Original subtitles

This is the city— Los Angeles, California.

Nearly three million people live here now.

A little over 5,200 of them are policemen.

I'm one of 'em. I carry a badge.

It was Wednesday, November 1 6. It was chilly in Los Angeles.

We were working out of Internal Affairs Division. The boss is Captain Colwell.

My partner's Bill Gannon.

My name's Friday.

Internal Affairs, an administrative division of the police department...

whose sole purpose is to maintain internal security.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I'll turn on the machine. In here, Culver.

In here.

Is this off the record, Sergeant? Nothing's off the record.

Everything that's said in here will be recorded. I see.

Is it okay if I smoke? Yeah. Go ahead.

- All right. State your name. - Paul R. Culver.

- It's our duty to inform you of your constitutional rights. - There's no need for that, is there?

You have the right to remain silent, and any statement

you make may be used against you in a court of law.

You have the right to the presence of an attorney.

If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed before any questioning.

- Do you understand that? - I'll tell you anything you wanna know.

- Do you understand your rights? - I do.

All right. We want to talk to you about an armed robbery up in Hollywood tonight.

Herbie's Liquor Store. The radio car officers told me.

We'd like you to tell us where you were, what you were doing,

anybody who might have seen you from 8:00 on.

I was up in Hollywood, circulating around, hitting some of the joints.

- Did you do any drinking? - Yes, sir.

How many? Couple of beers. That's all.

How long ago? Two, two and a half hours ago. I didn't even finish the second one.

Are you under the influence of alcohol now?

How could I be?

- Are you under the influence? - No, sir.

All right. Go ahead.

I don't mind telling you. I'm pretty nervous.

I feel kinda sick. It's understandable.

- You know, I didn't have anything to do with that stickup. - Do we?

- You should, yeah. - Why? Because you're a police officer?

Full name: Paul Robert Culver.

Badge number: 35 10, serial 14584,

age: 23, height: 6'2 and one-half inches,

weight: 185, blood type: "O."

Length of service in the police department of the city of Los Angeles: 1 14 days.

Present assignment: undercover out of Narcotics Division.

I met Lieutenant Stephenson and Sergeant Appier in

this parking lot on Figueroa at 7:15 p.m. tonight.

I told them yesterday I thought I could make a controlled buy—marijuana.

That's what I've been working the past three

weeks, since I graduated from the academy.

Go on. You know how it goes.

They gave me $110 in a brown paper bag. Marked bills, serial numbers all listed.

We have it. It'll be returned to Narcotics.

Then I put the money in the glove compartment,

and I drove up Sunset to Hollywood.

- I parked on Selma, this side of Cahuenga. - What time was this?

- A little before 8:00. - Go on.

Well, I circulated around, hit some of the joints.

I was looking for this fellow, Kinks. Real name's Lou Gonners. Got a record.

My setup with him was pretty loose. He said if I was

interested, I could find him up in Hollywood tonight.

So I made the Red Fox, the Apex and this pool hall down the street, Cooley's.

- You talk to anybody? - Well, let's see.

At the Red Fox, there was this guy John.

What did he look like? Male Cauc., about 25.

5'10", average build, long, brown hair,

mustache, goatee, wearing a sweatshirt.

Got a little gold earring in his left ear.

Then there was Barstow, male Cauc., about 30, 6'1 "— real heavy.

Must weigh 220. I had one beer with him.

Wearing a jacket like mine. Has a tooth missing in front.

He's a cycle hound. You find a chrome bike up there, and he won't be far away.

Then I bumped into a couple of girls out on the street.

Vangie and Chickie. Hair out to here. You know the bit.

Yeah.

Then at the Apex, I don't remember anybody in particular.

Went on down to Cooley's.

This guy T-Bone, Little "T." Maybe 35, 40.

About 5'7", maybe 130. He looks Mexican.

Wearin' some kind of a red sweater.

- You gonna check these people out? - That's right.

Wish I could give you more to work on. You can't

push for information with these characters.

Last name, that sort of thing. Go on.

Then I went back down the street to this place called

the Absolute. I spotted Kinks standing outside.

I didn't go in. Told him I was interested in a couple pounds of pot.

He said, did I have the bread? I said, "Yes, in my car."

He told me to go on back there and wait. He'd come by.

I told him where the car was and took off.

- What time was this? - 9:06.

When you check these people out, I've been using the name Jacobs, Bob Jacobs.

- Right. Go on. - I went back to my car and waited.

I was still sitting there when the black-and-white

unit came by and put the light on me.

I showed 'em my I.D. and told 'em what was going on.

They took me to the Hollywood station. You know the rest.

- You sat in your car the whole time? - That's right. I never left it.

The radio car officers said they found you looking into the trunk.

Oh, that. Well, I'd put my gun and my I.D. back there, under the spare tire.

I was sitting there, and I got to thinking.

This Kinks— I'd seen his record, and he's a

hardnose. I was reaching in the trunk to get my gun.

I was gonna put it under the seat. Thought

I'd better have it handy. That's all that was.

Now, these places you went to— you went from the Red

Fox to the Apex to Cooley's Pool Hall to the Absolute.

- Yes, sir. - In that order.

Yes, sir.

- That means you passed Herbie's Liquor Store. - I could have.

Then from Cooley's, you went to the Absolute.

You passed that liquor store again. Isn't that right?

- That's right, but I didn't go in the liquor store. - Are you sure?

Yes, I'm sure. You know I'm sure.

We're ready for the show-up.

- Show-up? For what? - Granousky, the man who was robbed.

- Let's go. - I didn't have any part of this, and you know it.

The only thing we know is we want the truth, a straight story that'll wash.

I've told you the truth. I've told you all I know.

You haven't told us who pulled that 211 in that liquor store.

- It wasn't me. How many times do I have to tell you? - Till we believe it.

- If this doesn't tear it. - What do you mean by that?

- They don't preach this kind of stuff at the academy. - What's that, Culver?

All that jazz about the force— The teamwork, working together.

This is a fine example of it, isn't it?

I'm on the same team as you. I'm no two-bit punk suspect. I'm a cop.

Then think like one. You know you're gonna walk out

of this room totally innocent or totally guilty.

There's no in-between for you or any other man in this department.

If you're clean, we'll do all we can to help you prove

it. If you're guilty, we're gonna lean on you hard.

One officer to another—my word? That oughta mean something.

- It does, but just like anybody else. - Yeah?

It's not enough.

1 1:47 p.m. The show-up was over.

We returned Officer Paul Culver to Interrogation Room "D."

Go on in. Sit down.

Those names he gave us? Narcotics is checking them out. Yeah.

Better fill the captain in. Right.

All right, Culver. Sit down.

- This Granousky— He made me, didn't he? - That's right.

We wouldn't be back here otherwise. How good was it?

Positive identification.

Sure.

- Anything you'd like to say? - Eyeball witnesses aren't always reliable.

Poor eyesight, tricky memory, bad lighting conditions.

Most all-night liquor stores are well-lighted. Doesn't

seem to be anything wrong with Granousky's eyesight.

He said the bandit was no more than four feet away from him. He made a mistake.

Let's go over it again.

7:15, I got $110 in marked money...

from Lt. Stephenson and Sgt. Appier in that parking lot on Figueroa.

- That part oughta check. - It does.

We talked to Captain Trembly in Narcotics. The

money, your assignment— All that checks out.

Wait a minute. Something just came to me. I can prove I didn't do it.

I don't care what this Granousky says. I can prove it.

Go ahead.

- How much money was stolen? - Eighty-seven dollars.

I had 110 in the glove compartment. That checks out.

I had six dollars and change of my own money.

Where's the 87? It wasn't on me and it wasn't in the car.

Where were you from the time you left this Kinks

character until you were picked up at 9:22?

- You think I stashed it someplace. - Suppose you pick it up from the time you parked.

On Selma, just off Cahuenga, a little before 8:00.

I cruised around looking for Kinks.

I made the Absolute, the Apex and Cooley's

Pool Hall. Do you want the people I saw again?

- Only if you can come up with some new ones. - No, I can't.

- We're running down the ones you gave us. - I spotted Kinks in front of the Red Fox.

We set it up. I told him I'd wait for him in the car, and I took off.

That was after 9:00 going on till a quarter after.

I was at the car, waiting, when the black-and-white came by. That's it.

- Let's go over a couple of points here. - All right.

What time did you say you left this Kinks?

I just told you.

- Tell us again. - I told him I'd meet him at my car.

- What time did you tell him that? - A little after 9:00.

- Pin it down. - Around a quarter after 9:00.

- You're sure? - I'm sure.

- You sure it wasn't six minutes after? - It was 15 after.

You told us before it was 9:06. Well, I could be wrong.

Which is it—9:15, 9:06?

- I guess I don't remember for sure. - Try.

- All right! I'm not sure about nine minutes worth of tonight. - Get sure.

Why do you keep pushing me? What's so special about nine lousy minutes?

I'll tell you what's so special about those nine minutes.

Tonight at approximately 9:05, a liquor store was held up.

That store is in the immediate vicinity of your undercover assignment.

The joints you hit are located all around that store—

The Red Fox, the Apex, Cooley's, the Absolute.

In order to hit those places, you had to walk

directly past that liquor store twice tonight.

One of those times you could have entered the store, pulled the 211 at 9:06.

We've got an eyeball witness that says you did.

You could've walked one block, stashed the money along the way

and been there at your car when that black-and-white rolled up.

You could've done all that in those nine lousy

minutes. That's what's so special about 'em.

- You don't believe that. - Don't keep telling us what we believe, Culver.

That won't prove up for eight cents.

It's not what we think. It's what you did with those nine minutes.

Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe it was 9:06 like I said before.

Maybe you were in that liquor store. Maybe you pulled your gun on Granousky.

Maybe you walked out with 87 of his dollars. I didn't, damn it! I didn't!

- Where did you say you met Kinks? - In front of the Red Fox.

- You sure it wasn't the Absolute? - I said, the Red Fox.

- You also told us the Absolute. - Did I?

- Which was it? - What's the difference?

The difference is, the Red Fox is four blocks farther away from that liquor store.

- Maybe that was it. - What was it? - It was the Red Fox!

Not according to what you told us the first

time around. You said it was the Absolute.

That's a block from where you parked. All right.

It was the Absolute, if that's the way you want it.

- We want the truth. - Sure, you do. Your kind of truth.

You got a 211 on your hands. You gotta pin it on somebody. I'm handy.

You know better than that, Culver. Do I?

You keep twisting everything I say. I told you the straight story the first time out.

You make me repeat it over and over. Anybody's liable to get mixed up.

You're a police officer. You've been trained not to get mixed up.

How would you feel if you were sitting in this chair right now?

The two of you trying to hang something on me

I didn't do. What kind of police force is this?

A clean one, Culver, and you're gonna help us keep it that way.

All right. Put me on the machine.

Thursday, November 1 7, 12:02 a.m.

A t his own request, Officer Paul Culver was given the lie detector test.

Bill and I met with Lieutenant Lee Clingan of the Scientific Investigation Division.

We laid out the key questions to be used in the examination.

12:20 a.m. Lieutenant Clingan began the Keeler polygraph examination.

Thursday, November 1 7, 1:53 a.m.

You want to go in and sit down?

What do you think now? I don't know.

Seven runs. They all come out the same.

Did you pick up any coffee? An hour ago. It's cold. Place is closed now.

Cold.

Sit down, Culver. What for?

I could tell from the line of questioning. You could tell what?

I flunked the test, didn't I? Let's go over it.

Why? The machine says I'm a liar, so what's there to go over? Sit down, Culver.

Come on.

You know that Lieutenant Clingan spent a long time getting a norm on you.

It was my idea to take the test.

You'd have taken it eventually. It's the usual procedure.

Let's get to it. Show me how big a liar I am.

What makes you so sure the machine showed you up bad?

I just know, that's all.

The way things have been going tonight, I wouldn't be surprised

if you tried to pin the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on me.

There's some definite reactions throughout all the runs.

- All bad. - Nobody said that.

You don't have to.

I figured if I volunteered to take the test, that

must show you something. I'm not lying about tonight.

I've told you the truth, the best I can

remember it. I don't care what those graphs say.

- Go on. - This whole thing's so damned unfair.

How's that, Culver?

I worked my tail off up at the academy. I really wanted to be a police officer.

I hit the books day and night, finished ninth in my class.

I'm a four-dollar shooter. I make 641 a month.

I owe the police credit union 50 bucks, and that's it—the whole ball of wax.

I take a job the department asks me to do, and I end up with my head in my lap.

Now you tell me, what's it all worth?

You volunteered for that undercover assignment, Culver. You know that.

All right. So I did. I didn't know it was gonna turn out like this.

Being accused of something I might expect from that

ruck and scum I've been dealing with the past two weeks.

Yeah. I go there trying to do a job for the city, and I end up in the hot seat.

Well, I've had a gut full.

You can have the badge, the uniform and all that goes with it. I've had it.

Tell me something, Culver.

Why? So you can twist it around? You've got me made.

You've got that eyeball witness, the machine, nine minutes I can't account for.

- You don't need anything else. - What's eating at you, Culver?

Now, that's a brilliant question.

Never mind the smart answer. Just give us a straight one.

Something's giving you a problem besides this mess tonight.

- You don't think this is enough? - I didn't say that. Now, what is it?

What is it? Trouble at home? I'm not married.

We know that. Something's bothering you.

- What makes you so sure? - You've got a personal problem kicking around somewhere.

- You wouldn't be interested. - Try us and see.

It's something you couldn't arrest me for.

Come on, Culver. Let's have it.

It's not gonna make any difference here.

You're engaged to be married, aren't you?

Who told you that? That's not in my package.

- That's right, isn't it? - You two really dig into a man's personal life, don't you?

No, but these graphs do sometimes.

Maybe that's a lie too.

- Tell us about your girl. - You want her phone number?

Listen, this is the last time I'm gonna tell

you to save the cute answers. You understand?

If it’s that personal, and you don't wanna talk about it, all right.

But if not, it might be best to put it right here on the table.

What's the difference?

You might as well know. She told me two days ago.

- Told you what? - We broke up.

- You're not gonna get married? - No.

Haven't even finished paying for the ring.

- She give you a reason? - Yeah.

- Feel like telling us what it was? - I've been expecting it.

Yeah.

Ever since I took the first exam for the job.

I think she thought I might fail. I didn't.

- What's the problem? - She doesn't want to be married to a cop.

She says I can do better.

In other words, you're a college man.

She'd like to have seen you land a job with a little more status attached,

- I guess that's part of it. - But not all of it.

I think maybe I can understand how she feels, and maybe she's right, Culver.

It's awkward having a policeman around the house.

Friends drop in, a man with a badge answers

the door, the temperature drops 20 degrees.

You throw a party, and that badge gets in the way.

All of a sudden, there isn't a straight man in the crowd. Everybody's a comedian.

"Don't drink too much," somebody says, "or the man with the badge will run you in."

Or "How's it going, Dick Tracy? How many jaywalkers did you pinch today?"

And then there's always the one who wants to know how many apples you stole.

All at once, you lost your first name.

You're a cop, a flatfoot, a bull, a dick, John Law.

You're the fuzz, the heat. You're poison. You're trouble. You're bad news.

They call you everything, but never a policeman.

Maybe she's right.

It's not much of a life unless you don't mind missing a Dodger game...

because the hotshot phone rings,

unless you like working Saturdays, Sundays, holidays...

at a job that doesn't pay overtime.

Oh, the pay's adequate. If you count your

pennies, you can put your kid through college.

But you better plan on seeing Europe on your television set.

And then there's your first night on the beat,

when you try to arrest a drunken prostitute in a Main

Street bar, and she rips your new uniform to shreds.

You'll buy another one out of your own pocket.

And you're gonna rub elbows with all the elite...

Pimps, addicts, thieves, bums, winos,

girls who can't keep an address and men who don't care.

Liars, cheats, con men.

The class of Skid Row.

And the heartbreak.

Underfed kids, beaten kids, molested kids, lost kids,

crying kids, homeless kids,

hit-and-run kids, broken-arm kids, broken-leg kids,

broken-head kids, sick kids, dying kids, dead kids.

The old people that nobody wants— The reliefers, the pensioners,

the ones who walk the street cold...

and those who tried to keep warm and died in a

three-dollar room with an unvented gas heater.

You'll walk your beat and try to pick up the pieces.

Do you have real adventure in your soul? You better

have, 'cause you're gonna do time in a prowl car.

Oh, it's gonna be a thrill-a-minute when you get an unknown

trouble call and hit a backyard at 2:00 in the morning,

never knowing who you'll meet— a kid with a knife, a pill head with a gun...

or two ex-cons with nothing to lose.

You're gonna have plenty of time to think.

You'll draw duty in a lonely car with nobody to talk to but your radio.

Four years in uniform, you'll have the

ability, the experience and maybe the desire...

to be a detective.

If you like to fly by the seat of your pants, this is where you belong.

For every crime that's committed,

you've got three million suspects to choose from.

Most of the time you'll have few facts and a lot of hunches.

You'll run down leads that dead-end on you.

You'll work all-night stakeouts that could last a week.

You'll do legwork until you're sure you've

talked to everybody in the state of California.

People who saw it happen, but really didn't.

People who insist they did it, but really didn't.

People who remember. Those who try to forget.

Those who tell the truth. Those who lie.

You'll run the files until your eyes ache.

And paperwork? Ah, you'll fill out a report when you're right.

You'll fill out a report when you're wrong.

You'll fill one out when you're not sure. You'll fill one out

listing your leads. You'll fill one out when you have no leads.

You'll make out a report on the reports you've made.

You'll write enough words in your lifetime to stock a library.

You'll learn to live with doubt, anxiety, frustration,

court decisions that tend to hinder rather than help you.

Dorado, Morse, Escobedo, Cahan.

You'll learn to live with the district attorney, testifying in court,

defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, judges, juries, witnesses.

And sometimes you're not gonna be happy with the outcome.

Maybe your girlfriend's right, Culver,

but there's also this...

There are over 5,000 men in this city...

who know that being a policeman is an endless,

glamourless, thankless job that's gotta be done.

I know it, too, and I'm damn glad to be one of 'em.

- Sergeant? - Yeah, Culver?

Nothing.

Joe, see you a minute?

That was the old man. Yeah?

Guy by the name of Michaelson. Hollywood's booking him now. What about him?

He's practically a double for Culver. Even wearing a black navy watch cap.

Blond, 6'2", the works. Knocked over another liquor store an hour ago.

They have a show-up?

Granousky says he still doesn't believe it.

Says he's sorry, but anybody could make the same mistake.

According to Hollywood, Culver and Michaelson are dead ringers.

- Michaelson cop out? - All the way.

Admitted four other liquor store 211s besides

Herbie's and the last one where they grabbed him.

Well, sometimes it's not such a sour racket, is it?

I'm buying dinner tonight for both of us.

You mean breakfast.

- Go on home. - Huh?

You got a twin, Culver. They tell us he's practically identical.

Even dressed the same— Navy watch cap, jacket.

- They caught the guy? - Granousky says it was an easy mistake to make.

Good night. Good night.

Either one of you have change for a quarter?

Just made it.

Thanks. Gotta make a phone call. What are you gonna tell her?

What he told me. Sergeant, one thing.

- What's that? - The lie detector.

How'd I really do? The truth.

- You passed. - How come you didn't tell me?

You didn't ask us, Paul.

The story you have just seen is true.

The names were changed to protect the innocent.

Internal Affairs Division concluded the investigation of Officer Paul Culver.

In a moment, the results of that conclusion.

Officer Paul Culver successfully completed his undercover assignment.

As with all Police Academy graduates, he was given a regular tour of duty.

Six months later, while on routine patrol duty,

Officer Culver distinguished himself...

in the highest tradition of the Los Angeles police service.

Together with his partner, he subdued an armed bank bandit...

and was wounded in the encounter.

He was given the Medal of Valor for his bravery.