Original subtitles

[birds chirping]

[blowing]

[indistinct chatter]

[banging]

[Spanish]

[Spanish]

[cheering]

[cheering]

[children shout in response]

[laughter]

[applause]

♪

[indistinct chatter]

[Spanish]

♪

♪

[dog barks]

[beeping]

[woman] El Paso has a wide area of responsibility.

30,000 vehicles plus a day.

Pedestrians, anywhere from 18 to 22,000,

depending on what week. So, you know, quite busy.

We have radiation porta monitors out front.

If there's any kind of alert,

that truck will automatically go to our x-rays

to make sure that there was no counterfeit items

or potentially dope, for example.

[man] How many vehicles get diverted

to the point where you would x-ray them?

[woman] Probably about eight to ten percent.

[man] Okay.

Are you seeing an uptick in, like, heroin and fentanyl,

things like that, through passenger vehicles and things?

We are seeing that bumping up a little bit, yes.

It could be in a tire, it could be in a compartment,

it could be on a person, you know.

We thought-- we've seen it all.

♪

[Minerd] Drug trafficking is the most lucrative

illegal trade out there.

So right now, they're lining up for the scan, and I'm gonna...

[Minerd] And in my 26 years in law enforcement,

I've never seen this kind of epidemic before.

We're seeing folks that are struggling

across the border in Mexico

who would love to have that American dream.

[speaks Spanish]

And they see what the drug trade has to offer.

Thousands of dollars a day.

And that thirst to make money takes over.

[man] Let's get all this stuff out.

[Minerd] I know we're making tremendous efforts

to limit drug trafficking.

[barking]

But it seems like every time we patch one hole,

there's a new hole that opens up.

I guess in a perfect world,

we could stop that demand here in the United States.

But unfortunately our suburban areas have become

inviting places for drug cartels.

So what we see is drug traffickers

bring large amounts across the southwest border,

and then pass through the central Ohio area

en route to places on the East Coast.

Philadelphia and Baltimore and New York, Chicago.

So central Ohio is a gateway.

And my role as a chief deputy

is to figure out how we shut that faucet off.

You know, stop that flow of drugs coming

into the United States.

As you guys know, I had an opportunity

to go to El Paso, Texas

to see how the dope game works down there.

How they get drugs across the border,

and then how difficult it is to control the borders.

-Right. -It was eye-opening.

31, 32,000 vehicles a day that come into the United States.

But quite frankly, they can't screen every vehicle.

It's just impossible.

It's like searching for a needle in a haystack.

So we have a surge on our hands here.

And I know that resources are taxed,

with regard to DEA and HSI.

But I just wanna make sure that we're focusing on heroin,

short-term investigations, long-term, traffic stops.

Push on those resources to try to bring some resolution.

-Okay. -Okay, go do your deal.

[indistinct chatter]

♪

[beeping]

Just so everyone's tracking what's going on.

It'll be initiating surveillance.

The suspect, Corey,

is a suspected narcotics trafficker

for an overdose which occurred earlier this month.

[man over radio] Copy.

[Edwards] Heroin's a killer.

It tears people apart, eats them away.

I mean, not only does it affect them,

but it affects family.

Having young children myself,

I couldn't imagine them growing up without me

or without their mother.

So me personally, I don't think I'll ever become numb to this.

I guess a way to kind of take the pain

is hold the drug dealers responsible.

[radio beeps]

All right, male's back in the vehicle.

Vehicle's backing out. Standby for direction.

[radio beeps]

Heading away southbound.

I have her. Um...

She's gonna be westbound on Grace.

The target was in the house getting the dope.

I have reason to believe that there is dope in that car.

[siren wailing]

[man on radio]

[Edwards]

[indistinct radio chatter]

-[dog barks] -[siren wailing]

Turn the car off.

Right here, man. There you go. Come on back here to my car.

Who's in your car with you?

What's her name?

-Do you have dope in the car? -Um, I don't.

-Does she? -I have no idea.

-Come on. -It's not my car.

-It's her car. -Get in there.

Yes, sir.

Christina, you have a needle in there?

Am I gonna get poked?

You have a pouch in the glovebox?

Is there dope in the pouch?

What'd you do with the dope you just got?

Come on.

This is your opportunity not to go to jail.

[dog barks]

-[child coughs] -What the hell?

There's two kids in the back of the car.

♪

Do you have a family member who can come get your kids?

-[dog barks] -That's not a tough question.

Who do you want your kids to go with?

[dog barks, growls]

What I wanna know is where the dope is at.

[Christina] I didn't get anything.

-So he got it? -I just waited--

So he got it?

I just-- I don't know.

Why do I have to go to jail? I didn't--

Damn it.

Ma'am, come here.

We're all adults here. We all know what's going on.

What'd he go in there to do?

All right. To get a front. Okay.

How much was he getting fronted?

-It should have been a 20. -A 20. Heroin?

Um, yeah.

Ain't no yes or no.

I mean, I got your goddamn rig right there.

-Yes, yes. -Okay.

You said you'd go find it.

You wanna go to jail or you wanna find it?

-Boss, she's coming your way. -[man] Okay.

[cell phone rings]

[child]

[baby crying]

[child] Are we getting the baby back in our car, though?

[man]

Okay. Fold it back up.

I'm gonna write up some charges. All right?

You're gonna be hauled to the county.

-[sobbing] I'm going to jail? -You're gonna go to jail.

You won't even be charged with a felony right now.

-[sobs] -All right?

I wanna go home with my kids.

That's our big man? All right, cool.

Obviously, I'm not charging them.

-Mm-hm. -As far as that house,

where do you think I sit now that we got dope in pocket?

We got the overdose victim that brought us here.

And they said they went to Corey.

I think we're there.

I'd like to blow it up Friday morning if you're good with it.

-I'm good. -Okay.

Good hit, man. Good hit.

♪

[man] Our nation is in the throes

of a heroin and opioid epidemic.

[woman] Heroin is plentiful and cheap.

[woman 2] Deaths increase across all races,

ethnicities, and ages.

[man] This drug is so powerful, it just takes over their lives.

[woman] My daughter has OD'd 18 times.

[woman 2] The opioid crisis kills 52,000 people a year.

[woman 3] It is a 9/11 every month.

[Minerd] We all think addiction and drugs,

that's somewhere else in another land.

It's not in my community, it's not in my home,

it's not in my neighborhood.

And the reality is it is.

This stuff is everywhere.

I hate big hotels like this.

Um, can you stop being paranoid?

Anyway, okay. Don't talk to me while I... please.

-You don't? -Mm-mm.

Try to relax.

[woman gagging]

You need a cigarette?

[woman moans]

[woman moaning] My...

Oh, God, my body's numb.

I can't...

Try to relax. You'll be all right.

[sobbing]

[Skyler] I never thought that I would be like this.

A junkie.

Yes!

When I was younger,

I was just hanging out with friends, skateboarding,

you know, just normal suburban life.

When I first started using, it was pain pills,

you know, on the weekends,

just kind of like a party thing.

And I got to the point where I got addicted to pain pills,

where I was using them every day.

And a neighbor of mine who was already using heroin

was like, "Listen, man, you can go spend 150 bucks

on pain pills or you can spend 20 bucks on a bag of heroin."

So I'm like, hm...

I might as well try it out.

I was 17.

[woman] Oh, God.

[sobbing]

The last seven years have been a fricking roller coaster.

I've overdosed probably six, seven times.

I've seen people get shot,

committed crimes myself,

that are definitely things I never thought I would do ever.

Help. God, I hate myself!

Just relax.

I really don't understand it myself.

It's crazy. I never would have thought

that I would continue to do something that would,

you know, potentially kill me.

[woman moaning]

So I'm ready to be done with this.

I've been ready to be done with this for a long time.

[woman] I'm sorry, baby.

I'm sorry...

Shh...

♪

[speaking Spanish]

[Spanish]

[laughs]

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

[laughter]

[Spanish]

[speaks Spanish]

[horn honks]

♪

[Edwards] As a man, you're held accountable for your actions.

If you're a drug dealer, that's your choice.

You're killing people, and there's gonna be consequences.

[indistinct chatter]

-Hey, hey, how you doing? -What's up, buddy?

-Look at that beard, boy. -You like that?

-Yeah, it's pretty good. -It's my ginger showing.

-You know? -[laughter]

Yeah.

[man] I saw activity in the back.

-They always park in the back? -All they-- yeah.

There's no cars out front of the residence.

The door a lot of people utilized for a transaction

-was the rear. -Okay.

[man] Let's get this thing going, gentlemen, ladies!

We did a traffic stop of two individuals

and they had two children with them in the stop.

We recovered a 20 of heroin.

As a result, we've got a knock and announce search warrant.

This is Corey Widen.

Two-story single home.

Bear 2 will lead.

Bear 2 will pull past Burgess to Richardson Avenue.

Deploy the three-side containment.

Saterfield will then lead the breach to the front door.

Your entry team is gonna be Saterfield is your number one,

Sean is your number two with a flash-bang,

Carter is your number three.

You got that door right there on the back side.

So you guys just gotta be heads up.

They're gonna drop a bang on the three side.

That way, we know guys are there in place.

And we're good to go.

There's at least three children, according to Facebook.

Looked like to be maybe eighth grade, if not in high school.

And then two younger children, female.

And do anticipate firearms.

Anybody got any questions? All right.

Let's strap it on and make it look like something, son.

♪

It's time to do some destruction.

[laughter]

Oh! There's love in the air.

Suck it in, boys.

Oh, yeah!

[man over radio]

Sheriff's office! Search warrant! Open up!

-[explosion] -[man speaking over radio]

[over PA] This is the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.

We have a search warrant for 42 North Burgess.

Come out with your hands up.

Secondary, secondary.

[man over radio]

[man over radio] 556, I've got Corey in the rear of the house.

All right.

♪

[man] Sheriff's office, search warrant!

-Hang tight. Hang tight. -I just need to get the kids.

All right, we'll take care of them.

[man over radio] Coming out with a female.

-Come on out this way. -Come on. Watch your feet.

You guys come on out this way. You guys are good.

-Come on out this way. -Come on. Come on.

-Come on. -I don't think so.

-Keep coming out this way. -Come on out.

-There you go. You're good. -Come on.

Yep.

♪

[children sobbing]

No, they're not gonna hurt Daddy.

[man over radio]

How you doing, sweetie?

You like donuts? Yeah?

You wanna share these with-- are those your sisters?

You wanna share them with your sisters?

Thank you.

-[man] Hey, Mark! -[Edwards] Yeah?

In the kids' bed, there's feces on the bed.

[Edwards] Okay.

Is that a cockroach or is that a...

[man] Could be either cockroaches or bed bugs.

[Edwards] Okay. We gotta call Children's Services.

♪

[beeping]

Skyler?

Come on down, get your meds.

-[knocking] -Avery?

You wanna get your medicine?

-Where's it at? -Downstairs.

-How are you feeling? -Like shit.

Hang on.

-Suboxone. For cravings. -All right.

Hey, Mom.

Save me one of those.

-It's his last one. -Yes, but I'll get yours today.

Here.

-Thank you. -I love you.

♪

[Jen] My husband and I have spent years

trying to understand the hold that his drug has on my child.

The death hold.

And I know that Skyler would

walk over my dead body to get his drug.

[cat meows]

[TV plays indistinctly]

Heroin has ripped my family apart.

Both of my children use.

They both quit school.

And we've gone through every bit of money we have

trying to get them help.

Avery is doing very well in recovery at the moment.

But with Skyler, you don't know what to expect.

For a few days, Skyler and his girlfriend will go out

and just use.

I hear from him only when he wants money.

And then he'll come back here

and try to convince me that he's done.

-Love you. -Love you.

[Jen] But I will never give up on my child.

As long as there's breath in his body, there's hope.

One day, something's gonna change.

And he's either going to...

leave this earth, which is very possible.

Um... or he's going to find his way out.

[Spanish]

♪

♪

[man over radio]

[female newscaster, in Spanish]

[screaming]

[man] Last year alone in the state of Guerrero,

there was the highest number of homicides in Mexico.

Killings are on the rise as drug cartels

fight for control of the area's poppy fields

and trafficking routes.

[TV plays indistinctly]

[Spanish]

[laughter]

Hi, Karen, this is Mark Edwards in SIU, how you doing?

I just executed a search warrant over here,

a narcotics search warrant.

The house is atrocious.

I'm requesting that one of the juvenile detectives

come out on scene, please.

And we can start a Children's Services case on this.

-[radio beeps] -[man] Hey, Edwards.

Can you come back here?

This needs labels.

Gotcha.

-Stef, where you want guns? -Over there so it gets labeled.

[man] Which one's that? That's the one I got.

This is the Kel-Tec 12-gauge three-inch.

You got a picture of this?

-A little picture of that? -[shutter clicks]

All these have loaded mags in them.

Little baggy of white powder.

[shutter clicking]

[man] I need more small evidence bags.

-[dog whining] -[man] They tell me you don't?

[woman] Okay. Bring them on over.

All right.

All right, guys.

Do that.

She's got some adult stuff she's gotta--

-Are you serious? -Yep.

-[children sobbing] -I'll tell you right now,

don't make a scene over this.

I'm not allowed to cry? Are you serious?

-Well-- -You're taking these kids!

All right, come on, guys. Come on.

[sobbing]

-How long? -I don't know.

-I don't know. Okay? -[sobbing]

All right, you wanna walk them to the car?

-Come on, guys. -How long will it be?

How long will it be?

[sobbing]

How long? I want Daddy!

How long will it be?

I don't know, honey.

♪

-Got everything? -Yeah.

That's all the prescriptions, yes.

[Jen sighs] So tell me about the doctor appointment.

It was pretty standard.

Just filling her in on what's been going on, basically,

-with the methadone. -Mm-hm.

If you take your medication correctly,

you should be on your way to getting your life back,

and you should be able to hold a job

within the next week or two.

Yeah. That's the plan.

It's just gonna take a really large commitment from you.

-[Jen] Yes, it is. -That's the only way

it's gonna work.

It's gonna take a lot of commitment.

And it's not gonna be easy.

But your sobriety is my first priority.

My freedom is my first priority. [laughs]

I get that.

-So... -So we're gonna have to

find a way to work together.

Okay?

-Do we all agree? -Yeah.

Okay. No bullshit. Okay.

[Skyler] You're coming here, right?

-[woman on phone] I told you. -No, just come pick me up first.

[woman on phone, indistinct]

Well, I got here. So head this way, all right?

[TV plays indistinctly]

Bye.

[doorbell rings]

All right. All right, Mom.

Is there any way you could put some food money on my card

for us to get something small to eat?

-Yeah. -All right. Love you, bye.

-Skyler, you know the drill. -What?

If you come back in this house and you've been using anything,

you're out. Don't even come back.

-Got it. -Okay.

♪

All right, we're gonna make a left here.

And then the second room right here. Yep.

You can have a seat on the, uh...

the chair right over there on the other side.

All right, Corey.

I'm gonna explain something to you, okay?

-Mm-hm. -You're being provided

with an opportunity here.

And I'm gonna ask you some questions,

and they may be hard for you to answer.

Your first tendency is going to be to lie.

I'm gonna ask you to fight that tendency

and be 100 percent honest with me

because I may already know the answer to that question.

And if you start lying, all this goes away.

Does that make sense? Okay.

First off, how long have you been using heroin?

Five years? Okay.

How long have you, um, been selling?

Why are you selling?

Okay.

Um, I realize that you're not the kingpin, okay?

Going into your house, seeing the living conditions,

you're an addict, okay?

You're a victim of addiction. All right?

Who is supplying you with heroin?

-Em? Okay. -Mm-hm.

Okay. All right.

Remember when I was talking to you about, uh,

how I know about 95 percent of the information? Okay.

Well, I'm gonna tell you that I already know

that Em is not your heroin source. Okay?

I know that your heroin source is a female Mexican.

Okay? So I'm gonna give you an opportunity here

to go back, all right?

And I'm gonna ask you this question again. Okay?

Uh, okay. Well, so this is another one.

Okay.

Okay, well, I've talked to multiple people

and we've done investigations and stuff like that

and I would say that the majority of the time

Isabelle is the person who's getting you dope.

Right. All right.

So I'm gonna ask you again, and we're gonna get--

we're gonna go from here,

and usually I don't give people the second opportunity.

I'm...

No, okay. All right.

What does she look like?

-Okay. -Um...

What is it?

Mexican, okay.

Does she have, like...

-Long dark hair. -Mm-hm.

Do you think that she has that clout?

Okay. And you know that for 100 percent certainty?

Okay.

[Spanish]

[engine starts]

[men shout in Spanish]

[man continues speaking Spanish]

[man over phone]

[man shouting]

[shouting]

[Jen] Where are you?

[Skyler on phone]

What are you on?

-Oh, I can tell. -That's the fucking point.

-All right, fine. -Bye.

He is high as a kite.

-That is not alcohol. -Yeah.

And we can't keep allowing him to run our house.

He'll know forever and ever that he can always

do what he wants to do and never get his life together.

I know how you feel.

I know you feel like it's turning your back.

But it's not turning your back, it's actually--

-it will actually help. -Oh, it's turning your back,

-whether it helps or not. It is. -It'll help him.

[doorbell rings]

-What are you doing? -Not much.

So...

-Uh-uh. No. -Yeah.

-Why did you come from 92... -I'm not doing this.

-Excuse me. -No.

-I'm going upstairs. -No, you're not.

-Who's on heroin? -Not me.

Where are you going now?

This is our house. Our house. Not yours.

[Skyler] I don't care. If you want me to get her home tonight,

I need gas money to take her home.

[Jen] Skyler, please get out.

-[Skyler] I don't care-- -[Jen] Just go.

You know the conditions are that you don't get high.

-And we know you're high, so... -No, that's not true.

-That is-- that is true. -No, it's not.

-And you don't listen. -Oh, my God!

[man] So, Laina, what's the plan?

[Laina] The plan is for me to go home.

I got work early in the morning.

He needs to give you your stuff.

-[Skyler] She's going, Dad! -That's exactly

-what I'm here for. -I'm trying to talk to her

-for a second. -Just give me my stuff.

[man] She's not staying here, Skyler.

[Skyler] No shit! I'm trying to get her home!

-[man] Well, how you get her-- -Can I just give him gas money?

Just to get out of here.

Can I just give him money to get out of here?

-[overlapping chatter] -Yeah.

Come on, let's go.

-Laina, come on, honey. -[Laina] I am.

-You can stay here. -No! Get out of my house!

[door slams]

I guarantee, they're doing drugs up there.

They're switching. He's got the drugs.

-I'll bet you money. -Yeah.

[Jen] Okay, come on. Out, out, out.

[Laina] Can you please not touch me!

-Get out of my house! -I am getting out of your house!

-I'm getting my stuff! -You are not doing that.

[Laina] I came in here to get my stuff!

Don't talk to me like that!

It's my house.

In courts, it's your landlord's house!

-You're a rude fucking bitch. -You're very, very rude!

I've done nothing but be nice...

You're a self-absorbed fucking cunt.

[Jen] You ain't seen nothing yet, sweetheart.

[Laina shouting]

I'm getting out of here.

[man] I'm calling the police right now.

-[Laina] Go for it! -I'm filing charges

-for fucking assault. -Okay, okay.

[Laina] You just pushed--

I'm gonna call and warn my parents not to let them in.

-Jen, should we call the police? -I don't know.

-They're gonna yell out there. -This is what she does.

-Oh, yeah, they're yelling. -The neighbors.

Hey. Don't let Skyler and Laina in.

We're probably gonna call the police.

-[doorbell rings] -Yes, they're screaming outside.

-[doorbell ringing rapidly] -Oh, my God.

All right, I gotta go. Don't let them in. Bye.

-[doorbell ringing rapidly] -Just do it.

[banging on door]

-[doorbell ringing] -Um, it's an emergency.

Basically, um, my son,

um, he's basically on drugs going crazy

and we don't want him staying here.

He's beating on the door.

[doorbell ringing]

-Yeah. -[siren wailing]

Step back here.

[Jen] I don't think he wants to live this way.

Skyler is saying that all he wants to do is get some clothes.

-Okay. -Do you guys...

-Are you guys cool with that? -Absolutely.

I don't want him charged with anything. I just...

-You just want him gone. -We can't have this craziness.

We've been doing this for years.

-You guys... -Okay.

I'll put this right here.

[indistinct]

I love you, Skyler. I'm here for you when you wanna get help.

[indistinct]

[officer] This is my name, my badge number,

and that's the case number, okay?

-Thank you. -If he comes back,

give us a call.

Hope you all enjoy your evening.

Thank you.

[sobbing] I'm so tired of this.

[sighs]

I don't understand why.

♪

[Edwards] Being a detective and working in this epidemic

can get kind of overwhelming.

Like nothing's being done.

But if you let that get to you and you lose focus,

then it's just gonna make it worse.

[man] So the address is the source supply for Corey.

Place yours on the Chrysler.

I'm gonna place mine on the Camaro.

[dog barking]

[Edwards] I am making a difference.

We are getting drug dealers off the street.

And at least this way, we can say,

"Hey, we're trying."

♪

Vehicle's backing out.

Heading away southbound.

Standby for direction.

♪