Latest / The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio) / Dragnet: The Big Trio (EP5079)

Transcript

Dragnet: The Big Trio (EP5079) · The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: THE END.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Boise, Idaho,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: this is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnet. But first,
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: I want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And today's
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: program is brought to you in part by the financial
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: support of our listeners. You can support the show... on
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: a one-time basis by mailing a donation to Adam Graham, P.O.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715, or by becoming one of
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $ 2 per month,
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net. But now, from July 3rd, 1952,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: here is The Big Trio.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: The story you are about to hear is true. The
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're an
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: investigating sergeant. You're assigned a traffic division, AID. Death and
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: tragedy is forecast for the people of your city. You
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: don't know who the victims will be. You don't know
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: how many there will be. Your job, try and stop it.
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:33
  Speaker 5: It was Thursday, July 3rd. It was warm in Los Angeles.
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: We were working the night watch out of traffic division,
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: accident investigation. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Deputy
• 2:45
  Speaker 5: Chief Caldwell. My name's Friday. I was on the way
• 2:48
  Speaker 5: back from the scene of the accident, and it was 9.42 p.m.
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: when I got to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital, second floor,
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: treatment room five.
• 2:55
  Speaker 6: Joe?
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Hi, how's it going?
• 2:57
  Speaker 7: Not too good. How are they? Bad, all four of them.
• 2:59
  Speaker 7: Girlie was riding in the front seat, both legs crushed.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Oh, no.
• 3:02
  Speaker 7: Talking to Doc Hall, nothing he can do, gonna have
• 3:04
  Speaker 7: to amputate. That's a shame.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: All the parents been notified?
• 3:07
  Speaker 7: Yeah, they're on their way down now.
• 3:09
  Speaker 8: Cigarette?
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks.
• 3:11
  Speaker 7: I got a match. All right, thank you.
• 3:13
  Speaker 9: Still touch and go with the kid who was driving,
• 3:15
  Speaker 9: the wheeler boy.
• 3:16
  Speaker 7: Doc doesn't give him much of a chance.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Possible to get a statement from him?
• 3:19
  Speaker 7: No, still unconscious. They get pictures of the wreck, all right?
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they did.
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: The car the kids were in laid down 207 feet
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: of skid marks. From the condition of the car, it's
• 3:27
  Speaker 5: a wonder any of them are alive. Not a straight
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: piece of metal in the wreck, Frank. How about that
• 3:31
  Speaker 5: couple in the sedan they sideswiped?
• 3:33
  Speaker 7: Doctor isn't sure. Both have internal injuries. Woman's right leg
• 3:36
  Speaker 7: is fractured. Man has a possible concussion. What does he think?
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Every one of them is old enough to know better.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: What made them think they could get away with it? Oh, hiya, doctor.
• 3:44
  Speaker 7: Friday. Any change, doc?
• 3:45
  Speaker 10: Which one you mean? The wheeler boy? No, still the same.
• 3:48
  Speaker 10: The other three kids are doing a little better.
• 3:50
  Speaker 7: It's a shame. None of them are more than 14,
• 3:52
  Speaker 7: 15 years old, are they? Both the girls are 13.
• 3:54
  Speaker 7: The wheeler boy is 16.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: The other boy is 12.
• 3:56
  Speaker 7: Yeah. Pretty young to be out alone burning up the streets.
• 3:59
  Speaker 7: How did that happen?
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: Well, one of the girls told us that the wheeler
• 4:02
  Speaker 5: boy picked up the three of them about 8 o'clock tonight.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Asked them if they wanted to go for a ride
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: in his father's new car.
• 4:06
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Well, they thought they were going down to the neighborhood
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: drive-in for a Coke.
• 4:09
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Well, the girl said they drove around the neighborhood for
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: a while.
• 4:12
  Speaker 5: Wheeler boy was bragging about what a good driver he was,
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: how fast the car would go.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Kept telling the kids that he could drive as fast
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: as his father did.
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 4:19
  Speaker 7: Well, I hear it's too bad you can't hold a father.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's pretty obvious he didn't set much of an example. Well,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: the girl told us that the Wheeler boy drove down
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: the highway.
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: She spotted a police car behind him and told the
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: wheeler kid to slow up. He said something like, my
• 4:30
  Speaker 5: father outran a cop the other day. If he can
• 4:32
  Speaker 5: do it, I know I can. Well, the kids pleaded
• 4:34
  Speaker 5: with him to pull over and stop, and he wouldn't listen.
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: Told him to shut up and hang on, and he'd
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: show him some real fancy driving.
• 4:39
  Speaker 9: Had to chase him more than 19 miles, Doc. Car
• 4:41
  Speaker 9: in pursuit radioed in for help. We tried to block
• 4:43
  Speaker 9: off the intersections ahead of him. They were just going
• 4:45
  Speaker 9: too fast. How'd the boy crack up?
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: Sideswiped the sedan with that old couple in it. Lost
• 4:50
  Speaker 5: control of the car, went into a skid. The car
• 4:53
  Speaker 5: hit the curb, blew a tire. Piled head-on into a
• 4:55
  Speaker 5: parked truck. The impact drove the engine of the truck
• 4:57
  Speaker 5: right back into the cabin. I never saw anything like it.
• 4:59
  Speaker 5: The car the kids were in is almost broken in half.
• 5:01
  Speaker 10: Well, I've done everything I can for them. I'll keep
• 5:04
  Speaker 10: the wheeler boy in the critical room.
• 5:05
  Speaker 7: Nurse is in there with him now. I'll move the
• 5:07
  Speaker 7: other three back into the ward.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: We want to make our report, Doc. You got an
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: empty slip on it?
• 5:10
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I just finished it. It's right in here. Thank you.
• 5:13
  Speaker 7: You know, I got a 16-year-old boy, Freddy. Every time
• 5:15
  Speaker 7: I make one of these things up, I say a prayer.
• 5:17
  Speaker 11: Yeah.
• 5:18
  Speaker 7: Hope they never have to make one up for my boy. Well,
• 5:21
  Speaker 7: excuse me. I better go back in there and check
• 5:22
  Speaker 7: on that youngster. All right, Doc.
• 5:23
  Speaker 12: Thanks.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Look at this empty, Frank. Everything in the book.
• 5:30
  Speaker 7: What's that?
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Listen. Gray cylinders, 13 years, occupation student.
• 5:35
  Speaker 5: Fractured jaw, teeth knocked out, facial cuts, internal injuries, crushed
• 5:38
  Speaker 5: pelvis and shock.
• 5:40
  Speaker 7: Here's the next one.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: Nancy Haynes, 13 years, occupation student.
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: Deep facial cuts, compound fractures of the right and left legs,
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: crushed chest, possible concussion and shock. All right. The other boy,
• 5:52
  Speaker 5: Walter Stewart, 12 years, occupation student. Deep facial cuts and contusions.
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: Shock and possible concussion. Fractured ribs, possible puncture of the
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: left lung. Left hand severed above the knuckles. Here's the
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: slip on the Wheeler boy. Charles Wheeler, 16 years, occupation student.
• 6:09
  Speaker 5: Crushed forehead, possible spinal fracture. Both legs broken. Fractured ribs,
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: broken pelvis, deep facial cuts, severe internal injuries and shock.
• 6:18
  Speaker 12: My name's Wheeler. Where's my boy?
• 6:20
  Speaker 7: What have they done with him?
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: All right, take it easy, Mr.
• 6:21
  Speaker 7: Wheeler.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: Doctor will be out in a minute.
• 6:22
  Speaker 12: I don't want the doctor.
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: I want to see my boy. Where is he?
• 6:24
  Speaker 13: What happened anyway?
• 6:25
  Speaker 7: Would you keep your voice down, please? The doctor will
• 6:27
  Speaker 7: see you in a minute. He's with your son now.
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: Who are you?
• 6:28
  Speaker 13: What do you know about it?
• 6:29
  Speaker 7: Police officers. Your boy had an accident. We're investigating him.
• 6:32
  Speaker 7: I know he had an accident. They already told me that.
• 6:33
  Speaker 12: Whose fault was it?
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Who ran into him? Nobody ran into him, Mr. Wheeler.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: The accident was his fault. What do you mean it
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: couldn't have been? That boy's a good driver.
• 6:39
  Speaker 12: I taught him myself.
• 6:40
  Speaker 7: Would you keep your voice down, please?
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: I want to get to the.
• 6:42
  Speaker 12: Bottom of this thing. I want to see my boy.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: What are you stalling me for? Nobody's stalling you, sir.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: You can see your boy as soon as the doctor
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: okays it.
• 6:47
  Speaker 12: I'm going to take him to my own doctor.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't trust my boy in a place like this.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Who ordered him here anyway? We did. It was an emergency.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: The ambulance took him here from the scene of the accident. Well,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: you still haven't told me how it happened. Now, why
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: do you say it was his fault?
• 6:57
  Speaker 13: Why are you accusing him?
• 6:58
  Speaker 7: It was his fault, Mr.
• 6:59
  Speaker 12: Wheeler.
• 6:59
  Speaker 7: There's no doubt about it.
• 7:00
  Speaker 9: He was speeding and a police car tried to catch him.
• 7:02
  Speaker 9: He tried to outrun him. In the process, he ran
• 7:04
  Speaker 9: into a parked truck.
• 7:05
  Speaker 7: I knew it wasn't his fault.
• 7:07
  Speaker 8: Sir?
• 7:07
  Speaker 13: So he was going a little too fast. Charlie's a
• 7:09
  Speaker 13: good driver. Why'd you have to chase him? Probably the
• 7:11
  Speaker 13: cause of the whole thing. You're the ones to blame.
• 7:13
  Speaker 7: Take it easy, Mr.
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: Wheeler.
• 7:14
  Speaker 7: Take it easy? Nothing.
• 7:14
  Speaker 13: Why couldn't you let the kid alone? He could drive
• 7:16
  Speaker 13: as well as I can. Think I'd let the kid
• 7:18
  Speaker 13: have my new car if he couldn't handle it?
• 7:19
  Speaker 7: What about a driver's license, sir? Your son have one?
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Well, no.
• 7:22
  Speaker 13: I didn't have a chance to get him one. Too
• 7:24
  Speaker 13: busy to take him down there for the tests. It's
• 7:26
  Speaker 13: a stupid thing anyway. Any moron can pass it. The
• 7:28
  Speaker 13: point is, you didn't have to chase him. He wasn't
• 7:30
  Speaker 13: hurting anybody.
• 7:30
  Speaker 12: Was he?
• 7:31
  Speaker 13: I taught him how to drive. He drives just like
• 7:33
  Speaker 13: I do. He's a fast driver, but he's a good one.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: I ought to know. Our radio cars had to chase
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: your boy 19 miles, Mr. Wheeler.
• 7:38
  Speaker 5: 11 cars chased him. Your boy was endangering the life
• 7:41
  Speaker 5: of everybody on that highway. In a 25-mile-an-hour zone, he
• 7:43
  Speaker 5: was clocked at better than 70 miles an hour. At
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: one time, we figured he must have been doing better
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: than 90. He went through a dozen boulevard stops. He
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: barely missed a woman pedestrian. The woman had a baby
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: in her arms. Just before he cracked up, he sideswiped
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: another car, an old couple in it. They're in this hospital, too,
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: and they're hurt.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: They're hurt bad. Now, you go ahead inside.
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: And make those two old people believe your son's a
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: good driver, that he was just having some innocent fun,
• 8:02
  Speaker 5: will you?
• 8:03
  Speaker 13: It's not all his fault. He probably wouldn't have done
• 8:05
  Speaker 13: it if you didn't chase him. I know my boy
• 8:07
  Speaker 13: can handle a car. I've raced cops myself once in
• 8:09
  Speaker 13: a while. Charlie was with me.
• 8:10
  Speaker 7: He's cool.
• 8:11
  Speaker 12: He knows what he's doing behind the wheel.
• 8:12
  Speaker 13: Just because you drive fast doesn't make you a bad driver.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: It helps.
• 8:15
  Speaker 7: Frank? Yeah, Doc. Can you spare me a minute? This
• 8:20
  Speaker 7: is Mr. Wheeler, father of the boy who was driving
• 8:22
  Speaker 7: the car. This is Dr. Hall.
• 8:23
  Speaker 12: Where's Charlie?
• 8:24
  Speaker 7: I want to see him. I'm sorry, sir. You'll have
• 8:25
  Speaker 7: to wait a few minutes. He's lost a lot of blood.
• 8:27
  Speaker 7: They're giving him another transfusion.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: What's the matter with him?
• 8:29
  Speaker 7: How bad is he hurt? There's a report. Read it yourself.
• 8:31
  Speaker 7: What kind of treatment are you giving him? Are you
• 8:33
  Speaker 7: sure you know what you're doing? I think so.
• 8:34
  Speaker 10: I've been on this job for 11 years. That's how
• 8:36
  Speaker 10: long I've been dealing with fools like you.
• 8:38
  Speaker 7: What?
• 8:38
  Speaker 10: I heard you ranting and raving out here at these offices. Well,
• 8:40
  Speaker 10: let me tell you this, mister. All three of you
• 8:43
  Speaker 10: were wrong. That boy of yours lying in there isn't
• 8:45
  Speaker 10: to blame. You are his own father. You were driving
• 8:47
  Speaker 10: that car tonight. I heard you ranting out here. You
• 8:49
  Speaker 10: taught him how to drive. He can drive as well
• 8:51
  Speaker 10: as you can.
• 8:52
  Speaker 7: He's cool. He knows how to handle a car. You
• 8:54
  Speaker 7: taught him how to race cops. Well, the results are inside, Mr.
• 8:56
  Speaker 8: Wheeler.
• 8:56
  Speaker 7: Look here, I don't want any sermons from you. I
• 8:58
  Speaker 7: want to see my boy.
• 8:58
  Speaker 12: I want to see him right now.
• 8:59
  Speaker 10: You're not going to get any sermons from me. They
• 9:01
  Speaker 10: wouldn't help you. But I'm going to tell you what's
• 9:03
  Speaker 10: on my mind. I've seen your kind for years. I've
• 9:05
  Speaker 10: sewed them up, I've patched them up, and I've pulled
• 9:07
  Speaker 10: a sheet over their face. So far, you're lucky it
• 9:09
  Speaker 10: hasn't happened to you. You're on borrowed time. Must be
• 9:11
  Speaker 10: true what they say. The good Lord takes care of
• 9:14
  Speaker 10: the fools and the drunks. Well, I can tell you
• 9:16
  Speaker 10: now I wouldn't feel half as bad if it was
• 9:17
  Speaker 10: you inside there on that bed instead of your son. Oh,
• 9:21
  Speaker 10: when are people like you going to learn?
• 9:22
  Speaker 7: When are you going to learn?
• 9:23
  Speaker 12: I came down here to see my son.
• 9:24
  Speaker 13: You're not impressing me a bit.
• 9:25
  Speaker 10: Well, then maybe you ought to come down here some weekend,
• 9:27
  Speaker 10: some holiday. Maybe that would impress you. You stand inside
• 9:30
  Speaker 10: that treatment room with me and watch them come over
• 9:31
  Speaker 10: that table. A lot of them come in married and
• 9:33
  Speaker 10: go out widowed, all kinds, all ages. They pull them
• 9:35
  Speaker 10: out of the wrecks and they drag them in here
• 9:36
  Speaker 10: and they expect miracles from us. They're battered and broken
• 9:39
  Speaker 10: and some of them you have to look twice because
• 9:40
  Speaker 10: it's hard to tell they're human beings.
• 9:42
  Speaker 7: You know who's responsible, Mr.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: Wheeler?
• 9:44
  Speaker 7: You know who?
• 9:45
  Speaker 10: Arrogant, egotistical, good, fast drivers like you. Well, I'm sick
• 9:50
  Speaker 10: of you, Mr.
• 9:50
  Speaker 11: Wheeler.
• 9:51
  Speaker 7: I'm sick of the whole rotten, stupid mess. I'm sick
• 9:53
  Speaker 7: of fools like you.
• 9:53
  Speaker 11: Dr.
• 9:54
  Speaker 7: Hall?
• 9:55
  Speaker 8: Yeah.
• 9:55
  Speaker 12: Be here a moment, please. Yeah, all right.
• 10:02
  Speaker 7: Sure makes himself out an expert, doesn't he?
• 10:05
  Speaker 12: He preach to everybody who comes in here?
• 10:06
  Speaker 7: No, matter of fact, he's usually pretty quiet.
• 10:08
  Speaker 12: What's the matter with him?
• 10:09
  Speaker 7: Get out of the wrong side of bed?
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: Maybe this will explain it. He's got a 16-year-old boy
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: of his own.
• 10:14
  Speaker 7: What's he beefing about?
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: It's my kid that's hurt, not his. Every kid he
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: treats is his.
• 10:19
  Speaker 7: Mr.
• 10:19
  Speaker 12: Wheeler.
• 10:20
  Speaker 7: Is it all right? Can I see Charlie now? Yeah.
• 10:22
  Speaker 9: Thanks.
• 10:24
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry about everything, Doctor. I... I really am. I'm sorry.
• 10:28
  Speaker 7: So am I, Mr. Wheeler. Your boy's dead.
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: When George Wheeler recovered from the initial shock of his
• 10:37
  Speaker 5: son's death, we told him it was necessary that the
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: body be removed to the county morgue where an autopsy
• 10:42
  Speaker 5: would be performed the following day. After that, his son's
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: remains would be available to a mortuary of the family's choosing.
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: Frank and I drove back to the office where we
• 10:51
  Speaker 5: filed a 311 dead body report.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: On 16-year-old Charles Wheeler.
• 10:55
  Speaker 5: After that, we called the coroner's office and notified them
• 10:58
  Speaker 5: to pick up the body at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: 10.35 p.m.
• 11:02
  Speaker 5: We left the traffic division garage and went back on
• 11:05
  Speaker 5: the air. We were cruising the central area. 10.53 p.m.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: We got the call.
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: A lease on spring. Ambulance follow-up. Victim of a hit-and-run driver.
• 11:13
  Speaker 5: We were within a block of the call.
• 11:15
  Speaker 7: Must be it up ahead, Joe, on the corner. Who
• 11:18
  Speaker 7: are you?
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: Pull up any place right here, I guess. All right,
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: come on. Slide out my side.
• 11:24
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Let us through, please.
• 11:28
  Speaker 7: Police officers, excuse me.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Pardon me. I wonder if I can get through here, please.
• 11:31
  Speaker 12: Excuse us.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: Doctor?
• 11:35
  Speaker 7: You fellas doctors?
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: No, we're police officers.
• 11:36
  Speaker 7: Oh, yeah, I see.
• 11:37
  Speaker 12: Where's the ambulance?
• 11:38
  Speaker 7: Be here in a minute. How'd it happen? The old
• 11:39
  Speaker 7: man was trying to cross the street.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: A bus hit him.
• 11:41
  Speaker 7: Look at him. Terrible pro guy. You work around here? Yeah,
• 11:45
  Speaker 7: I sell papers right over in that corner over there.
• 11:47
  Speaker 7: My name's Harry Johanson. You want me for a witness?
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Frank, get his name and address, will you? I'll check
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: the old man.
• 11:51
  Speaker 7: Yeah, right.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: All right, now don't move around, Dad. Don't try to
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: get out. The ambulance will be here in a minute.
• 11:57
  Speaker 12: I'm hurt, Dad. Terrible pain in my back.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: Your legs hurt you, Dad?
• 12:03
  Speaker 12: No. I don't feel a thing in my legs. It's
• 12:06
  Speaker 12: just my back. I got a terrible pain.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: What's your name?
• 12:10
  Speaker 11: Good.
• 12:11
  Speaker 12: Quiet, quiet a little.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: Where do you live, Dad?
• 12:15
  Speaker 6: Over there, just up in the corner. Apartment 37. Could
• 12:20
  Speaker 6: you go over and see Lona? See if she's all right.
• 12:23
  Speaker 6: She's going to be awful worried.
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll take care of it. You been drinking, Dad?
• 12:29
  Speaker 6: Well, just a nightcap. The doctor said I ought to
• 12:31
  Speaker 6: have it in a glass of port every night. I
• 12:34
  Speaker 6: was just on my way home when it happened.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Oh, my God. You sure it was just a glass
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: of port, Dad?
• 12:40
  Speaker 12: Yeah, that's right.
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: I never touch anything but that glass of port before
• 12:45
  Speaker 6: I go to bed. I said, would you please send
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: somebody to see about little apartment 37?
• 12:50
  Speaker 12: She said, he's going to be all for word.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, sir, we'll take care of it.
• 12:55
  Speaker 12: Oh, this feels terrible. I've got to get up. Help
• 12:58
  Speaker 12: me up with the office.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 13:00
  Speaker 7: You sure you feel up to it, Dad?
• 13:02
  Speaker 12: I don't know.
• 13:03
  Speaker 6: It's an awful pain in my back. I know I'm
• 13:07
  Speaker 6: not supposed to move till the ambulance gets here, but.
• 13:12
  Speaker 12: Maybe it'll go away if I stand up.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: All right, sir.
• 13:15
  Speaker 12: Here you go. Frank, see you.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: In a minute?
• 13:19
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Cancel the ambulance, will you?
• 13:22
  Speaker 7: We won't need it.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: Cancel it.
• 13:24
  Speaker 12: Call the wagon.
• 13:25
  Speaker 7: Yeah, all right.
• 13:27
  Speaker 12: I'm going to get help, Sergeant. Are they coming for me?
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're going to get help, Dad. It's on the way.
• 13:32
  Speaker 6: I come to the corner here and I start to
• 13:33
  Speaker 6: cross over... And what do you think? Right out of nowhere,
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: this big red bus come up the street. Must have
• 13:40
  Speaker 6: been going 60. Hit me and.
• 13:42
  Speaker 12: Kept right on going. I thought for a minute there
• 13:46
  Speaker 12: I was gone for sure.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Did you say it was a big red bus?
• 13:50
  Speaker 12: Red or blue, what's the difference? They run me down. Oh,
• 13:54
  Speaker 12: look at that. Get there with us quick. Look at that.
• 13:57
  Speaker 7: What's that?
• 13:59
  Speaker 12: My shirt right here. Look, look.
• 14:00
  Speaker 7: It's all red.
• 14:01
  Speaker 12: It's blood. Get some help. I'm bleeding to death. Get
• 14:04
  Speaker 12: some help. Oh, there's a sharp pain in my ribs.
• 14:08
  Speaker 9: Let's take your coat off there.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: That's the eye drop.
• 14:14
  Speaker 7: That's better.
• 14:16
  Speaker 12: The pain's gone now.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Well, I don't know what your blood type is, Dad,
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: but you're bleeding port wine.
• 14:21
  Speaker 12: Oh, no.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: We still thought it was, Dad. You broke your bottle
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: of port.
• 14:26
  Speaker 12: It's all wrapped up in papers, too, so I wonder
• 14:28
  Speaker 12: how it happened. Just look at my brand-new shirt, all
• 14:32
  Speaker 12: that good wine.
• 14:33
  Speaker 8: Yeah?
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:34
  Speaker 7: No, I canceled the ambulance, called communications for the wagon.
• 14:37
  Speaker 7: What's the score?
• 14:37
  Speaker 6: Say, would you please send somebody up to my place
• 14:39
  Speaker 6: to see Leona? It's apartment 37, building right up in
• 14:43
  Speaker 6: the corner. Please look after Leona.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll tell her, Dad.
• 14:46
  Speaker 12: Oh, say, when you see her, would you please give
• 14:49
  Speaker 12: her this?
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: What's this?
• 14:50
  Speaker 12: A piece of liver. Leona just loves liver.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: I didn't know you were married to Clyde when that happened.
• 14:56
  Speaker 12: I'm not married.
• 14:57
  Speaker 7: Then who's Leona?
• 14:58
  Speaker 12: That's my cat, the best friend I've got in the world.
• 15:00
  Speaker 12: Where's the ambulance?
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: No, there's not going to be any ambulance, Dad. We've
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: got a car coming instead.
• 15:03
  Speaker 12: I'm a sick man, Sergeant. I need an ambulance.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: You're a hit-and-run victim every time you get left port line, Dad.
• 15:09
  Speaker 12: I don't know what you mean. It's a glass of
• 15:11
  Speaker 12: port every night. That's all I ever take.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: What time do you think it is now?
• 15:15
  Speaker 12: I don't know. I went over to Jack. It's about
• 15:17
  Speaker 12: 8 o'clock.
• 15:18
  Speaker 6: It must be 8.15, 8.30.
• 15:21
  Speaker 12: Why?
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: It's 10 minutes past 11, Dad.
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: You're overdue. You get it, Joe. What's the pitch? Don't
• 15:25
  Speaker 7: you know him?
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Fight Logan.
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: Got an arrest sheet as long as your arm. Somebody
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: down at Central tagged him with the name Hit and
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: Run Logan. He's a town character.
• 15:32
  Speaker 7: What's the idea of the Hit and Run story?
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Oh, he likes attention.
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: Every time he gets loaded, he likes to ride in
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: an ambulance with a siren wide open, so he lays
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: down in the street, pretends he's been hit.
• 15:39
  Speaker 7: I see.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Every city's got at least one of them, I guess.
• 15:42
  Speaker 5: Some of them turn in fire alarms. Some of them
• 15:44
  Speaker 5: confess to murder. Some of them just beat their wives.
• 15:46
  Speaker 5: Clyde likes to be a hit-and-run victim.
• 15:48
  Speaker 12: Say, what are you going to do? You're going to
• 15:49
  Speaker 12: lock me up?
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: No choice, Dad.
• 15:51
  Speaker 12: I suppose not.
• 15:53
  Speaker 6: Say, would you talk to the jailer and see if
• 15:56
  Speaker 6: I could get my old job back? I mean, you know,
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: anything in the kitchen.
• 16:00
  Speaker 12: I like to work in the kitchen.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right.
• 16:02
  Speaker 7: We'll talk to him. Now, just one more thing.
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 16:05
  Speaker 12: Would you go see Jackie Martin for me? Place right up.
• 16:13
  Speaker 6: That's the place. Well, you go in there and you
• 16:15
  Speaker 6: ask for Jackie. You tell him that I sent you,
• 16:17
  Speaker 6: you see. You can say that he's not going to
• 16:20
  Speaker 6: get any more of my business. You tell him I
• 16:21
  Speaker 6: won't even pay him what.
• 16:22
  Speaker 12: I owe him.
• 16:23
  Speaker 7: What's the matter, Dad? Why are you mad at him?
• 16:24
  Speaker 12: Well, I got good enough reason.
• 16:26
  Speaker 6: All the trades that I've given him and all the
• 16:27
  Speaker 6: money I spent there, a double-crosser. He can't keep customers
• 16:31
  Speaker 6: that way, and he'll find that out.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: What do you mean, Dad?
• 16:33
  Speaker 12: Well, look, right here on the sidewalk.
• 16:36
  Speaker 7: Yeah?
• 16:37
  Speaker 12: Jackie Martin, him and his cheap bottles.
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: force in action.
• 17:01
  Speaker 5: Thursday, July 3rd, 1130 p.m. There was still half an
• 17:05
  Speaker 5: hour to go before the July 4th weekend even started.
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: But in the last seven and a half hours, central
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: traffic had answered 13 major accident calls.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: Four of them were fatalities.
• 17:15
  Speaker 5: If it was any indication of the next 72 hours,
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: the 4th of July weekend was due to spell death
• 17:20
  Speaker 5: and tragedy for.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: More people than we figured. 12.10 a.m.
• 17:24
  Speaker 5: We received another ambulance follow-up call, this time at 11th
• 17:27
  Speaker 5: and Georgia. A young couple on a motorcycle trying to
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: beat the stop signal had crashed headlong into the side
• 17:32
  Speaker 5: of an eastbound bus. One was taken to the hospital,
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: one was taken to the county morgue.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: 12.20 a.m.
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: After taking care of the necessary reports, we impounded the motorcycle.
• 17:42
  Speaker 5: The next half hour was fairly quiet. 12.55 a.m., we
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: went off the air and stopped to have a cup
• 17:47
  Speaker 5: of coffee.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: 1.15 a.m., we called back in service. We continued cruising
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: the central area. At 1.48 a.m., 12 minutes before quitting time,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: we got.
• 17:58
  Speaker 5: A call for Wilshire and Toberman Street, an ambulance follow-up,
• 18:01
  Speaker 5: city property.
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Damage, motor officer. 1.15 a.m., we arrived at the scene.
• 18:05
  Speaker 5: Approximately 20 feet from the southwest corner, a police motorcycle
• 18:09
  Speaker 5: was sprawled on the street.
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: The front of it was demolished.
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: About 30 feet from the motorcycle, lying face down on
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: the street, was the figure of a man in.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: A police uniform.
• 18:18
  Speaker 7: All right, would you step back, please?
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: Please, everybody, back up there on the sidewalk, please.
• 18:25
  Speaker 12: Help me, please.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: All right, don't try to move, fella.
• 18:28
  Speaker 7: It's in Brian's car.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: Hey, Mike.
• 18:31
  Speaker 12: Mike? Tried to miss it. Couldn't help it. Take it
• 18:35
  Speaker 12: easy now.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: Don't try to talk.
• 18:36
  Speaker 7: Ambulance is on the way, Mike.
• 18:38
  Speaker 12: Don't get me, Joe.
• 18:41
  Speaker 8: Chest.
• 18:42
  Speaker 12: My chest hurts. Hey, but my collar can't breathe.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: All right, sure, Mike. Come on, take it easy now.
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: Don't move.
• 18:49
  Speaker 12: Chase in this car. Cream convertible.
• 18:52
  Speaker 7: Man, woman.
• 18:55
  Speaker 12: Think he was a 502. Big chase. Red light.
• 18:59
  Speaker 7: Siren.
• 19:00
  Speaker 8: Sorry.
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: All right, now take it easy, Mike.
• 19:01
  Speaker 7: Relax, will you?
• 19:02
  Speaker 12: Other car turned. Other car turned right in front of me.
• 19:05
  Speaker 8: I saw it.
• 19:08
  Speaker 12: Nothing I could do. Couldn't stop. Turned right in front
• 19:11
  Speaker 12: of me.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: Evelyn.
• 19:16
  Speaker 12: Gonna go see her.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: Evelyn.
• 19:20
  Speaker 12: She's waiting.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: All right, will you take it easy, Mike? Don't talk
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: and don't move. This will work out all right.
• 19:24
  Speaker 7: Take it easy.
• 19:25
  Speaker 5: Joe.
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: Evelyn. Evelyn.
• 19:31
  Speaker 12: Joe.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: Hey, Mike.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Mike.
• 19:37
  Speaker 7: Joe, get a coat here. Slip it under his head
• 19:38
  Speaker 7: and be more comfortable.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: No, he doesn't need it, Frank. He's comfortable.
• 19:42
  Speaker 7: 1.57 a.m. The ambulance.
• 19:50
  Speaker 5: Arrived and O'Brien's body was removed to the county morgue.
• 19:53
  Speaker 5: Photographs were taken, diagrams were drawn, and statements taken from
• 19:56
  Speaker 5: the witnesses. A truck from Central Garage arrived and started
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: removing the dead officer's motorcycle. Frank and I went over
• 20:03
  Speaker 5: and started interviewing the driver of the car which O'Brien
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: had collided with. She identified herself as Corrine Norton, a
• 20:09
  Speaker 5: bookkeeper at a South Los Angeles defense plant.
• 20:12
  Speaker 11: I was making a left turn, that's all. Next thing
• 20:14
  Speaker 11: I knew, he hit my car. You can see what
• 20:16
  Speaker 11: he did to it. Who's going to pay for the damages?
• 20:18
  Speaker 7: We can talk about that later, Miss Norton. Our first
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: concern is we'd like to find out what happened.
• 20:21
  Speaker 11: There's nothing to it. I already told you. This cop
• 20:24
  Speaker 11: ran into me. There wasn't anything I could do.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Would you start from the beginning, please, and tell us
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: exactly what happened?
• 20:28
  Speaker 8: From the beginning of what?
• 20:29
  Speaker 12: I told you.
• 20:29
  Speaker 11: He ran into my car. What more do you want
• 20:31
  Speaker 11: to know? Sorry it happened, but I couldn't help it.
• 20:34
  Speaker 11: Look at my car.
• 20:34
  Speaker 8: How am I going to get to work in the morning?
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Will you please tell us what happened here, miss? Just
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: as near as you can remember?
• 20:38
  Speaker 8: Well, I was going down this way on Wilshire on
• 20:41
  Speaker 8: my way home.
• 20:42
  Speaker 11: I started to make a left turn onto Toberman, and
• 20:43
  Speaker 11: this cop on the motorcycle drove right into me.
• 20:46
  Speaker 8: Wasn't anything I could do. His fault. I couldn't help it.
• 20:48
  Speaker 7: Could we see your operator's license, please?
• 20:50
  Speaker 8: Certainly. Let's see it. Here's some place.
• 20:53
  Speaker 12: Yeah, here it is.
• 20:54
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Do you want to read it out, Frank?
• 20:55
  Speaker 7: Yeah. California operator's license number B-208-927. Okay, got it. Corrine, C-O-R-I-N-N-E, M. Norton, 10,033,
• 21:05
  Speaker 7: Ruth Allen, Los Angeles.
• 21:07
  Speaker 11: 10,033. Right.
• 21:07
  Speaker 7: Female, 5'3 1⁄2, 123 pounds, born February 18, 1909. Blue eyes,
• 21:21
  Speaker 7: brown hair.
• 21:21
  Speaker 12: Uh-huh.
• 21:22
  Speaker 7: Must wear adequate glasses. Just a minute. Okay. You have
• 21:25
  Speaker 7: your glasses with you, Miss Martin?
• 21:27
  Speaker 11: Oh, yes, right here in my purse. I really don't
• 21:29
  Speaker 11: have to wear them. I can see just as well
• 21:31
  Speaker 11: without them.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: Were you wearing your glasses at the time of the accident?
• 21:33
  Speaker 8: Yes, I was. I took them off right after the accident.
• 21:37
  Speaker 8: Here they are, right here in my purse.
• 21:39
  Speaker 6: See?
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: Miss Norton, we understand the motorcycle officer had his red
• 21:42
  Speaker 5: light and siren in operation at the time of this accident.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Did you see it or hear it?
• 21:46
  Speaker 8: No, I didn't hear any siren, and I certainly didn't
• 21:48
  Speaker 8: see any red light.
• 21:49
  Speaker 7: Then when's the first time you saw the officer, ma'am?
• 21:51
  Speaker 8: When he hit me. He seemed to come out of nowhere.
• 21:53
  Speaker 8: He was going very fast.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: You say you were in the process of making a
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: left turn. Is that right, Miss Norton? Did you give
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: a hand signal indicating that you were going to turn?
• 21:59
  Speaker 8: Of course I did. I always do.
• 22:01
  Speaker 7: You touched your car since the accident.
• 22:03
  Speaker 8: What do you mean, have I touched it?
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: It was your car just like it was when you
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: were driving it prior to the accident.
• 22:07
  Speaker 8: Yes, I suppose it is. I mean, with the exception
• 22:09
  Speaker 8: of the damage he did.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: You're sure you gave.
• 22:11
  Speaker 7: A hand signal, Miss Norton?
• 22:12
  Speaker 8: Of course I am. What's this all about, anyway?
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: Well, if your car's exactly the way it was before
• 22:17
  Speaker 5: the accident, and you're telling us the truth here, how
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: do you account for the fact that the left-hand window
• 22:21
  Speaker 5: of your.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Car is still rolled up here?
• 22:22
  Speaker 11: What?
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: The window on the driver's side of your car there,
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: it's closed tight.
• 22:26
  Speaker 5: You couldn't have made a left-hand signal, nor could you.
• 22:28
  Speaker 6: What?
• 22:28
  Speaker 11: I don't understand it. I'm sure I made a signal.
• 22:30
  Speaker 11: I think so, anyway.
• 22:32
  Speaker 8: Are you trying to say I'm to blame for that
• 22:34
  Speaker 8: cop's death?
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: We're not trying to say anything, ma'am. We're trying to
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: get the facts here.
• 22:37
  Speaker 11: Well, you certainly have a funny way of doing it.
• 22:39
  Speaker 11: What do you call facts, anyway? Trying to incriminate me
• 22:42
  Speaker 11: in this thing? I was making a left turn and
• 22:44
  Speaker 11: he ran into me. It's as simple as that. I
• 22:46
  Speaker 11: don't know what you're so excited about.
• 22:47
  Speaker 7: The man just died, Miss Norton. We're trying to find
• 22:49
  Speaker 7: out why.
• 22:50
  Speaker 8: Why ask me? I didn't kill him.
• 22:51
  Speaker 11: Speeding along on a motorcycle like that, he shouldn't have
• 22:54
  Speaker 11: been going that fast anyway.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: That's his job, ma'am. That's what they pay him for.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: He was chasing a drunk driver.
• 22:58
  Speaker 8: All right, that's his job. He knew it was dangerous
• 23:00
  Speaker 8: when he took it.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.
• 23:01
  Speaker 8: Part of his job, that's what we pay him for.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Well, he's dead, Miss Norton. Who's going to pay him
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: for that?
• 23:05
  Speaker 9: 2.15 a.m.
• 23:10
  Speaker 5: A traffic car took Corrine Norton downtown to the station
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: where her statement was to be taken and a further
• 23:15
  Speaker 5: investigation made. Frank and I contacted Sergeant Joe Whitehead of
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: the medical detail and informed him of Mike O'Brien's death.
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: He told us he'd notify the business office and the
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: parents of the dead officer. Because of our close association
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: with O'Brien, we happen to know that he planned to
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: get married July 15th, the first day of his vacation.
• 23:33
  Speaker 5: The girl he was going to marry was an Evelyn Monroe.
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: She lived in the Silver Lake District. We told Whitehead
• 23:39
  Speaker 5: that we'd notify her. 2.30 p.m., Frank and I drove
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: out Sunset Boulevard to the girl's house.
• 23:46
  Speaker 8: Oh, hi, Frank, Joe.
• 23:47
  Speaker 12: How are you?
• 23:48
  Speaker 7: Is Mike with you?
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: Well, no, he isn't, Evelyn.
• 23:50
  Speaker 8: Well, come on in. Have some coffee. I'm just waiting
• 23:52
  Speaker 8: for Mike.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: All right, thank you.
• 23:53
  Speaker 8: I guess Mike's a little late tonight. Come on in.
• 23:56
  Speaker 8: How do you like your coffee?
• 23:56
  Speaker 12: Cream and sugar?
• 23:58
  Speaker 7: Like will be all right, thanks. Both of us.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Look at the dining room table.
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: Pretty nice, isn't it?
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that one's very nice.
• 24:04
  Speaker 8: Nicest wedding present I think I've ever seen. Didn't know
• 24:06
  Speaker 8: we had so many friends. You see what the boys
• 24:08
  Speaker 8: in the motor squad sent us? Electric mixer, all the attachments, too.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we see them. Very nice.
• 24:13
  Speaker 12: What's the matter, Joe?
• 24:14
  Speaker 8: Hard day?
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was.
• 24:16
  Speaker 7: It was a tough one.
• 24:16
  Speaker 8: Oh, you're just like Mike. When he gets off work,
• 24:18
  Speaker 8: he's grumpy as a bear. I don't know why. Nothing
• 24:21
  Speaker 8: tough about your job. You ought to work for the
• 24:23
  Speaker 8: man I work for. Coffee's coming right up.
• 24:26
  Speaker 7: Joe. Yeah. You're going to have to tell her I can't.
• 24:30
  Speaker 7: Do me a favor.
• 24:31
  Speaker 12: Yeah, I'll try.
• 24:35
  Speaker 8: Here you are. I think you ought to like these donuts.
• 24:38
  Speaker 8: I get them at the bakery down the street. Mike's
• 24:40
  Speaker 8: crazy about them.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Would you sit down on that one, please?
• 24:44
  Speaker 7: I'd like to talk to you.
• 24:45
  Speaker 12: Oh, sure, Joe.
• 24:46
  Speaker 8: You sound serious.
• 24:47
  Speaker 12: What's the matter?
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: It's about Mike, Evelyn.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: Mike?
• 24:51
  Speaker 12: What about him?
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: He wanted us to come by and see you.
• 24:54
  Speaker 7: He was hurt tonight.
• 24:55
  Speaker 6: Oh, no.
• 24:57
  Speaker 12: Was it bad?
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm afraid so.
• 24:59
  Speaker 12: What happened?
• 25:01
  Speaker 8: Where is he? Can I see him?
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: No, not now.
• 25:03
  Speaker 7: A little later.
• 25:04
  Speaker 8: What happened? They told his mother and dad?
• 25:06
  Speaker 7: Yeah, Evelyn. Joe Whitehead's out there now.
• 25:08
  Speaker 8: Joe Whitehead?
• 25:09
  Speaker 12: Medical detail?
• 25:10
  Speaker 7: Yeah, that's right.
• 25:10
  Speaker 8: He usually doesn't go out right away unless they're dead.
• 25:14
  Speaker 12: Joe?
• 25:14
  Speaker 11: Joe?
• 25:16
  Speaker 8: Joe, tell me the truth.
• 25:17
  Speaker 12: What's happened to Mike? What's happened?
• 25:21
  Speaker 7: Well, he's dead, Evelyn.
• 25:23
  Speaker 11: No.
• 25:25
  Speaker 8: It isn't the truth.
• 25:26
  Speaker 12: He can't be dead.
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: He was chasing a.
• 25:27
  Speaker 5: Drunk driver over on Wilshire. A woman turned in front
• 25:30
  Speaker 5: of him. Couldn't get out of the way. Didn't have
• 25:33
  Speaker 5: a chance to lay his bike down.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry.
• 25:36
  Speaker 8: It's not true. It can't be it's not true. He
• 25:39
  Speaker 8: called me at 11. He'll be here at any minute.
• 25:43
  Speaker 8: He'll be here any minute.
• 25:49
  Speaker 7: All right, Evelyn.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Evelyn, there's nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do.
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: Crying at help, I'd cry with you.
• 25:56
  Speaker 8: But it's not right. It isn't right. Why should he die?
• 26:00
  Speaker 12: Why should he?
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry. It went fast.
• 26:04
  Speaker 7: He didn't suffer.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Talked about you. The last thing was about you.
• 26:08
  Speaker 12: Hard to realize.
• 26:10
  Speaker 8: I can't understand it.
• 26:11
  Speaker 6: I can't.
• 26:12
  Speaker 8: There's no reason for it.
• 26:14
  Speaker 7: No reason for a lot of it.
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: Why, Joe?
• 26:17
  Speaker 8: Why did he have to die?
• 26:18
  Speaker 12: Why did he.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: I've got an idea, maybe.
• 26:22
  Speaker 7: What?
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: Somebody forgot to put out their arm.
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: The story you have just heard was true. The names
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: were changed to protect the innocent.
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: On October 2nd, an inquest was held at the county morgue,
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: city and county of Los Angeles, state of California. The
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: coroner's jury returned a verdict of excusable homicide in the
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: death of motorcycle officer Michael O'Brien. In a moment, a
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: word about another trial. Normally at this time, we give
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: you the result or outcome of legal proceedings against a
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: person or persons for criminal action. You've already heard the
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: results of the documentary cases portrayed on Dragnet tonight. Fourth
• 27:10
  Speaker 4: of July weekend is at hand. Forty million automobiles will
• 27:14
  Speaker 4: drive five billion miles. Please make every mile a safe mile.
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: Be considerate of the other driver on the road and
• 27:20
  Speaker 4: have a happy weekend. We don't want to read your
• 27:23
  Speaker 4: name on Dragnet's trial page. You have just heard Dragnet,
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice
• 27:38
  Speaker 4: comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker,
• 27:41
  Speaker 4: Los Angeles Police Department. Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant
• 27:45
  Speaker 4: Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Vic Perrin,
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: Stacy Harris, Vic Rodman. Script by Jim Moser. Music by
• 27:52
  Speaker 4: Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking.
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen, you may now read Dragnet every day
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: on the comic page of your favorite newspaper.
• 28:05
  Speaker 4: Please consult your local daily paper.
• 28:10
  Speaker 9: Yes, adventure is yours tonight with Counter Spy on NBC.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: Welcome back! In an episode, Jack Webb actually listed in
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: a 1955 article for Pageant Magazine as his favorite episode.
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: He wrote... There's no plot as such, no mystery about
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: who committed the crime. It's a series of vignettes of
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: entirely routine cases taken from the files of the Accident
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Investigation Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. Our object
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: was to show the whore in the heartbreak which attends
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: a traffic accident, the kind of commonplace murder that happens
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: every day on U.S. highways. In this story, a young
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: police officer... Good friends to Friday and Smith has been
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: fatally hurt in the line of duty. And then includes
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: a script of most of the final part in there.
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: And then he writes at the end, there's a villain.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: A good man died because a lady forgot to give
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: a commonplace traffic signal. That's the best kind of Dragnet
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: story about more or less ordinary people caught up in
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: situations beyond their depth were subject to chaotic fate. And
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: I think it's an effective episode. Well done. And in
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: some ways, it kind of feels like a precursor to
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: the type of show that would become Adam-12. And I
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: think it had a very interesting structure. While it's clear
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: that all throughout this 4th of July weekend, there are
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: all sorts of incidents occurring, the two big, serious, dramatic
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: incidents are sandwiched with a bit of a lighter story
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: about an eccentric character. which I think makes it not
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: too heavy to get through, but at the same time,
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: it helps both of the big punches to land with
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: the closing safety announcement having some real power. The scene
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: where the doctor goes ahead and gives the father this
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: big lecture in the hospital is an interesting one. On
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: one hand, you might think it is.
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: Uncharacteristic or unrealistic. I think they set this up better
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: than you would have a lot of lectures later on.
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: I mean, I do think that in the 60s series,
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: you just kind of have to accept that that's the
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: way Joe Friday rolls. He's been doing this long enough
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: and is to the age where he'll say what he thinks.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: But here it's set up where... He is clearly personally
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: affected by this, and he has seen a lot of this.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: It relates to his own son, and he has just
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: reached a breaking point where he lets the composure slip
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: and hits the father with full force, and then the
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: dramatic conclusion of finding out that The 16-year-old died due
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: to following his father's driving lessons. And, of course, the
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: finale hit like a train with just how welcoming his
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: fiancée is and how much she was talking about the
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: wedding gifts and then just utter devastation. The middle bit
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: is also amusing. I'm glad that Dragnet, despite there being
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: something to criticize about that scene, didn't do what they
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: had actually done and have a funny drunk driver. But
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: instead they had an eccentric guy who was a bit sauce,
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: but thankfully not behind the wheel. And you also have
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: some really interesting linguistics here that was kind of illuminated
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: with a more recently discovered episode of Philip Marlowe. Now,
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: in that episode, in the course of an investigation, Marlowe
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: encounters an older man, and he calls him dad. And
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: the guy is actually quite appreciative of it, and he
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: contrasts it with who would call older men pops. who
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: are being condescending and treating them as if they're children
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: and not taking them seriously. But Dad is viewed as
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: warm and friendly and respectful. And that is probably where
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: Friday's dialogue and approach comes from. Now, this is not
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: to say that if you've called someone pops that you
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: are automatically disrespectful because... This really captures the feeling of
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: a time and the manners of a time and not,
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: you know, something that would go on through all ages.
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: But there is at least that thought process that would
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: go into this sort of writing. Now, the one thing
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: that in this episode, the one line that kind of
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: makes you go, and that is where in the Clyde scene,
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: He lumps Clyde in with those who turn in false
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: fire alarms, those who confess to murder, and some who
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: just beat their wives. My feeling, to quote Sesame Street,
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: is one of these things is not like the other. Now,
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: of course, it's not being said that this is okay.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: In fact, false alarms is mentioned. But in about a year,
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: they did another episode that showed how dangerous calling in
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: false alarms can be. But it's clearly not taken as
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: serious as a crime. Certainly not as serious as reckless driving.
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: And again, just like a few months ago with the
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: big producer, we do see these sort of evolving standards
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: and views again. from law enforcement as to what is
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: actually important, reflected in Dragnet, and the level of severity
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: with which the law treats different crimes. Listener comments and
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: feedback now, and we go to YouTube with a comment
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: from Jeffrey on the big donation, which they reported on
• 35:38
  Speaker 2: the results of the big guys in the racket. The
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: One Day Wonder got the minimum amount One year. Hopefully
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: the head guy got the max 10 years. Well, you
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: would like to think so, but I kind of doubt it.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: One thing that Dragnet does is it exposes, when it
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: covers a crime, it explains to you why you should
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: care about this particular crime. It shows the impact that
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: it has as observed by law enforcement. And why they
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: may take something a lot more seriously than a typical
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: TV writer or a politician. And sometimes it's because they
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: see the impact more. And it helps us as an
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: audience to care about these crimes which are not necessarily
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: murder or something as visceral as that. Now, in some cases,
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: that message has not been received by lawmakers, so you
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: end up with relatively light sentences for pretty horrific things,
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: as we talked about again in The Big Producer. But
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: there are also those restraints in the expanse of keeping
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: people in jail for that long that a prosecutor has
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: to weigh, you know, just like they do today. So
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: at the street enforcement and prosecution level, it's a very
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: challenging issue. Now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: of the day. Thank you to Splinator, Patreon supporter since
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: August 2024, currently supporting the podcast at the strongest level
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: of $ 4 or more per month. Thanks so much for
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: your support. And that will do it for today. If
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: podcast software. and be sure to rate and review the
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back next
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Thursday with another episode of Dragnet, but join us back
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny Dollar, where... He's safe.
• 37:45
  Speaker 12: Yeah. Hey, who lives in that big house across the road?
• 37:49
  Speaker 7: Oh, Mr.
• 37:49
  Speaker 8: Barton J.
• 37:50
  Speaker 7: Robinson.
• 37:51
  Speaker 8: Used to be an attorney.
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: Robinson, sure.
• 37:54
  Speaker 10: He's the one who prosecuted that big insurance fraud a
• 37:56
  Speaker 10: few years ago for one of the companies I serve.
• 37:58
  Speaker 4: See him there eating his breakfast?
• 38:00
  Speaker 11: Ah.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: A bachelor, isn't he?
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: Yes, he lives all alone.
• 38:04
  Speaker 12: Hmm.
• 38:04
  Speaker 10: I think I'd better warn him to stay away from you,
• 38:07
  Speaker 10: that you're my property.
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: He's the most punctual man I've ever seen.
• 38:12
  Speaker 7: If he isn't there when I'm eating my breakfast, I
• 38:14
  Speaker 7: know I've overslept.
• 38:15
  Speaker 5: Here, now.
• 38:17
  Speaker 8: And if you want some toast... Got it.
• 38:20
  Speaker 12: Hey, uh, Betty, I've been thinking.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: Yes? Well, maybe it's just my crazy criminal mind, but.
• 38:26
  Speaker 12: Thinking about what, Jimmy?
• 38:28
  Speaker 7: About... Yeah, about that.
• 38:30
  Speaker 12: Holy smoke.
• 38:31
  Speaker 8: You know, I've got so used to it morning after morning.
• 38:34
  Speaker 7: Hmm, two of them.
• 38:37
  Speaker 8: No, crazy kids.
• 38:39
  Speaker 12: You know who they are?
• 38:40
  Speaker 5: Oh, somebody had the police come out here a couple
• 38:43
  Speaker 5: of mornings, but of course they didn't show up then.
• 38:46
  Speaker 8: And I guess everybody else has just got used to
• 38:48
  Speaker 8: them the way I have.
• 38:49
  Speaker 12: Now, let's eat. Funny, though.
• 38:52
  Speaker 7: What?
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: The crazy backfire. Once they get past here, they stop it.
• 38:57
  Speaker 3: Well, don't worry.
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: Twitter at Radio Detectives. And check us out on Instagram, instagram.com
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: slash greatdetectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham,
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: signing off.