Original subtitles

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After you left your men to investigate the murder scene,

what did you do?

A family had just been slaughtered like animals.

What the hell do you think I did?

Your Honor...

I went looking for the man who did it.

You mean someone to pin it on?

Why did you stop Mr. Edmunds' automobile?

I wanted to talk to him.

After he was fired by Mr. Mailer,

he was heard making threats

against him and his family.

Come on, Captain Hanna.

Did any witness place my client at the scene?

No, but... Was there any evidence

connecting my client with the murders?

Not at that time, but...

Did any reliable source provide any information or tip?

I don't rely on tips.

So, with not one shred of evidence,

or anything remotely resembling probable cause,

you stopped my client, and without his consent,

searched both him and his automobile?

The murder weapon was in the trunk.

I had the guy cold.

Your Honor, the seizure of this weapon

violated the fourth amendment

of the Constitution.

It must be suppressed.

He's guilty as sin.

You can't let him walk!

Further, upon exclusion of this evidence...

The only link between my client and this crime...

Defense moves that this case be

dismissed for lack of evidence.

In light of the flagrant abuse

of the defendant's constitutional rights,

I have no choice but to dismiss this case.

Hey, Edward? Ed Hanna.

Hey! Ben.

Ben, it's been too long.

Yeah.

What say we catch up over T-bones at the steak house?

We used to be their best customers.

Great idea. We'll do that soon.

Um, I'll give you a call, Ben.

Is, uh...?

Is everything all right?

Oh, couldn't be better. Just busy.

I understand that.

Good to see you.

Right, Ben.

Good wrap, buddy. I can't believe it.

Yeah, the good old American way, huh?

Take it easy, man.

All right, see you, Bo.

What?

Hey, get those people back.

Come on.

That's your good buddy.

Hold on to your hat, honey.

What do you got?

Homicide some time last night.

Coroner's on his way.

What do you know?

Just what I said.

Single shot through the base of the skull with this...

.22, taped handle,

no prints... no way to trace it.

Yeah, Mob hit.

The Mob didn't do this.

Look, when you've been 32 years on the force,

you'll know a Mob execution when you see one.

This is how it's done.

Edmunds wasn't Mob.

And he didn't slaughter the Mailer family, either.

Hey, Shanley!

I expect you to be green, but not stupid.

Last night, Frank Caliguire

walked into the station and confessed.

Caliguire's nothing.

He's a punk. He's a punk

high on PCP looking for drug money.

He tore up the Mailer house and then killed them.

The PCP ran out, he crashed.

He got scared, got religion... who knows?

But he gave himself up.

I don't buy it.

We had hard evidence on Edmunds.

The gun.

Caliguire said he planted it.

Put a call in to the precinct.

Morrison'll tell you.

Edmunds was scum.

His last conviction, he assaulted a cop.

Could've killed him.

Whoever did Edmunds, did this city a favor.

Whoever did Edmunds is guilty of murder.

And I don't think this is the first time

this has happened.

Meaning?

I think you know.

Shanley, let's bag the rest of the evidence

Get it down to the lab. Come on.

Listen, Jim. You've got to stop calling

Captain Hanna "The Mad Hatter."

Stop telling people he's flipped out.

What do you call it, Reese?

He's a good officer

trying to keep us alive out there.

He's over the edge.

He's a Section Eight.

I'm telling you, he's flipped out.

I told you to can it!

♪ ♪

Take a hike, punk.

Time to talk again, Malcolm.

Man, forget it. Hey!

Right. Now!

Hello, Captain.

I'd like to talk to you.

I've been thinking about you, Shanley.

You went to college, didn't you? Captain...

Maybe you should go back, get your law degree.

Start defending those creeps you're so crazy about.

Listen, Captain... ACLU's the place for you, Shanley.

Not my precinct.

I'm a cop, Captain.

Yeah, well, wait till someone you know

gets blown away.

Let's see if you're still screaming "due process."

Everybody knows what happened to your wife, Captain.

In less than two years,

five guys who slipped through the system

have been wasted.

I think I found the connection.

That a fact?

In each case,

you were the arresting officer.

I talked to a guy named Malcolm,

he says he's done business lately with a cop.

Sounds like you're building

a case against somebody, Shanley.

You got any proof?

I don't have anything yet.

And I don't want to have anything.

Captain, you've got 30 years.

More decorations

than most generals. Hell, you're

a legend at the academy:

Edward Hanna, the cop's cop.

What do you want from me, Shanley?

Retire, Captain.

Pack it in.

I'm afraid I can't do that.

I want you to know I'm investigating this.

And sooner or later, I'll have

to go to Internal Affairs.

Retirement's no dishonor, Captain.

Think about it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Who is it? Edward Hanna.

I've been thinking about what you said

about retirement.

It's not the worst idea I ever heard.

That's a relief, Captain.

And I'll pack it in.

Let some hotshot like you take over.

Now, you get over here to the phone. Come on.

Now... You dial 5-5-5... 5-8-1-3.

That'll be Sergeant Reese.

You tell him to meet you in the Pike Street alley

in 20 minutes.

Dial.

Stop right here.

Look... I wrote everything down.

Something happens to me, they're going to find

my notes and know you did it.

Shut up and turn around.

You'll never get away with it. Come on!

Shanley!

Shanley, oh, God!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Freeze it right there, buddy.

Get up real slow.

For the twentieth time, he called, I went.

I heard a shot.

I investigated I got clobbered.

Why'd you give Shanley $5,000?

I didn't!

What were you doing with a quarter pound

of coke in your car?

I don't know.

Anything? Still sticking to his story like glue.

Well, then, damn it, he's telling the truth.

Shanley, Reese... both good cops.

I can't believe they'd be dealing in drugs.

What about the guy

in the red sweatshirt seen in the alley?

I'll find him.

Just up from Ballistics.

Eh, thanks.

Ah... The bullet that killed Shanley

came from Reese's gun.

Damn it.

Book him.

When I came to,

two officers were standing over me

and Officer Shanley was

lying there... dead.

I know how it looks.

But I didn't kill him.

I guess they took your picture when they booked you?

Yeah, it's standard procedure.

We'll have a record

of that bruise on your neck.

How did you and Officer Shanley get along?

You're not going to like this.

I thought Shanley was a jerk.

He was always blowing off

about Captain Hanna,

calling him "The Mad Hatter."

"Mad Hatter"?

Captain Hanna's a good cop.

Okay, he may be a little hard-nosed.

Try a lot hard-nosed.

You know him?

Since my hair was brown and his was a crew cut.

Long time.

Officer Shanley's partner,

what can you tell me about him?

Her, Mr. Matlock.

Donna Dawson's a good cop.

Clearheaded, quick on her feet.

And loyal.

Especially to Shanley.

Officer Dawson!

Hi, I'm, uh, Ben Matlock,

Jerry Reese's attorney.

My partner wasn't dirty, Mr. Matlock.

Uh, then you don't buy the theory

that, uh, he and, uh, Jerry Reese

were dealing drugs? Never.

Jim was set up.

And when I find out who and why,

then I'll know why Jerry Reese killed him.

Uh, you don't think, uh, someone else

set up Jerry Reese as well?

Look, Mr. Matlock,

Jerry Reese was found at the scene,

and his gun was the murder weapon.

The only thing I'm missing is motive.

And I'm digging.

Maybe we could work together.

You gotta be kidding.

I've known a lot of people.

But there was only one person I would trust my life with.

And did, every day.

That was Jim Shanley.

Now, if Jerry Reese killed him,

why in hell would I help you?

Well, I'll tell you.

In the first place,

Jerry Reese didn't kill your partner.

And I intend to prove that.

And when I do prove it,

it'll clear Jerry Reese,

and it'll clear Jim Shanley's name as well.

Jim is investigating our precinct captain.

Edward Hanna?

Captain Hanna's wife was murdered by some punk on parole.

And since then, the captain's been... difficult.

Well, he had a terrible thing happen to him.

But the captain's pulled some stuff.

It's gone way past bizarre.

And Jim was keeping a list.

I've known Edward Hanna for 30 years.

Jim told me that when he was through investigating

Captain Hanna, he'd be going to the review board,

maybe even Internal Affairs.

Do you have any idea where your partner

was keeping this list?

You want to know the names

of the most attractive women in Atlanta?

Right here.

Shanley dated them all.

I figured if he

was dealing, he might've kept a ledger.

Something in here.

Any luck?

Oh, nothing.

Call just came in.

One of our men talked to somebody

and said they saw a guy in a red

sweatshirt sleeping it off

behind a Dumpster this morning.

Where?

700 block of Pike.

Here, do something with this.

Hey, man!

Game's over.

Who's next?!

Malcolm, old buddy.

I want you to meet a friend of mine,

Ben Matlock. How you doing?

He's aka "Alice."

Short for Alice's Restaurant.

Anything you need, Alice can get.

Fake birth certificates, new driver's license,

hot cars, untraceable firearms.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Jim Shanley was in here yesterday.

What did he want?

Must have missed him.

Been downtown lately, Alice?

Go ahead.

I'd rather be rousted than wind up dead in some alley.

Are you saying that Officer Shanley

was killed because of something you told him?

I'm saying nothing.

It was guns, wasn't it?

He wanted to find out who's been getting

cold .22s off of you.

What did you tell him? That I'm lousy

at remembering names. How about the name

Edward Hanna?

Look... Ain't no way

is anyone going to get a name out of me.

Being out of business is one thing.

Being dead is another.

I'm looking for a guy wearing a red sweatshirt.

You know, the kind with a hood... Alley red... a boozer.

Have you seen him around here?

Nope.

Don't walk away from me! Hey, let go!

Think about it, hair-brain!

A guy with a red sweatshirt, a boozer.

Now, where have you seen him?!

I-I... Have you seen him anywhere around here?!

No, I haven't, man! I swear. I swear. Ah, sh...!

I heard you were down here.

Ben.

Weren't you a little rough on him.

Should've been a lot rougher.

Things have changed, Ben.

Punks carry Uzis instead of switchblades.

Crack is cheap. Life is a lot cheaper.

You let down for a minute,

they're playing "Taps" over your coffin.

Life hasn't improved.

Of course, you can't take care of it by yourself.

Why are you

conducting this investigation personally?

Well, when you want something done right, Ben,

you do it yourself.

I want to thank you for taking on Reese.

You know, he's a good man.

I don't know what the hell happened.

How did, uh, Officer Shanley measure up?

He made his share of mistakes, but he showed a lot of promise.

Do you know, uh...

the talk was that, uh, he didn't like you.

He called you "The Mad Hatter."

He kept some kind of crazy list

with things you had done

and he was telling people

that you ought to resign from the force.

I'm not surprised.

When a person shows a lot of potential,

I'm a lot tougher on them.

But as far as his writing down stuff,

believe me, he had better things to do.

I kept that kid hopping.

Look, I've got a lot of work to do.

I'll call you next week, okay?

Okay, Ed. Take care, Ben.

Okay.

♪ ♪

Freeze.

Don't move.

Officer Dawson.

Cops can see in the dark,

Mr. Matlock, but lawyers...

Well, the lights were on when...

Hmm.

Well, I could have sworn I heard somebody.

You did.

They treating you all right?

Nobody looks me in the eye.

Well, a cop accused of killing a cop...

I'm okay.

Good.

Now... your gun killed Jim Shanley

but you didn't?

Who could have switched guns with you?

My gun is either on me or locked up.

When is it locked up?

When I shower at the precinct

or when I work out.

Then it's in my locker.

Did you work out the day Jim Shanley was killed?

Every day, after my shift.

Is there a master key to those lockers?

Sure, in the office.

You mean anybody in that office

could've opened your locker while you were working out

and switched guns with you?

Anybody authorized to go in the office

can go in any locker.

That's procedure.

Oh.

Are you trying to say another cop?

You don't think that's possible?

Hell no.

Why would...? No, it's not possible.

Hmm.

I looked through your belongings in the property room.

I noticed you had a St. Jude medal.

I saw one exactly like it in Jim Shanley's effects.

Captain Hanna gave them to everybody one Christmas.

It was his wife's idea.

She should have given one to herself.

Mr. Matlock.

I was just going to call you.

I did some investigating.

Five suspects freed on technicalities

wound up shot to death a short time later.

Captain Hanna was involved in all five cases.

And, just this week, a guy named Bo Edmunds was found dead

the day after a murder case against him was dismissed.

Know why it was dismissed?

No. Captain Hanna performed

an illegal search and seizure.

Hey.

Hey, Ben.

How's uh, how's Jerry Reese?

Oh, he's-he's holding on.

Did you find the man in the red sweatshirt?

Oh, just a matter of time.

How about you?

You getting anywhere?

You know, I was thinking on the way over here

about how we met.

Yeah, I was just a rookie, and you were...

Scared out of my shoes.

My first case.

You won it.

Your testimony didn't hurt.

You were the best rookie I ever saw.

And the best cop.

Well, I believe in justice.

So do you.

That's why we're friends.

Uh... I've got a theory.

You want to hear it?

Yeah.

Shoot.

Okay, here it is.

Now, Jim Shanley was killed by another officer,

that's a fact, but not Jerry Reese.

A third officer was involved.

What makes you think it was a cop?

Because of the bruises on his neck.

They were made by a police choke hold.

And that patrol car that just happened by.

Hell, the killer knew that patrol car was coming by

because the killer was a cop.

Interesting theory, huh?

Yeah.

I'll tell ya, why don't you keep me posted, huh?

Yeah.

Oh!

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Did you know that Jim Shanley was keeping a Mad Hatter list?

I found some notes scribbled on a pad

in his house the other night.

Did you really do all those things?

I don't know. I never saw the list.

Oh, here's a copy.

This it?

Yeah.

The way this is written,

it makes me out a nut case.

I can't figure Jim Shanley.

Keep it, keep it, keep it.

I'll see ya.

Take care, Ben.

I'm looking for a guy wearing a red sweatshirt.

You know, the kind with a hood... alley red.

Any of you gals seen a guy like that around here?

If you see him, let me know, all right?

Get away from me! No, come on, work with me.

You still looking for that guy in the red sweatshirt?

Yeah, have you seen him?

Yeah, in an alley on St. Claire

between Seventh and Eighth.

Yeah? He was looking for breakfast.

Wait. Hey, what's in it for me, huh?

Son of a...

Stop, stop.

♪ ♪

Freeze!

Don't shoot!

I wouldn't do that, Edward.

I didn't want to believe it.

You were going to shoot him, Edward.

Because you were afraid

he could identify you.

He never saw Officer Shanley murdered.

He never saw you.

He ran because he heard a siren.

People who sleep behind Dumpsters

don't think of policemen as their friends.

I don't presume to know what goes on in your head, Ben,

other than getting your client off.

I was merely pursuing a witness in a murder case.

And now that you've determined he's not a witness...

we can all go home.

Jim Shanley, Bo Edmunds,

Tavares, Taylor, Hill and Fremont.

You killed them all.

Ben, think about what you're saying.

Edward Hanna,

captain of police, guilty of murder?

This is Sergeant Shanley's list.

I saw the list.

It's nothing.

It'll do for openers.

And I have evidence.

What kind of evidence?

You'll hear it in court.

You'll tell me now.

Sorry.

Ben... don't count on our friendship.

Edward...

I don't know you.

Where's your medal?

What medal?

Your St. Jude medal your wife gave you.

At home in a drawer.

Or maybe Sergeant Shanley put up a struggle,

tore it off.

Maybe it's still somewhere in the alley.

Detain him! Barnes, Drucker!

Captain, you want us...?

You put him in

a holding room and don't let him out of your sight.

You want us to...?

Are you questioning my order, officer?

Sorry, Mr. Matlock.

What the hell are you gawking at?

Go on!

My name is Captain Edward Calvin Hanna.

I work for the Atlanta police department.

I reside at 645 Biloxi Street in Atlanta, Georgia.

How long have you been a policeman, Captain Hanna?

32 years.

And you've been a captain for...?

Ten years.

And in that time, you have acquired

a most impressive reputation.

I believe they call you the "cop's cop."

I've heard that.

And in your 32 years,

you've received dozes of citizen commendations.

You've been awarded the Police Star,

you're the only officer on the APD

to have twice received the Medal of Valor.

Any officer in the world

would be proud of your record.

I am.

Some cases are harder than others, Captain Hanna.

But of course, you know that.

When did the people who work under you

start calling you "The Mad Hatter"?

Nobody's ever called me that to my face,

so, uh, I wouldn't know.

You know where the nickname came from?

No idea.

I might.

The decedent, James Shanley, wrote it down.

Objection:

Mr. Matlock is testifying, not asking questions.

I seriously doubt the relevancy of any of this.

Goes to motive, Your Honor.

I certainly hope so, Mr. Matlock.

Proceed.

Thank you.

When a patrol officer lost

his Atlanta Police Department baseball cap a couple years ago,

you suspended him for three weeks without pay.

That is indeed true.

Three weeks without pay.

Officer Shanley

thought that was fairly irrational,

so he started calling you "The Mad Hatter."

There was no irrationality.

The emblem of the Atlanta Police Department

is on our baseball caps.

It looks like a badge.

Anyone wearing one would be presumed to be a police officer.

If a street punk got his hands on one,

he could pass himself off as a cop.

Anything could happen.

By severely punishing one of my officers,

I taught them all a very important lesson.

If they saw fit to call me names after that, so be it.

Hm.

Then there was the, uh, Officer Parsons incident.

Your Honor,

I still fail to see the relevance.

Mr. Matlock,

as Captain Hanna himself has just stated,

his actions may have been extreme,

but they were not necessarily irrational.

And they hardly justify the very serious allegations

you seem to be making.

Not by themselves, Your Honor, no, probably not.

But Jim Shanley wrote down something else.

At this time, I would like

the last page of these notes to be entered into evidence

as Defense Exhibit B.

I have made copies.

It's a... a list of names: five.

All five of these men were involved in cases

in which Captain Hanna was also involved.

They were all arrested for one reason or another.

And each was released on a technicality,

and each was found shot to death

a short time later.

Isn't that true, Captain Hanna?

You knew that Jim Shanley had figured it out, didn't you?

The names... the untraceable guns.

What are you talking about, Mr. Matlock?

Didn't he tell you that he didn't have enough proof

to go to the D.A.,

but he would keep digging and digging until he did?

This is total fabrication.

You have unlimited access

to the police property room, don't you?

Yes, I do.

And the day after Jim Shanley was murdered,

a quarter pound of cocaine turned up missing, didn't it?

That's right.

You recently sold your

old pickup truck, didn't you?

Well, yes, I did.

For $5,000 cash?

Of course, cash.

And there's a master key

to all the policemen's lockers at the precinct,

including Jerry Reese, isn't that right?

For emergency use, yes.

And you know where that key is kept!

It's my job to know.

Isn't this what really happened, Captain Hanna?

That night at the bar, Jim Shanley told you

as soon as he had enough evidence,

he was going to the Review Board or Internal Affairs.

An official inquiry.

That could mean the end of your career.

Destroy your reputation.

Place you in prison.

Captain Edward Hanna, the cop's cop.

You got scared, didn't you?

You went back to the precinct,

and while Jerry Reese was working out in the gym,

you opened his locker

and switched revolvers with him.

Then you went to Jim Shanley's home,

forced him to call Jerry Reese, told him to meet him

at the Pike Street alley, and there you killed Jim Shanley.

And when Officer Reese showed up,

you choked him out,

put the $5,000 in Jim Shanley's pocket, planted the cocaine

in Officer Reese's car and took off.

Ben... this is garbage.

Right here.

St. Jude medal.

Your wife gave you one of these

a year or two before she died, didn't she?

Yes.

Was anything inscribed on the back?

Yes.

"For luck forever.

Love, Emily."

Your men tell me you wear that medal every day.

Like it so much, you gave each of them one.

I wear it frequently, but not every day.

How about the night Jim Shanley was killed?

You wear it then?

I don't remember. Of course you did.

Somehow, in his death struggle,

he tore it from your neck.

It fell to the ground.

You probably scrambled around looking for it.

But then when Officer Reese arrived,

you had other work to do.

And then when the third car, the patrol car, arrived,

you had to leave without finding it,

hoping no one else would.

Am I right?

Sorry, counselor.

Oh... so you found it.

It was never lost.

Oh, but it was... right up until

the moment you thought I was going to go look for it.

You had me detained at the precinct

while you went and looked for it yourself.

This is my medal,

inscribed to me by my wife.

Read the inscription.

"For luck..." forever.

Love, Emily."

There's something else inscribed on the medal, isn't there?

At the very bottom, in very small letters.

Read the initials on the bottom of the medal.

The initials are... B.L.M.

Benjamin Leighton Matlock.

My initials.

We find the defendant, Jerry Reese, not guilty.