The story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
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You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned to personnel division.
A resident of your city files a report of assault and battering.
His shoulder is dislocated.
He's been badly beaten.
He claims his assailant was a young police officer.
Your job, investigate.
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Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime.
For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will
travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official
police files.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
in action.
It was Tuesday, June 11th.
It was mild in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out of BIA.
My partner's Ed Jacobs.
The boss is Lieutenant Jesse.
My name's Friday.
It was 1023 a.m. when I got to room 83, the squad room.
Joe, you catch up with the lieutenant?
Yeah, in a meeting.
He said he'd be out about 1130, he wants us to handle it for the time being.
Oh.
Well, Joe, this is Officer Blanchard.
He's my partner, Joe Friday.
I'm glad to know you, Friday.
I think I've seen you around Central a couple of times.
Yeah, sure.
How are you?
What's this thing all about, do you mind telling me?
You worked yesterday, did you?
Yeah, that's right.
My regular beat, South Central area.
Anything out of the ordinary happen while you were on duty?
No, not much.
Made a couple of pinches, that's about all.
Pretty quiet otherwise.
Did you make one of those arrests at 7928 Courtland Avenue?
Yeah, that's right.
A woman, two men, users.
All three of them were booked in violation of the State Narcotics Act.
Any of the three familiar to you at all, Blanchard?
Mean had you ever seen them before the time you arrested them?
No, none of them.
I knew the place though, I've been keeping an eye on it lately.
One of those old fashioned homes converted into a rooming house.
I've been noticing some of the people going in and out of the place.
They didn't look too good to me.
That's why I say I've been keeping an eye on the house.
What's the story on this anyway?
You get a kickback on the arrest I made?
Well, we'd like to have your version of it first, Blanchard.
Exactly what happened, how'd you come to make the pinch?
Well, I was walking my regular beat.
I think it was about 3.30 yesterday afternoon.
I was going along to Courtland, the 7900 block.
A woman came out of the front door and hailed me.
She complained about a 507 party in the house, a couple doors down the street.
That was at number 7928, the boarding house?
Yeah, I checked it out.
The party was going on up on the third floor.
I went up, found the girl and the two men in the room facing on the street.
The girl was fixing a pop for herself when I came in.
Two caps of heroin on the table in front of her.
What'd you do then?
I made a grab for the two caps.
One of the guys beat me to it.
He got them, ran to the next room and tried to flush them down the drain.
He didn't quite make it though.
I got one of the caps before he could get rid of it.
What'd you do then, Blanchard?
I sat the three of them down, called into the office.
I checked the room over while we were waiting.
Found two more caps of heroin, usual equipment to go with it.
When the radio car showed up, the three of them were taken downtown in a narcotics squad
and booked.
That's all I can tell you about.
Well, during the time you were waiting there in the room, Blanchard, did you have any trouble
with the suspects at all?
Well, I got a lot of talk from one of the men, a fellow by the name of Evans.
He's supposed to run the boarding house.
He claims he didn't have anything to do with it.
He didn't know the girl was a hype.
You know, the usual stuff.
And that was the extent of it, just talk?
Sure, that's all.
Why?
Well, that's not the story according to Evans.
He had his lawyer bail him out last night.
He was in to file charges against you.
Huh?
What do you mean?
Salt and battery.
He claims that you worked him over for no reason at all.
He says you beat him up and dislocated his shoulder.
Oh, he's crazy.
He's lying.
I didn't work him over.
He says you got witnesses to prove it, Blanchard, the two people who were with him, the woman,
the other man.
He says elsewhere, that's what you did.
Yeah, but it's not true.
They're trying to cook up a frame.
I didn't touch any of them.
Well, this Evans looked like he's been must up, cuts and bruises all over his face, his
shoulder is fairly recent too.
Yeah, I know that, but I didn't do it.
He was in the same shape when I found him up in that room yesterday.
Matter of fact, I asked him about it.
He wouldn't tell me.
It's the truth, Sergeant, so help me.
All three of them are lying.
I didn't beat him up.
Well, it's your word against theirs, Blanchard.
The facts seem to favor Evans.
I don't get this at all.
Two of those people are known hypes.
They'd swear anything for a free cap.
You know that.
What good is their word?
Maybe no good at all.
It's not up to us to decide.
Evans filed a complaint, so our job to follow through.
Now, you're sure about the shape Evans was in when you found him up in that room yesterday,
Blanchard?
He was already marked up.
Is that right?
I'm sure he was.
I told you.
I asked him about it.
He wouldn't answer me.
But you had no way of proving that you couldn't possibly have been responsible for it.
Well, it's up to him, isn't it, Evans?
He says I worked him over, let him prove it.
I'm afraid he's got the jump there, two witnesses.
Yeah, but they're lying.
You must know that.
They're lying.
Now, look, you can see the position he puts us in.
If you're innocent, we're going to do all we can.
If you're guilty, we'll see that you get everything that's coming to you.
Well, you know it as well as I do, Sergeant.
I had no reason to beat him up.
I didn't do it.
Well, it's not up to us, Blanchard.
The court will have to decide.
It doesn't make sense.
None of it does.
There's no other way to handle it.
We got 4,500 men in the department.
We don't claim they're all saints.
Once in a while one of them turns bad and all of us get a black eye.
You're in a jam, Blanchard.
Anyone else will get a fair trial.
Yeah, that's right.
If you're clear to the charges in court, there'll be a hearing before the board of rights.
Am I through right now?
We'll have to book you in at the main jail.
The case will be presented at the DA's office tomorrow.
It doesn't make sense.
I had no reason to beat up Evans.
No reason at all.
You're sure of that, are you?
What do you mean?
Of course I'm sure.
Well, Evans claimed you did have a reason, a good one.
What?
When he says you handed him a proposition, he wouldn't go for it, so you worked him over.
What do you mean?
What kind of a proposition?
Huh?
He says you wanted a payoff.
Investigating charges against a police officer involves exactly the same procedure as cases
where private citizens are concerned.
Prove the suspect innocent or guilty.
If Blanchard was innocent, it wasn't going to be an easy job proving it.
If he hadn't beat up the complainant, George Evans, and dislocated his shoulder, it seemed
the only way out would be to find the man who did.
Either that or prove that the two witnesses Evans had come up with were lying.
If Blanchard was guilty, if he actually had slugged and beaten Evans, we had to find sufficient
evidence and we had to find a motive.
1110 A.M., Ed and I took Officer Harry Blanchard over to the main jail where he was booked
in and lodged in one of the cell blocks.
Then we went upstairs to the women's jail where we interviewed one of the witnesses
to the alleged beating, Anelena Rowland.
She'd had previous arrests for vagrancy, grand theft auto, and petty theft, as well as an
established reputation as a user of narcotics.
She was 23 years old.
Yeah, it was terrible.
That cop really roughed him up, poor old Evans.
Cop didn't have to treat him like that.
How long have you known George Evans, Miss Rowland, you old friend?
No, I wouldn't say that.
I met him a couple weeks ago when I came down from the North.
San Francisco?
Portland.
I was visiting up there.
I'm a Portland girl originally.
How about this other man you were with at the time Officer Blanchard picked you up,
this Ray Sherman, he an old friend?
Buster, yeah.
I've known him a few years.
So you know Evans very well?
Yeah, I guess you could say that.
Ray's had a room at the boarding house a couple of years.
I guess he's good friends with Evans.
Say, can I ask you something?
Yes, ma'am.
Have you ever worked narcotics up in Portland?
No, ma'am, never have.
Hmm.
Face is familiar.
Could have sworn I met you in Portland.
Do you want to run over that story again for us, Miss Rowland, about what happened yesterday?
Not much to say, just the same as I told you.
Usually stay at Evans' rooming house when you're in town, do you?
No, it's only the second time I was there.
How about George Evans?
Was he there at the time?
No, not first.
Me and Buster had a pop and then we sat around and talked.
Evans came in a little later.
Three of us talked.
He told me and Buster not to bring any more junk in the house.
He didn't want to get into trouble.
And speak of the devil, a cop walked in.
What happened then?
Buster grabbed two caps off the table and tried to get rid of them.
He only got rid of one though.
The cop got the other one.
Well, how did the argument start, do you remember that?
Between Evans and the officer, I mean.
Well, I was a little high at the time.
I don't remember it word for word.
Evans said he didn't have anything to do with it, but the cop kept pressing him.
He told Evans he'd forget about it if Evans would pay him off.
Evans told him, no, he wouldn't give him a cent.
And then the cop started beating him up.
You were in the same room with him all this time?
Yeah, Buster and me.
We saw it all.
Poor old Evans.
He walked over.
Cop didn't have to treat him like that.
Say, are you sure you're not from Portland?
Yes, ma'am, I'm sure.
Now, about how many times would you say the officer hit Evans?
Oh, I couldn't tell you that exactly.
Dozens of times, I guess.
Kept hitting him with his fist.
Pushed him all around the room.
I was a little high at the time.
I don't remember everything exactly.
Sure could use a booster about now.
Are you sure about everything you've told us, Mr. Olin?
That's the truth?
Yeah, that's right.
Some of the details I didn't remember so well.
He straightened it out for me though.
He told me just what happened.
Who was that?
George Evans.
1150 A.M. Ed and I continued questioning Eleanor Roland.
The more we talked to her, the more we were convinced that at the time of the alleged
beating she was under a heavy dose of narcotics and that for the most part she picked up her
version of the story from the alleged victim, George Evans.
We went down to the second floor of the main jail to one of the interview rooms where we
talked to the second witness, Ray Sherman, alias Tom Raymond, alias Buster Raymond.
He also had a long record as a user of narcotics.
He gave the same general version of the incident as the Roland girl did, but despite the girl's
story, he claimed he was not under the influence of narcotics at the time Officer Blanchard
entered the room and made the arrests.
Besides that, there were other discrepancies.
1.05 P.M. We had some lunch at the Federal Cafe and then we drove out to interview the
complainant in the case, George Evans.
After checking in his rooming house, we finally located him in a neighborhood bowling alley.
He was sitting at a bar joining the actual playing area, drinking a bottle of beer.
Parts of his face and neck were bandaged and his left shoulder was in a cast.
He appeared friendly and cooperative.
I kept telling the cop I didn't have any money, told him I wouldn't give him a payoff even
if I did.
So he started working you over that, right Evans?
Yes, that's right.
I don't have anything against cops normally, but this guy, that's something else.
How do you ever get on the force anyway?
Had you ever had any contact with Officer Blanchard before yesterday, Evans?
Yes, I did, twice before.
He came to the house, accused me of running a hideout for thieves, junkies.
Tried to get me to pay him off then too, I wouldn't do it.
So when was that, Evans?
About six, eight months ago.
Yeah, at least that.
Well, how is it you didn't report Blanchard then?
Well, I don't want to cause any trouble, get mixed up in a law case.
I figured I could take care of myself.
But after that going over yesterday, that was enough for me.
I don't understand how the driver made the force to begin with.
What's the matter?
His shoulder of mine, he really tore it apart.
How'd you spend your time yesterday, Evans?
Do you mind telling us?
No, I don't mind.
I slept till about half past 12, one o'clock.
Had a little bit of a hangover.
Then I got up and made some breakfast and read the paper.
That's about size.
You mean you were in your room all day after the time you went down the hall to Ray Sherman's
room?
That's right.
Ray was there with his girlfriend, it's Eleanor.
I didn't know she was a hype, that's the truth.
Ray should have known better having her there.
I don't like the kind of stuff going on in my place.
Now we've checked you through the record bureau, Evans.
There's been three or four similar cases at your places the last few years, hasn't it?
Yeah, a couple, yeah.
It's a real problem.
I don't know how you keep them out.
Whole neighborhood around here, you know.
Pretty hard to stop it, I guess.
We understand you were in the room there while the girl helped herself to her fix, is that
right?
No, I wasn't in the room when she took her fix.
I got there a couple minutes after.
I didn't even know what was going on.
You could ask Ray Sherman, the girl too.
I'll tell you I wasn't there.
There's something else we wanted to ask you about.
Sherman and the girl don't seem too sure of their stories.
Can you straighten this out, then?
What do you mean?
Well, Sherman told us one thing, the girl told us something else.
Can't seem to get together.
Yeah, but I told him.
You told him what, Evans?
Well, nothing.
That's all, that stupid Ray, he doesn't know half the time what he's doing.
Well, that doesn't make him much of a witness then, does it?
What do you mean?
He was there when the cop slugged me, beat me up, he could see that much.
Well, that's just it.
We're not sure he did.
Huh?
The girl says Blanchard worked you over in the living room there.
Sherman says Blanchard took you out in the kitchen and beat you up.
Now, which is it?
I think I'm beginning to get the pitch.
How's that?
You're out to cover up for that cop.
Is that it?
Take care of your own?
We're assigned to investigate this thing, Evans, just like any other criminal case.
Blanchard's not getting any more of a break than any other suspect would.
Yeah, sure, we still haven't asked our question, where did it happen, living room or kitchen?
The interview's all over, Sergeant, I got the pitch.
You can take this back to your office.
I'm going to get that cop convicted.
If it's the last thing I do, you can count on that.
What's the matter, Evans?
All we did was ask you a simple question.
Don't try to kid me, Sergeant, I got the angle.
You try him for a cover-up.
Okay, go ahead and try.
Now, look, why don't you snap out of it, mister?
Nobody's trying to cover up unless it's you.
Sherman and the girl are your witnesses.
Some of the points of their stories don't check out.
We want to clear them up.
Does that sound unreasonable?
I told you, Sergeant, it's no use.
I got your angle.
Answer me one more thing, Evans.
You're on your own, I'm telling you nothing.
Who was the doctor that treated you after you were beaten up?
Down at Georgia Street, the emergency, you ought to know that.
No, I mean for your shoulder.
We checked over your car down at Georgia Street.
No mention of ever dislocated shoulder.
No, of course not.
I didn't even know I had one until I was bailed out.
I had my own doctor fix it.
You mind giving us his name?
Why should I?
I was willing to go along, cooperate, then you started playing the cage.
You're trying to cover up for that cop.
Now, you work it out on your own.
All right, mister, any way you want it.
You bet that's the way I want it.
You had this whole thing framed from the beginning.
Now you're off the track, Evans.
You're not kidding me.
You're trying to prove that cop's innocent, trying to make me out a liar.
What am I supposed to do, help you prove I'm a liar?
No, you've helped enough already.
Ed and I double checked through Officer Blanchard's departmental record.
It showed that Blanchard had been working his present beat for a little more than four
months.
Evans had told us that Blanchard allegedly had solicited payoffs from him at least six
to eight months before.
The following day, Ed and I made further inquiries in the neighborhood of Evans' rooming house
and also among his friends and associates.
For one thing, we found out that Evans had not spent the entire morning and early afternoon
in the house.
He'd been seen leaving his place by several neighbors at about 10 a.m.
Through one of his contacts, we got the address of an ex-wife, since remarried, a Marie Evans
Zarcone.
We located her in a small apartment in the East Wilshire district, a small brunette woman
about 35.
Now, you tell us she used to be married to Evans.
Yeah, that's right.
What business was Evans in when you were married to him, ma'am?
Well, he had that rooming house over on Courtney Avenue.
Yes, ma'am, we know about that.
Was there anything else?
What's the matter, anyway?
Just a routine investigation.
We like to have as much background on him as you can remember.
Are you on fairly good terms with Evans now?
No, I haven't seen him since we split up about a year and a half ago, I think.
That's why I couldn't stand him.
What was the trouble, ma'am?
You mind telling us?
Just isn't much good, that's all.
I find a lot of names to fit him.
He was in everything.
How do you mean?
That's why I got away from him.
Every cheap, lousy racket I can think of, he was in it.
Peddling dope, blackmail, making books, some of the two-bit rackets.
He's been in all of them, one after the other.
I had to get away.
Rooming house on Courtney Avenue, that's where he's been operating all this time?
As long as I've known him, yeah.
About three years, I'd say.
Is narcotics just a sideline with him or does he go in for it pretty heavy?
It was in it pretty heavy when I left him.
I don't know what he's been doing since.
I don't care.
Just don't forget all about it.
Yes, ma'am, I can understand.
What's the matter now, anyway?
Got a case against him?
Well, not exactly.
Evans is filed against police officer, assault and battery, soliciting a bribe.
We're investigating the charges.
Sounds like him.
Some cop really rough him up?
Well, we don't know, ma'am.
That's what we're trying to find out.
Oh.
Well, I'd like to help you out.
I don't think I can, though.
Well, just one more question, ma'am.
While you were married to Evans, did you have a family doctor?
I mean, one that you called regularly when you were sick?
Yeah, we did.
Why?
Well, what was his name?
Can you remember?
Yeah, Dr. Chase.
Would you like his address?
2.47 p.m.
We got to Dr. Chase's office and luckily we found him in.
Hey, look at this magazine, Joe.
What?
National Geographic.
Looks like a real old one, wouldn't you say?
Yeah, it sure does.
The cover's torn off, eh?
Yeah.
What do you know about that?
It's older than I thought.
Look at this here.
What do you got?
These pictures there.
Look.
Four pages of them.
Pretty grand affair, huh?
Yeah.
Teddy Roosevelt breaks ground for Panama Canal.
How about that?
Yeah.
Sorry to keep you waiting, Joe.
That's perfectly all right, doctor.
Let's see now, you want to know about...
Mr. Evans, Dr. George Evans?
Oh, yes, Evans.
What was it exactly, Sergeant?
What did you have in mind?
Well, the first thing we'd like to know is if you've treated Evans recently, the last
week or so.
Yes, as a matter of fact, I have.
He was in here, uh...
Well, let me see now.
Let's see here.
Yes, I thought so.
He was in here three days ago.
I had some bad cuts and bruises.
Mm-hmm.
He'd already been treated, though.
There wasn't much I could do.
Oh, was there anything else wrong with him, doctor?
No, not actually.
I examined his shoulder.
He insisted it hurt him.
He wanted me to put it in the cast.
Mm-hmm.
You put the cast on, did you?
Well, there really wasn't any need for it, but I put it on anyway.
A little bit of psychiatry, thought it'd make him feel better.
Well, how do you mean, doctor?
What do they need for it?
Just one of those peculiar things.
I've been treating Evans for some time, you know.
Yeah, sir, that's what we understand.
Well, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Yes, sir, that's what we understand.
It's fairly unusual.
Hardly a rare case, though.
Suppose you might call it a trick shoulder.
It looks as though it might be dislocated, but it actually isn't.
I think it's voluntary.
You mean he could do this thing himself?
Oh, yes.
He can make it appear dislocated any time he wants.
You are listening to Dragnet.
Authentic stories of your police force in action.
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Saturday, June 15th, 10 a.m.
The investigation continued.
Meantime, the newspapers were still making front page material out of the story.
One of the morning banner lines read, cop slugs cripple citizen to get payoff.
And another one, police brutality rouses entire city.
Our investigation went on.
The next Saturday afternoon, Ed and I succeeded in locating a former friend of Evans, who
told us that he'd seen him downtown the morning of the day on which the alleged beating had
taken place.
The same time Evans had told us he was in bed nursing a hangover.
The former friend, a Fred Werner, said Evans was in the company of two known gamblers,
Carl Sweetser and Stanley Parrish.
He told us that he'd spotted the three of them together at about 11.45 a.m.
We questioned Sweetser and Parrish, but they refused to tell us anything.
They admitted that they were acquainted with Evans, but they knew nothing about the beating
he'd received.
We continued making the rounds.
5.30 p.m.
We dropped by the main jail and questioned Evans' two witnesses again, Ray Sherman and
Eleanor Rowland.
We got the same stories as before.
6.18 p.m.
We got back to the city hall.
Long stretch, huh?
I sure would be glad to get home.
Yeah.
Not a bad day, though.
We had fair luck, didn't we?
I suppose so.
It could always be better.
Sure like to get the straight story one way or the other.
I want to check the book, Ed, see if we got anything.
Yeah, okay.
No, not much, Joe.
Call from a Tom Donnelly, you know him?
Donnelly?
No, that doesn't sound too familiar to me.
I got it.
Personnel of Jacob's.
How's that?
I'm afraid he's gone for the night.
Yeah, huh?
No, I'm sorry.
I wouldn't know.
All right, thank you.
There's another message here for us, Joe, in the book.
Yeah?
From Blanchard's wife again.
I'm getting to feel pretty silly about her telling her the same thing now, after night.
Why don't you call her tonight?
Well, you've been doing all right.
Why give up now?
Personnel Friday.
Yeah.
What was that?
Your name?
Yeah, okay.
10 o'clock tonight?
All right, that's fine.
And so?
Sure.
Yeah, we'll meet you.
Okay.
10 o'clock.
Yeah, fine.
Bye.
Sounds pretty good.
Who was it?
A guy by the name of Martin Kimbrough.
Says he knows George Evans.
He wants to talk to us tonight.
What's the pitch?
What'd he say?
About Evans being worked over, he claims he knows all about it.
Yeah?
He says Blanchard couldn't possibly have done it.
7.05 p.m.
We went over to Frank Tang's place, had some dinner, and then we drove out to interview
the man who'd identified himself on the phone as Martin Kimbrough.
We located him at the designated meeting place, a small bar just off Beverly Boulevard and
Normandy Avenue.
Kimbrough was a small man, slight build, middle-aged.
He seemed less sure of himself than he did on the phone.
He said that he knew George Evans fairly well, and that up until six months before, he'd
been on good terms with him.
He didn't go into details, but he gave us the general idea that Evans had cheated him
on some business deal the two of them had been engaged in.
We asked Kimbrough about the beating Evans had taken.
He said it was common knowledge among the people he traveled with that gamblers Carl
Sweetser and Stanley Parrish were responsible for beating up Evans.
He'd welched on a gambling debt, and the two of them had been after him for months to pay
off.
He also said he knew a close friend of the two gamblers who told him that in private
Carl Sweetser openly boasted of beating up Evans.
According to Kimbrough, the beating had taken place about 1 p.m. the Monday before.
The same day Officer Blanchard allegedly had given him the beating.
We located Sweetser in the coffee shop of a small hotel on South Rampart Street.
I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Sergeant.
I don't know any George Evans.
I've never heard of him.
We understand you do.
Sweetser heard you used to play cards with him.
Got it from a couple of people.
That's all.
I guess they made a mistake.
I don't remember the name at all.
Maybe he's going under a different one, huh?
Well, how about his description?
You ought to remember that.
Well, maybe I meet quite a few people.
It's kind of hard to place all of them, you know.
What does he look like?
Well, he's tall, dark complexion, dark hair, scar under his chin.
He dresses pretty well.
He usually wears a suit.
No, that doesn't mean a thing to me.
Runs a rooming house over on Courtland Avenue, spinning quite a few rackets on and off.
Sure, I'm afraid I wouldn't know him.
Now, look, we haven't got any beef with you, Sweetser.
That's not the point.
Evans is trying to get away with a fast one.
We're out to stop him.
We could use your help.
I don't see how I can help you. What's the beef, anyway?
We think you know.
It's been all over the newspapers the last couple of days.
Oh, yeah.
A young cop.
What's Evans got against him, anyway?
He's trying to save a face.
We figure that's what we hear, anyway.
Well, what do you mean?
Well, I think you know how Evans likes to play the big shot.
It wouldn't do his stock much good around town if the real story got out.
I don't follow.
What story are you talking about?
About his welching on a gambling tab, getting roughed up.
If he says a cop did it, it makes him look a lot better, doesn't it?
He comes out of it pretty clean that way, doesn't he?
Yeah, pass us on, huh?
Yeah, sure.
I'll get you some coffee. I hate to eat alone.
Okay, as soon as the waitress comes around.
Yeah.
Oh, what else you hear about this Evans?
Pretty bad boy, that, right?
Bad enough.
He's got a fast mouth, telling quite a few stories around the neighborhood.
That's so.
I might remember him.
It's all the dark guy who runs the room, you know?
Yeah, that's right.
You should remember him.
He's mentioned you in a couple of the stories he's passing around.
Yeah, where'd you get that?
Talking to a fellow last night.
He says Evans claims that that card game he was in with you was rigged.
That's why he didn't pay you off.
He claims you and Stan Parish framed the whole thing.
Uh-huh.
So, uh...
Phony bums are all alike.
Lose a couple of dollars and squeal like a pig.
What's Evans doing now?
He's up for a narcotics rap. He's out on bail.
Yeah, cheap punk.
What's your stake in this thing?
We're trying to clear the thing up.
Apparently Evans figures he's gonna frame the young cop, save face,
talk himself out of a bad situation.
Or what do you want from me?
The truth.
I'm not gonna talk myself into jail, young cop or not.
We're not asking you to.
You wanna clear the case, huh?
All you need is proof the cop didn't give Evans a working over.
That's right.
Okay, you got a deal.
Without actually incriminating himself in any way,
Carl Sweetser gave us information and leads
which, after they were checked out, showed definitely
that George Evans was slugged and beaten in a neighborhood
at least a mile from his rooming house.
We talked to half a dozen people who saw Evans in that neighborhood
shortly after 1 p.m., the day of the incident.
We talked to the clerk at the drug store
where Evans went to buy iodine and bandages.
They all told us that he bore the markings of a severe beating
as early as 1 o'clock that afternoon.
Evans had told us repeatedly that he'd received the beating
at the hands of Officer Blanchard no earlier
than 3 or 3.15 that afternoon.
Ed and I drove over to the main jail
where we interviewed Evans' two witnesses again.
The girl, Eleanor Rowland, was the first to break.
She admitted that Evans had promised both her and her friend,
Ray Sherman, $50 apiece if they would go along with him
in his plan to frame Officer Blanchard for assault and battery
and soliciting a bribe.
After an hour of questioning, Sherman admitted the same thing.
We had a stenographer take their statements.
4.50 p.m., Ed and I got in the car
and drove out to the rooming house on Courtland Avenue.
Yeah? Oh, how are you, sir?
You want to get your coat, Evans? I'd like to see you downtown.
What for? What's it about?
Finding a false report. You know the story.
What are you talking about? What do you mean, a false report?
You've been checked out all over town, Evans.
Your doctor, your ex-wife, your gambling friends, we've talked to them all.
So what? What's that prove anyway?
I'm lying, mister. That young Officer Blanchard, he didn't beat you up.
There's nothing wrong with your shoulder either. Dr. Chase will vouch for that.
Look, I don't care what he says. I don't care what any of them say.
I got my case against that cop. I'm sticking with it.
You're not going to talk to me after this.
Why don't you give it up, Evans? We had a talk with Carl Sweetser.
What'd he tell you?
Enough to convince us you're trying to frame Blanchard.
We've got statements from people who saw you
before you got back home Monday afternoon.
They say you were must-up then. That was at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
You've been telling us Blanchard wasn't at your place till 3 o'clock.
Now, how do you explain that?
I don't know. Maybe I didn't have the time right. My watch could have been off. Doesn't make any difference anyway.
It's going to make a lot of difference. How about getting your coat?
I'm going to call my lawyer first.
That isn't going to do much good. We've got statements from your two witnesses,
Ray Sherman and the girl. They've admitted the whole thing. Now, you haven't got much of a case left.
I don't care what they say. They're lying. Both of them. They're lying.
You ought to know, mister.
What?
You taught them how.
The story you have just heard was true.
The names were changed to protect the innocent.
On September 2nd, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 89,
Siddean County of Los Angeles, State of California.
In a moment, the results of that trial.
And now, here is our star, Jack Webb.
Thank you, George Fairman.
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A complaint was received on George Evans from the city attorney's office for violation of Section 5243,
Municipal Code, filing a false report to the police department of misdemeanor.
He received a sentence of 30 days in the county jail.
Ray Sherman was tried and found guilty of Section 11,500, Health and Safety Code, possession of narcotics.
He was sentenced to one year in the county jail and three years probation.
Eleanor Rowland was filed on as a bag addict, Section 11,721, Health and Safety Code.
She was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail.
Officer Harry Blanchard was cleared of the charges pending against him and was reinstated with back pay.
You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.
Technical advisors, Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Winn, and Sergeant Vance Brasher.
Heard tonight were Barney Phillips and Whit Connor.
Script by Jim Moser, music by Walter Schuman, Hal Gibney speaking.
Fatima cigarettes, best of all, king-size cigarettes, is brought to you by Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles.
Now it's Counterspy on NBC.