S.W.A.T. (2017) s04e01 Episode Script
3 Seventeen Year Olds
1
Previously on S.
W.
A.
T El Diablo, he's the head of El Septimos drug cartel.
SIMONS: El Diablo coming here, risking capture by U.
S.
authorities, it's out of character.
LAPD! Drop your gun.
- Tell us what you want.
- I want you to remember.
- When it happens - When what happens? - Little more.
- EL DIABLO: When the city goes up in flames, remember I tried to stop it.
CROWD (CHANTING): No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! Yo.
Sellout pig.
No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police.
No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice (CHUCKLES) Ooh, I got a little something-something for you, kid.
That smells good.
Waffles and applesauce.
Mama's recipe, Pop's favorite.
What's wrong with him? Ms.
Hattie wants us to help host tomorrow's community party.
She's thrown one every year since the '92 riots.
I just got Bishop Dwight from A.
M.
E.
church on board.
He can give remarks from the community side.
Okay, that's cool.
And I also talked to Commander Hicks.
He's considering speaking on behalf of the LAPD.
Folks are always assuming L.
A.
can't come together; It's gonna be nice to prove them wrong.
And all it took was for Rodney King to get his ass beat.
Rodney King? Who's that? He's a Black motorist who got pulled over by LAPD officers back in '91.
- By SWAT? - No.
No, we train better than that, Darryl.
And the police proceeded to show their motto at the time: "Serve and protect and break a brother's neck.
" And one year later, when those cops were found not guilty, We had six days of rioting, and 63 people dead right here in L.
A.
And you stay quiet about the way that things went down that day? Pops, don't you want your waffles? I just lost my appetite.
So, what happened between y'all two back then? It's too much to explain, Darryl, just eat your breakfast.
("THE HUMPTY DANCE" BY DIGITAL UNDERGROUND PLAYING) Uh, do the Humpty Hump Come on and do the Humpty Hump Check it out, y'all Do the Humpty Hump Mm, do the Humpty Hump Yeah, do the Humpty Hump I knew I smelled waffles.
- Hondo.
- This is your chance Hondo! Everybody Hey, Pop.
You ready to roll? I don't want to keep the coach waiting.
I told him that even though you may be in high school, you carry that football and roll through those linebackers like a grown-ass man.
Ah, you're gonna make a fine addition to Grambling University.
All he has to do is meet you face-to-face.
Sounds cool.
I know things have been difficult since your mother and I split up, but all I kept thinking about driving down here from Oakland is how proud I am of you.
Oh, yeah, since you drove the Impala down, can I drive it? You get that football scholarship to Grambling, we'll talk.
Meet you out front in five minutes.
Now remember, Hondo, when you meet Coach Robinson, you give him five and two.
Five-fingered handshake And look him dead in the eye.
You know, growing up, I always dreamed I'd play football for Gramling.
- Pop.
- Didn't really work out for me, though.
Never even went to college.
But I made a promise my son would.
What if I don't want to go to Grambling? What if I want to do something else? Now don't tell me you want to go to Southern.
- No, Pop.
- Look, son, I know there's hard feelings and all, what with me leaving your mother and starting a new family, but we've got to start healing sometime.
Now, let me do this for you, okay? Let me do this one thing right and help you get this scholarship.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES) (SIGHS) There's something I got to tell you first.
RADIO DJ: is in on the Rodney King trial.
After seven days of deliberations, it looks like we have a verdict.
All four LAPD officers were acquitted of the charge of assault against Rodney King.
- Wait, wait? - See? That's how they do us, now and forever.
I don't get it.
Didn't the jury see the videotape? Since when did anybody care about a videotape? Of course they seen it.
Those cops just beat Rodney King's ass, jurors said it was just fine.
Maybe there's evidence we don't know about.
Don't do that.
Don't be naive.
Or maybe they thought those cops were just doing what they were trained to do.
Maybe that's the problem.
This trial was with an all-white jury in white-ass Simi Valley.
I don't get it.
Courts are supposed to be about justice.
Tell that to Tasha Harlins and a bunch of other black folks.
You seeking justice in this system, you're looking in the wrong damn place.
(CROWD SHOUTING) Verdict's just lit a fuse.
(SHOUTING CONTINUES) Masks now? For the virus? Recommendations and protocols keep changing.
We're still getting info for it.
- Luca left for Berlin just in time.
- Yeah.
(DEVICE BEEPING) Oh, speaking of which (LAUGHS) Hey, how's Germany, big man? House they got me out here is sweet.
Gonna be advising the best Germany, France and Italy have.
See if there's any secrets they can teach us.
(CHUCKLES) Come on, Luca, please.
Ah, you never know.
Was telling the commander, I was really looking forward to this trip, but with the virus stuff going on back there, - I feel kind of bad.
- No, don't be.
Just get it done like you always do.
Will do.
You need me to save the day there, you know how to reach me.
Yes, I do.
Stay safe.
- All right, you, too.
- Peace.
Gentlemen, thanks for joining me.
This is about the Septimos? Lieutenant Lynch has been working leads on the cartel, along with Agent Simons of the DEA.
Simons may have intel that'll help us take them down once and for all.
I've got all of our notes over on the monitor.
Simons is getting a warrant signed.
He'll join us shortly.
Hey, Commander.
Is it cool if I put you down to speak at the community party? I'd be honored to do it.
I'm just not sure what I'd say exactly about that time, but Sir, whatever you come up with, it would be appreciated.
Lieutenant Lynch, how we doing? Yep, we're all here, Agent Simons.
Let's bring them up to speed.
All right.
Ever since SWAT took down El Diablo, we've been interrogating members of the cartel.
His burner phone was a dead end, but I got a tip from a CI working a narco bar near San Dimas.
We got in an undercover.
I think we've finally been able to piece together why a reclusive Mexican king snake like El Diablo showed his face on U.
S.
soil for the first time in five years.
Jam "Bricklayer" Gomez, El Diablo's nephew.
Bricklayer? Well, according to narcocorrido songs about this guy, he's got a knack for building and welding.
The reason his uncle was in town, Bricklayer's planning on taking over the cartel.
And now the uncle's dead, which clears the path for nephew to take over the throne.
We bring in Gomez, we take out the Septimos once and for all.
Now, we already have an arrest warrant for Gomez on six murders, and we have an address.
An auto body shop in the Valley.
We need SWAT for dynamic entry.
According to the songs about this guy, he claims to have a whole lot of firepower.
We'll be ready for whatever they throw at us.
Well, if he's like his uncle, he'd rather push flowers than share showers.
We need to stay on our toes, then.
Understood.
I'll prep the team.
All right, listen up.
With Luca parading around Europe - Weak.
Hiss.
- Boo.
we're gonna use two platoons.
Chris and Tan, you secure the perimeter.
Deac, Street and I are gonna initiate the breach along with 40-David squad.
Now, Chris, you gonna have that piece of armor ready - just in case we need it, right? - All set.
All right, this guy's a builder, and he's in an auto body shop, so we might be looking at some kind of narco tank.
I've seen videos of those things in Mexico.
I've never seen one here.
Eh, sounds like Bricklayer's importing both drugs and bad habits.
Hondo, by the way, we're ready to man booths at the community party.
- Thanks, guys.
- Happy to help.
I actually don't remember anything about those riots.
I was still a kid, living in Long Beach with my parents.
Guess we had our own share of drama to worry about.
Way to make a couple of us feel old, Street.
I can't tell if I remember anything, or if it was just my Mom telling me how scared people were, even in Alhambra.
Can't believe that it's ancient history to your generation.
STREET: What about you, Chris? You remember anything from back then? Not much.
No.
HONDO: All right, let's roll.
He knows we're here.
Move, move, move! This is 20-David to all units.
Suspects are on the move, northbound in a narco tank with a Gatling gun.
Guys, look out! Come on! Move, move, move! (ENGINE REVVING) Hondo, we got eyes, and we got that piece of armor.
There's no way this guy's getting past the MRAP.
Cover! Deac! DEACON: We could use some help here.
DEACON: I think I have a shot.
Move in, move in.
Hands! Let me see your hands! Step out.
Get down.
On your knees.
You, too.
Let's go! I'm-a save you some time.
Attempted murder, murder, drug trafficking, RICO, more murder.
I know I'm looking at life, but I get to pick where I do the time.
No Pelican Bay, no San Quentin.
I don't want solitary, and no damn supermax.
That's not how this works.
You can't just order up prison time like we're Postmates.
Unless I rat out some people that are more dangerous than me.
More dangerous than a tank- building badass like yourself? Your uncle said something before he died: "When this city goes up in flames, remember that I tried to stop it.
" He wasn't lying.
My tÃo, he came here to kill me because I was breaking the rules.
I was running a coyote business on the side, get people across the border.
And then there was this group.
They paid triple.
Three men, one woman.
And they came to attack your city.
It's going down today.
Maybe any minute.
(CAR ALARMS WAILING) (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) HICKS: Seven dead, six survivors being taken to triage.
This is Special Agent Bashir.
She's our FBI point person.
There's no terrorist organization taking credit for this attack so far.
But witnesses say the bomber was a woman in her 20s, Middle-Eastern ethnicity.
She was dropped off by three men in a white four-door Toyota.
No one saw faces or plates.
It's no accident they chose that car.
It's one of the most common rides in SoCal.
They blend right in.
Well, even so, I'm gonna put out a BOLO for it.
Any sense of why she'd target this place? HONDO: It's the largest blood bank on the west side.
You take out the medical reserves first, it makes treating the victims after the next attack - even harder.
- Next attack? If this was their opening move Then we need to ID soft targets on the west side.
Ones with the largest chance of mass casualties.
That's a lot of ground to cover.
Let's coordinate with Homeland Security and west bureau.
- Start evacuations immediately.
- Copy that.
We'll go after Gomez again.
If they heard he was in custody, they might move up their plans.
- All right.
- Okay.
What are you thinking? I hate seeing my city on fire.
Now, everybody wants to know the truth about A brother named Quik I come from the school of the sly, wicked and the slick A lotta people already know exactly where it's at Cause it's the home of the jackers and the crack Compton, yeah, that's the name of my hometown I'm throwing down in the town where my name is all around The suckers just be having a fit, and that's a pity But I ain't doing nothing but claiming my city See, my lyrics I'm doubling up Pop, they're looting their own businesses.
No, that store is owned by a Korean.
And that one, by a man who lives in Hancock Park.
A younger brother that's up on reality 'Cause everybody knows you have to be stomping If you're born and raised in Compton Born and raised Born and raised Pop, they're hurting that guy.
You're my only son.
My priority is getting you home safe.
Hondo! Hondo! Hey, dawg.
Hey, leave him alone.
Hey, hey, hey, hold on.
Hold on, young bloods, we got this; Don't worry about it.
This guy is ours.
(GROANS) - He's bad off.
- Let's get him to the backseat.
Keep him covered.
Stay with him.
(RIOTERS SHOUTING) (RIOTERS WHOOPING) There must have been an attack.
I told you they were more dangerous than me.
(CLEARS THROAT): You wanna hear more? I'm down.
But before I say a word, you need to bring the D.
A.
in here, guarantee my deal.
So you're willing to let more people die? You're gonna tell me everything you know about these terrorists.
Now, you sold them safe passage on one of your drug routes.
- Then what? - Then nothing.
So, uh, what's the deal with that? Mexican drug prince like you sporting Arabic ink? It's a jihadist flag, right? You looking for street cred? Ambitious guy rolling with jihadists.
Makes you seem more ruthless than your uncle.
But I'll tell you something.
A jury sees a tattoo like that, there is no way they believe that you didn't know what was coming.
So are you gonna be smart, or are you gonna be an accomplice to mass murder? I don't know where they are.
I don't know what they're planning.
I just know they're not interested in money.
That's why my tÃo didn't trust them.
A kingpin's got to have standards, huh? And after I brought them into L.
A.
, they wanted me to customize some rides.
They wanted some other things, too: Guns, dope, girls.
Doesn't sound very devout.
And then they started ordering blast caps, fuses Bomb-making materials.
That got my attention.
So I had one of my sicarios keep an eye on them.
To use as leverage in case you got caught.
They moved around a lot.
He said they were planning something big.
I want to know every location those guys were at.
Right now.
Most of the places they were spotted at are in South L.
A.
- You still live around there, yeah? - Yeah.
HICKS: You know, there was a time when my first instinct would have been to squeeze those neighborhoods until someone talked.
- Yeah, make 'em hurt.
- Yeah.
Exactly.
I don't think anything this group is doing is by accident.
They're anticipating a heavy-handed response from the police.
In addition to the attacks, if they can get L.
A.
to tear itself apart, then mission accomplished.
Twenty-eight years ago was Rodney King.
Twenty-seven years before that was Watts.
History says we're a year overdue for another storm.
That's a scary thought.
Trying not to make the same mistakes again.
I want this search done carefully and responsibly.
Preaching to the choir, Commander.
LUCA (ON COMPUTER CALL): Berlin is awesome, but I miss you guys.
Hondo will meet us at the location with new intel.
Tan, you're driving.
Hey, not a scratch on Black Betty.
- TAN: Yeah.
I got you, Luca.
- Yeah.
Chris, you didn't tell us your memories of '92.
What about you, Luca? Where were you when the riots popped off? It's funny, I was visiting my first girlfriend in Koreatown, Min-jee.
You would have been in your 20s back then.
That was your first girlfriend? First girlfriend in Koreatown.
My girlfriend's family restaurant got looted, And her dad had served in the Korean Army, so I ended up standing guard with him to protect what was left.
Sounds like an awesome date.
Patrol checked out every other location Gomez gave us.
The apartment we're rolling to, it's the last place the terrorists were seen.
What about you, Deac? Where were you when '92 popped off? I hadn't joined the force yet, so my memories are all from TV.
Let's go.
See ya, Luca.
Wachsam bleiben.
That's German for "stay liquid.
" You didn't find anyone at the apartment? We found a dead sicario, but no terrorists, no.
They must have figured out someone was watching them.
So they know their cover's blown, now it's full speed ahead - with whatever they're planning.
- That's not all.
We found bomb-making materials, remote detonators.
So no more suicide bombs.
Strategic attacks.
These guys aren't done.
CHRIS: Hi, Agent Bashir.
The apartment was paid in cash, so we don't have names, but we do have descriptions.
STREET: They match what Gomez told us.
Three men, one woman, who had to be the suicide bomber.
We're releasing these images to every law enforcement agency.
So far, there's no indication this cell was sponsored by any state.
A lot of jihadists encourage people to act on their own.
Might have narrowed down potential targets.
Found this in the apartment.
This is Big Brandon merchandise.
Big Brandon? The YouTube jokester guy? If you sign up for his VIP club, you get a baseball cap.
And you know this how? She didn't want me to say it, but Bonnie's kind of a fan.
Just Bonnie? Look, it's not the hat that matters.
It's what you get with it.
Access to any of his pop-up events, including the one happening today at the PemDay Hotel.
This fan meetup is one of the things Homeland flagged as a soft target.
LAPD hasn't started evacuations there yet.
VIP status gets you access to the entire hotel.
- Hard to secure that.
- They could have gotten bombs inside, easy.
We gotta get word to security.
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) HONDO: 20-David's got lead on this.
There's a VIP entrance and exit here.
One of the terrorists will probably try to use it.
HONDO: Bomb squad's already running article dogs to sniff out explosives.
Okay, Tan, you work with venue security, help evacuate civilians.
And cover the VIP areas.
There's two other bad guys on site, and we don't know their locations.
Could be their getaway plan.
All right, Street, Chris, post up.
I want a bird's-eye view scanning everything.
Leaves us to take the perimeter.
(DANCE MUSIC PLAYING) Right this way, ladies.
There's a Big Brandon autograph signing out front.
25-David to 20-David.
I've got eyes on a suspect; I'm trying to evacuate civilians - before engaging.
- HONDO (OVER RADIO): Copy that.
So far, no sign of the other two suspects on the perimeter.
(PANICKED SHOUTING) (SECOND EXPLOSION) 25-David, we've got explosions inside the hotel.
Move! Move, move, move, move, move! (PANICKED SHOUTING) I lost visual on the suspect.
I got eyes.
(GUNSHOT) (GUNSHOTS) 20-David, suspect down and wounded.
Hands! I said hands! Don't move.
Overall, ten casualties today.
Other victims are being evaluated at triage, which is more difficult than it should be because supplies are being shipped from blood banks across the city.
SWAT saved a lot of lives today.
Not a lot of comfort to the families of those victims.
Prayers, support It's not enough.
Never is.
But they appreciate it, Deac.
And they'll appreciate four terrorists off the street.
For what it's worth, we've identified them.
CIA ran facial recognition and got hits on Interpol watch lists.
From all indications, they were self-funded.
Each from wealthy families.
All born in the Middle East, but were living separately in different countries across Europe.
How did they connect then? Video game instant messenger rooms.
Interpol monitored their online conversations, until they went dark four months ago.
Probably when they started planning their attacks on L.
A.
DEACON: Hold on.
Something's not right.
Today's attacks used three explosive devices.
But the amount of material that we found in that apartment would cause far more damage than that.
You think there are others involved? Let's drill down, take a look at those instant messages, make sure we didn't miss anything.
D, what's going on? I called your pops for a ride but he's not picking up, so I just rode the bus here.
All right, that's cool.
Hey, listen, I don't want you to feel bad about it.
Thinking about those riots back then brings up complicated memories for him.
But at least he lets you drive that car sometimes.
- That's more than I got to do.
- Yeah.
I remember you saying something like that.
Look, I'm sorry for bothering you at work, I just seen the news and I guess I wanted to make sure you're okay.
Well, it's been a long day, but I'm all right.
You don't ever have to apologize for checking in, you hear me? Yeah.
Couple of my friends were at the event.
One of them got hurt falling down.
And it's minor, but she's scared.
I'm sorry to hear that.
I was wondering if I can go check up on her? Darryl, we got a lot of good peeps down there.
You don't have to do that.
No, I know, I know.
I just want to be there for them.
I think that's something you would do.
Okay.
- Go ahead.
- All right.
Most of these IMs are standard jihadist rhetoric.
Anger towards nonbelievers, more anger towards the U.
S.
Sound like a bunch of rich kids who got bored, had nothing better to do than spread their misery.
I think I got something.
What is it? I've been looking through some of these older IMs.
Doing a deep dive into these conversations.
Our terrorists made a lot of references to what happened in Norway in 2011.
Same day, same city, different targets.
Sequential attacks.
Each one sets up the next, - like falling dominoes.
- Spreads fear.
Makes people feel like they're not safe anywhere.
I did some digging, too.
Found a fifth person on some of these conversations.
Calls himself "The American.
" But there's no ID on who he or she is.
If there's still one more of them out there We're not out of the woods yet.
Commander, we got a fifth suspect.
- Calls himself "The American.
" - I heard.
Let's hope this helps.
Here's a map of the BOLO alerts for the white Toyota from the suicide bombing.
Initially, there were too many to count, until we considered what we now know about these people.
This one's registered to a security guard from the hotel event.
These And these two are registered to LAPD officers.
But hold up.
Here's one registered to an EMS ambulance driver.
Frank Tammel.
The suicide bombing at the blood bank made it harder to save people at the hotel event.
And the victims at that hotel event are all in one place.
This cell is gonna use that ambulance to hit the triage center.
Darryl's there.
(SIREN WAILING) (INDISTINCT VOICE OVER P.
A.
) Hey.
Guy's name is Ted.
He has a fractured skull, bleeding in the brain.
Doctor said if we didn't bring him in when we did, he would have died.
We saved him.
(CHUCKLES) You know, we haven't worked together like this in years.
TV NEWSCASTER: jurors, who would prefer to remain anonymous, admit that the Rodney King beating video made an instant impression on them.
Immediately after the verdicts were read DANIEL: LAPD sees us as one of two Ds Defendants, or deceased.
When people need them most, where are they? Talking about calling in the National Guard.
Nobody knew this would happen.
Anybody paying attention saw this coming.
Whose side are you on? Just trying to be a part of the solution.
Ain't no solution to this mess.
You want to try to fix things, why don't you join them? The Marines count? 'Cause I enlisted with them two days ago.
I'm not going to college, Pop.
When were you gonna tell me? (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) Hey, I tried to get here as fast as I could.
(PHONE BUZZING) (SIREN WAILING) Bomb squad searched Frank Tammel's house.
Every entrance rigged with explosives.
So he's definitely our guy.
Tammel is a white American citizen.
He's worked as an EMS for ten years.
So what turned him? State Department said his parents worked Foreign Service in the Middle East.
He grew up there, probably saw his share of poverty, inequality.
Command to 20-David.
We have increased security at the triage center.
We got eyes on ambulance number 021.
He is headed west on 4th Street, straight for the triage center.
(SIREN CHIRPING) We got eyes on the suspect.
Due east, (OVER RADIO): Facing us.
We've got eyes, Hondo.
Ready to engage.
Suspect's just sitting there, not moving.
Ready for anything.
Just say the word.
HONDO: Okay, be ready.
We know that ambulance is loaded with explosives.
Frank Tammel! This is LAPD SWAT! Exit the vehicle! This is over! We don't need any more violence! Cover, Street! Shots aren't getting through.
That thing's reinforced.
Street, fall back! What are you doing?! His windshield's cracked.
I can get to him.
- (GUNSHOT) - 20-David, get out of there! Fall back! That's an order! (GUNSHOT) (TIRES SCREECHING) Let me see your hands! Get out, now! Move, move! Hondo! Hondo! Hey! 26-David.
Roll an R/A to my location ASAP.
20-David down.
Hondo? (INDISTINCT, DISTANT CHATTER) God, it's great to see you walking.
Thanks, Doc.
You okay? Two cracked ribs.
So, hell no, I'm not okay, but I'm breathing.
That's good enough for now.
Well, you scared the hell out of us.
That's normally Street's job, right? (LAUGHS) Commander, I apologize for not listening to your orders.
I saw a tactical advantage on the ground No need to talk about it right now.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) Bishop, thank you for your time.
Appreciate you talking to him.
- Yeah.
- Now see, that's what I'm talking about.
You gave Bishop Dwight five and two.
Five-fingered handshake and - Look him straight in the eye.
- That's right.
A man appreciates that kind of respect.
Know that.
Pop.
You showed up.
I did.
How's them ribs? It is what it is.
I'll be all right.
Ah, see, come on now.
That's what you signed up for, right? Listen, I've been thinking a lot about you today.
Back in the day, when I told you why I enlisted.
I remember.
See, I told myself it was because I wanted to help people, I wanted to see the world.
And not because I wanted to hurt you.
The truth is, part of it is because I did want to hurt you.
I understand.
You were 17 years old.
Back then, I thought if I followed your wishes, chased your dream it would bring us close again, and I I just didn't want that.
I wanted to hurt you.
And I know that I hurt you, too.
I wish I had old-man wisdom back then.
You were afraid of losing me again, and I deserved that hurt.
But love is worth the inevitability of loss, son.
I'm still here.
We both are.
Young blood, what do you think of all this? It's crazy.
I thought this all started from the Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter stuff.
New name.
Same issues.
Different decades.
Isn't that frustrating? Depends on what time of the day you ask me.
(SCOFFS) Don't you think we made progress? We're still trying, D.
Every year, the purpose of this event is to bring people together.
Make sure you know the faces of your law enforcement officers.
Make sure law enforcement officers humanize the faces they help and interact with.
The last thing we want is to repeat '92.
We encountered our share of You seem really nervous.
I'm just observing.
I can't wait to hear this story of yours.
You know, you and I have come a long way.
I'm not sure I always liked you.
And now? (PHONE CHIMES) Now you look nervous.
- Is that the mayor again? - Yeah.
It's the coronavirus.
The mayor's been on the phone with the CDC and the governor.
They may have to shut the city down.
Shelter at home, businesses closed down; The whole shebang.
What's that mean for SWAT? It means the world's about to change.
So, uh, you ever gonna tell me? - Tell you what? - Your memories of the riots.
There's obviously something rattling around in that head of yours.
So you think you can read me or something? Of course I can.
(CHUCKLES) Just spit it out.
Okay, um, I don't remember much, but I got my first CD player during the riots.
My mother gave it to me as a gift.
I later realized that she looted it from some store, along with a microwave and a hair curler.
(SIGHS) Something really awful was going on out there, and her drunk ass saw it as an opportunity to steal some stuff.
Thought that counts? I gotta admit, I loved that CD player.
You know, I imagine that the expectation is for me to get up here and talk about my experience during the '92 riots.
Back then I was younger, inexperienced.
I was a patrol officer.
Probably not a very good cop back then.
The thing is, I didn't work the riots.
The day when everything went down, my partner and I were ordered by our superior officer to vacate your neighborhoods.
We were reassigned to protect Century City.
We could have gone against those orders and suffered the consequences, but we didn't.
So our view of the riots was watching our city burn from ten miles away.
But today I hold my SWAT officers to a much higher standard.
And 28 years ago, I wish I had lived up to that standard.
Yesterday, one of my sergeants made a judgement call.
Went against my orders because he thought it would save lives.
And it did.
I wish I had called an audible back in '92.
Maybe I could have helped in some way.
But I have to live with that.
But then there's days like today when I'm reminded of how far I've come and how far I hope our city has come.
Is something up? What are you celebrating? Like '92 was the end of it.
It's still going on.
The same problems.
A system that never got fixed.
Let me explain something to you.
When I was 17, same age as you, I'm walking home from school Band practice.
I had my trumpet in my case.
And an unmarked car rolls up on me, and two grown white men with badges jump out, pushed me up against the wall, threw my horn on the ground.
It gets all bent up.
And then they take out a switchblade, and they laughing and chuckling.
And they took that blade, and they put it right across my throat.
And they said, "Get your ass out of here, or we'll kill you, and nobody will care.
" I was just walking home.
So you choose to put on a badge, you better know what that means.
'Cause ain't no easy solution when Black people are being treated like they're disposable.
And all a police officer needs is reasonable fear to kill you, me or Hondo, if he ain't wearing that uniform.
What's going on? That day that you told me you enlisted.
Did you know what you were signing up for? I thought we done been past this, Pop.
Didn't you tell me if I want things to change, be the change? And? What have we seen change, son? Huh? Let me tell you about a little boy I once knew.
Somebody asked him, "How will it be okay?" His answer? "It ain't me, it ain't us, "it ain't them.
"It's the cops.
Y'all are the ones that's killing us.
" He said that in 1965, but it sounds like today.
See, it's a generational wound that just keeps getting picked at every few decades because we refuse to learn the lesson.
Maybe we learn the lesson this time.
Don't do that.
Don't be naive.
You're the son of a a renegade Slauson.
At least you used to be.
I saw Watts burn while police went killing.
You saw it in '92.
What's this boy gonna see? Yo, sellout pig! No justice, no peace! - Damn these racist-ass police.
- (PROTESTERS SHOUTING) No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! These were George Floyd's final words before he died at the hands of police.
"It's my face, man.
"I didn't do nothing serious, man, please please please" (CHANTING CONTINUES) "I can't breathe.
"Please, man, please.
"Somebody, please, man.
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
" PROTESTERS (CHANTING): I can't breathe.
"Please.
I can't breathe.
My face.
Just get up.
" PROTESTERS: I can't breathe! "I can't breathe.
Please!" PROTESTERS: I can't breathe! (HORN HONKS) (CHANTING CONTINUES) "I can't move, Mama.
"Mama, I'm through.
I'm through.
"I'm claustrophobic.
"My stomach hurts, my neck hurt.
Everything hurt.
"Some water or something, please.
"Please, I can't breathe, Officer.
"Don't kill me.
"They gonna kill me.
"Man, come on, man! "I cannot breathe.
"I cannot breathe.
"They gonna kill me.
"They gonna kill me.
"I can't breathe.
"I can't breathe.
Please, sir.
"Please.
"Please! "Please.
I can't breathe.
"
W.
A.
T El Diablo, he's the head of El Septimos drug cartel.
SIMONS: El Diablo coming here, risking capture by U.
S.
authorities, it's out of character.
LAPD! Drop your gun.
- Tell us what you want.
- I want you to remember.
- When it happens - When what happens? - Little more.
- EL DIABLO: When the city goes up in flames, remember I tried to stop it.
CROWD (CHANTING): No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! Yo.
Sellout pig.
No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police.
No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice (CHUCKLES) Ooh, I got a little something-something for you, kid.
That smells good.
Waffles and applesauce.
Mama's recipe, Pop's favorite.
What's wrong with him? Ms.
Hattie wants us to help host tomorrow's community party.
She's thrown one every year since the '92 riots.
I just got Bishop Dwight from A.
M.
E.
church on board.
He can give remarks from the community side.
Okay, that's cool.
And I also talked to Commander Hicks.
He's considering speaking on behalf of the LAPD.
Folks are always assuming L.
A.
can't come together; It's gonna be nice to prove them wrong.
And all it took was for Rodney King to get his ass beat.
Rodney King? Who's that? He's a Black motorist who got pulled over by LAPD officers back in '91.
- By SWAT? - No.
No, we train better than that, Darryl.
And the police proceeded to show their motto at the time: "Serve and protect and break a brother's neck.
" And one year later, when those cops were found not guilty, We had six days of rioting, and 63 people dead right here in L.
A.
And you stay quiet about the way that things went down that day? Pops, don't you want your waffles? I just lost my appetite.
So, what happened between y'all two back then? It's too much to explain, Darryl, just eat your breakfast.
("THE HUMPTY DANCE" BY DIGITAL UNDERGROUND PLAYING) Uh, do the Humpty Hump Come on and do the Humpty Hump Check it out, y'all Do the Humpty Hump Mm, do the Humpty Hump Yeah, do the Humpty Hump I knew I smelled waffles.
- Hondo.
- This is your chance Hondo! Everybody Hey, Pop.
You ready to roll? I don't want to keep the coach waiting.
I told him that even though you may be in high school, you carry that football and roll through those linebackers like a grown-ass man.
Ah, you're gonna make a fine addition to Grambling University.
All he has to do is meet you face-to-face.
Sounds cool.
I know things have been difficult since your mother and I split up, but all I kept thinking about driving down here from Oakland is how proud I am of you.
Oh, yeah, since you drove the Impala down, can I drive it? You get that football scholarship to Grambling, we'll talk.
Meet you out front in five minutes.
Now remember, Hondo, when you meet Coach Robinson, you give him five and two.
Five-fingered handshake And look him dead in the eye.
You know, growing up, I always dreamed I'd play football for Gramling.
- Pop.
- Didn't really work out for me, though.
Never even went to college.
But I made a promise my son would.
What if I don't want to go to Grambling? What if I want to do something else? Now don't tell me you want to go to Southern.
- No, Pop.
- Look, son, I know there's hard feelings and all, what with me leaving your mother and starting a new family, but we've got to start healing sometime.
Now, let me do this for you, okay? Let me do this one thing right and help you get this scholarship.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES) (SIGHS) There's something I got to tell you first.
RADIO DJ: is in on the Rodney King trial.
After seven days of deliberations, it looks like we have a verdict.
All four LAPD officers were acquitted of the charge of assault against Rodney King.
- Wait, wait? - See? That's how they do us, now and forever.
I don't get it.
Didn't the jury see the videotape? Since when did anybody care about a videotape? Of course they seen it.
Those cops just beat Rodney King's ass, jurors said it was just fine.
Maybe there's evidence we don't know about.
Don't do that.
Don't be naive.
Or maybe they thought those cops were just doing what they were trained to do.
Maybe that's the problem.
This trial was with an all-white jury in white-ass Simi Valley.
I don't get it.
Courts are supposed to be about justice.
Tell that to Tasha Harlins and a bunch of other black folks.
You seeking justice in this system, you're looking in the wrong damn place.
(CROWD SHOUTING) Verdict's just lit a fuse.
(SHOUTING CONTINUES) Masks now? For the virus? Recommendations and protocols keep changing.
We're still getting info for it.
- Luca left for Berlin just in time.
- Yeah.
(DEVICE BEEPING) Oh, speaking of which (LAUGHS) Hey, how's Germany, big man? House they got me out here is sweet.
Gonna be advising the best Germany, France and Italy have.
See if there's any secrets they can teach us.
(CHUCKLES) Come on, Luca, please.
Ah, you never know.
Was telling the commander, I was really looking forward to this trip, but with the virus stuff going on back there, - I feel kind of bad.
- No, don't be.
Just get it done like you always do.
Will do.
You need me to save the day there, you know how to reach me.
Yes, I do.
Stay safe.
- All right, you, too.
- Peace.
Gentlemen, thanks for joining me.
This is about the Septimos? Lieutenant Lynch has been working leads on the cartel, along with Agent Simons of the DEA.
Simons may have intel that'll help us take them down once and for all.
I've got all of our notes over on the monitor.
Simons is getting a warrant signed.
He'll join us shortly.
Hey, Commander.
Is it cool if I put you down to speak at the community party? I'd be honored to do it.
I'm just not sure what I'd say exactly about that time, but Sir, whatever you come up with, it would be appreciated.
Lieutenant Lynch, how we doing? Yep, we're all here, Agent Simons.
Let's bring them up to speed.
All right.
Ever since SWAT took down El Diablo, we've been interrogating members of the cartel.
His burner phone was a dead end, but I got a tip from a CI working a narco bar near San Dimas.
We got in an undercover.
I think we've finally been able to piece together why a reclusive Mexican king snake like El Diablo showed his face on U.
S.
soil for the first time in five years.
Jam "Bricklayer" Gomez, El Diablo's nephew.
Bricklayer? Well, according to narcocorrido songs about this guy, he's got a knack for building and welding.
The reason his uncle was in town, Bricklayer's planning on taking over the cartel.
And now the uncle's dead, which clears the path for nephew to take over the throne.
We bring in Gomez, we take out the Septimos once and for all.
Now, we already have an arrest warrant for Gomez on six murders, and we have an address.
An auto body shop in the Valley.
We need SWAT for dynamic entry.
According to the songs about this guy, he claims to have a whole lot of firepower.
We'll be ready for whatever they throw at us.
Well, if he's like his uncle, he'd rather push flowers than share showers.
We need to stay on our toes, then.
Understood.
I'll prep the team.
All right, listen up.
With Luca parading around Europe - Weak.
Hiss.
- Boo.
we're gonna use two platoons.
Chris and Tan, you secure the perimeter.
Deac, Street and I are gonna initiate the breach along with 40-David squad.
Now, Chris, you gonna have that piece of armor ready - just in case we need it, right? - All set.
All right, this guy's a builder, and he's in an auto body shop, so we might be looking at some kind of narco tank.
I've seen videos of those things in Mexico.
I've never seen one here.
Eh, sounds like Bricklayer's importing both drugs and bad habits.
Hondo, by the way, we're ready to man booths at the community party.
- Thanks, guys.
- Happy to help.
I actually don't remember anything about those riots.
I was still a kid, living in Long Beach with my parents.
Guess we had our own share of drama to worry about.
Way to make a couple of us feel old, Street.
I can't tell if I remember anything, or if it was just my Mom telling me how scared people were, even in Alhambra.
Can't believe that it's ancient history to your generation.
STREET: What about you, Chris? You remember anything from back then? Not much.
No.
HONDO: All right, let's roll.
He knows we're here.
Move, move, move! This is 20-David to all units.
Suspects are on the move, northbound in a narco tank with a Gatling gun.
Guys, look out! Come on! Move, move, move! (ENGINE REVVING) Hondo, we got eyes, and we got that piece of armor.
There's no way this guy's getting past the MRAP.
Cover! Deac! DEACON: We could use some help here.
DEACON: I think I have a shot.
Move in, move in.
Hands! Let me see your hands! Step out.
Get down.
On your knees.
You, too.
Let's go! I'm-a save you some time.
Attempted murder, murder, drug trafficking, RICO, more murder.
I know I'm looking at life, but I get to pick where I do the time.
No Pelican Bay, no San Quentin.
I don't want solitary, and no damn supermax.
That's not how this works.
You can't just order up prison time like we're Postmates.
Unless I rat out some people that are more dangerous than me.
More dangerous than a tank- building badass like yourself? Your uncle said something before he died: "When this city goes up in flames, remember that I tried to stop it.
" He wasn't lying.
My tÃo, he came here to kill me because I was breaking the rules.
I was running a coyote business on the side, get people across the border.
And then there was this group.
They paid triple.
Three men, one woman.
And they came to attack your city.
It's going down today.
Maybe any minute.
(CAR ALARMS WAILING) (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) HICKS: Seven dead, six survivors being taken to triage.
This is Special Agent Bashir.
She's our FBI point person.
There's no terrorist organization taking credit for this attack so far.
But witnesses say the bomber was a woman in her 20s, Middle-Eastern ethnicity.
She was dropped off by three men in a white four-door Toyota.
No one saw faces or plates.
It's no accident they chose that car.
It's one of the most common rides in SoCal.
They blend right in.
Well, even so, I'm gonna put out a BOLO for it.
Any sense of why she'd target this place? HONDO: It's the largest blood bank on the west side.
You take out the medical reserves first, it makes treating the victims after the next attack - even harder.
- Next attack? If this was their opening move Then we need to ID soft targets on the west side.
Ones with the largest chance of mass casualties.
That's a lot of ground to cover.
Let's coordinate with Homeland Security and west bureau.
- Start evacuations immediately.
- Copy that.
We'll go after Gomez again.
If they heard he was in custody, they might move up their plans.
- All right.
- Okay.
What are you thinking? I hate seeing my city on fire.
Now, everybody wants to know the truth about A brother named Quik I come from the school of the sly, wicked and the slick A lotta people already know exactly where it's at Cause it's the home of the jackers and the crack Compton, yeah, that's the name of my hometown I'm throwing down in the town where my name is all around The suckers just be having a fit, and that's a pity But I ain't doing nothing but claiming my city See, my lyrics I'm doubling up Pop, they're looting their own businesses.
No, that store is owned by a Korean.
And that one, by a man who lives in Hancock Park.
A younger brother that's up on reality 'Cause everybody knows you have to be stomping If you're born and raised in Compton Born and raised Born and raised Pop, they're hurting that guy.
You're my only son.
My priority is getting you home safe.
Hondo! Hondo! Hey, dawg.
Hey, leave him alone.
Hey, hey, hey, hold on.
Hold on, young bloods, we got this; Don't worry about it.
This guy is ours.
(GROANS) - He's bad off.
- Let's get him to the backseat.
Keep him covered.
Stay with him.
(RIOTERS SHOUTING) (RIOTERS WHOOPING) There must have been an attack.
I told you they were more dangerous than me.
(CLEARS THROAT): You wanna hear more? I'm down.
But before I say a word, you need to bring the D.
A.
in here, guarantee my deal.
So you're willing to let more people die? You're gonna tell me everything you know about these terrorists.
Now, you sold them safe passage on one of your drug routes.
- Then what? - Then nothing.
So, uh, what's the deal with that? Mexican drug prince like you sporting Arabic ink? It's a jihadist flag, right? You looking for street cred? Ambitious guy rolling with jihadists.
Makes you seem more ruthless than your uncle.
But I'll tell you something.
A jury sees a tattoo like that, there is no way they believe that you didn't know what was coming.
So are you gonna be smart, or are you gonna be an accomplice to mass murder? I don't know where they are.
I don't know what they're planning.
I just know they're not interested in money.
That's why my tÃo didn't trust them.
A kingpin's got to have standards, huh? And after I brought them into L.
A.
, they wanted me to customize some rides.
They wanted some other things, too: Guns, dope, girls.
Doesn't sound very devout.
And then they started ordering blast caps, fuses Bomb-making materials.
That got my attention.
So I had one of my sicarios keep an eye on them.
To use as leverage in case you got caught.
They moved around a lot.
He said they were planning something big.
I want to know every location those guys were at.
Right now.
Most of the places they were spotted at are in South L.
A.
- You still live around there, yeah? - Yeah.
HICKS: You know, there was a time when my first instinct would have been to squeeze those neighborhoods until someone talked.
- Yeah, make 'em hurt.
- Yeah.
Exactly.
I don't think anything this group is doing is by accident.
They're anticipating a heavy-handed response from the police.
In addition to the attacks, if they can get L.
A.
to tear itself apart, then mission accomplished.
Twenty-eight years ago was Rodney King.
Twenty-seven years before that was Watts.
History says we're a year overdue for another storm.
That's a scary thought.
Trying not to make the same mistakes again.
I want this search done carefully and responsibly.
Preaching to the choir, Commander.
LUCA (ON COMPUTER CALL): Berlin is awesome, but I miss you guys.
Hondo will meet us at the location with new intel.
Tan, you're driving.
Hey, not a scratch on Black Betty.
- TAN: Yeah.
I got you, Luca.
- Yeah.
Chris, you didn't tell us your memories of '92.
What about you, Luca? Where were you when the riots popped off? It's funny, I was visiting my first girlfriend in Koreatown, Min-jee.
You would have been in your 20s back then.
That was your first girlfriend? First girlfriend in Koreatown.
My girlfriend's family restaurant got looted, And her dad had served in the Korean Army, so I ended up standing guard with him to protect what was left.
Sounds like an awesome date.
Patrol checked out every other location Gomez gave us.
The apartment we're rolling to, it's the last place the terrorists were seen.
What about you, Deac? Where were you when '92 popped off? I hadn't joined the force yet, so my memories are all from TV.
Let's go.
See ya, Luca.
Wachsam bleiben.
That's German for "stay liquid.
" You didn't find anyone at the apartment? We found a dead sicario, but no terrorists, no.
They must have figured out someone was watching them.
So they know their cover's blown, now it's full speed ahead - with whatever they're planning.
- That's not all.
We found bomb-making materials, remote detonators.
So no more suicide bombs.
Strategic attacks.
These guys aren't done.
CHRIS: Hi, Agent Bashir.
The apartment was paid in cash, so we don't have names, but we do have descriptions.
STREET: They match what Gomez told us.
Three men, one woman, who had to be the suicide bomber.
We're releasing these images to every law enforcement agency.
So far, there's no indication this cell was sponsored by any state.
A lot of jihadists encourage people to act on their own.
Might have narrowed down potential targets.
Found this in the apartment.
This is Big Brandon merchandise.
Big Brandon? The YouTube jokester guy? If you sign up for his VIP club, you get a baseball cap.
And you know this how? She didn't want me to say it, but Bonnie's kind of a fan.
Just Bonnie? Look, it's not the hat that matters.
It's what you get with it.
Access to any of his pop-up events, including the one happening today at the PemDay Hotel.
This fan meetup is one of the things Homeland flagged as a soft target.
LAPD hasn't started evacuations there yet.
VIP status gets you access to the entire hotel.
- Hard to secure that.
- They could have gotten bombs inside, easy.
We gotta get word to security.
(INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) HONDO: 20-David's got lead on this.
There's a VIP entrance and exit here.
One of the terrorists will probably try to use it.
HONDO: Bomb squad's already running article dogs to sniff out explosives.
Okay, Tan, you work with venue security, help evacuate civilians.
And cover the VIP areas.
There's two other bad guys on site, and we don't know their locations.
Could be their getaway plan.
All right, Street, Chris, post up.
I want a bird's-eye view scanning everything.
Leaves us to take the perimeter.
(DANCE MUSIC PLAYING) Right this way, ladies.
There's a Big Brandon autograph signing out front.
25-David to 20-David.
I've got eyes on a suspect; I'm trying to evacuate civilians - before engaging.
- HONDO (OVER RADIO): Copy that.
So far, no sign of the other two suspects on the perimeter.
(PANICKED SHOUTING) (SECOND EXPLOSION) 25-David, we've got explosions inside the hotel.
Move! Move, move, move, move, move! (PANICKED SHOUTING) I lost visual on the suspect.
I got eyes.
(GUNSHOT) (GUNSHOTS) 20-David, suspect down and wounded.
Hands! I said hands! Don't move.
Overall, ten casualties today.
Other victims are being evaluated at triage, which is more difficult than it should be because supplies are being shipped from blood banks across the city.
SWAT saved a lot of lives today.
Not a lot of comfort to the families of those victims.
Prayers, support It's not enough.
Never is.
But they appreciate it, Deac.
And they'll appreciate four terrorists off the street.
For what it's worth, we've identified them.
CIA ran facial recognition and got hits on Interpol watch lists.
From all indications, they were self-funded.
Each from wealthy families.
All born in the Middle East, but were living separately in different countries across Europe.
How did they connect then? Video game instant messenger rooms.
Interpol monitored their online conversations, until they went dark four months ago.
Probably when they started planning their attacks on L.
A.
DEACON: Hold on.
Something's not right.
Today's attacks used three explosive devices.
But the amount of material that we found in that apartment would cause far more damage than that.
You think there are others involved? Let's drill down, take a look at those instant messages, make sure we didn't miss anything.
D, what's going on? I called your pops for a ride but he's not picking up, so I just rode the bus here.
All right, that's cool.
Hey, listen, I don't want you to feel bad about it.
Thinking about those riots back then brings up complicated memories for him.
But at least he lets you drive that car sometimes.
- That's more than I got to do.
- Yeah.
I remember you saying something like that.
Look, I'm sorry for bothering you at work, I just seen the news and I guess I wanted to make sure you're okay.
Well, it's been a long day, but I'm all right.
You don't ever have to apologize for checking in, you hear me? Yeah.
Couple of my friends were at the event.
One of them got hurt falling down.
And it's minor, but she's scared.
I'm sorry to hear that.
I was wondering if I can go check up on her? Darryl, we got a lot of good peeps down there.
You don't have to do that.
No, I know, I know.
I just want to be there for them.
I think that's something you would do.
Okay.
- Go ahead.
- All right.
Most of these IMs are standard jihadist rhetoric.
Anger towards nonbelievers, more anger towards the U.
S.
Sound like a bunch of rich kids who got bored, had nothing better to do than spread their misery.
I think I got something.
What is it? I've been looking through some of these older IMs.
Doing a deep dive into these conversations.
Our terrorists made a lot of references to what happened in Norway in 2011.
Same day, same city, different targets.
Sequential attacks.
Each one sets up the next, - like falling dominoes.
- Spreads fear.
Makes people feel like they're not safe anywhere.
I did some digging, too.
Found a fifth person on some of these conversations.
Calls himself "The American.
" But there's no ID on who he or she is.
If there's still one more of them out there We're not out of the woods yet.
Commander, we got a fifth suspect.
- Calls himself "The American.
" - I heard.
Let's hope this helps.
Here's a map of the BOLO alerts for the white Toyota from the suicide bombing.
Initially, there were too many to count, until we considered what we now know about these people.
This one's registered to a security guard from the hotel event.
These And these two are registered to LAPD officers.
But hold up.
Here's one registered to an EMS ambulance driver.
Frank Tammel.
The suicide bombing at the blood bank made it harder to save people at the hotel event.
And the victims at that hotel event are all in one place.
This cell is gonna use that ambulance to hit the triage center.
Darryl's there.
(SIREN WAILING) (INDISTINCT VOICE OVER P.
A.
) Hey.
Guy's name is Ted.
He has a fractured skull, bleeding in the brain.
Doctor said if we didn't bring him in when we did, he would have died.
We saved him.
(CHUCKLES) You know, we haven't worked together like this in years.
TV NEWSCASTER: jurors, who would prefer to remain anonymous, admit that the Rodney King beating video made an instant impression on them.
Immediately after the verdicts were read DANIEL: LAPD sees us as one of two Ds Defendants, or deceased.
When people need them most, where are they? Talking about calling in the National Guard.
Nobody knew this would happen.
Anybody paying attention saw this coming.
Whose side are you on? Just trying to be a part of the solution.
Ain't no solution to this mess.
You want to try to fix things, why don't you join them? The Marines count? 'Cause I enlisted with them two days ago.
I'm not going to college, Pop.
When were you gonna tell me? (INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER) Hey, I tried to get here as fast as I could.
(PHONE BUZZING) (SIREN WAILING) Bomb squad searched Frank Tammel's house.
Every entrance rigged with explosives.
So he's definitely our guy.
Tammel is a white American citizen.
He's worked as an EMS for ten years.
So what turned him? State Department said his parents worked Foreign Service in the Middle East.
He grew up there, probably saw his share of poverty, inequality.
Command to 20-David.
We have increased security at the triage center.
We got eyes on ambulance number 021.
He is headed west on 4th Street, straight for the triage center.
(SIREN CHIRPING) We got eyes on the suspect.
Due east, (OVER RADIO): Facing us.
We've got eyes, Hondo.
Ready to engage.
Suspect's just sitting there, not moving.
Ready for anything.
Just say the word.
HONDO: Okay, be ready.
We know that ambulance is loaded with explosives.
Frank Tammel! This is LAPD SWAT! Exit the vehicle! This is over! We don't need any more violence! Cover, Street! Shots aren't getting through.
That thing's reinforced.
Street, fall back! What are you doing?! His windshield's cracked.
I can get to him.
- (GUNSHOT) - 20-David, get out of there! Fall back! That's an order! (GUNSHOT) (TIRES SCREECHING) Let me see your hands! Get out, now! Move, move! Hondo! Hondo! Hey! 26-David.
Roll an R/A to my location ASAP.
20-David down.
Hondo? (INDISTINCT, DISTANT CHATTER) God, it's great to see you walking.
Thanks, Doc.
You okay? Two cracked ribs.
So, hell no, I'm not okay, but I'm breathing.
That's good enough for now.
Well, you scared the hell out of us.
That's normally Street's job, right? (LAUGHS) Commander, I apologize for not listening to your orders.
I saw a tactical advantage on the ground No need to talk about it right now.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) Bishop, thank you for your time.
Appreciate you talking to him.
- Yeah.
- Now see, that's what I'm talking about.
You gave Bishop Dwight five and two.
Five-fingered handshake and - Look him straight in the eye.
- That's right.
A man appreciates that kind of respect.
Know that.
Pop.
You showed up.
I did.
How's them ribs? It is what it is.
I'll be all right.
Ah, see, come on now.
That's what you signed up for, right? Listen, I've been thinking a lot about you today.
Back in the day, when I told you why I enlisted.
I remember.
See, I told myself it was because I wanted to help people, I wanted to see the world.
And not because I wanted to hurt you.
The truth is, part of it is because I did want to hurt you.
I understand.
You were 17 years old.
Back then, I thought if I followed your wishes, chased your dream it would bring us close again, and I I just didn't want that.
I wanted to hurt you.
And I know that I hurt you, too.
I wish I had old-man wisdom back then.
You were afraid of losing me again, and I deserved that hurt.
But love is worth the inevitability of loss, son.
I'm still here.
We both are.
Young blood, what do you think of all this? It's crazy.
I thought this all started from the Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter stuff.
New name.
Same issues.
Different decades.
Isn't that frustrating? Depends on what time of the day you ask me.
(SCOFFS) Don't you think we made progress? We're still trying, D.
Every year, the purpose of this event is to bring people together.
Make sure you know the faces of your law enforcement officers.
Make sure law enforcement officers humanize the faces they help and interact with.
The last thing we want is to repeat '92.
We encountered our share of You seem really nervous.
I'm just observing.
I can't wait to hear this story of yours.
You know, you and I have come a long way.
I'm not sure I always liked you.
And now? (PHONE CHIMES) Now you look nervous.
- Is that the mayor again? - Yeah.
It's the coronavirus.
The mayor's been on the phone with the CDC and the governor.
They may have to shut the city down.
Shelter at home, businesses closed down; The whole shebang.
What's that mean for SWAT? It means the world's about to change.
So, uh, you ever gonna tell me? - Tell you what? - Your memories of the riots.
There's obviously something rattling around in that head of yours.
So you think you can read me or something? Of course I can.
(CHUCKLES) Just spit it out.
Okay, um, I don't remember much, but I got my first CD player during the riots.
My mother gave it to me as a gift.
I later realized that she looted it from some store, along with a microwave and a hair curler.
(SIGHS) Something really awful was going on out there, and her drunk ass saw it as an opportunity to steal some stuff.
Thought that counts? I gotta admit, I loved that CD player.
You know, I imagine that the expectation is for me to get up here and talk about my experience during the '92 riots.
Back then I was younger, inexperienced.
I was a patrol officer.
Probably not a very good cop back then.
The thing is, I didn't work the riots.
The day when everything went down, my partner and I were ordered by our superior officer to vacate your neighborhoods.
We were reassigned to protect Century City.
We could have gone against those orders and suffered the consequences, but we didn't.
So our view of the riots was watching our city burn from ten miles away.
But today I hold my SWAT officers to a much higher standard.
And 28 years ago, I wish I had lived up to that standard.
Yesterday, one of my sergeants made a judgement call.
Went against my orders because he thought it would save lives.
And it did.
I wish I had called an audible back in '92.
Maybe I could have helped in some way.
But I have to live with that.
But then there's days like today when I'm reminded of how far I've come and how far I hope our city has come.
Is something up? What are you celebrating? Like '92 was the end of it.
It's still going on.
The same problems.
A system that never got fixed.
Let me explain something to you.
When I was 17, same age as you, I'm walking home from school Band practice.
I had my trumpet in my case.
And an unmarked car rolls up on me, and two grown white men with badges jump out, pushed me up against the wall, threw my horn on the ground.
It gets all bent up.
And then they take out a switchblade, and they laughing and chuckling.
And they took that blade, and they put it right across my throat.
And they said, "Get your ass out of here, or we'll kill you, and nobody will care.
" I was just walking home.
So you choose to put on a badge, you better know what that means.
'Cause ain't no easy solution when Black people are being treated like they're disposable.
And all a police officer needs is reasonable fear to kill you, me or Hondo, if he ain't wearing that uniform.
What's going on? That day that you told me you enlisted.
Did you know what you were signing up for? I thought we done been past this, Pop.
Didn't you tell me if I want things to change, be the change? And? What have we seen change, son? Huh? Let me tell you about a little boy I once knew.
Somebody asked him, "How will it be okay?" His answer? "It ain't me, it ain't us, "it ain't them.
"It's the cops.
Y'all are the ones that's killing us.
" He said that in 1965, but it sounds like today.
See, it's a generational wound that just keeps getting picked at every few decades because we refuse to learn the lesson.
Maybe we learn the lesson this time.
Don't do that.
Don't be naive.
You're the son of a a renegade Slauson.
At least you used to be.
I saw Watts burn while police went killing.
You saw it in '92.
What's this boy gonna see? Yo, sellout pig! No justice, no peace! - Damn these racist-ass police.
- (PROTESTERS SHOUTING) No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! No justice, no peace! Damn these racist-ass police! These were George Floyd's final words before he died at the hands of police.
"It's my face, man.
"I didn't do nothing serious, man, please please please" (CHANTING CONTINUES) "I can't breathe.
"Please, man, please.
"Somebody, please, man.
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
" PROTESTERS (CHANTING): I can't breathe.
"Please.
I can't breathe.
My face.
Just get up.
" PROTESTERS: I can't breathe! "I can't breathe.
Please!" PROTESTERS: I can't breathe! (HORN HONKS) (CHANTING CONTINUES) "I can't move, Mama.
"Mama, I'm through.
I'm through.
"I'm claustrophobic.
"My stomach hurts, my neck hurt.
Everything hurt.
"Some water or something, please.
"Please, I can't breathe, Officer.
"Don't kill me.
"They gonna kill me.
"Man, come on, man! "I cannot breathe.
"I cannot breathe.
"They gonna kill me.
"They gonna kill me.
"I can't breathe.
"I can't breathe.
Please, sir.
"Please.
"Please! "Please.
I can't breathe.
"