Original subtitles

This is the city, Los Angeles, California.

For the 3.5 million people who live here,

the city is one big shopping center.

Retail stores in Los Angeles

take in more than 2 million dollars a day.

Some products aren't sold so openly.

Marijuana is one of them.

A bag like this goes for $15.

It's called a lid.

The finished cigarette is called a joint.

It sells on the street from 50 to 75 cents.

The seller claims it's heaven.

The buyer soon finds out it's hell.

It's a closed contract until we find out,

then I go to work. I carry a badge.

It was Thursday, September 14th.

It was hot in Los Angeles.

We were working the night watch

out of Narcotics Division.

The boss is Captain Al Trembley.

My partner's Bill Gannon.

My name's Friday.

It looked like Bill was getting ready to open a restaurant.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Narcotics, Gannon.

Hold on, please. Lieutenant Hanks, 31.

- What are you doing? - Well, what's it look like?

Well, it looks like you're running an inventory for a supermarket.

Don't be silly.

You're not thinking

of going on television with Julia Child?

She'd probably be delighted if I would.

I don't do this often.

- Do what? - Make this sauce.

Sauce?

If I put it on the market,

I could retire and live off the royalties.

I could retire on what you spent for all that stuff.

These things aren't terribly expensive, Joe.

It's how you put them together, but you wouldn't understand.

You're a bachelor. Is that right?

One part hot mustard, two parts chili powder,

four parts freshly chopped red pepper.

Yep, that's the way she goes.

Just what is that gourmet's delight

that you're throwing together there?

For barbeque, Joe. For barbeque.

Barbeque sauce.

You say it like it came out of a bottle.

People have been trying

to wrangle this recipe out of me for years.

- Really? - There we are.

- You know I trust you, Joe. - That's nice.

You're going to be the only other person outside of me,

and that includes my wife,

that knows all the ingredients of this sauce.

Is that so?

See if this doesn't make your mouth water.

First, you start off with a good-sized bowl.

Yeah, I shouldn't wonder.

- You chill the bowl. - Uh-huh.

Now, you don't have to bother to take this down.

I'll give you a copy because I know

you won't give it out to anybody if I ask you not to.

Oh, not me.

Into this chilled bowl you put one quart of ketchup.

You mix that up real good.

- Mix up what? - The ketchup.

- With what? - You don't know anything about cooking.

Will you just listen till I'm all through, okay?

All right.

Now, after you've got that mixed up good,

you add one can red pepper, one can hot mustard,

one quart vinegar,

one pound chopped red peppers, peeled.

- Of course. - Sure.

One small jar oregano,

four or five good-sized cloves of fresh garlic.

- Now what do you do? - You tell me.

You mix, Joe. You mix with an electric mixer.

Now, as you're stirring all this up

you add five chopped Bermuda onions.

Beginning to get to you, huh?

Those onions are. Is that it?

No!

Here's the secret part that only I know.

Now, this is what gives it

that hard-to-tell-what's-in-it effect.

And what's that?

First time I've ever told a soul.

I can't wait.

This is why you need a big bowl.

Yeah.

One quart vanilla ice cream.

- Huh? - One quart vanilla ice cream.

Learned that from an old chef I once knew.

You're sure you don't have your recipes mixed up?

You wait till you taste it. You're invited.

- Where? - Out to the house Sunday for the barbeque.

Oh, I've got a date, Bill. I'm sorry.

- You sure will be. - We're having lamb,

- and that's what's great about this sauce. - Yeah.

You put it on lamb, you never know it's lamb.

Friday and Gannon, come in the office.

Come in.

Mr. Porter, this is Sergeant Friday and Officer Gannon.

I'd like you to tell them just what you told me.

- How do you do, Mr. Porter? - Mr. Porter.

Frankly, it's difficult to know where to begin.

You read about these things in the newspapers

and somehow or other you convince yourself

they can't happen to you.

What's that, sir?

Drugs, narcotics, the whole dirty business.

How do you associate that with a Phi Beta Kappa key?

What do you mean, Mr. Porter?

My daughter.

She was an honor graduate from college,

magna cum laude in English literature.

And now, well, as I told Captain Trembley,

she practically brags about smoking marijuana.

How old is she?

22.

Certainly old enough to know better.

- Yes, sir. - Her name's Jean.

She and her husband Paul Shipley live in The Valley.

They bought a place in Sherman Oaks last year,

1698 Yolanda.

Yes, sir.

Frankly, I... I don't know whether coming down here

is going to do any good, but I've tried everything else,

including threatening her with a lawsuit.

Well, how's that, sir?

Custody suit.

She's got a little girl, 2 years old, Robin.

Only grandchild I have,

maybe the only one I'll ever have.

I told Jean if she and her husband

continued experimenting with marijuana,

and whatever else it is

these people you read about experiment with,

well, I-I told her I'd take them to court

and take Robin away from them.

- She laughed at me. - Yes, sir.

Maybe you could do some good with her.

Lord knows I didn't.

She won't even talk to me anymore.

It's as if we were in different worlds.

I don't understand her and she doesn't understand me,

and my little granddaughter is the innocent one

caught in the middle.

We'll check into it and see what we can do.

Thank you.

Strange, isn't it? What's that, sir?

Other than to ask directions, this is the first time

I've ever talked to a policeman in my life.

5:38 p.m.

We left Mr. Porter with the captain

and drove out to the Sherman Oaks address of Jean and Paul Shipley.

It was on a quiet street

in one of the better neighborhoods in The Valley.

It took us about 25 minutes to get there, 6:03 p.m.

Nice place.

Out of the low-rent district, that's for sure.

Jean Shipley?

- That's right. - Police officers.

This is Bill Gannon. My name is Friday.

- Yes? - All right if we come in?

- What for? - We'd like to talk to you.

What about?

We'd rather talk to you inside.

I guess it's all right. Come in.

Now, what is this all about?

We have a report you and your husband

have been smoking marijuana.

Oh, well, take a good look.

This is our den of iniquity.

Yes, ma'am.

You said someone told you I smoke marijuana?

Do you?

- Smoking marijuana is against the law. - That's right.

Did you know they say Coleridge was a drug addict

and that he wrote Xanadu under the influence of hashish?

It's a beautiful epic poem, don't you think so?

"In Xanadu, did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree."

I recite it to my little girl Robin sometimes.

She likes the sound of the words.

Yes, ma'am, but we were talking about marijuana.

Like you said, it's against the law.

Why? Why is it against the law?

Because it's classified as a narcotic.

But it's not addictive. It's not even very strong.

And you know that for a fact, do you, ma'am?

I've tried it, a long time ago.

Frankly, it's overrated.

Our report is right, then. You have used marijuana.

Why should I deny it?

Frankly, I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

Marijuana is no more addictive

than having a drink before dinner.

Just because it's illegal doesn't make it morally wrong.

Besides, it's certainly better for you than liquor.

You know, we've heard a lot of people claim

that marijuana is harmless.

Professors, doctors, even some ministers.

Now maybe they know something that we don't.

All we have to go on is the record.

We know that practically every kid we pick up on LSD

has marijuana in his pocket.

We know that we arrest more than 14,000 addicts a year.

They're on heroin, cocaine, methodrine, pills.

You name it, and they're using it.

And they all have one thing in common;

they began with marijuana.

You're claiming that smoking marijuana

automatically makes you a drug addict.

I offer myself as proof you're wrong.

No, lady, we don't claim that every person

who smokes marijuana becomes an addict,

but we do know one thing for sure.

No addict ever got there in one big step.

They had to begin somewhere

and they all began with marijuana.

Well, it seems to me there's a very large hole in your logic, Mr. Friday.

- Is that right? - You didn't say anything at all

about the type of person that becomes a drug addict.

It seems to me that only a neurotic or psychotic

would need the crutch offered by drugs.

I'm certainly not one of those.

Maybe not, and you're probably right as far as you go.

Besides the neurotic and the psychotic,

there's also the experimenter, the ordinary person

with a yen to find out for himself,

the intellectual addicts.

Well, they do all right until they wake up one morning

and find out they're not experimenting anymore,

that they're hooked.

You wouldn't be the first experimenter, lady,

who ended up spending the rest of her life looking for a fix.

It's happened before. It could happen to you.

Do you have any narcotics on the premises now?

Certainly not. Do you mind if we look around?

If I have a choice, I'd rather you didn't.

My husband Paul will be home any minute.

I don't think he'd like the idea

of two policemen rummaging through the house.

Pardon me.

Robin? How's my baby girl, huh?

I can tell you quite honestly

that if I did permit you to look around,

you wouldn't find anything.

I suppose we'll have to take your word for that.

I do have a choice then?

Yes, ma'am, you do.

All right, then.

Will you excuse me for a minute?

I have to see about dinner.

Hi, honey. What's for dinner?

There's a couple of policemen in the living room, dear.

Okay, I'll talk to them.

Hiya, Robin.

How are you today, huh?

I'm Paul Shipley.

Jean tells me you're policemen.

Yes, sir. Did she tell you why we're here?

Something about somebody telling you we smoke marijuana.

Excuse me if I'm a little angry,

but then it seems to me I've pretty good reason to be.

Her father told you that, didn't he?

Just can't keep his big fat nose out of our lives.

Look, the way I see it,

he had no right to tell you anything about us,

and you have no right to be in my house.

But since you're here, I might as well make the best of it.

Mind if I sit down? It's been one of those days.

Where do you work, Mr. Shipley?

Spindle Chemical. Programmer.

That means I operate a computer.

You been there long?

Since I got out of the service...

Three years in March.

Where are you from?

Native Californian, born and raised.

Father and mother live here in Los Angeles?

Look, if you have a form with you,

I'll be pleased to fill it out.

- Just routine. - It's not routine for me.

It's not often that I have a policeman in my house

asking me a lot of personal questions.

As a matter of fact, this is the first time.

Never been in trouble before?

No. And as far as I can see, I'm in no trouble now.

Have you been smoking marijuana?

Marijuana is illegal. I know that.

- That's right. - For now.

In a couple of years, things may change,

when all the kids grow up and start wearing ties

and going to the polls.

Marijuana is going to be like liquor,

packaged and taxed and sold right off the shelf.

I doubt it, Mr. Shipley.

Look, I don't mean to be disrespectful,

but it seems to me there must be better things for cops to do

than chase down wild rumors

about something as innocent as marijuana.

Why don't you go after the big bad guys,

the heroin peddlers?

I won't argue with you about them.

- They should be stopped. - That's right.

We'd like to put them out of business.

- That's why we're here. - What do you mean?

We're trying to keep them from getting a new customer.

There's a big difference

between marijuana and hard narcotics.

Yeah, but it's only a small step.

And everybody who takes a drink

is going to be an alcoholic.

We know that's not true, don't we?

Let's face it. We're on opposite sides of the fence,

and there's nothing we can do about it.

For you, if there's a law against it, it's wrong.

Black and white.

I just don't see things that way, that's all.

Well, you ought to give it a try, fella.

It might keep you out of jail.

Maybe. But we'll change the law someday,

even though your friend here thinks we won't.

Believe me, it's a new world.

Your laws are as outdated as bustles.

Laws are going to have to be changed

to keep pace with the new morality.

They'll change or we'll have to break them.

What about your daughter?

How is she going to feel if you end up in jail?

She won't like it any more than I will,

but you'll have to catch me

before you can arrest me, won't you?

In the meantime, it's a big game of hide and seek,

and to me, it is a waste of time.

How old are you, Shipley?

23.

Isn't it about time you grew up?

Here we go, lecture number 131A.

No, I'm not going to give you a lecture.

I don't have the time. I'm just going to lay it out for you straight.

Now, you listen to me.

You chippy around with marijuana long enough

and you're going to buy yourself a lot of grief.

After a while, marijuana won't be enough.

You'll start looking for a bigger kick,

and then a bigger one after that.

And all of this is going to go down the tubes,

your job, your house, car, family, everything.

We've seen it happen before and not just to the neurotics

and psychotics that wife of yours talks about,

but to nice clean-cut kids

from good families with good educations.

They start out just like you and they end up mainliners,

shooting it in their arms.

And they end up dead, or wishing they were.

Maybe.

Look, everybody says "No, not me.

I'll never get hooked."

They say it right up to the day

they start climbing the walls

and they began saying just what you are now.

"There's nothing wrong with marijuana."

Well, there's nothing wrong with a gun, either,

until you pull the trigger.

You can't even buy this stuff without getting dirty.

Think about the guy you bought it from.

You think he has a wife, a nice child, a home?

No junkies do.

They spend most of their time sick or in jail.

Don't you take my word for it.

Just take a look at the guy you bought from.

And look hard, fella,

because you're looking right in the mirror.

Now, if that's how you want it,

there's nothing we can do about it right now.

Next time it may be different.

And you believe me, boy, there'll be a next time.

- Dinner's ready. - Good.

Is school out for the day?

Will you be seeing my father after you leave?

Should we?

No, but if you do, will you tell him something for me?

Sure. Ask him to read the Bible.

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians.

- Maybe he'll understand. - How's that?

Because of what it says about our generation.

Tell him to read Chapter 6.

"Fathers provoke not your children to wrath.

"The old ways are not their ways.

Your dusk is their dawn. The future is theirs."

Try Chapter 5, lady.

The Apostle Paul also said this.

Yes, what is that?

"See then that you walk circumspectly,

not as fools, but as wise."

6:32 p.m.

We returned to the office and filled in the captain.

Without additional information or admissible evidence,

there was little we could do about the Shipleys

or their daughter Robin.

On the way up to the third floor,

we shared the elevator with Policewoman Dorothy Miller

from Juvenile Division.

We told her about the Shipley woman.

Well, if you could arrest them for attitude,

you'd probably have a good case.

Yeah. There's something you might want to check out.

- What's that? - The little girl.

Her name is Robin, about 2 years old. Pretty kid.

Was she hurt or neglected?

No, not yet anyway.

What do you mean, not yet?

Well, it's pretty easy to figure, Dorothy.

What happens when both her parents get really turned on,

a 2-year-old kid?

You might be able to make an endangering case.

I doubt it. From the way you tell it,

it sounds like a nice home, clean and neat.

I don't think there's enough to go on.

Be worth checking, wouldn't it?

I don't think there's much I could do, Joe.

You couldn't arrest them for attitude,

and I can't arrest them for something they might do.

We'll have to wait until something happens.

Yeah, I guess so.

Give me probable cause and I'll move on it, Joe.

Otherwise, there's nothing I can do.

Well, you could go out and talk to her, couldn't you?

What am I going to tell her that you didn't?

This little girl,

you said she's not hungry, dirty, abused?

Not yet.

Let me show you something,

something that's happening right now,

not maybe tomorrow or sometime.

It's a case I'm working now.

Take a look at these.

That house is 15 minutes from Beverly Hills.

The father works out in The Valley, a gardener.

That's his youngest son. His name is Rick.

His father did that to him.

Looks like he used him for a punching bag.

4 years old.

The mother's over at Central Juvenile.

She told us her husband beat the boy with a garden shovel.

Yeah.

Nice people. Do you know what tears it?

By the time I get back to my office,

she'll change her story,

claim the boy fell down and had an accident.

How do you figure that?

She's scared. She's 36, unskilled,

and she's not as pretty as she used to be.

If she doesn't change her story,

her husband's going to stay in jail.

Then who's going to buy the groceries?

And that's happening right now.

We get at least one a week.

We've got 85 kids in McClaren Hall out in El Monte.

The county's taking care of another 25,

all hurt, hungry and bleeding.

I've had it up to here with heartbreak.

You've seen one little girl who may get hurt;

I've seen hundreds who have.

We don't have the laws to do anything about the future, Joe.

We've got our hands full with the present.

Now I've got to go.

I'll be in my office in about 20 minutes.

Shoot me over a copy of your report.

As soon as I get some time,

I'll go out and talk to your nice lady.

Thanks, Dorothy.

You think it'd make an impression on her if I cried?

How'd it go?

Not much we can do about it, Captain.

Mr. Porter is probably right,

but we can't bust them for the way they think.

How about the little girl, the granddaughter?

She's not hurt or hungry.

Better call Porter, let him know the girl's all right.

Yes, sir. Rode up in the elevator

with Dorothy Miller, Juvenile Division.

She's going to check it out, possible endangering.

Think it will stick?

No, sir, but even if it doesn't,

it might do some good.

How do you figure?

Well, it will let them know we're thinking about them.

For the next two months,

Bill and I didn't have much time

to check back on the Shipleys.

Dorothy Miller from Juvenile Division

conducted her own investigation

and she didn't come up with much more than we had.

Until something happened, there was nothing we could do.

Bill and I were assigned another case,

the surveillance of a major Los Angeles narcotics supplier.

On Thursday, November 12th, we arrested him.

10:30 p.m.

Well, this one was worth the sweat.

Yeah, it was a good bust.

12 ounces of pure heroin,

worth about a quarter of a million on the street,

$3,600 wholesale.

The captain coming down?

Yeah, the lieutenant called him.

Fruit of the poppy.

You wouldn't think a simple flower

could cause so much grief.

This tin button.

Do you suppose this is what they're trying to tell us?

Man, will you cool it?

You're not dealing with a common criminal here.

You want those cuffs back on, buddy?

You pulled my shirt, man!

Just sit down there and be quiet.

- You guys need a hand? - Yeah.

- Where'd you find him? - On Ventura Boulevard.

Had these in his pocket.

A roach and two joints.

Man, I wasn't bothering nobody.

Why are you guys always pushing me around?

Joe, you want to hand me the 510 pad?

Here you go.

What's your name, fella?

Freddy, man, Freddy the Loader.

That's your last name, is it, Loader?

No, man. Fred Ludlum.

They just call me that.

- Who calls you that? - Everybody.

What have you been up to, Freddy?

Nothing, man. I was just drinking a little wine, that's all.

These two came along, gave me a hard time, that's all.

Where'd you score the joints?

Wine, man, that's all.

Just a little juice of the wild grape.

Two aliases, Lawrence and Franklin.

Four arrests, one conviction, on probation.

- Got a job, Freddy? - Ain't got the time.

Where'd you get the bread to score?

Don't need money, man. That's love grass.

What do you mean by that?

No bread, free score.

Some chick gave it to me.

Yeah, sure.

In The Valley, man, really square.

Where in The Valley?

I don't know, Sherman Oaks, place on Yolanda.

There's a weed party going on there right now, man, really wild.

Any names?

Chick named Shipley gave me the grass.

That's all I know.

That's enough.

11:02 p.m.

On the way to the Sherman Oaks address,

we asked that a radio unit

cover the back entrance of the house.

It was 11:43 p.m. when we got to the Shipley residence.

All right, police officers.

Everybody just stay put. You're under arrest.

Paul, George!

I'll check the kitchen.

I know you. Nobody invited you.

You're not welcome in my house anymore.

Found this one trying to slide out the back door.

How did you know we were having a party tonight?

First time we ever did on a Thursday.

Yeah, we usually turn on on a Friday night.

This lid was on the drain board.

Did my father fink on us again?

Where's your daughter?

I don't know. She was with Jean.

A baby belongs with its mother.

Don't you people know where your baby is?

Jean, where's Robin?

Where's little Robbie?

Robbie, Robbie, where's little Robbie?

Robin!

Robin!

Oh.

Oh, my God. Oh, Robin.

Robin! Robin.

Oh, Robin.

She's dead.

Ahhh.

Oh please, oh my baby.

Oh my Robin.

Joe, you can handle this for a minute, can't you?

You all right?

First time since I've been on the job...

Yeah?

I think I'm going to be sick.

Due to the death of their daughter,

Paul Shipley was found guilty

on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

He was placed on probation.

Jean Shipley did not stand trial.

As a result of the tragedy,

she was placed under the supervision

of the State Department of Mental Hygiene.