Law & Order (1990) s03e21 Episode Script
Manhood
In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: The police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
Central verifying 10-31, Burglary in progress, rear-door warehouse, two white males.
Two officers on the scene.
suspicious vehicle, occupied, three males, green Chevrolet, repeat 10-85, call from Two male suspects, Hispanic, Possible drug sale in progress.
call from 31-18.
Possible drug sale in progress.
He's alone out there, needs additional unit.
Two suspects, male, Hispanic.
31-Charlie to Central.
Responding to 10-85.
We're on the way.
This is 31-5 to Central.
Central to 31-18.
Two units en route.
Confirm.
31-18 to Central.
Confirm.
Awaiting backup.
I'm short three for Wednesday.
You're short one more.
It's my night with the kids.
Well, then, hire a baby-sitter.
And don't forget to pay the social security.
Mac, please.
Gardner's got the flu, Kelley's wife is in the hospital.
You're gonna have to do it.
I've been on my hind legs for two weeks.
I got vacation days I haven't used.
What? For God's sake.
What is it? still waiting for backup.
Central, this is 31-18, 10-85, waiting for backup.
Did you say two units were on the way? what's your location? Central, this is 31-Frank.
We're at 107 Amsterdam.
We can't find this drug sale.
There's nobody here.
Central to 31-Frank.
Wrong location.
Repeat, wrong location.
Central to 31-Frank.
Repeat, confirm wrong location.
He's alone.
Get some speed up.
31-Frank confirming wrong location.
En route.
Newhouse.
31-18.
Make that a signal 10-13! Shots fired! They're firing from both sides! Where are those two units? Shots fired.
Officer alone.
Officer alone.
31-18 to Central.
I'm pinned down! I can't move! Where the hell is the backup? Oh, my God, I'm hit! Newhouse, give me a report.
Newhouse! 31-18, Are you okay? On the force three years.
Fired at from both sides.
My favorite nightmare.
Out here alone, he might as well have had a bull's-eye painted on his chest.
You find out where his partner was? Yeah.
Night class at John Jay.
Sergeant's exam.
Newhouse started his foot patrol without him.
Seven shells,.
22.
The dead dealer's got a.
38.
Fiber, hair, buttons, anything? Not yet.
I already told the wife, don't hold breakfast.
Out here, with all these buildings, you might find a witness who saw the other guy.
And maybe the Second Coming is tomorrow afternoon.
Plastics.
We may get prints.
Forensics, tonight.
We'll have somebody there in an hour.
I'm gonna have to deal with the press.
You got here after he went down? Dispatch screwed up.
We got the location wrong.
What's with him? Weddeker? On the force six months, his first killing, it's a cop.
Hey, patrolman, you okay? POBA's got a reward.
$50,000.
We'll do the fliers tonight.
Thanks, we need your help, we'll call.
You hear about it, but you never think it's All right.
All right.
Weddeker, go home, get some sleep.
All right? Go.
You remember foot patrol? Yeah.
What I remember most is I never thought I'd get shot.
Call at midnight You know it's not a wrong number.
He was a good cop.
Yeah.
Well, we got no witnesses yet.
We get an ID on the dead dealer, maybe it leads us to his pal.
This precinct hasn't lost a guy in nine years.
Now, I know he crossed into your turf.
The precinct line is just across the street and my guys don't want to be left out.
You use them, maybe it goes faster.
Let's hope faster than they drive.
What? Your guys were late.
My cop is dead.
I don't need this from you, Detective.
I had to call that kid's mother in Wisconsin.
Fellows, why don't we see if Forensics has anything, all right? You can't talk to O'Hara like that.
Why not? Because he also wears blue, he's a captain and you're not, and he made the call to the kid's mother.
They got prints off the baggie.
They're runnir 'em now.
Lot of guys knockir on doors tonight.
No need for you to be there.
Just get to Forensics early in the morning.
Let's go.
Three slugs in Off.
Newhouse at Ballistics.
A print from your stiff, Romeo Romejas, 28.
Latent identified our lifts from the baggie.
Full thumb, full index.
Lucho Martinez.
Lucho Martinez.
Assault, no conviction.
Possession, intent to sell, no conviction.
Robbery attempt, no conviction.
Lucky guy.
Not today.
Let's go get a mug shot.
O'Hara didn't even show up at the scene.
Well, it was late, they couldn't find him.
I happen to know he was at a VFA dinner in Brooklyn, waxing lyrical on community policing.
He didn't want to leave his peach cobbler to see Newhouse's body.
Hey, what's this about? It ain't about Newhouse, you didn't even know him.
You tell me.
What's it about? Maybe it's about your two partners who got shot.
Well, just keep sittir there and tell me it hasn't occurred to you.
Comir down the street.
Opposite side.
I'm in front.
Freeze! Give us a chance.
We'd love to try.
Get 'em up! Now! You're under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent, and if you move funny, I'll blow your head off.
I want my lawyer.
Good.
Don't say another word.
I want my lawyer.
You killed a cop, you dumb son of a bitch! I didn't do it.
Put a fist in it, Lucho.
Your lawyer's not God, you don't walk on this one.
Jerry! Whatever he said, you can't use it.
He's got a problem with sentences that have more than four words.
You could have a Miranda problem.
Wrong, Counselor.
And we got his prints on a bag of crack at the scene.
Prints, huh? You know how I usually handle that? He bought a sandwich, threw the bag away, and then somebody filled it with crack.
Let's talk to the DA.
You're runnir on empty, Paul.
The fingerprints are a coincidence? On a plastic bag, yes.
You don't have them on a gun.
Well, we're gonna arraign him and wait five days.
Fine.
But I promise you, if he gets into a knife fight at Riker's, if he should get his throat cut, if he should trip and break his neck, I will drown you.
Yeah.
Five days.
From here to eternity.
Maybe a little closer.
Call to 911.
Somebody heard the shots.
Maybe they saw a face.
Yes! No.
First you have to find him.
He didn't leave a name.
They're shooting, right right below my window.
There's a cop down there.
Where are you calling from, sir? 107th and Amsterdam.
That's right, by the dry-cleaner.
Yeah.
You better send someone quick, okay? What's your name, sir? What's your name, sir? Again.
You heard it six times already.
I want to know his voice.
We get a Coles Directory, we hit every apartment in the neighborhood.
At 2:00 in the morning? If they were shooting, you would've heard them.
No.
All my neighbors, they didn't hear nothir.
I got a pineapple cake in the oven.
If you didn't hear anything, how come you were talking to your neighbors? No, I saw it in the paper, man.
Hey, I love the police, man.
You guys make us feel safe.
No, I was at the hospital seeing my wife.
But nobody heard a thing.
Nobody? I guess you talked to everybody in the building, huh? I was at the hospital, Saint Agnes.
You wanna call my wife? I haven't been out of the apartment.
I've seen no papers.
I didn't know that somebody was shot.
Mr.
Nazarrio, everybody in the building knows a cop was shot.
Hey, you called 911, didn't you? I didn't make no calls.
No, mister, please.
I know your voice.
There's a policeman dead.
Now we're trying to find anybody who It wasrt me, no.
Come here.
Come here.
Somebody You want me to read you your rights? You know what that means? It means you're under arrest.
Look, I, I seen the cop.
They was shooting at him.
One of them got shot, the other guy ran to the car and he just drove real fast.
What kind of car? One of those, you know, uh Cost a lot of money You know, sports car.
Corvette.
Would you recognize the man who ran away? Maybe.
Uh, If I see him again, uh, maybe.
Nobody's gonna kill you.
His friends kill me.
In San Juan they do.
Just look at the faces, Mr.
Nazarrio.
He's number 4.
He ran to the car.
Thank you.
We'll call you if we need you.
Felony murder, 25-to-life.
Drugs, 5-to-15.
He didn't kill the cop.
He had a.
22.
The cop was hit with a.
38.
Save the cost of a trial.
He pleads murder two.
Forget the drugs.
He does the 25.
I didn't shoot him.
Romero hit him in the leg.
He was like an animal, man.
He ran down, shot him again.
He thought the cop was dead.
Romero turned around to go, cop shot him.
I got the hell out.
I was lucky.
Two cops around the block sittir there in a car.
He said he saw two cops in a squad car a block away.
A coked-up dealer.
That's very reliable.
Yeah.
So he saw a blue-and-white Jersey cab.
Look, you're not gonna convince me they hung Newhouse out to dry.
What? All cops are choirboys? I wanna see O'Hara.
Uh, look, anything you have to say to him, you say to me.
Thanks.
I appreciate the confidence.
Up until three months ago, Rick Newhouse had a perfect service record.
Where did you get his service record? A leprechaun brought it.
Three months ago, out of nowhere, bad performance reports.
From perfect cop to screw-up, overnight.
He also quit the precinct boxing team.
What are we lookir at here? Why didn't he get backup? Maybe the 31's dirty, and maybe Newhouse was going someplace with a broom.
It's a hell of a way to end a family squabble.
Not in my precinct.
The only thing's dirty are the windows.
Tom, was Newhouse in trouble? He was clean.
He just had some kind of personal problem.
Must've been serious to affect his service record.
No big deal.
He missed a couple of shifts.
What's the problem, here? Two patrol cars never made it to a cop under fire.
Is this about chewir ass? 'Cause I don't need some detective in a striped suit telling me how to run my precinct.
I already chewed ass.
Rhodes, Davis, Harley, Weddeker, suspended.
Three weeks from downtown because I demanded it.
That settle it for you? The other dealer who was there saw a unit parked with two cops a block away.
Don, if I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing, take him out before he hurts himself.
I don't need an escort.
Great performance, pal.
Next time you wanna get bones broken, try falling down a flight of stairs.
Next time I want advice, I'll write Dear Abby.
Listen, I got a question for you.
When Greevey and Cerreta got shot, was it your first thought to ask for a transfer to another precinct? See, while you were setting O'Hara on fire, I was lookir at his desk.
Newhouse's partner, McGraw, put in a request for transfer.
Your partner dies, you want to be with strangers? McGraw? Craig McGraw? You're Briscoe.
Logan.
You guys caught that dealer fast.
Thanks.
Your partner, he had a good record.
He was a smart cop.
We were wonderir how he ever got involved in an incident like that.
Just bad luck, I guess.
Very bad.
Maybe he was distracted that night.
Had something else on his mind.
I wasrt there, I wouldn't know.
You put in for a transfer? A change of scene may make it easier to deal with.
I got a busy day, you guys.
Hey, McGraw Did I say it wasrt? Thanks for comir by.
If he tap-danced any faster, he'd win a prize.
What do we know about Newhouse? Want to take a walk through his apartment? Mom and dad.
You talk about wholesome.
Donahue does a show on cops killed in action, he's gonna invite them.
Intellectual.
The New Republic.
Lennie.
You ever heard of a bar called The Wave? It's a gay bar.
"Lambda Legal Defense Fund, serving rights for gay people everywhere.
" His backup was slow for a reason.
We're gonna need some transcripts.
The radio tapes from the shooting.
You did what? You worried about the time, we'll dock ourselves a day.
I'm worried about you losir your house and eatir macaroni the next 20 years.
I lost two houses already and I like macaroni.
Lennie, read him the transcript.
Newhouse calls for backup.
Two units respond.
Dispatch is busy a while.
Newhouse calls again.
No backup.
They're on their way.
Sure they are.
the location wrong.
He didn't go to 107 and Amsterdam.
He thought it was an address, number 107.
Oh, come on.
I could've heard that wrong.
The dispatcher called twice to find out where the backup was.
Two tries to get an answer.
at 65th Street, The first car got to Newhouse the same time as the second car.
The second car started at Twenty blocks difference, they get there the same time? Donny, they left him out there to die.
Did Oswald kill Kennedy? If he didn't, it's the greatest conspiracy in history and nobody said a word.
One hundred and forty officers in that precinct.
Nobody knew? You stick your head out, it gets cut off.
You gonna risk that for a gay cop? All right.
I'll call Internal Affairs.
They'll run into a wall so big, a jackhammer won't get through it.
We know some guys in the 31.
We could, you know, sort of, accidentally run into 'em one of these days.
I can't believe I'm doing this.
One more penny drops, we go to IA.
You walk around thinking, "There, but for the grace of God " Hey, you think like that, you hang up your badge.
Those guys on backup must have a hard time gettir up in the morning, huh? Well, you didn't make it easier, bitching to O'Hara.
Hey, a cop dies, you get upset.
Newhouse was nobody's favorite anyway, right? I heard he was gay.
Is that right? Newhouse? I never heard that.
Hi, Ted.
Logan, Briscoe.
You guys are a little out of your neighborhood.
What's the matter, you lonely? Hey, guys, look who's drinking with us.
The 27.
Congratulations.
You caught a cop killer.
Thanks.
Too bad about your suspension.
I wish we'd been there on time.
We take a mark on our record.
It's it's okay.
Guess you werert in a hurry to make a good collar, huh? What? Hey, hey! Jack, come on.
Come on.
I gotta hear what he's saying.
Let's go.
Gotta take my kid to the Cub Scouts.
Good night.
I don't wanna believe this is possible.
Briscoe and Logan don't shout fire where there's just smoke.
Gays have been on the force for years.
Out of the closet.
But Newhouse wasrt.
And a police captain wouldn't see this? Tom O'Hara is a well-liked cop.
He's been decorated more times than my living room.
He's not a mind reader.
I don't like going after cops any more than you do.
And it's not the whole force, it's one precinct.
And you wanna prove this with a cop killer as a witness.
Get me anything better than that.
It's won'th discussing with O'Hara.
What if I ask him to come over? Don't make it a royal command.
I don't want a police riot.
See him on his own ground and take Cragen with you.
Who knew the kid was gay? You have to acknowledge there are a few loose threads here.
Arert there always? I'm 22 years in.
You think I'm proud of this? I had four cops suspended.
So you thought something was wrong? I think they were sloppy.
And you're convinced that's all? Hey, this isn't nursery school.
A hundred and forty cops.
I'm sure at home, some of them say, "nigger," "kike," and "fag.
" It affects the job, they're gone.
You want to talk to the two sergeants, do it.
Don't destroy them for politics.
Thanks for your time.
Don.
We didn't waste any time.
A cop was in trouble.
So you went directly to the incident? With all due speed.
Uh, Sgt.
Harley, Off.
Newhouse was gay.
Did you know that? I never heard that.
He didn't look like one of 'em.
What do you think about gay cops? Personally, I was taught that God didn't approve of that kind of thing.
It's in the Bible.
"Man shall not lie down with man as he does with woman.
" Does that mean they shouldn't ride in squad cars? Rick Newhouse wore the same uniform I did.
I would've done anything to protect a fellow officer.
We were at 65th Street.
We had to go 40 blocks.
The other car went 20 blocks in the same amount of time, Sgt.
Rhodes.
We went straight up Amsterdam.
They hit traffic, they couldn't get around it.
I know an extra minute could have made a difference.
Did you know that Off.
Newhouse was gay? I didn't know he was a homosexual, no.
But that wouldn't affect how I did my duty.
Do you think that homosexuals should be on the force? Look, I know you're under pressure.
These people have clout, they helped Clinton get elected.
This is not about votes, Sergeant.
I did my duty.
And I didn't know Off.
Newhouse was a homosexual.
Why admit they don't like gay cops? Makes them look worse.
It's a good line.
"We're not perfect, but we're honest.
" A man reads the Bible, it doesn't make him guilty of murder.
They admit they're bigots but say it doesn't affect them.
Newhouse's partner.
McGraw.
Briscoe and Logan said he knew something he wasrt saying.
All right.
Ask him to come in.
Tonight.
I don't know what you want.
I wasrt on duty when it happened.
I just stopped by the Property Clerk.
I can't be gone this long.
If you have to leave I don't know what I can tell you.
We think that your partner got in trouble that night because he was gay.
I want to be a cop.
I want to stay a cop.
Is there any reason you wouldn't? It was around the precinct.
"Manood and police work.
"In Romans 13, the Bible tells us we are ministers of God.
"We have a duty beyond the rules of the force.
The homosexuals apply for promotion when they don't belong here.
" Who wrote this? I don't know.
I gotta go.
You have no idea who wrote it? Where'd you get it? It was on the floor.
I really gotta go.
Huh.
"Ministers of God.
" Unbelievable.
But this isn't motive.
Establishes intent and state of mind.
Yeah.
Congratulations.
You have flour and water.
Get an oven, you can make bread.
What connects state of mind to the crime? Suppose we break somebody? You have a responsibility.
This goes into the tank, I wouldn't want to be a gay cop the day after you lose.
Four cops.
Who's most likely to break? The youngest? Weddeker? Briscoe and Logan said he was upset the night it happened.
Couldrt even talk.
We went as fast as we could.
Off.
Weddeker, according to the radio tapes, you and Harley answered the call first, you got there second.
Traffic was bad on Broadway.
Sgt.
Harley's case report says you were on West End.
I meant, I meant West End.
You were parked around the corner, Patrolman.
You waited until Rhodes and Davis arrived.
Harley is your superior, right? It wasrt your decision to wait.
Harley's my partner.
Cops take care of cops.
Nobody took care of Rick Newhouse.
So don't tell me about taking care of your partner.
You think you need a lawyer, call the POBA, now.
Off.
Weddeker, look at me.
Look at me.
You knew it was wrong.
It wasrt your decision.
You didn't wanna do it.
We make a deal, you won't be indicted for a felony.
Who wrote the memo? Well, they just, they just wanted to They just wanted to scare him.
They didn't think he was gonna die.
Did Capt.
O'Hara write it himself? No, I think I think he knew.
Rhodes.
Harley and Rhodes.
Next case.
"Docket number 6913.
"People of the State of New York "v.
James Davis, John Harley, and Henry Rhodes.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
" Are your clients ready to plead, Mr.
Schell? Your Honor, we ask you to consider the merits and dismiss the indictments sua sponte.
Merits? How would you know? I read the grand jury minutes.
You don't have 'em yet.
Now it's an indictment.
You don't like it, file a motion.
Murder, second degree.
How do the defendants plead? Not guilty.
Consistency is the hobgoblin of little courtrooms.
Let's talk bail.
Uh, again, Your Honor, considering the merits Thank you.
That's enough.
Paul? The people request $200,000 each defendant.
Granted.
If the defense wants to appeal bail, submit it with your other motion.
I'm still in shock.
I'll call an ambulance.
L I knew we were looking at charges, but murder two? You're prosecuting bigotry, not murder.
Save the speech, Gordon.
Even you don't believe it.
Penal law, "You have a depraved indifference to human life, "you engage in conduct causing a risk of death, you thereby caused the death.
" Refresh your memory.
We call it murder two.
I call it counting the voters.
Only on my fingers.
That's all we'll need with a case like this.
Every cop in this city is against you.
Not all of them.
Some officers are as appalled as we are.
Now, wait.
This is gonna get ugly.
Let's clean it up before it's too dirty to save.
Reckless endangerment two, they keep their pensions.
Pensions.
Funny, that's the last thing that would've occurred to me.
10-85, 107 and Amsterdam, call from 31-18.
Possible drug sale in progress.
He's alone out there, needs additional unit.
Two suspects, male, Hispanic.
What is the meaning of "31-18"? That's a foot patrolman identifying himself.
and 18 is the foot-post assignment.
And who was 31-18? Off.
Richard Newhouse.
Newhouse.
31-18.
Make that a signal 10-13! Shots fired! They're firing from both sides! Where are those two units? 10-13, 10-13, shots fired.
107 and Amsterdam.
Shots fired.
Officer alone.
Officer alone.
31-18 to Central.
I'm pinned down! I can't move! Where the hell is the backup? My God! Oh, my God, I'm hit! I found the memo in my locker.
I wasrt surprised.
There'd been a lot of talk about Newhouse.
What kind of talk, Off.
Weddeker? Newhouse passed the sergeant's exam.
Sgt.
Harley said we didn't need queer sergeants.
And who wrote the memo? The word around the precinct was Objection.
May we approach, Your Honor? He wasrt there when it was typed, Ben.
You know that.
You shouldn't have asked the question.
He knows because it was common knowledge.
No.
It's not direct knowledge, Ben.
Don't turn this into a marathon.
Stay off the subject.
Objection sustained.
Uh, Off.
Weddeker, where were you and Sgt.
Harley when the call went out for help? And did you go immediately to help Off.
Newhouse? Sgt.
Harley was driving.
He stopped half a block away.
Did he tell you why he stopped? Objection.
Calls for hearsay.
Res gestae, Mr.
Schell, a verbal act.
The witness will answer.
Sgt.
Harley said Off.
Newhouse was a fairy.
Said if he was in trouble, he could flap his wings and fly out.
Well, thank you.
No further questions.
So, um, so you wanted to do the right thing, and Sgt.
Harley didn't.
Uh, is that correct? Yeah.
We should've helped him.
He was a cop.
So what if he was gay? Oh.
Oh, I see.
You're the hero.
Uh, tell me, Off.
Weddeker, is your testimony today part of a deal? Did you plead to a misdemeanor to avoid indictment? That's not the reason.
Really? Then why didn't you leap out of the car and rush over to protect Off.
Newhouse yourself? I I went along with Sgt.
Harley.
Oh.
Quite a hero.
No further questions.
No.
Only your most crucial evidence.
Half the precinct knows who wrote that memo.
How can I prove it? She could've let it in.
Judge Larkin? Her politics aren't with you when the law is against you.
We have to connect the memo to Rhodes.
What about the kid that brought it in? The partner? He says he didn't know.
Don't tell me you believe him.
I put him on the stand, he'll lie.
He's scared of what the other cops will think.
Is that what he's scared of? I can't do that.
I don't know who wrote it.
Three police officers.
Should they wear the same badge you do? Why did you want a transfer? You think you know what this is about? You don't.
I think we do.
It's because you're gay, too.
I can't do this.
Will you feel that way when you cry for help and nobody comes? My parents don't know.
This would be a hell of a way for them to find out.
We need you as a witness.
You keep your secret, and you can die in an alley.
Alone.
Like Newhouse.
We used to talk about our dates.
Our women, me and Newhouse.
We both knew.
Kept it up anyway.
You do anything to hide, even when you don't have to.
I told Rhodes one night I had a hot date.
Couple of hours later, he's on the street.
I'm comir out of D'Agostino's.
I went to get a six-pack with a With a friend.
Rhodes asks, "What happened to your hot date?" And I said, "She stood me up.
" I knew they were checking on me.
The next day I had a new partner.
Newhouse.
Keep the queers together.
Did anyone else in the precinct tell you that they knew that you were gay? Two weeks later Captain O'Hara asked me how I liked my new partner.
I said he was fine.
Captain says, "So, you're taking the sergeant's exam, too.
I'll have two of you.
" I knew what he meant.
I show you People's Exhibit 7.
Have you seen this before? Sure.
I gave it to you.
Ah, yes, but when and where did you first see it? About two weeks before Off.
Newhouse got shot.
I was at the copy machine.
Sgt.
Rhodes was there.
After he finished, I lifted the cover.
He left the original.
He wanted me to find it.
And after the shooting, I I put in for a transfer.
I didn't want to end up dead, too.
Thank you.
Your witness.
Did anybody in the 31st Precinct ever harass you because you were gay? I just said they did.
Oh.
Did anybody scrawl the word "queer" or "fag" on your locker? No.
Did anybody ever call you names? No.
Thank you.
No further questions.
The jury can't ignore it.
It's cause and effect.
You say it's cause.
Maybe they don't see effect.
They're changing strategy.
You listening at keyholes? New witness list.
They're putting on a shrink? They're gonna justify it.
Yep.
The last defense of the guilty.
"We did it, but it's all right.
" Schell said it was gonna get ugly, but I never dreamed that this was what he meant.
The fear of homosexuals is common.
Well, why is that, Dr.
Ross? In our culture, defining masculinity is complicated.
What is it that makes a man? Well, how does that relate to homosexuals? Men are oftentimes afraid of gays making sexual overtures.
Men make passes, women receive them.
Somebody makes a pass at you, you feel like a woman.
Which, to most men, means weak.
Well, how are heterosexual men affected? A fear of seduction by another man makes them angry.
Oftentimes, this anger can turn into hatred.
Would you call that normal? I'd call it common.
So these feelings are not voluntary or reckless? Yes, that's right.
Recklessness implies its opposite: Control.
You can't control these feelings.
Thank you, Doctor.
Your witness.
Dr.
Ross, are you saying that it is acceptable to hate homosexuals? I'm saying that men who have these feelings have difficulty controlling them.
But you are suggesting that these officers of the law let a man die out of anger.
And you're making it sound okay.
I would never say that.
Hatred of homosexuals is unfortunate, not to mention pathological, and, like any pathology, it's not voluntary.
Thank you.
No further questions.
It's a fact of life.
It's not just in the police department.
Did any of the defendants express concern about homosexual officers in the precinct? I don't recall anything specific.
I hear derogatory remarks.
I hear men talk about dealing with a wounded officer who may have AIDS.
But my men know the results of harassment: You are off the force.
Now these defendants, you know them.
You know them very well.
A witness has testified that they deliberately delayed helping another officer because he was gay.
Now, do you believe that? No, I don't.
Thank you, Captain.
No further questions.
Capt.
O'Hara, uh, it was you that assigned Craig McGraw to be Rick Newhouse's partner? Yes, I did.
And the fact that both of them were gay is just a coincidence? Yes, it was.
So you are disputing not only Off.
Weddeker's testimony, you also are disputing Craig McGraw's as well.
Two witnesses are lying.
I didn't say that.
They saw what they wanted to see.
So they only perceived hostility toward gay cops.
Intolerance isn't murder, Mr.
Stone.
My men may have made mistakes, but I don't think they intended for Off.
Newhouse to get killed.
But isn't it true, Capt.
O'Hara, that Off.
Newhouse, three months before he was shot, had a perfect service record? A good record isn't everything.
Officers have to believe that you're part of the team.
Uh, we've heard that, Capt.
O'Hara.
You've already testified that your men are worried that they can't trust a gay cop to be there when a cop needs help.
But in this case, it was the straight cops who didn't show up.
Who should be worrying? Objection.
Withdrawn.
No more questions.
The prosecution tells a simple story.
Three good cops with good records let another cop die.
Do you really believe that? Witnesses have told you that these men have malice in their hearts.
And yet their own captain, an exemplary officer, tells you they did not.
You must decide.
Did these men act recklessly or unconsciously, unaware of what they were doing? What the prosecution demands is unjust.
To find these men guilty for upholding the very values of the society that they've sworn to protect.
Ladies and gentlemen, in your deliberations please ask yourselves are their values really so different from your own? So let's suppose that it's true, what Defense Attorney Schell implies: That each of you, all of you, sympathize with the defendants, trapped as they are in their fears.
That, in fact, more people hate homosexuals than are willing to admit.
Now, I venture to say that in your family histories someone, somewhere hates you, or your relatives for no other reason than that they are black or white, Slovak instead of Czech, Protestant instead of Catholic, left-wing, not right.
And are you going to let officers of the law decide which of you they'll help based on who and what you are? If so, then don't dial 911.
Even if you think you're one of them.
Because you may end up being Off.
Newhouse.
These defendants let a man die.
And for all of us, you must hold them responsible.
Will the defendants please rise? Has the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of murder in the second degree for the defendant, James Davis, how did the jury find? Not guilty.
For the defendant John Harley, how does the jury find? Not guilty.
For the defendant Henry Rhodes, how does the jury find? We find the defendant not guilty.
Come in.
Hi, Adam.
What are you doir? Replaying the ninth inning.
I should've crucified that shrink.
No.
They didn't want to convict.
He gave 'em an excuse.
Maybe it was the wrong summation.
You did your best.
Did it right.
You lost.
They used to ask, "How can a man put a sheet on his head and lynch somebody?" Usually he can't, by himself.
But when there's more than one Four cops let him die.
And twelve citizens did it again.
And they voted their indifference.
These are their stories.
Central verifying 10-31, Burglary in progress, rear-door warehouse, two white males.
Two officers on the scene.
suspicious vehicle, occupied, three males, green Chevrolet, repeat 10-85, call from Two male suspects, Hispanic, Possible drug sale in progress.
call from 31-18.
Possible drug sale in progress.
He's alone out there, needs additional unit.
Two suspects, male, Hispanic.
31-Charlie to Central.
Responding to 10-85.
We're on the way.
This is 31-5 to Central.
Central to 31-18.
Two units en route.
Confirm.
31-18 to Central.
Confirm.
Awaiting backup.
I'm short three for Wednesday.
You're short one more.
It's my night with the kids.
Well, then, hire a baby-sitter.
And don't forget to pay the social security.
Mac, please.
Gardner's got the flu, Kelley's wife is in the hospital.
You're gonna have to do it.
I've been on my hind legs for two weeks.
I got vacation days I haven't used.
What? For God's sake.
What is it? still waiting for backup.
Central, this is 31-18, 10-85, waiting for backup.
Did you say two units were on the way? what's your location? Central, this is 31-Frank.
We're at 107 Amsterdam.
We can't find this drug sale.
There's nobody here.
Central to 31-Frank.
Wrong location.
Repeat, wrong location.
Central to 31-Frank.
Repeat, confirm wrong location.
He's alone.
Get some speed up.
31-Frank confirming wrong location.
En route.
Newhouse.
31-18.
Make that a signal 10-13! Shots fired! They're firing from both sides! Where are those two units? Shots fired.
Officer alone.
Officer alone.
31-18 to Central.
I'm pinned down! I can't move! Where the hell is the backup? Oh, my God, I'm hit! Newhouse, give me a report.
Newhouse! 31-18, Are you okay? On the force three years.
Fired at from both sides.
My favorite nightmare.
Out here alone, he might as well have had a bull's-eye painted on his chest.
You find out where his partner was? Yeah.
Night class at John Jay.
Sergeant's exam.
Newhouse started his foot patrol without him.
Seven shells,.
22.
The dead dealer's got a.
38.
Fiber, hair, buttons, anything? Not yet.
I already told the wife, don't hold breakfast.
Out here, with all these buildings, you might find a witness who saw the other guy.
And maybe the Second Coming is tomorrow afternoon.
Plastics.
We may get prints.
Forensics, tonight.
We'll have somebody there in an hour.
I'm gonna have to deal with the press.
You got here after he went down? Dispatch screwed up.
We got the location wrong.
What's with him? Weddeker? On the force six months, his first killing, it's a cop.
Hey, patrolman, you okay? POBA's got a reward.
$50,000.
We'll do the fliers tonight.
Thanks, we need your help, we'll call.
You hear about it, but you never think it's All right.
All right.
Weddeker, go home, get some sleep.
All right? Go.
You remember foot patrol? Yeah.
What I remember most is I never thought I'd get shot.
Call at midnight You know it's not a wrong number.
He was a good cop.
Yeah.
Well, we got no witnesses yet.
We get an ID on the dead dealer, maybe it leads us to his pal.
This precinct hasn't lost a guy in nine years.
Now, I know he crossed into your turf.
The precinct line is just across the street and my guys don't want to be left out.
You use them, maybe it goes faster.
Let's hope faster than they drive.
What? Your guys were late.
My cop is dead.
I don't need this from you, Detective.
I had to call that kid's mother in Wisconsin.
Fellows, why don't we see if Forensics has anything, all right? You can't talk to O'Hara like that.
Why not? Because he also wears blue, he's a captain and you're not, and he made the call to the kid's mother.
They got prints off the baggie.
They're runnir 'em now.
Lot of guys knockir on doors tonight.
No need for you to be there.
Just get to Forensics early in the morning.
Let's go.
Three slugs in Off.
Newhouse at Ballistics.
A print from your stiff, Romeo Romejas, 28.
Latent identified our lifts from the baggie.
Full thumb, full index.
Lucho Martinez.
Lucho Martinez.
Assault, no conviction.
Possession, intent to sell, no conviction.
Robbery attempt, no conviction.
Lucky guy.
Not today.
Let's go get a mug shot.
O'Hara didn't even show up at the scene.
Well, it was late, they couldn't find him.
I happen to know he was at a VFA dinner in Brooklyn, waxing lyrical on community policing.
He didn't want to leave his peach cobbler to see Newhouse's body.
Hey, what's this about? It ain't about Newhouse, you didn't even know him.
You tell me.
What's it about? Maybe it's about your two partners who got shot.
Well, just keep sittir there and tell me it hasn't occurred to you.
Comir down the street.
Opposite side.
I'm in front.
Freeze! Give us a chance.
We'd love to try.
Get 'em up! Now! You're under arrest.
You have the right to remain silent, and if you move funny, I'll blow your head off.
I want my lawyer.
Good.
Don't say another word.
I want my lawyer.
You killed a cop, you dumb son of a bitch! I didn't do it.
Put a fist in it, Lucho.
Your lawyer's not God, you don't walk on this one.
Jerry! Whatever he said, you can't use it.
He's got a problem with sentences that have more than four words.
You could have a Miranda problem.
Wrong, Counselor.
And we got his prints on a bag of crack at the scene.
Prints, huh? You know how I usually handle that? He bought a sandwich, threw the bag away, and then somebody filled it with crack.
Let's talk to the DA.
You're runnir on empty, Paul.
The fingerprints are a coincidence? On a plastic bag, yes.
You don't have them on a gun.
Well, we're gonna arraign him and wait five days.
Fine.
But I promise you, if he gets into a knife fight at Riker's, if he should get his throat cut, if he should trip and break his neck, I will drown you.
Yeah.
Five days.
From here to eternity.
Maybe a little closer.
Call to 911.
Somebody heard the shots.
Maybe they saw a face.
Yes! No.
First you have to find him.
He didn't leave a name.
They're shooting, right right below my window.
There's a cop down there.
Where are you calling from, sir? 107th and Amsterdam.
That's right, by the dry-cleaner.
Yeah.
You better send someone quick, okay? What's your name, sir? What's your name, sir? Again.
You heard it six times already.
I want to know his voice.
We get a Coles Directory, we hit every apartment in the neighborhood.
At 2:00 in the morning? If they were shooting, you would've heard them.
No.
All my neighbors, they didn't hear nothir.
I got a pineapple cake in the oven.
If you didn't hear anything, how come you were talking to your neighbors? No, I saw it in the paper, man.
Hey, I love the police, man.
You guys make us feel safe.
No, I was at the hospital seeing my wife.
But nobody heard a thing.
Nobody? I guess you talked to everybody in the building, huh? I was at the hospital, Saint Agnes.
You wanna call my wife? I haven't been out of the apartment.
I've seen no papers.
I didn't know that somebody was shot.
Mr.
Nazarrio, everybody in the building knows a cop was shot.
Hey, you called 911, didn't you? I didn't make no calls.
No, mister, please.
I know your voice.
There's a policeman dead.
Now we're trying to find anybody who It wasrt me, no.
Come here.
Come here.
Somebody You want me to read you your rights? You know what that means? It means you're under arrest.
Look, I, I seen the cop.
They was shooting at him.
One of them got shot, the other guy ran to the car and he just drove real fast.
What kind of car? One of those, you know, uh Cost a lot of money You know, sports car.
Corvette.
Would you recognize the man who ran away? Maybe.
Uh, If I see him again, uh, maybe.
Nobody's gonna kill you.
His friends kill me.
In San Juan they do.
Just look at the faces, Mr.
Nazarrio.
He's number 4.
He ran to the car.
Thank you.
We'll call you if we need you.
Felony murder, 25-to-life.
Drugs, 5-to-15.
He didn't kill the cop.
He had a.
22.
The cop was hit with a.
38.
Save the cost of a trial.
He pleads murder two.
Forget the drugs.
He does the 25.
I didn't shoot him.
Romero hit him in the leg.
He was like an animal, man.
He ran down, shot him again.
He thought the cop was dead.
Romero turned around to go, cop shot him.
I got the hell out.
I was lucky.
Two cops around the block sittir there in a car.
He said he saw two cops in a squad car a block away.
A coked-up dealer.
That's very reliable.
Yeah.
So he saw a blue-and-white Jersey cab.
Look, you're not gonna convince me they hung Newhouse out to dry.
What? All cops are choirboys? I wanna see O'Hara.
Uh, look, anything you have to say to him, you say to me.
Thanks.
I appreciate the confidence.
Up until three months ago, Rick Newhouse had a perfect service record.
Where did you get his service record? A leprechaun brought it.
Three months ago, out of nowhere, bad performance reports.
From perfect cop to screw-up, overnight.
He also quit the precinct boxing team.
What are we lookir at here? Why didn't he get backup? Maybe the 31's dirty, and maybe Newhouse was going someplace with a broom.
It's a hell of a way to end a family squabble.
Not in my precinct.
The only thing's dirty are the windows.
Tom, was Newhouse in trouble? He was clean.
He just had some kind of personal problem.
Must've been serious to affect his service record.
No big deal.
He missed a couple of shifts.
What's the problem, here? Two patrol cars never made it to a cop under fire.
Is this about chewir ass? 'Cause I don't need some detective in a striped suit telling me how to run my precinct.
I already chewed ass.
Rhodes, Davis, Harley, Weddeker, suspended.
Three weeks from downtown because I demanded it.
That settle it for you? The other dealer who was there saw a unit parked with two cops a block away.
Don, if I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing, take him out before he hurts himself.
I don't need an escort.
Great performance, pal.
Next time you wanna get bones broken, try falling down a flight of stairs.
Next time I want advice, I'll write Dear Abby.
Listen, I got a question for you.
When Greevey and Cerreta got shot, was it your first thought to ask for a transfer to another precinct? See, while you were setting O'Hara on fire, I was lookir at his desk.
Newhouse's partner, McGraw, put in a request for transfer.
Your partner dies, you want to be with strangers? McGraw? Craig McGraw? You're Briscoe.
Logan.
You guys caught that dealer fast.
Thanks.
Your partner, he had a good record.
He was a smart cop.
We were wonderir how he ever got involved in an incident like that.
Just bad luck, I guess.
Very bad.
Maybe he was distracted that night.
Had something else on his mind.
I wasrt there, I wouldn't know.
You put in for a transfer? A change of scene may make it easier to deal with.
I got a busy day, you guys.
Hey, McGraw Did I say it wasrt? Thanks for comir by.
If he tap-danced any faster, he'd win a prize.
What do we know about Newhouse? Want to take a walk through his apartment? Mom and dad.
You talk about wholesome.
Donahue does a show on cops killed in action, he's gonna invite them.
Intellectual.
The New Republic.
Lennie.
You ever heard of a bar called The Wave? It's a gay bar.
"Lambda Legal Defense Fund, serving rights for gay people everywhere.
" His backup was slow for a reason.
We're gonna need some transcripts.
The radio tapes from the shooting.
You did what? You worried about the time, we'll dock ourselves a day.
I'm worried about you losir your house and eatir macaroni the next 20 years.
I lost two houses already and I like macaroni.
Lennie, read him the transcript.
Newhouse calls for backup.
Two units respond.
Dispatch is busy a while.
Newhouse calls again.
No backup.
They're on their way.
Sure they are.
the location wrong.
He didn't go to 107 and Amsterdam.
He thought it was an address, number 107.
Oh, come on.
I could've heard that wrong.
The dispatcher called twice to find out where the backup was.
Two tries to get an answer.
at 65th Street, The first car got to Newhouse the same time as the second car.
The second car started at Twenty blocks difference, they get there the same time? Donny, they left him out there to die.
Did Oswald kill Kennedy? If he didn't, it's the greatest conspiracy in history and nobody said a word.
One hundred and forty officers in that precinct.
Nobody knew? You stick your head out, it gets cut off.
You gonna risk that for a gay cop? All right.
I'll call Internal Affairs.
They'll run into a wall so big, a jackhammer won't get through it.
We know some guys in the 31.
We could, you know, sort of, accidentally run into 'em one of these days.
I can't believe I'm doing this.
One more penny drops, we go to IA.
You walk around thinking, "There, but for the grace of God " Hey, you think like that, you hang up your badge.
Those guys on backup must have a hard time gettir up in the morning, huh? Well, you didn't make it easier, bitching to O'Hara.
Hey, a cop dies, you get upset.
Newhouse was nobody's favorite anyway, right? I heard he was gay.
Is that right? Newhouse? I never heard that.
Hi, Ted.
Logan, Briscoe.
You guys are a little out of your neighborhood.
What's the matter, you lonely? Hey, guys, look who's drinking with us.
The 27.
Congratulations.
You caught a cop killer.
Thanks.
Too bad about your suspension.
I wish we'd been there on time.
We take a mark on our record.
It's it's okay.
Guess you werert in a hurry to make a good collar, huh? What? Hey, hey! Jack, come on.
Come on.
I gotta hear what he's saying.
Let's go.
Gotta take my kid to the Cub Scouts.
Good night.
I don't wanna believe this is possible.
Briscoe and Logan don't shout fire where there's just smoke.
Gays have been on the force for years.
Out of the closet.
But Newhouse wasrt.
And a police captain wouldn't see this? Tom O'Hara is a well-liked cop.
He's been decorated more times than my living room.
He's not a mind reader.
I don't like going after cops any more than you do.
And it's not the whole force, it's one precinct.
And you wanna prove this with a cop killer as a witness.
Get me anything better than that.
It's won'th discussing with O'Hara.
What if I ask him to come over? Don't make it a royal command.
I don't want a police riot.
See him on his own ground and take Cragen with you.
Who knew the kid was gay? You have to acknowledge there are a few loose threads here.
Arert there always? I'm 22 years in.
You think I'm proud of this? I had four cops suspended.
So you thought something was wrong? I think they were sloppy.
And you're convinced that's all? Hey, this isn't nursery school.
A hundred and forty cops.
I'm sure at home, some of them say, "nigger," "kike," and "fag.
" It affects the job, they're gone.
You want to talk to the two sergeants, do it.
Don't destroy them for politics.
Thanks for your time.
Don.
We didn't waste any time.
A cop was in trouble.
So you went directly to the incident? With all due speed.
Uh, Sgt.
Harley, Off.
Newhouse was gay.
Did you know that? I never heard that.
He didn't look like one of 'em.
What do you think about gay cops? Personally, I was taught that God didn't approve of that kind of thing.
It's in the Bible.
"Man shall not lie down with man as he does with woman.
" Does that mean they shouldn't ride in squad cars? Rick Newhouse wore the same uniform I did.
I would've done anything to protect a fellow officer.
We were at 65th Street.
We had to go 40 blocks.
The other car went 20 blocks in the same amount of time, Sgt.
Rhodes.
We went straight up Amsterdam.
They hit traffic, they couldn't get around it.
I know an extra minute could have made a difference.
Did you know that Off.
Newhouse was gay? I didn't know he was a homosexual, no.
But that wouldn't affect how I did my duty.
Do you think that homosexuals should be on the force? Look, I know you're under pressure.
These people have clout, they helped Clinton get elected.
This is not about votes, Sergeant.
I did my duty.
And I didn't know Off.
Newhouse was a homosexual.
Why admit they don't like gay cops? Makes them look worse.
It's a good line.
"We're not perfect, but we're honest.
" A man reads the Bible, it doesn't make him guilty of murder.
They admit they're bigots but say it doesn't affect them.
Newhouse's partner.
McGraw.
Briscoe and Logan said he knew something he wasrt saying.
All right.
Ask him to come in.
Tonight.
I don't know what you want.
I wasrt on duty when it happened.
I just stopped by the Property Clerk.
I can't be gone this long.
If you have to leave I don't know what I can tell you.
We think that your partner got in trouble that night because he was gay.
I want to be a cop.
I want to stay a cop.
Is there any reason you wouldn't? It was around the precinct.
"Manood and police work.
"In Romans 13, the Bible tells us we are ministers of God.
"We have a duty beyond the rules of the force.
The homosexuals apply for promotion when they don't belong here.
" Who wrote this? I don't know.
I gotta go.
You have no idea who wrote it? Where'd you get it? It was on the floor.
I really gotta go.
Huh.
"Ministers of God.
" Unbelievable.
But this isn't motive.
Establishes intent and state of mind.
Yeah.
Congratulations.
You have flour and water.
Get an oven, you can make bread.
What connects state of mind to the crime? Suppose we break somebody? You have a responsibility.
This goes into the tank, I wouldn't want to be a gay cop the day after you lose.
Four cops.
Who's most likely to break? The youngest? Weddeker? Briscoe and Logan said he was upset the night it happened.
Couldrt even talk.
We went as fast as we could.
Off.
Weddeker, according to the radio tapes, you and Harley answered the call first, you got there second.
Traffic was bad on Broadway.
Sgt.
Harley's case report says you were on West End.
I meant, I meant West End.
You were parked around the corner, Patrolman.
You waited until Rhodes and Davis arrived.
Harley is your superior, right? It wasrt your decision to wait.
Harley's my partner.
Cops take care of cops.
Nobody took care of Rick Newhouse.
So don't tell me about taking care of your partner.
You think you need a lawyer, call the POBA, now.
Off.
Weddeker, look at me.
Look at me.
You knew it was wrong.
It wasrt your decision.
You didn't wanna do it.
We make a deal, you won't be indicted for a felony.
Who wrote the memo? Well, they just, they just wanted to They just wanted to scare him.
They didn't think he was gonna die.
Did Capt.
O'Hara write it himself? No, I think I think he knew.
Rhodes.
Harley and Rhodes.
Next case.
"Docket number 6913.
"People of the State of New York "v.
James Davis, John Harley, and Henry Rhodes.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
" Are your clients ready to plead, Mr.
Schell? Your Honor, we ask you to consider the merits and dismiss the indictments sua sponte.
Merits? How would you know? I read the grand jury minutes.
You don't have 'em yet.
Now it's an indictment.
You don't like it, file a motion.
Murder, second degree.
How do the defendants plead? Not guilty.
Consistency is the hobgoblin of little courtrooms.
Let's talk bail.
Uh, again, Your Honor, considering the merits Thank you.
That's enough.
Paul? The people request $200,000 each defendant.
Granted.
If the defense wants to appeal bail, submit it with your other motion.
I'm still in shock.
I'll call an ambulance.
L I knew we were looking at charges, but murder two? You're prosecuting bigotry, not murder.
Save the speech, Gordon.
Even you don't believe it.
Penal law, "You have a depraved indifference to human life, "you engage in conduct causing a risk of death, you thereby caused the death.
" Refresh your memory.
We call it murder two.
I call it counting the voters.
Only on my fingers.
That's all we'll need with a case like this.
Every cop in this city is against you.
Not all of them.
Some officers are as appalled as we are.
Now, wait.
This is gonna get ugly.
Let's clean it up before it's too dirty to save.
Reckless endangerment two, they keep their pensions.
Pensions.
Funny, that's the last thing that would've occurred to me.
10-85, 107 and Amsterdam, call from 31-18.
Possible drug sale in progress.
He's alone out there, needs additional unit.
Two suspects, male, Hispanic.
What is the meaning of "31-18"? That's a foot patrolman identifying himself.
and 18 is the foot-post assignment.
And who was 31-18? Off.
Richard Newhouse.
Newhouse.
31-18.
Make that a signal 10-13! Shots fired! They're firing from both sides! Where are those two units? 10-13, 10-13, shots fired.
107 and Amsterdam.
Shots fired.
Officer alone.
Officer alone.
31-18 to Central.
I'm pinned down! I can't move! Where the hell is the backup? My God! Oh, my God, I'm hit! I found the memo in my locker.
I wasrt surprised.
There'd been a lot of talk about Newhouse.
What kind of talk, Off.
Weddeker? Newhouse passed the sergeant's exam.
Sgt.
Harley said we didn't need queer sergeants.
And who wrote the memo? The word around the precinct was Objection.
May we approach, Your Honor? He wasrt there when it was typed, Ben.
You know that.
You shouldn't have asked the question.
He knows because it was common knowledge.
No.
It's not direct knowledge, Ben.
Don't turn this into a marathon.
Stay off the subject.
Objection sustained.
Uh, Off.
Weddeker, where were you and Sgt.
Harley when the call went out for help? And did you go immediately to help Off.
Newhouse? Sgt.
Harley was driving.
He stopped half a block away.
Did he tell you why he stopped? Objection.
Calls for hearsay.
Res gestae, Mr.
Schell, a verbal act.
The witness will answer.
Sgt.
Harley said Off.
Newhouse was a fairy.
Said if he was in trouble, he could flap his wings and fly out.
Well, thank you.
No further questions.
So, um, so you wanted to do the right thing, and Sgt.
Harley didn't.
Uh, is that correct? Yeah.
We should've helped him.
He was a cop.
So what if he was gay? Oh.
Oh, I see.
You're the hero.
Uh, tell me, Off.
Weddeker, is your testimony today part of a deal? Did you plead to a misdemeanor to avoid indictment? That's not the reason.
Really? Then why didn't you leap out of the car and rush over to protect Off.
Newhouse yourself? I I went along with Sgt.
Harley.
Oh.
Quite a hero.
No further questions.
No.
Only your most crucial evidence.
Half the precinct knows who wrote that memo.
How can I prove it? She could've let it in.
Judge Larkin? Her politics aren't with you when the law is against you.
We have to connect the memo to Rhodes.
What about the kid that brought it in? The partner? He says he didn't know.
Don't tell me you believe him.
I put him on the stand, he'll lie.
He's scared of what the other cops will think.
Is that what he's scared of? I can't do that.
I don't know who wrote it.
Three police officers.
Should they wear the same badge you do? Why did you want a transfer? You think you know what this is about? You don't.
I think we do.
It's because you're gay, too.
I can't do this.
Will you feel that way when you cry for help and nobody comes? My parents don't know.
This would be a hell of a way for them to find out.
We need you as a witness.
You keep your secret, and you can die in an alley.
Alone.
Like Newhouse.
We used to talk about our dates.
Our women, me and Newhouse.
We both knew.
Kept it up anyway.
You do anything to hide, even when you don't have to.
I told Rhodes one night I had a hot date.
Couple of hours later, he's on the street.
I'm comir out of D'Agostino's.
I went to get a six-pack with a With a friend.
Rhodes asks, "What happened to your hot date?" And I said, "She stood me up.
" I knew they were checking on me.
The next day I had a new partner.
Newhouse.
Keep the queers together.
Did anyone else in the precinct tell you that they knew that you were gay? Two weeks later Captain O'Hara asked me how I liked my new partner.
I said he was fine.
Captain says, "So, you're taking the sergeant's exam, too.
I'll have two of you.
" I knew what he meant.
I show you People's Exhibit 7.
Have you seen this before? Sure.
I gave it to you.
Ah, yes, but when and where did you first see it? About two weeks before Off.
Newhouse got shot.
I was at the copy machine.
Sgt.
Rhodes was there.
After he finished, I lifted the cover.
He left the original.
He wanted me to find it.
And after the shooting, I I put in for a transfer.
I didn't want to end up dead, too.
Thank you.
Your witness.
Did anybody in the 31st Precinct ever harass you because you were gay? I just said they did.
Oh.
Did anybody scrawl the word "queer" or "fag" on your locker? No.
Did anybody ever call you names? No.
Thank you.
No further questions.
The jury can't ignore it.
It's cause and effect.
You say it's cause.
Maybe they don't see effect.
They're changing strategy.
You listening at keyholes? New witness list.
They're putting on a shrink? They're gonna justify it.
Yep.
The last defense of the guilty.
"We did it, but it's all right.
" Schell said it was gonna get ugly, but I never dreamed that this was what he meant.
The fear of homosexuals is common.
Well, why is that, Dr.
Ross? In our culture, defining masculinity is complicated.
What is it that makes a man? Well, how does that relate to homosexuals? Men are oftentimes afraid of gays making sexual overtures.
Men make passes, women receive them.
Somebody makes a pass at you, you feel like a woman.
Which, to most men, means weak.
Well, how are heterosexual men affected? A fear of seduction by another man makes them angry.
Oftentimes, this anger can turn into hatred.
Would you call that normal? I'd call it common.
So these feelings are not voluntary or reckless? Yes, that's right.
Recklessness implies its opposite: Control.
You can't control these feelings.
Thank you, Doctor.
Your witness.
Dr.
Ross, are you saying that it is acceptable to hate homosexuals? I'm saying that men who have these feelings have difficulty controlling them.
But you are suggesting that these officers of the law let a man die out of anger.
And you're making it sound okay.
I would never say that.
Hatred of homosexuals is unfortunate, not to mention pathological, and, like any pathology, it's not voluntary.
Thank you.
No further questions.
It's a fact of life.
It's not just in the police department.
Did any of the defendants express concern about homosexual officers in the precinct? I don't recall anything specific.
I hear derogatory remarks.
I hear men talk about dealing with a wounded officer who may have AIDS.
But my men know the results of harassment: You are off the force.
Now these defendants, you know them.
You know them very well.
A witness has testified that they deliberately delayed helping another officer because he was gay.
Now, do you believe that? No, I don't.
Thank you, Captain.
No further questions.
Capt.
O'Hara, uh, it was you that assigned Craig McGraw to be Rick Newhouse's partner? Yes, I did.
And the fact that both of them were gay is just a coincidence? Yes, it was.
So you are disputing not only Off.
Weddeker's testimony, you also are disputing Craig McGraw's as well.
Two witnesses are lying.
I didn't say that.
They saw what they wanted to see.
So they only perceived hostility toward gay cops.
Intolerance isn't murder, Mr.
Stone.
My men may have made mistakes, but I don't think they intended for Off.
Newhouse to get killed.
But isn't it true, Capt.
O'Hara, that Off.
Newhouse, three months before he was shot, had a perfect service record? A good record isn't everything.
Officers have to believe that you're part of the team.
Uh, we've heard that, Capt.
O'Hara.
You've already testified that your men are worried that they can't trust a gay cop to be there when a cop needs help.
But in this case, it was the straight cops who didn't show up.
Who should be worrying? Objection.
Withdrawn.
No more questions.
The prosecution tells a simple story.
Three good cops with good records let another cop die.
Do you really believe that? Witnesses have told you that these men have malice in their hearts.
And yet their own captain, an exemplary officer, tells you they did not.
You must decide.
Did these men act recklessly or unconsciously, unaware of what they were doing? What the prosecution demands is unjust.
To find these men guilty for upholding the very values of the society that they've sworn to protect.
Ladies and gentlemen, in your deliberations please ask yourselves are their values really so different from your own? So let's suppose that it's true, what Defense Attorney Schell implies: That each of you, all of you, sympathize with the defendants, trapped as they are in their fears.
That, in fact, more people hate homosexuals than are willing to admit.
Now, I venture to say that in your family histories someone, somewhere hates you, or your relatives for no other reason than that they are black or white, Slovak instead of Czech, Protestant instead of Catholic, left-wing, not right.
And are you going to let officers of the law decide which of you they'll help based on who and what you are? If so, then don't dial 911.
Even if you think you're one of them.
Because you may end up being Off.
Newhouse.
These defendants let a man die.
And for all of us, you must hold them responsible.
Will the defendants please rise? Has the jury reached a verdict? We have, Your Honor.
On the charge of murder in the second degree for the defendant, James Davis, how did the jury find? Not guilty.
For the defendant John Harley, how does the jury find? Not guilty.
For the defendant Henry Rhodes, how does the jury find? We find the defendant not guilty.
Come in.
Hi, Adam.
What are you doir? Replaying the ninth inning.
I should've crucified that shrink.
No.
They didn't want to convict.
He gave 'em an excuse.
Maybe it was the wrong summation.
You did your best.
Did it right.
You lost.
They used to ask, "How can a man put a sheet on his head and lynch somebody?" Usually he can't, by himself.
But when there's more than one Four cops let him die.
And twelve citizens did it again.
And they voted their indifference.