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Dragnet - "Big Compulsion" (Old Time Radio, 1953) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: False emergency reports are pulling Los Angeles police officers away
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: from genuine calls, and one response has already ended in
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: a serious accident. It is the case facing Detective Sergeant
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith of the LAPD robbery
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: detail in Dragnet, Big Compulsion. Originally heard on NBC on
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: April 12th, 1953, this is episode 199 with Jack Webb
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: as Friday and Ben Alexander as Smith. John Robinson wrote
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the script and Webb directed. Herb Ellis, Virginia Gregg, Ralph Moody,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and Jack Krushen are featured. And now we return to
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: the original broadcast.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Sound off for Chesterfield. Chesterfield is best for you.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: First cigarette with premium quality in both regular and king size.
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: Chesterfield brings you Dragnet.
• 1:09
  Speaker 5: Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true.
• 1:14
  Speaker 5: The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to robbery detail.
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: Somewhere in your city, a man is endangering the lives
• 1:31
  Speaker 5: of your fellow officers.
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: His weapon attends empty. Your job, get him.
• 1:47
  Speaker 6: The documented drama of an actual crime. For the next
• 1:50
  Speaker 6: 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 1:54
  Speaker 6: you will.
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: Travel step by step on the side of the law
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: to an actual case transcribed from official police files.
• 2:00
  Speaker 6: From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is
• 2:04
  Speaker 6: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:12
  Speaker 5: It was Wednesday, May 6th. It was warm in Los Angeles.
• 2:14
  Speaker 5: We were working the day watch out a robbery detail.
• 2:16
  Speaker 5: My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Didion. My
• 2:19
  Speaker 5: name's Friday. We were on our way back from the
• 2:21
  Speaker 5: junk tank, and it was 8.34 a.m. when we got
• 2:23
  Speaker 5: to the first floor. The interview room. Okay, you want
• 2:29
  Speaker 5: to sit down here? Yeah. What a head. Either one
• 2:36
  Speaker 5: of you got an aspirin?
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: No, I'm fine. How about a cigarette?
• 2:39
  Speaker 5: Yeah, here you go.
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'll get that for you.
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: Yeah, thanks. Thanks.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: Boy, what a head. Feels like I'll fall off and
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: roll around on the floor.
• 2:57
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: Last time I got this tank was when the South
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: Pacific natives brewed up some stuff.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: Tasted like torpedo juice.
• 3:03
  Speaker 5: Took me three days to get over that.
• 3:06
  Speaker 6: What am I in here for?
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: You don't remember?
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: No, not good.
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: A lot of fog.
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: Seems like the.
• 3:11
  Speaker 5: Last thing I remember is a lot of sirens, fire engines, cops,
• 3:14
  Speaker 5: a lot of noise. After that, there's a big nothing.
• 3:16
  Speaker 5: What'd I do? Well, he called the police department, told
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: them an officer had been shot trying to stop a holdup.
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: Then he called the fire department, told them the Times
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: building was on fire.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: You're kidding.
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: No, he's not.
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: Well, I really got it this time, haven't I? Yeah, see,
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: you got yourself a problem. Why'd you do it?
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: I'm trying to think. See, but the girl I was
• 3:37
  Speaker 5: with made some remarks about L.A. being a dull town.
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: I told her she just didn't know the place. I
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: think that's when I started calling her. Hey, this isn't
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: the morning papers.
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: I don't think so.
• 3:46
  Speaker 5: Why?
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: They got trouble if it is. You rest the girl?
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: No.
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: Thanks for small favors.
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: What?
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: Either you or Mary?
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he is. He'll know what I mean.
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: I don't think my wife would be crazy about who
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: I was out with last night.
• 4:00
  Speaker 6: No?
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah. Wife thinks I was at a sales meeting. Hope
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: she doesn't find out. Hey, where was I when you
• 4:06
  Speaker 5: picked me up? Well, according to the arrest report, you're
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: in a phone booth trying to have the National Guard
• 4:11
  Speaker 5: called out.
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: I gotta join something. This is the worst one I've
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: ever pulled.
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: Where do you live, Harris? Apartment over on 9th.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Didn't they get that last night? No.
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: All you tell the arresting officers was your name. I
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: didn't give anybody any trouble, did I?
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: I mean, I didn't start a fight, nothing like that.
• 4:25
  Speaker 7: No.
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: You didn't cause any trouble until I got you down here.
• 4:28
  Speaker 7: Down here?
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: I didn't hit anybody, did I? Well, you tried, but
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: you didn't make it. Yeah. You guys are detectives, aren't you?
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: That's right.
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: How come they send you fellas down here?
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: I cause that much trouble?
• 4:39
  Speaker 5: How long you been in town here?
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: Since I got out of service. I think about six years.
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: You said you were a salesman.
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: Who do you work for?
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: Connington and Michaels. How long you been with them? Since
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: I got out, went to work for them right after
• 4:50
  Speaker 5: I was discharged. Ever been arrested before? No. Oh, a
• 4:53
  Speaker 5: couple of traffic tickets.
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: You know, nothing serious.
• 4:55
  Speaker 5: Hey, what's all this about anyway?
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: Where you guys at?
• 4:57
  Speaker 5: You're trying to prove something more than just a drunk rap.
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: What's the pitch?
• 5:00
  Speaker 5: Oh, there's been some fella around town that's been making
• 5:02
  Speaker 5: calls like you made last night. He's been making a
• 5:04
  Speaker 5: lot of them. They've all been phony, but we gotta
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: send out equipment.
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: Well, you figure maybe it.
• 5:08
  Speaker 5: Was me, huh? Looks like it might have been. Let's
• 5:09
  Speaker 5: check it out. No, I guess I made the ones
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: last night.
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: You say I did, but that's it.
• 5:14
  Speaker 5: Hey, you mind if I take another cigarette?
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah, here. Help yourself. Thanks.
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: Here's a match.
• 5:20
  Speaker 7: Thanks.
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: Thanks.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: Thanks.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: No, I'm sorry.
• 5:26
  Speaker 5: You guys got the wrong fellow.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: No. You can check me.
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: You'll find out you got the wrong man. Uh-huh.
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: How come this is so important? You must get a
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: lot of phony calls. How come this is so big?
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: A lot of reasons make it that way.
• 5:36
  Speaker 6: Yeah?
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: Don't see it myself. Lots of times I see fire
• 5:40
  Speaker 5: engines go out in false alarms. Doesn't look like it
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: does any harm. Do you remember how many units were
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: with you last night? No. Must have been a lot
• 5:46
  Speaker 5: of them. Well, 15.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I see what you mean.
• 5:59
  Speaker 5: It's not just the equipment being out of service. Every
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: time a unit rolls on a call, there's a chance
• 6:03
  Speaker 5: that somebody's going to get hurt. That's what you built
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: last night. Look, I said I was sorry.
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: There's not any more I can tell you.
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: Any chance of me getting an aspirin around here? There's
• 6:12
  Speaker 5: a doctor here. All he had to do was ask
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: for it.
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: We'll check on our way out.
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: All right, come on, Harris. You can go back now. Here.
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: Wait just a minute. What's the name of the friend
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: you were out with last night? Did I have to
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: drag her into this?
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: We've got to check your story. I hate to have
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: you do that. The story will stand. It isn't that.
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: What is it, then? I told you I was married.
• 6:28
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: Sketch in the papers, I'm going to have a bigger headache.
• 6:31
  Speaker 5: Is that right? Yeah, my wife won't understand about last night.
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: Well, that's too bad, Harris.
• 6:35
  Speaker 5: She just won't understand, that's all. How's that?
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: Well, she's present in a neighborhood temperance club.
• 6:39
  Speaker 5: 9.30 a.m., James Harris was returned to his cell to
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: be held to answer charges of violation of Section 4127A
• 6:51
  Speaker 5: Municipal Code. Frank and I called a woman he'd said
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: he was with the night before. She verified the story
• 6:57
  Speaker 5: that he'd given us. Further investigation of Harris proved that
• 7:01
  Speaker 5: he couldn't possibly have been the suspect we were looking for.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: We drove back to the office to talk with Captain Didion.
• 7:07
  Speaker 5: For the past three weeks, both the police and fire
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: departments had been getting a number of false calls, apparently
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: from the same person. The officers on the complaint board
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: told us that they had gotten so that they almost
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: recognized the voice of the caller. They told us that
• 7:20
  Speaker 5: it sounded like a male voice, and the caller could
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: be middle-aged. The person had no noticeable accent or speech peculiarities.
• 7:27
  Speaker 5: They tried to hold the suspect on the phone when
• 7:29
  Speaker 5: they were certain that it was the same caller, but
• 7:31
  Speaker 5: they'd been unable to do so. Most of the calls
• 7:34
  Speaker 5: the suspect put through were of the emergency type.
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: As a result, we had to.
• 7:37
  Speaker 5: Send men and equipment to the reported scene, even though
• 7:40
  Speaker 5: we might think that the call was a false one.
• 7:43
  Speaker 5: The calls averaged six a week during the period the
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: suspect had been operating. In cooperation with the members of
• 7:48
  Speaker 5: the fire department, Frank and I were assigned to try
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: to apprehend the person making the calls. The operation was simple.
• 7:54
  Speaker 5: The individual would call the board, give an address that
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: we couldn't check out, and then describe what had happened.
• 8:00
  Speaker 5: The address given was usually a corner so that it
• 8:02
  Speaker 5: was impossible for us to make verifying phone calls. In
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: each instance, as soon as the suspect would report the disturbance,
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: he would hang up. The operation was simple and untraceable. 11.17 a.m.
• 8:14
  Speaker 5: We finished talking with Captain Didion and.
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: Left his office. All right, Skipper. Talk to you later.
• 8:19
  Speaker 5: Boy, he's in a great mood this morning, you know.
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: Do you blame him?
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: The way this thing's going, we're no nearer to breaking it. Yeah.
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: George figures the guy who's doing this is going to
• 8:26
  Speaker 5: be around to watch all the excitement. That's got to
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: be the reason he's making the call, so he can
• 8:29
  Speaker 5: get his kick.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: Well, he figures he's got to be in the crowd someplace.
• 8:32
  Speaker 5: So, well, let's try to get a hold of the
• 8:34
  Speaker 5: newspaper pictures. Try to check them. Find one person who's
• 8:36
  Speaker 5: at the scene.
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: Might work.
• 8:38
  Speaker 5: Well, it's someplace to start, isn't it?
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: It's a hot shot. I get it.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: Gonna have to wait. Bank robbery in progress. 11.26 a.m.
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: We took the call car and started for the bank.
• 8:59
  Speaker 5: Before we arrived, Control One put out a code four
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: on the call. No further assistance needed. It was another
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: false alarm. We completed our investigation, and on the way
• 9:07
  Speaker 5: back to the office, we answered an ambulance follow-up call
• 9:10
  Speaker 5: two blocks from the bank. A squad car had been
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: on the way to answer the robbery call at the bank.
• 9:15
  Speaker 5: It had been traveling north on Spring Street. An ambulance
• 9:17
  Speaker 5: had been making an emergency trip to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.
• 9:21
  Speaker 5: It had been traveling west on 7th Street. Both had
• 9:23
  Speaker 5: been rolling code three. Neither one of them heard the
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: siren of the other unit. Neither of them knew of
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: the other's presence. Both had hit the intersection at the
• 9:31
  Speaker 5: same time. The police car, in an attempt to avoid
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: the ambulance, had swerved. It had cromed off the side
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: of the larger vehicle and then plowed through traffic and
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: hit a traffic signal pole head-on. The car had hit
• 9:42
  Speaker 5: the pole at the seam of the left front fender
• 9:44
  Speaker 5: and the body. The police unit had been split wide open.
• 9:47
  Speaker 5: The officer on the passenger side of the car had
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: been thrown against the windshield.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: The other one had.
• 9:51
  Speaker 5: Been thrown into the steering wheel and then out of
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: the car onto the curb 10 feet from the wrecked
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: unit the ambulance after being hit had spun across the
• 9:58
  Speaker 5: intersection on two wheels hit the curbing and tipped over
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: only the fact that it hit a street light pole
• 10:04
  Speaker 5: that stopped it from going on through the pedestrian traffic
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: on the sidewalk it had come to rest laying on
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: its side at the southeast corner of the intersection The
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: driver of the ambulance had been thrown clear of the truck.
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: The patient in the rear and the attendant with him
• 10:17
  Speaker 5: had been thrown about in the interior of the unit
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: and when we got there they were lying in a
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: mass of wreckage. The intersection was covered with gasoline and oil.
• 10:24
  Speaker 5: A traffic officer was attempting to All right, sir. You'll
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: just step back there. I'm sorry.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Keep back, please.
• 10:34
  Speaker 5: Friday and Smith have a robbery. I'm sorry.
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: Jake's in traffic. They alive?
• 10:37
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: Both unconscious. Pretty bad. I didn't want to move them.
• 10:39
  Speaker 5: How about an ambulance? I put the call in right away.
• 10:41
  Speaker 5: You calling about this oil on.
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: The street here?
• 10:43
  Speaker 5: No, I didn't yet. Well, you better get a call in,
• 10:44
  Speaker 5: don't you think? I haven't warned all approaching units.
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: Street's slippery.
• 10:47
  Speaker 5: Have them approach with caution, huh? All right. Thank you.
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: There's a mess, isn't there?
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: Doesn't look like they got much of a chance, does it?
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: How about that ambulance?
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: A couple officers there now. If they're looking after them,
• 10:55
  Speaker 5: let's check the driver. All right. How about it, Joe?
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: That ambulance better get here quick.
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, she isn't.
• 11:02
  Speaker 5: Going to last long. The ambulance arrived and the injured
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: men were removed to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. The police arrived,
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: sent out a wrecker, and the damaged vehicles were removed.
• 11:15
  Speaker 5: The intersection was cleaned of the gasoline and oil, and
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: inside of an hour and a half, the corner was
• 11:19
  Speaker 5: handling traffic as usual. The only indication of the wreck
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: left on the scene was a broken hubcap lying in
• 11:24
  Speaker 5: a puddle of dirty water in the gutter. Two police
• 11:27
  Speaker 5: officers had been seriously injured in the accident. Frank and
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: I checked the immediate neighborhood for witnesses. We found a
• 11:33
  Speaker 5: newspaper vendor who had a stand a block from the scene.
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: He identified himself as George Kennedy. He told us what
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: he knew of the wreck.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: I saw the whole thing. The whole thing.
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: If you'd tell us what you saw, please. Where am I?
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: I stand just up the street there.
• 11:44
  Speaker 5: See, you can see it on the corner.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Uh-huh.
• 11:46
  Speaker 8: And I was checking stock. A lot of new magazines
• 11:48
  Speaker 8: came in this morning. I was going through them, you know,
• 11:50
  Speaker 8: marking them up, going through them.
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 11:52
  Speaker 8: I was just standing there fixing up the new magazines
• 11:54
  Speaker 8: when all of a sudden I heard these sirens.
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: Sounded like they were coming from all directions.
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: I see.
• 11:58
  Speaker 8: Then I saw that there were ambulances coming down 7th Street.
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: I was doing to see where the ambulance was going,
• 12:03
  Speaker 8: and I heard the crash.
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: Terrible.
• 12:05
  Speaker 5: Did you see the accident, County?
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: Well, not at first, no.
• 12:08
  Speaker 5: I saw it right after I heard the brakes.
• 12:10
  Speaker 8: I didn't really see it at first, you know, just
• 12:11
  Speaker 8: after I heard the brakes. And then I looked up
• 12:13
  Speaker 8: and saw what was happening, and I started to run
• 12:15
  Speaker 8: down there. Saw the cars all smashed up.
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: Right after that, I saw.
• 12:18
  Speaker 8: You guys come up, and then the other ambulance.
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: That's about all.
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: Nothing more, I tell you, I guess. Anything I can
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: do to help?
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Anything at all? No, sir. How about the officers in
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: the car? Are they all right? I heard one of
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: them was dead. Any truth in that? No, sir.
• 12:30
  Speaker 5: Both of them are in pretty bad shape. Awful thing
• 12:32
  Speaker 5: to happen. Biggest crash I ever saw. Just awful. Uh-huh. Well, thanks, Kennedy,
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: for your help. Oh, it wasn't anything. Glad to do
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: what I could. Anything else I can do, if you
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: guys just let me know. All right, Kennedy.
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: Thanks very much. Oh, not at all. Glad to do it. Sure,
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: terrible thing. No need for it. Such a waste. Yes, sir.
• 12:49
  Speaker 8: If they die, it'll almost seem like they was murdered,
• 12:51
  Speaker 8: won't it?
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir.
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: From here, it looks that way.
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: Hmm.
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: Frank and I drove back to the office. We checked
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: with the doctor at the PNF ward at Georgia Street
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: Receiving Hospital. The doctor told us that the injured officers
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: were still in critical condition and as yet had not
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: regained consciousness. We checked with the complaint board, and the
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: officer who'd answered the call about the supposed bank robbery
• 13:12
  Speaker 5: told us that he thought that the caller was the
• 13:14
  Speaker 5: same suspect we were looking for. With Captain Didion and
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: Captain Hagenbaum communications, we worked out a plan to attempt
• 13:20
  Speaker 5: to apprehend the caller. The next time he put in
• 13:23
  Speaker 5: a call, the officer answering the complaint would attempt to
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: keep him on the line with questions regarding the complaint
• 13:27
  Speaker 5: until we could get to the vicinity and start a
• 13:29
  Speaker 5: search for him. We would be notified by a hotshot
• 13:32
  Speaker 5: call immediately. Two days passed without the caller making a move.
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: On Saturday, May 8th, we got a call from Georgia
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: Street Receiving Hospital. Yeah, Doc.
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh.
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: Well, how about the families? They been told yet?
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh.
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: Well, I imagine they're pretty happy about it, huh? Yeah, well,
• 13:51
  Speaker 5: thanks for letting us know. Bye, Doc. Bye. Doc Hall?
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Both officers are going to be okay. They're doing
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: what they can for him.
• 13:59
  Speaker 5: Hot shot. Caller had told the officer on the complaint
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: board that he wanted to report an attempted robbery at
• 14:21
  Speaker 5: the corner of 6th and Spring Street. He said there
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: was a shooting as the operator of the store involved
• 14:25
  Speaker 5: had tried to stop the holdup man. The man on
• 14:28
  Speaker 5: the phone had requested police assistance and the dispatching of
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: an ambulance to the scene. The officer so far had
• 14:33
  Speaker 5: managed to keep the caller on the phone while he
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: let us know of the call. Another officer had called
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: the store and verified that there was no holdup as reported.
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: Frank and I left the office and proceeded to the
• 14:43
  Speaker 5: area code 2. We felt that if the suspect heard
• 14:45
  Speaker 5: the siren of a unit, it might alarm him and
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: we'd lose him. We arrived at the corner four minutes
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: after we'd gotten the hot shot. Frank took one side
• 14:52
  Speaker 5: of the street and I took the other. We worked
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: our way down 6th Street, spotting all of the stores
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: with public telephones. It took us a little over three
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: minutes to cover the street for one block east. We
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: met back at the corner and started down Spring Street.
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: As time went on, our chances of the suspect staying
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: on the phone dwindled. Twelve minutes had passed since the
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: suspect had placed the call. I was covering the east
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: side of Spring Street, and I was almost to the
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: corner of 7th when I walked into a store to
• 15:15
  Speaker 5: check the phone booth just inside the door. The voice
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: was familiar. It was George Kennedy, proprietor of the corner newsstand. Sure,
• 15:22
  Speaker 5: I can see it. No, my name don't matter.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: All it's out there is you get an ambulance here
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: right away.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: If you don't, this poor man's going to bleed you dead. Certainly.
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: He's right here, right in the same room.
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: All right, come on out of there.
• 15:33
  Speaker 5: Hey, what's this all about? Come on out of that
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: phone booth. What right have you got to tell me
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: what to do? No, don't hang up that phone, Kennedy.
• 15:38
  Speaker 5: You've got no business breaking into my phone call. All right,
• 15:40
  Speaker 5: you come out of that booth, will you, right now.
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: All right, I'll stand right there. Yeah, well, as soon
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: as I take up Smith, we'll be right in. Let's go.
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: Stop that man. Hey, stop him.
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: You all right, mister? Yeah, just see where that old
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: man went.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: No?
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: Sorry, mister.
• 16:07
  Speaker 5: He ran into the crowd over there.
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: I wasn't watching him.
• 16:09
  Speaker 5: I thought you were going to get hit by that car. Hey, Joe.
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: What are you doing out in the middle of the street?
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: Well, I had him.
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: George Kennedy, the guy with the newsstand.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: You mean the guy we talked to the other day?
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: That's right.
• 16:18
  Speaker 5: Well, at least we know who we're after. That's a help. Yeah, maybe.
• 16:20
  Speaker 5: We got to get him fast now.
• 16:21
  Speaker 8: Yeah?
• 16:22
  Speaker 5: He knows we're after him. We went back to our
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: unit and got out a broadcast on George Kennedy. After that,
• 16:31
  Speaker 5: we checked the immediate neighborhood, but we were unable to
• 16:33
  Speaker 5: find the suspect. to give us the exact address where
• 16:39
  Speaker 5: he lived. We arranged for a stakeout on the newsstand,
• 16:41
  Speaker 5: then we went back to the city hall and called
• 16:43
  Speaker 5: the city clerk. We asked him to check the records
• 16:45
  Speaker 5: for the license issued to Kennedy. The clerk's office told
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: us they would check their files immediately and call us back.
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: We ran the name George Kennedy through R & I,
• 16:53
  Speaker 5: but he had no previous criminal record. We checked with
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: Captain Gideon while we waited for the call back from
• 16:58
  Speaker 5: the city clerk's office. I got.
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: It.
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: Probably Friday. Yeah?
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: Who? Wait a minute.
• 17:07
  Speaker 5: Wait a minute. Hello. That's all we need.
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: What is it?
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: That was Kennedy. Says he knows we want him and
• 17:14
  Speaker 5: he said we better forget all about it or we'll
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: never get him.
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah?
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: Says we might as well give up. A local broadcast
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: was gotten out on Kennedy. The city clerk called back
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: and gave us the home address listed on his application
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: for a vendor's license. We checked out the address, the
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: rooming house on 9th Street, and the landlady told us
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: that Kennedy was not at home, that she hadn't seen
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: him all day. She was able to give us the
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: address of his sister, and after Frank and I arranged
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: for a stakeout on the rooming house, we drove over
• 17:48
  Speaker 5: to see the sister. She lived in a small frame
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: house in the Hollywood area.
• 17:52
  Speaker 7: I suppose I knew that it had to happen. I
• 17:53
  Speaker 7: guess there wasn't any way to avoid it.
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: Ma'am?
• 17:56
  Speaker 5: About George.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: He's sick.
• 17:57
  Speaker 7: I guess you know that.
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 17:58
  Speaker 5: Have you ever spent any time at an institution of
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: any sort with Joe?
• 18:01
  Speaker 7: No. There were times when I thought about it. We
• 18:03
  Speaker 7: used to talk, try to figure out what was the
• 18:05
  Speaker 7: best thing. Somehow we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it.
• 18:09
  Speaker 7: To committing.
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: You say we, ma'am.
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: Who do you mean?
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: Oh, me and Harold.
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: Harold's my brother.
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: He's the baby of the family.
• 18:16
  Speaker 7: What the doctor said, I guess, in a way, Harold's
• 18:19
  Speaker 7: the cause of the whole thing.
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: Way back, I mean.
• 18:23
  Speaker 5: Well, I can't deny it.
• 18:26
  Speaker 7: We talked to doctors about George, you know, psychologists. He
• 18:29
  Speaker 7: said that George had a compulsion complex. It came from
• 18:33
  Speaker 7: when he was a little boy. But he resented the
• 18:35
  Speaker 7: attention that the folks showed Harold. It's unfortunate Harold was
• 18:38
  Speaker 7: sickly when he was little and he needed more attention.
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: I guess George didn't understand. You have any idea where
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: he might be now, ma'am?
• 18:45
  Speaker 7: No, you tried the place over on 9th?
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: That's where he lived.
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: Yes, Miss Carroll, we checked the place.
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: The landlady said she hadn't seen your.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Brother all day.
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: Oh, well, if he's not there, I don't know where
• 18:53
  Speaker 7: he could be. No, I wouldn't have the slightest idea.
• 18:58
  Speaker 5: Could you tell us if your brother had any close
• 18:59
  Speaker 5: friends in the city, anyone he might go to?
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: None at all.
• 19:02
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry, I can't be of more help.
• 19:04
  Speaker 5: Well, do you have a recent picture of your.
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: Brother, ma'am? Well, yes, I think I can find one
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: for you.
• 19:08
  Speaker 7: Why do you want it?
• 19:08
  Speaker 5: We needed to find him, Miss Carroll.
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: Oh. Well, I have one that was taken this year
• 19:13
  Speaker 7: at George's birthday party. I took it with one of
• 19:16
  Speaker 7: those cameras that develop right away.
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: You know. Yes, ma'am.
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: Well, it could be time to get it for us.
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: Shirley, I think it's in the desk.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: I'll get it for you.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: Excuse me a minute.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: Shirley. Hello? Oh, yes.
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: What?
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh, they're here now.
• 19:32
  Speaker 7: I don't know what to think.
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 19:36
  Speaker 7: Yes, I know, but it's too late for that now.
• 19:38
  Speaker 7: The important thing is to find him before he does
• 19:40
  Speaker 7: something more.
• 19:42
  Speaker 5: Yeah. Well, I'll call you back.
• 19:44
  Speaker 7: I don't want to keep the officers waiting.
• 19:46
  Speaker 5: All right. Bye. That was Harold.
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: He heard about George. Mm-hmm. It's possible your brother might
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: go over to his place.
• 19:53
  Speaker 5: No, that's the last place he'd go. What if he
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: could give us his address, please? Sure, I can give
• 19:57
  Speaker 5: it to you. I know that George wouldn't go there, though.
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: Why are you so sure, ma'am?
• 20:01
  Speaker 7: I told you about the birthday party.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: Well.
• 20:04
  Speaker 7: George and Harold were there, just a family sort of thing.
• 20:07
  Speaker 7: At least it started out that way. The way it
• 20:09
  Speaker 7: finished was awful. George and Harold got into a big fight.
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: They were always arguing.
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: Uh-huh.
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: What if you get that picture for us now, Mr.
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes, right away.
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: It's here someplace.
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: Harold just said that we should have put George in an.
• 20:27
  Speaker 7: Institution a long time ago.
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: It's all my fault. Why do you say that, ma'am?
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: Well, it was me that didn't want George committed. I
• 20:40
  Speaker 5: was the one who fought against it.
• 20:41
  Speaker 7: I was just sure that everything would work out all right.
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: Oh, here it is.
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am.
• 20:47
  Speaker 7: That's George.
• 20:48
  Speaker 5: He's got a paper hat on.
• 20:49
  Speaker 7: Come out of one of those little snapper things. George
• 20:53
  Speaker 7: liked things like that, kid things. I guess he never
• 20:55
  Speaker 7: grew up.
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: No, ma'am. Always lived in a dream world. Made it
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: up himself.
• 21:00
  Speaker 7: Thought that everybody was persecuting him. That people were after him. Mr.
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: Shelley, it wasn't true. I'm afraid it is, ma'am. What?
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: We're after him.
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: We got the address of George Kennedy's brother, and Frank
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: and I drove over to talk to him. He told
• 21:18
  Speaker 5: us that he didn't have the slightest idea where his
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: brother might be. We called the office marines for a
• 21:22
  Speaker 5: stakeout on the homes of the sister and the brother
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: in the event that Kennedy might try to contact them. 6.30 p.m.,
• 21:28
  Speaker 5: we met with Captain Didion and a psychiatrist from Georgia
• 21:30
  Speaker 5: Street Receiving Hospital. The psychiatrist said that after hearing our
• 21:34
  Speaker 5: report on Kennedy's actions, that he might have a strong
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: compulsion complex. And as a result of events that morning,
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: he could have a violent resentment of any type of authority.
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: Two days passed. We got more leads and we ran
• 21:46
  Speaker 5: them down. They went no place. Tuesday, May 11th, 12.51 a.m.
• 21:49
  Speaker 7: I get it.
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: Probably Friday.
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am.
• 21:54
  Speaker 5: I will win with that. Yeah.
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: All right, Ms.
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: Carroll.
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: We'll take care of it. Yes, ma'am.
• 22:02
  Speaker 5: By the way, thank you. It's 1.02 a.m. We called
• 22:16
  Speaker 5: the complaint board and told them what had happened. They
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: contacted all available units and asked them to proceed to
• 22:21
  Speaker 5: Westlake Park Code 2. Frank and I drove to the area.
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: By the time we got there, several units had responded
• 22:27
  Speaker 5: to the call. As yet, none of them had seen Kennedy.
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: From the bridge on Wilshire, two men had been watching
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: the lake, and up to the time we got there,
• 22:33
  Speaker 5: they'd seen no activity on the surface of the water.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: 1.30 a.m.
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: Frank and I started to go.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: Through the park.
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: A heavy fog had risen from the lake, and visibility
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: was dropping fast.
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: You see anything? No.
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: Now, let's head down toward the lake.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah. This way. It's getting cold.
• 22:58
  Speaker 5: I should have worn a heavier coat.
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: Hold on a minute. See him? Yeah. He's sitting there.
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: He doesn't see us. All right.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: You take him from that side.
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: I'll go this way. Watch it.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: All right. Who's there?
• 23:21
  Speaker 6: Who is it?
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: I know you're there. Who is it? I got a gun.
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: Are you coming in closer or not? I'm going to shoot.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: I can see you, you know.
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: I can see you.
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: You get away from here.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: You get away right now or I'm.
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: Going to shoot.
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: All right, I warned you. Put that gun down, Kennedy.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I knew you were there.
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: I knew it.
• 23:37
  Speaker 8: I thought you could sneak up on me and get
• 23:39
  Speaker 8: me and I wouldn't know it, huh?
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: That's what you thought, ain't it?
• 23:41
  Speaker 7: Huh?
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: Ain't it? Nobody's trying to sneak up on you, Kennedy.
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: Nobody's trying to hurt you.
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's what you say, but I know different.
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: I know. Who are you? Come on, I know anyway,
• 23:51
  Speaker 5: so you might as well tell me.
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: Who are you?
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: You know who I am, George.
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: Joe Friday.
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: I'm your friend. Now, you know that, don't you? Ain't
• 23:58
  Speaker 5: anybody that's my friend. Ain't anybody. Nobody I can trust.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: Why should I trust you?
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Come on, tell me.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: Why shouldn't I trust you?
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: You're a cop, ain't you? Ain't you?
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: You know that, George. We met before. You know I'm
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: your friend, too, don't you? No, you ain't. You ain't
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: my friend. You want to take me away and lock
• 24:13
  Speaker 5: me up.
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: That's not true, George. I just want to talk to you.
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: Just sit and talk, that's all. You stay away from me.
• 24:18
  Speaker 5: I'm not going to tell you again.
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: I don't want you near me.
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: Now, take it easy, George. No, you ain't going to
• 24:22
  Speaker 5: get me. I'm going to get away from you. Wait
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: for all I do. Now, wait a minute. I know
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: all about you.
• 24:26
  Speaker 7: I know you ain't going to get me.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: I can't breathe.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Somebody help me.
• 24:33
  Speaker 5: All right, Kennedy, take it easy.
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: Nobody would understand.
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: Ain't anybody.
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: You okay, Joe?
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: I'll take him. He's clean. I couldn't, couldn't even get
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: a gun.
• 25:03
  Speaker 5: Couldn't even get a gun.
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: Never could do anything right.
• 25:06
  Speaker 5: Just nothing ever went right.
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: Wasn't anybody that understood.
• 25:10
  Speaker 5: Nobody that knew what I wanted. Nobody cared about me.
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: Nobody cared. You're wrong about that. Huh? We do. The
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: story you've just heard was true. The names were changed
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: to protect the innocent.
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: On September 21st, trial was held in Department 97, Superior
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: Court of the State of California, in and for the
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: County of Los Angeles.
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: In a moment, the results of that trial.
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: Due to the mental condition of the suspect, the case
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: was then referred to the psychopathic detail at Georgia Street
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: Receiving Hospital. After due process in Superior Court, the suspect
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: was released.
• 25:52
  Speaker 5: Ladies and gentlemen, we wish to thank the editors and
• 25:55
  Speaker 5: readers of TV Radio Mirror magazine for their awards to Dragnet,
• 25:59
  Speaker 5: their sixth annual award issue now on sale at your newsstand.
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: from official files.
• 26:17
  Speaker 4: Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker,
• 26:20
  Speaker 4: Los Angeles Police Department.
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty.
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher.
• 26:27
  Speaker 6: Heard tonight were Ben Alexander, Herb.
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: Ellis, Ralph Moody. Script by John Robinson. Music by Walter Schumann.
• 26:34
  Speaker 4: Hal Gibney speaking.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Our time with Dragnet, episode 199, Big Compulsion, has come
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: to a close. Follow Dragnet for more classic broadcasts.