 July to

determine the validity of that allegation.

You have the right to be represented by counsel, to subpoena witnesses in your

defense, and to question witnesses who appear against you.

As of this date, you are suspended from duty pending the verdict of the trial

board. Do you have any questions?

No, sir.

Do you have departmental identification and badge number 1321?

Yes, sir.

Will you surrender them to me?

Oh, Art, come in.

You seen that?

Yeah. Where do you suppose that Barrett is after?

Why don't you ask him?

He's right outside with Spooner's mother.

They just flew in.

She filed a complaint with the local SAC, and then they headed for my office

find out what Washington was going to do about it.

Well, I told them I wanted them to meet the man who'd be in charge of the

investigation.

Mrs. Spooner.

I'd like you to meet Inspector Lewis Erskine.

This is Mrs. Olive Spooner. How do you do?

And Mr.

Barrett.

Mr. Barrett, won't you sit down?

Go ahead. It's all right.

She's never been this far away from home before. She's a little leery of

strangers.

Especially when they carry a badge, you know.

Mrs. Spooner, I understand it was you who brought a complaint against

Harris.

Yes.

Can you tell us why you think he beat your son? I mean, did anyone see it?

He picked him up and took him to this alley and hit

him. Yes, but did anyone see it?

He was a bad boy.

But why did they have to hurt him?

I don't see why they had to hurt him.

Could a secretary find some place for her to lie down?

Yes, sir.

We'll get you a glass of water.

Come right this way, please.

Would you find a place for Mrs. Spooner to lie down, please?

Thank you.

Amazing thing, love, isn't it?

Joe Spooner was an addict, a thief, a cheat, a liar.

And she loved him.

He was alive.

And now he's dead.

And that's all that matters to her.

And I hope, Mr. Erskine, that's all that matters to this Bureau, too.

What else could matter to it, Mr. Barrett?

Well, now, I'm not sure.

The status quo?

Were you a friend of his?

He didn't have any friends.

I went to Mrs. Spooner with my sympathies.

She wanted to know how Harris could be stopped from killing somebody else's

I told her to file civil rights violation charges with the FBI. I said

would see to it that Harris was punished.

What if he's innocent?

He isn't.

Mr. Barrett, exactly what power of insight qualifies you to act as judge,

prosecutor, and all the witnesses in this particular case?

I've studied Harris, Mr. Erskine, and I think he's sick.

I haven't found out what turned him into a psychotic yet, but I will.

Now, if you've seen Harris's record, you know that he's had four complaints of

brutality lodged against him.

All of them were investigated, and all of them were dismissed by the

No foundation whatsoever.

All right. Those were minor.

But this time, a man has been murdered.

And Lieutenant Harris, with a fair to poor record, was the last person to have

been seen with Spooner before Spooner was found dead.

Now, if the law is going to turn its back on that neighborhood again, then

people will give up hope. It's happening all over the country, Inspector.

There's no reason it can't happen there.

Now, is one sick sadist worth all that trouble? I think that has to be the

question, don't you?

No, I don't.

We're charged with determining whether or not a federal law has been violated.

The question is, did Lieutenant Harris beat Spooner to death?

And that is the only question.

You all do...

St. Joey the schnook.

How'd this benefit get started, anyway?

Hate?

Hey, Shaw.

Haven't you got ears?

That's love they're talking about.

It's hate for the lieutenant.

They're out to build a martyr.

They want to bury Harris, not Spooner.

He ought to be buried.

Next time the law won't lean so hard on the poor citizen, right?

Who says the law leaned this time?

Eyewitnesses. And they didn't see it. They seen Spooner get in a car with

Harris. That's all.

You're a hard man to convince.

Well, think about it.

Say you're Harris.

Are you going to pick up a junkie where a hundred people can see it?

Take him to a public alley in broad daylight and kill him?

I might.

You might.

Not Harris.

When some of these people calm down, they're going to realize it.

I wonder if the old guy could have a point.

I wonder if we ought to go someplace warm like Mexico.

You move too fast, people notice.

People are going to start saying, why did he do it?

You know why he did it?

Because he found out that Joey Spooner started his sister on her first stick of

pot.

You didn't know that, huh?

I just don't have a sister.

Yeah, he has.

He did.

She was a junkie?

Yeah.

I heard she died in New York, 1945.

Forty -five.

Spooner couldn't have been more than ten, eleven years old.

I mean, he couldn't have, uh... Genius, would you quit it?

Who knows who started her?

Maybe Joey, huh?

Come on.

First we make a couple of calls.

Then we take a vacation.

Slow and easy.

Hey, it's good to see you. What's back there?

SAC Blanchett, Jim Rhodes. How do you do? Are we able to reach Harris?

Yes, and he's agreed to an interview.

I told him you'd be at his house within the hour. Good.

I'd like to see pictures of the body.

They're at the office.

What was the medical report?

He was high.

How much money was he carrying?

Not a penny.

No wallet, rings, watch, nothing.

That wouldn't be unusual for an addict.

No, he'd sell everything for a fix.

Did he own a watch?

Yes, he did, and apparently he was wearing it the day he was killed.

The coroner reported a mark of an expansion band on his left wrist.

We checked the pawn shops he usually dealt with, but no watch of any kind

up that day.

You know, we may have a simple case of robbery on our hands.

Or we may have a detective lieutenant smart enough to make it look like a

case of robbery.

No corroborating witness yet for Harris' story, huh?

Several people saw Spooner get into the car with Harris, but no one saw him get

out. Or if they did, they're not going to help Harris by saying so.

He's not exactly the most popular man in the world, is he?

That's part of the problem. Harris himself.

He's not going to win any prizes for attack, but he's not down there to make

people love him. He's down there to get the pushers.

What's his record?

Eighty percent conviction on his arrests.

The syndicate moved out of the neighborhood because Harris is more

them than the area's worth.

The small fry still drift in, but Harris cuts him down as soon as he finds him.

He's filled up a lot of cells.

Heaven help him if he's ever sent up himself.

A lot of boys up there waiting to say hello.

What's the problem?

Don't tell me. I think I already know.

I checked it out, and Harris never had a sister, right?

No, he had a sister.

Has a sister.

He told me she was dead.

She had a 50 -buck -a -day habit.

Kicked it in 45, private sanitary.

Harris said that it killed her.

But Bond talked to a guy who was up there.

He said the girl was released.

She changed her name, got married.

She lives in Buffalo.

Well, well, our lieutenant lied.

It doesn't matter why.

It matters that he did.

I think we better do something about it, don't you?

Barrett. Ah, yes, Barrett. I figured he'd be involved in this business up to

neck. So he flew all the way to Washington to talk to you, huh?

Why is he so interested in this case, Lieutenant? Do you have any idea?

He's a crusader.

I'm his crusade.

All right, let's get back to the beginning.

What did you question Joe Spooner about?

We've been running into some high -grade pot lately, new stuff. That means

heroin's here, or on its way.

I wanted to find out who the distributors were. I figured Spooner

He said a couple of the boys were going to contact him later that evening.

Promised to phone me.

And you let him out on Costello Avenue near Taft? That's right.

What do you think happened to him, Lieutenant?

I think somebody saw him with me. I think he was killed to keep him quiet.

I notice you transferred to the narcotics detail as soon as you were

and that you've been there ever since.

Why are you so interested in this particular division?

My sister was an addict.

It's my sister B, Beatrice.

Send the record if you want spellings, dates.

I don't talk about it, but the department knows.

Where is she now?

She's dead.

I'm sorry.

It was 20 years ago. It's all over with.

Well, there's no connection between Spooner and her.

No connection.

Was he wearing a watch the last time you saw him?

Yes, gold expansion band calendar watch.

I was hoping you'd have found that by now.

Not yet.

Find the watch, you might find the murderer.

Take it, querido, please.

Come on, I bought it for you.

Look, Chula, what's the matter with you? Crazy or something?

I told you a thousand times I don't want it.

Hey, it's an engagement present.

There's no engagement.

I don't like this place.

I'm going home.

No.

I'm going home.

I leave tomorrow.

There's nothing in San Juan.

Quit hanging on to me like some dumb piece of flypaper, huh?

Okay.

Okay.

I think I'll be in Puerto Rico when I look at the watch.

minute you're saying spooner was trying to blackmail harris i'm telling you that

joey found out that harris's sister lived in buffalo he warned harris to

leaning on him or he'd tell her husband that she was a junkie harris went crazy

and killed him who is this check it out yourself mrs beatrice

jensen 432 lincoln buffalo new york

Yes. I'd like the number of a family named Jensen, 432 Lincoln Street,

Buffalo, New York.

Of course, I tried to contact Harris before we printed the story.

He hung up on me when I told him who I was. So you printed it. Inspector, we're

not dealing with a baker or a priest or a shoe salesman here. We're dealing with

a policeman.

And I happen to believe that any man who has the legal right to carry a gun, the

legal right to stop a citizen and question him had better be above

Harris never denied his sister was an addict. It's a matter of public record.

was taken into account by his superiors when he was assigned to this detail.

He lied, Inspector. That is a fact.

His sister's not dead. She's living.

He lied, and his lie laid him open to blackmail.

Now, do you think that's an act of a responsible policeman?

The way to measure responsibility, Mr. Harris, is to measure the way a man

reacts to a crisis.

And you don't know how Harris reacted. You don't even know if there was a

crisis. That's what we're trying to find out.

Inspector, responsibility is... Responsibility means a great deal to

doesn't it?

You bet your life it does. And you call this responsible?

Every other newspaper man in this town is doing his best to be fair, to keep

everyone calm.

A policeman has no... A policeman's job is to keep the peace, Mr. Barrett.

And he risks his neck doing it.

And if he oversteps his bounds, he's punished for it. Far more severely than

you'd ever be under the circumstances.

Can you imagine what would happen to a policeman who publicly sanctioned a

Well, that's what you're doing.

Have you any idea what's going on in Spooner's neighborhood?

We get the police calls.

You've got a press card.

How would you like to see it for yourself?

And remember, Barrett, this isn't a riot yet.

Any more than a flame is a forest fire.

Still controllable.

It'll simmer like this all night.

Is that a Paris?

Nope.

His car is gone and they burned a swastika in his lawn.

It would have been a lot easier if I knew where he was.

Frank?

Hello, sweetheart.

I saw the light in the kitchen, so I...

Come in.

I didn't scare you, did I?

Oh, no.

Well, yes.

As a matter of fact, I didn't know who it was at first.

21 years.

Is that right?

Come. Come and have some dinner.

No, I've had my dinner. Let me get you some coffee. Hey, that would be great.

Good. How have you been, Dee? Oh, wonderful.

I'm married. Two kids.

Yeah.

Paul just took him to the movies.

I saw him go. I've been sitting in the car.

Oh, cream or sugar?

No, no, just... Frank, how'd you ever find me?

Oh, it isn't that I didn't want you to.

Oh, you just don't know how often I've thought of looking you up, calling you.

Well, I've always known where you were.

You weren't so hard to trace.

But I figured if you wanted to start all, well, you know,

new name, new everything, you had a right to.

Frankie, it wasn't you I wanted to get away from.

It was everything else.

Oh, Frank, it's so good to see you.

Listen, how long can you stay?

I mean, we've got all the room in the world here.

Bea, you got a phone call from a man by the name of Tom Barrett, a newspaper

man.

Well, there was a call, yeah, but I wasn't home. My little girl took it.

She thought it was about a newspaper subscription.

She said he asked her a lot of questions, but she couldn't remember

were.

Well, this man, Barrett, is a columnist.

And he's printed a story saying that... that you are alive, that your name is

Jensen, that you were an addict.

He's after me.

He thinks the story will help prove that I killed a man to protect my sister's

right of privacy.

Frankie. Oh, no.

No, he's wrong.

I didn't do it.

Be what will Paul say.

Well, he'll say...

Honey, I wish you had told me, but it's all right.

Don't worry about it. I understand.

I'm glad you finally can have a chance to meet him.

He's a nice guy.

I love him.

I trust him.

What about the kids?

Well, there might be a little more trouble there.

Well, just tippy -toe up to it.

Try not to shock him.

Boy, you really killed me.

What? I thought by now you'd be yelling and screaming.

You're a big girl now, aren't you?

About time.

You better be getting back.

But you just got here. It's a long drive.

Listen.

Everything's going to be all right, Frank.

And look at the good part of it.

We got back together.

Don't you worry.

Don't worry.

You remember that slogan? They had you embroidered at the sanitarium. God helps

him who helps himself.

Because it's a pure enough fact, nobody else was going to do it for you.

Thank you.

Frankie, come back.

I gotta wash this out.

I'm cold.

Come on.

Give me a break. Look.

It's a beaut. You know what a thing like this is worth?

Let me see.

Solid gold.

Look at the band.

It's almost new.

What do you give me?

What do you want?

Fifty?

It's worth five.

Gold -plated.

Listen, the KBL clerk says I'm short ten dollars of an airplane ticket.

Give me ten dollars.

I gotta get out of here.

Where are you going?

Home.

Dollars!

I'll need your name, address.

Page, can you let me have a magnifying glass and an envelope?

Yeah.

I tried to stall him, but he was gone before I could turn around.

You never seen this boy before, Mr. Schultz?

No, no.

Oh, he had an accent.

Mexican, Puerto Rican.

Black hair?

Yeah.

What color spoon is here?

Brown.

Okay, thank you very much.

The only KBO flight this evening was an all -coach jet to Puerto Rico. It took

off ten minutes ago.

All right, alert the SAC San Juan.

Give them a description of the boy and tell them we'll try to have a name for

him by the time the plane lands.

Yes, sir.

I'll take this to the lab as soon as possible.

Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Shaw.

Who needs thanks?

It's a matter of common sense.

If Harris is being railroaded, I want to help him.

Is he a friend of yours?

Personal friend?

No.

But how long do you think a man in my business would last without officers

Harris around?

Now, I don't believe he laid a hand on Spooner. Oh, he's tough.

Yeah, but he's fair.

If he's innocent, I hope you can prove it.

I hope he gets back on the street soon.

I got a long way to walk home tonight.

Thank you.

Quieter. What are they waiting for?

The funeral.

Funeral.

Emotion.

Speeches. The newspaper articles.

We're cooling it, Blanchard, until the board of inquiry meets.

Good. I still think they'll find him guilty, recommend prosecution.

But we'll play the story down as long as we can.

Unless he kills somebody else in the meantime.

Well, he hasn't called in yet. I don't know whether he'll be down this morning

or not. All right, if I wait?

Well, uh... I'll wait if you don't mind.

Suit yourself, buddy.

All right, keep on it. I don't know how much time we've got left.

San Juan Field Office.

That old boy will admit that his name's Daniel Garza.

He never owned a watch. He never pawned a watch. He wouldn't know what to do

with a watch if he had one.

Oh, he's in a panic.

Probably won't say anything now that we confronted him to show him. What do you

hear from downtown?

So far, it's quiet. The police don't expect anything until after dark. Then

could go either way.

By the way, I talked to Garza's landlady. She said he hasn't worked in

months. A gal named Estella Lopez paid his rent.

Apparently, she was the only friend he had. He spent most of his time brooding

about how he could get back to San Juan.

a thief, Officer Eskin.

Hello, this is Arthur.

The lab has a report for you.

Yes, Art.

The hair was from a brunette Caucasian.

Got any help?

Hold on a minute.

Do you have a description on the Lopez girl?

A Caucasian 19 brunette.

Well, thank you very much. It could help. I'll get back to you.

What's her address?

It's a hamburger joint on 4th, Joe's Cafe.

Daniel who?

Garza.

Garza.

I don't know him.

His landlady knows you, Miss Lopez.

She told us you paid his rent regularly while he was in this country.

No. He's in serious trouble.

He pawned a stolen watch.

He didn't happen to tell you where he got it, did he?

I don't know any Danny Garza.

Miss Lopez, did you ever see the watch? Did you ever wear it? No.

Never wore it?

No.

o 'clock Tuesday morning?

Right here.

Right here?

Yes.

Was the cook here?

Yes.

Ask him to verify.

Now, wait a minute.

Oh,

I remember. Tuesday?

It was my day off.

And where were you at 11 in the morning?

Well, I'm afraid you'll have to come down to the office with us, Miss Lopez.

You can phone a lawyer and ask him to meet you there.

I didn't kill him.

I took the watch, but he was already dead.

They beat him.

I was hiding. I was afraid that they'd kill me, too.

Who beat him?

Well, these two that come in here sometimes.

What are their names?

Like Rick and McKinney.

Well, they live up on Davis Street.

This girl I know, she said they left this morning.

She'd know where they are.

Hey, slow down, will you?

I don't want to get picked up with all that dream stuff in the back.

We're clear now. Let's keep it that way.

A report just came in, Mr. Barrett, that might interest you.

Yeah? We've got an eyewitness to the Spooner killing.

She's named two narcotics pushers.

The suspects are being sought in Pennsylvania now under the Fleeing Felon

Which way are you headed?

Back to the office.

Can you drop me by the paper?

Yeah, hop in.

Passengers answering suspect's description.

Reported on Pennsylvania 103, six miles southwest of Landville.

Unit A to Chase Central. Establish roadblocks on 103, two miles north of

Torrance.

Also on side roads 7 and 40, north and east of Carverton.

Well, Lieutenant Harris.

I've been wondering if anything happened to you, Barrett. I've been waiting

quite a while to see you.

I've been out covering a story.

The riots?

The potential riots?

Yeah.

What do you want?

Why did you print that story about my sister?

I printed the fact that your sister is living.

I thought the further fact that you lied and that may have laid you open to

blackmail. It seemed possible to me that you could have killed Spooner in a fit

of rage.

Do you have any idea what this is going to do to my sister, her family, her

husband, her kids?

I don't know. Do you care?

I cared more about Joe Spooner's civil rights.

I

cared

about his civil rights, too. That's why I never have touched him.

No matter what the provocation.

Barrett, I'll tell you the truth.

It's been in the back of my mind I've often wondered what would happen if I

mad enough at Joe Spooner or Tom Barrett.

Well, it doesn't matter much, one way or the other, what you think about me.

I know myself now.

That's all that's really important.

McKinney?

What do we do, stop?

There's no reason they should be looking for us.

I suppose somebody tipped them off about the heroin.

Go.

Crowd them off.

your guns and come out with your hands up.

Hello? Barrett, Inspector Erskine.

Oh, yes, Inspector.

Did Blanchard get in touch with you?

Yes, he said you'd found some new suspects.

We've captured them. I thought you'd like to know.

That's good news. Thank you.

Lieutenant Harris will be notified as soon as possible.

He's right here.

In your office?

Yes, we've been having quite a talk about, well, responsibility and crisis.

Well, in that case, maybe you'd like to tell him yourself.

Yes, sir. I'd be glad to.

I'd be very glad to.

Thank you again.

With the apprehension of the killers of Joseph Spooner, the charges against

Lieutenant Harris were dismissed and the rioting in his precinct stopped.

Victor Hild and Lloyd McKinney were tried and found guilty and were

life imprisonment.