Dragnet: The Big Trio (EP5079)

0:02 THE END.

0:28 Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of Dragnet. But first, I want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the show... on a one-time basis by mailing a donation to Adam Graham, P.O.

1:02 Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715, or by becoming one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $ 2 per month, just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net. But now, from July 3rd, 1952, here is The Big Trio.

1:35 The story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're an investigating sergeant. You're assigned a traffic division, AID. Death and tragedy is forecast for the people of your city. You don't know who the victims will be. You don't know how many there will be. Your job, try and stop it.

2:12 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.

2:33 It was Thursday, July 3rd. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of traffic division, accident investigation. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Deputy Chief Caldwell. My name's Friday. I was on the way back from the scene of the accident, and it was 9.42 p.m. when I got to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital, second floor, treatment room five.

2:55 Joe?

2:55 Hi, how's it going?

2:57 Not too good. How are they? Bad, all four of them. Girlie was riding in the front seat, both legs crushed.

3:02 Oh, no.

3:02 Talking to Doc Hall, nothing he can do, gonna have to amputate. That's a shame.

3:06 All the parents been notified?

3:07 Yeah, they're on their way down now.

3:09 Cigarette?

3:10 Yeah, thanks.

3:11 I got a match. All right, thank you.

3:13 Still touch and go with the kid who was driving, the wheeler boy.

3:16 Doc doesn't give him much of a chance.

3:17 Possible to get a statement from him?

3:19 No, still unconscious. They get pictures of the wreck, all right?

3:21 Yeah, they did.

3:22 The car the kids were in laid down 207 feet of skid marks. From the condition of the car, it's a wonder any of them are alive. Not a straight piece of metal in the wreck, Frank. How about that couple in the sedan they sideswiped?

3:33 Doctor isn't sure. Both have internal injuries. Woman's right leg is fractured. Man has a possible concussion. What does he think?

3:39 Every one of them is old enough to know better. What made them think they could get away with it? Oh, hiya, doctor.

3:44 Friday. Any change, doc?

3:45 Which one you mean? The wheeler boy? No, still the same. The other three kids are doing a little better.

3:50 It's a shame. None of them are more than 14, 15 years old, are they? Both the girls are 13. The wheeler boy is 16.

3:56 The other boy is 12.

3:56 Yeah. Pretty young to be out alone burning up the streets. How did that happen?

4:00 Well, one of the girls told us that the wheeler boy picked up the three of them about 8 o'clock tonight.

4:04 Asked them if they wanted to go for a ride in his father's new car.

4:06 Yeah.

4:07 Well, they thought they were going down to the neighborhood drive-in for a Coke.

4:09 Yeah.

4:10 Well, the girl said they drove around the neighborhood for a while.

4:12 Wheeler boy was bragging about what a good driver he was, how fast the car would go.

4:16 Kept telling the kids that he could drive as fast as his father did.

4:18 Yeah.

4:19 Well, I hear it's too bad you can't hold a father.

4:20 Yeah, it's pretty obvious he didn't set much of an example. Well, the girl told us that the Wheeler boy drove down the highway.

4:26 She spotted a police car behind him and told the wheeler kid to slow up. He said something like, my father outran a cop the other day. If he can do it, I know I can. Well, the kids pleaded with him to pull over and stop, and he wouldn't listen. Told him to shut up and hang on, and he'd show him some real fancy driving.

4:39 Had to chase him more than 19 miles, Doc. Car in pursuit radioed in for help. We tried to block off the intersections ahead of him. They were just going too fast. How'd the boy crack up?

4:48 Sideswiped the sedan with that old couple in it. Lost control of the car, went into a skid. The car hit the curb, blew a tire. Piled head-on into a parked truck. The impact drove the engine of the truck right back into the cabin. I never saw anything like it. The car the kids were in is almost broken in half.

5:01 Well, I've done everything I can for them. I'll keep the wheeler boy in the critical room.

5:05 Nurse is in there with him now. I'll move the other three back into the ward.

5:08 We want to make our report, Doc. You got an empty slip on it?

5:10 Yeah, I just finished it. It's right in here. Thank you. You know, I got a 16-year-old boy, Freddy. Every time I make one of these things up, I say a prayer.

5:17 Yeah.

5:18 Hope they never have to make one up for my boy. Well, excuse me. I better go back in there and check on that youngster. All right, Doc.

5:23 Thanks.

5:27 Look at this empty, Frank. Everything in the book.

5:30 What's that?

5:30 Listen. Gray cylinders, 13 years, occupation student.

5:35 Fractured jaw, teeth knocked out, facial cuts, internal injuries, crushed pelvis and shock.

5:40 Here's the next one.

5:41 Nancy Haynes, 13 years, occupation student.

5:45 Deep facial cuts, compound fractures of the right and left legs, crushed chest, possible concussion and shock. All right. The other boy, Walter Stewart, 12 years, occupation student. Deep facial cuts and contusions. Shock and possible concussion. Fractured ribs, possible puncture of the left lung. Left hand severed above the knuckles. Here's the slip on the Wheeler boy. Charles Wheeler, 16 years, occupation student.

6:09 Crushed forehead, possible spinal fracture. Both legs broken. Fractured ribs, broken pelvis, deep facial cuts, severe internal injuries and shock.

6:18 My name's Wheeler. Where's my boy?

6:20 What have they done with him?

6:20 All right, take it easy, Mr.

6:21 Wheeler.

6:22 Doctor will be out in a minute.

6:22 I don't want the doctor.

6:23 I want to see my boy. Where is he?

6:24 What happened anyway?

6:25 Would you keep your voice down, please? The doctor will see you in a minute. He's with your son now.

6:28 Who are you?

6:28 What do you know about it?

6:29 Police officers. Your boy had an accident. We're investigating him. I know he had an accident. They already told me that.

6:33 Whose fault was it?

6:34 Who ran into him? Nobody ran into him, Mr. Wheeler. The accident was his fault. What do you mean it couldn't have been? That boy's a good driver.

6:39 I taught him myself.

6:40 Would you keep your voice down, please?

6:42 I want to get to the.

6:42 Bottom of this thing. I want to see my boy.

6:44 What are you stalling me for? Nobody's stalling you, sir. You can see your boy as soon as the doctor okays it.

6:47 I'm going to take him to my own doctor.

6:48 I wouldn't trust my boy in a place like this. Who ordered him here anyway? We did. It was an emergency. The ambulance took him here from the scene of the accident. Well, you still haven't told me how it happened. Now, why do you say it was his fault?

6:57 Why are you accusing him?

6:58 It was his fault, Mr.

6:59 Wheeler.

6:59 There's no doubt about it.

7:00 He was speeding and a police car tried to catch him. He tried to outrun him. In the process, he ran into a parked truck.

7:05 I knew it wasn't his fault.

7:07 Sir?

7:07 So he was going a little too fast. Charlie's a good driver. Why'd you have to chase him? Probably the cause of the whole thing. You're the ones to blame.

7:13 Take it easy, Mr.

7:13 Wheeler.

7:14 Take it easy? Nothing.

7:14 Why couldn't you let the kid alone? He could drive as well as I can. Think I'd let the kid have my new car if he couldn't handle it?

7:19 What about a driver's license, sir? Your son have one?

7:22 Well, no.

7:22 I didn't have a chance to get him one. Too busy to take him down there for the tests. It's a stupid thing anyway. Any moron can pass it. The point is, you didn't have to chase him. He wasn't hurting anybody.

7:30 Was he?

7:31 I taught him how to drive. He drives just like I do. He's a fast driver, but he's a good one.

7:35 I ought to know. Our radio cars had to chase your boy 19 miles, Mr. Wheeler.

7:38 11 cars chased him. Your boy was endangering the life of everybody on that highway. In a 25-mile-an-hour zone, he was clocked at better than 70 miles an hour. At one time, we figured he must have been doing better than 90. He went through a dozen boulevard stops. He barely missed a woman pedestrian. The woman had a baby in her arms. Just before he cracked up, he sideswiped another car, an old couple in it. They're in this hospital, too, and they're hurt.

7:57 They're hurt bad. Now, you go ahead inside.

7:59 And make those two old people believe your son's a good driver, that he was just having some innocent fun, will you?

8:03 It's not all his fault. He probably wouldn't have done it if you didn't chase him. I know my boy can handle a car. I've raced cops myself once in a while. Charlie was with me.

8:10 He's cool.

8:11 He knows what he's doing behind the wheel.

8:12 Just because you drive fast doesn't make you a bad driver.

8:15 It helps.

8:15 Frank? Yeah, Doc. Can you spare me a minute? This is Mr. Wheeler, father of the boy who was driving the car. This is Dr. Hall.

8:23 Where's Charlie?

8:24 I want to see him. I'm sorry, sir. You'll have to wait a few minutes. He's lost a lot of blood. They're giving him another transfusion.

8:28 What's the matter with him?

8:29 How bad is he hurt? There's a report. Read it yourself. What kind of treatment are you giving him? Are you sure you know what you're doing? I think so.

8:34 I've been on this job for 11 years. That's how long I've been dealing with fools like you.

8:38 What?

8:38 I heard you ranting and raving out here at these offices. Well, let me tell you this, mister. All three of you were wrong. That boy of yours lying in there isn't to blame. You are his own father. You were driving that car tonight. I heard you ranting out here. You taught him how to drive. He can drive as well as you can.

8:52 He's cool. He knows how to handle a car. You taught him how to race cops. Well, the results are inside, Mr.

8:56 Wheeler.

8:56 Look here, I don't want any sermons from you. I want to see my boy.

8:58 I want to see him right now.

8:59 You're not going to get any sermons from me. They wouldn't help you. But I'm going to tell you what's on my mind. I've seen your kind for years. I've sewed them up, I've patched them up, and I've pulled a sheet over their face. So far, you're lucky it hasn't happened to you. You're on borrowed time. Must be true what they say. The good Lord takes care of the fools and the drunks. Well, I can tell you now I wouldn't feel half as bad if it was you inside there on that bed instead of your son. Oh, when are people like you going to learn?

9:22 When are you going to learn?

9:23 I came down here to see my son.

9:24 You're not impressing me a bit.

9:25 Well, then maybe you ought to come down here some weekend, some holiday. Maybe that would impress you. You stand inside that treatment room with me and watch them come over that table. A lot of them come in married and go out widowed, all kinds, all ages. They pull them out of the wrecks and they drag them in here and they expect miracles from us. They're battered and broken and some of them you have to look twice because it's hard to tell they're human beings.

9:42 You know who's responsible, Mr.

9:44 Wheeler?

9:44 You know who?

9:45 Arrogant, egotistical, good, fast drivers like you. Well, I'm sick of you, Mr.

9:50 Wheeler.

9:51 I'm sick of the whole rotten, stupid mess. I'm sick of fools like you.

9:53 Dr.

9:54 Hall?

9:55 Yeah.

9:55 Be here a moment, please. Yeah, all right.

10:02 Sure makes himself out an expert, doesn't he?

10:05 He preach to everybody who comes in here?

10:06 No, matter of fact, he's usually pretty quiet.

10:08 What's the matter with him?

10:09 Get out of the wrong side of bed?

10:11 Maybe this will explain it. He's got a 16-year-old boy of his own.

10:14 What's he beefing about?

10:15 It's my kid that's hurt, not his. Every kid he treats is his.

10:19 Mr.

10:19 Wheeler.

10:20 Is it all right? Can I see Charlie now? Yeah.

10:22 Thanks.

10:24 I'm sorry about everything, Doctor. I... I really am. I'm sorry. So am I, Mr. Wheeler. Your boy's dead.

10:35 When George Wheeler recovered from the initial shock of his son's death, we told him it was necessary that the body be removed to the county morgue where an autopsy would be performed the following day. After that, his son's remains would be available to a mortuary of the family's choosing. Frank and I drove back to the office where we filed a 311 dead body report.

10:53 On 16-year-old Charles Wheeler.

10:55 After that, we called the coroner's office and notified them to pick up the body at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.

11:02 10.35 p.m.

11:02 We left the traffic division garage and went back on the air. We were cruising the central area. 10.53 p.m.

11:08 We got the call.

11:09 A lease on spring. Ambulance follow-up. Victim of a hit-and-run driver. We were within a block of the call.

11:15 Must be it up ahead, Joe, on the corner. Who are you?

11:19 Pull up any place right here, I guess. All right, come on. Slide out my side.

11:24 Yeah.

11:27 Let us through, please.

11:28 Police officers, excuse me.

11:30 Pardon me. I wonder if I can get through here, please.

11:31 Excuse us.

11:34 Doctor?

11:35 You fellas doctors?

11:35 No, we're police officers.

11:36 Oh, yeah, I see.

11:37 Where's the ambulance?

11:38 Be here in a minute. How'd it happen? The old man was trying to cross the street.

11:40 A bus hit him.

11:41 Look at him. Terrible pro guy. You work around here? Yeah, I sell papers right over in that corner over there. My name's Harry Johanson. You want me for a witness?

11:48 Frank, get his name and address, will you? I'll check the old man.

11:51 Yeah, right.

11:52 All right, now don't move around, Dad. Don't try to get out. The ambulance will be here in a minute.

11:57 I'm hurt, Dad. Terrible pain in my back.

12:01 Your legs hurt you, Dad?

12:03 No. I don't feel a thing in my legs. It's just my back. I got a terrible pain.

12:09 What's your name?

12:10 Good.

12:11 Quiet, quiet a little.

12:13 Where do you live, Dad?

12:15 Over there, just up in the corner. Apartment 37. Could you go over and see Lona? See if she's all right. She's going to be awful worried.

12:24 Yeah, we'll take care of it. You been drinking, Dad?

12:29 Well, just a nightcap. The doctor said I ought to have it in a glass of port every night. I was just on my way home when it happened.

12:37 Oh, my God. You sure it was just a glass of port, Dad?

12:40 Yeah, that's right.

12:42 I never touch anything but that glass of port before I go to bed. I said, would you please send somebody to see about little apartment 37?

12:50 She said, he's going to be all for word.

12:53 Yeah, sir, we'll take care of it.

12:55 Oh, this feels terrible. I've got to get up. Help me up with the office.

13:00 All right.

13:00 You sure you feel up to it, Dad?

13:02 I don't know.

13:03 It's an awful pain in my back. I know I'm not supposed to move till the ambulance gets here, but.

13:12 Maybe it'll go away if I stand up.

13:13 All right, sir.

13:15 Here you go. Frank, see you.

13:17 In a minute?

13:19 Yeah.

13:21 Cancel the ambulance, will you?

13:22 We won't need it.

13:23 Cancel it.

13:24 Call the wagon.

13:25 Yeah, all right.

13:27 I'm going to get help, Sergeant. Are they coming for me?

13:30 Yeah, you're going to get help, Dad. It's on the way.

13:32 I come to the corner here and I start to cross over... And what do you think? Right out of nowhere, this big red bus come up the street. Must have been going 60. Hit me and.

13:42 Kept right on going. I thought for a minute there I was gone for sure.

13:48 Did you say it was a big red bus?

13:50 Red or blue, what's the difference? They run me down. Oh, look at that. Get there with us quick. Look at that.

13:57 What's that?

13:59 My shirt right here. Look, look.

14:00 It's all red.

14:01 It's blood. Get some help. I'm bleeding to death. Get some help. Oh, there's a sharp pain in my ribs.

14:08 Let's take your coat off there.

14:10 That's the eye drop.

14:14 That's better.

14:16 The pain's gone now.

14:18 Well, I don't know what your blood type is, Dad, but you're bleeding port wine.

14:21 Oh, no.

14:22 We still thought it was, Dad. You broke your bottle of port.

14:26 It's all wrapped up in papers, too, so I wonder how it happened. Just look at my brand-new shirt, all that good wine.

14:33 Yeah?

14:33 Yeah.

14:34 No, I canceled the ambulance, called communications for the wagon. What's the score?

14:37 Say, would you please send somebody up to my place to see Leona? It's apartment 37, building right up in the corner. Please look after Leona.

14:45 Yeah, we'll tell her, Dad.

14:46 Oh, say, when you see her, would you please give her this?

14:50 What's this?

14:50 A piece of liver. Leona just loves liver.

14:53 I didn't know you were married to Clyde when that happened.

14:56 I'm not married.

14:57 Then who's Leona?

14:58 That's my cat, the best friend I've got in the world. Where's the ambulance?

15:01 No, there's not going to be any ambulance, Dad. We've got a car coming instead.

15:03 I'm a sick man, Sergeant. I need an ambulance.

15:06 You're a hit-and-run victim every time you get left port line, Dad.

15:09 I don't know what you mean. It's a glass of port every night. That's all I ever take.

15:14 What time do you think it is now?

15:15 I don't know. I went over to Jack. It's about 8 o'clock.

15:18 It must be 8.15, 8.30.

15:21 Why?

15:21 It's 10 minutes past 11, Dad.

15:23 You're overdue. You get it, Joe. What's the pitch? Don't you know him?

15:26 Fight Logan.

15:27 Got an arrest sheet as long as your arm. Somebody down at Central tagged him with the name Hit and Run Logan. He's a town character.

15:32 What's the idea of the Hit and Run story?

15:33 Oh, he likes attention.

15:34 Every time he gets loaded, he likes to ride in an ambulance with a siren wide open, so he lays down in the street, pretends he's been hit.

15:39 I see.

15:40 Every city's got at least one of them, I guess.

15:42 Some of them turn in fire alarms. Some of them confess to murder. Some of them just beat their wives. Clyde likes to be a hit-and-run victim.

15:48 Say, what are you going to do? You're going to lock me up?

15:50 No choice, Dad.

15:51 I suppose not.

15:53 Say, would you talk to the jailer and see if I could get my old job back? I mean, you know, anything in the kitchen.

16:00 I like to work in the kitchen.

16:02 Yeah, all right.

16:02 We'll talk to him. Now, just one more thing.

16:05 Yeah.

16:05 Would you go see Jackie Martin for me? Place right up.

16:13 That's the place. Well, you go in there and you ask for Jackie. You tell him that I sent you, you see. You can say that he's not going to get any more of my business. You tell him I won't even pay him what.

16:22 I owe him.

16:23 What's the matter, Dad? Why are you mad at him?

16:24 Well, I got good enough reason.

16:26 All the trades that I've given him and all the money I spent there, a double-crosser. He can't keep customers that way, and he'll find that out.

16:33 What do you mean, Dad?

16:33 Well, look, right here on the sidewalk.

16:36 Yeah?

16:37 Jackie Martin, him and his cheap bottles.

16:50 You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police force in action.

17:01 Thursday, July 3rd, 1130 p.m. There was still half an hour to go before the July 4th weekend even started. But in the last seven and a half hours, central traffic had answered 13 major accident calls.

17:13 Four of them were fatalities.

17:15 If it was any indication of the next 72 hours, the 4th of July weekend was due to spell death and tragedy for.

17:20 More people than we figured. 12.10 a.m.

17:24 We received another ambulance follow-up call, this time at 11th and Georgia. A young couple on a motorcycle trying to beat the stop signal had crashed headlong into the side of an eastbound bus. One was taken to the hospital, one was taken to the county morgue.

17:37 12.20 a.m.

17:38 After taking care of the necessary reports, we impounded the motorcycle. The next half hour was fairly quiet. 12.55 a.m., we went off the air and stopped to have a cup of coffee.

17:48 1.15 a.m., we called back in service. We continued cruising the central area. At 1.48 a.m., 12 minutes before quitting time, we got.

17:58 A call for Wilshire and Toberman Street, an ambulance follow-up, city property.

18:02 Damage, motor officer. 1.15 a.m., we arrived at the scene.

18:05 Approximately 20 feet from the southwest corner, a police motorcycle was sprawled on the street.

18:10 The front of it was demolished.

18:12 About 30 feet from the motorcycle, lying face down on the street, was the figure of a man in.

18:16 A police uniform.

18:18 All right, would you step back, please?

18:20 Please, everybody, back up there on the sidewalk, please.

18:25 Help me, please.

18:26 All right, don't try to move, fella.

18:28 It's in Brian's car.

18:30 Hey, Mike.

18:31 Mike? Tried to miss it. Couldn't help it. Take it easy now.

18:35 Don't try to talk.

18:36 Ambulance is on the way, Mike.

18:38 Don't get me, Joe.

18:41 Chest.

18:42 My chest hurts. Hey, but my collar can't breathe.

18:47 All right, sure, Mike. Come on, take it easy now. Don't move.

18:49 Chase in this car. Cream convertible.

18:52 Man, woman.

18:55 Think he was a 502. Big chase. Red light.

18:59 Siren.

19:00 Sorry.

19:00 All right, now take it easy, Mike.

19:01 Relax, will you?

19:02 Other car turned. Other car turned right in front of me.

19:05 I saw it.

19:08 Nothing I could do. Couldn't stop. Turned right in front of me.

19:14 Evelyn.

19:16 Gonna go see her.

19:19 Evelyn.

19:20 She's waiting.

19:21 All right, will you take it easy, Mike? Don't talk and don't move. This will work out all right.

19:24 Take it easy.

19:25 Joe.

19:25 Evelyn. Evelyn.

19:31 Joe.

19:34 Hey, Mike.

19:35 Mike.

19:37 Joe, get a coat here. Slip it under his head and be more comfortable.

19:40 No, he doesn't need it, Frank. He's comfortable.

19:42 1.57 a.m. The ambulance.

19:50 Arrived and O'Brien's body was removed to the county morgue. Photographs were taken, diagrams were drawn, and statements taken from the witnesses. A truck from Central Garage arrived and started removing the dead officer's motorcycle. Frank and I went over and started interviewing the driver of the car which O'Brien had collided with. She identified herself as Corrine Norton, a bookkeeper at a South Los Angeles defense plant.

20:12 I was making a left turn, that's all. Next thing I knew, he hit my car. You can see what he did to it. Who's going to pay for the damages?

20:18 We can talk about that later, Miss Norton. Our first concern is we'd like to find out what happened.

20:21 There's nothing to it. I already told you. This cop ran into me. There wasn't anything I could do.

20:25 Would you start from the beginning, please, and tell us exactly what happened?

20:28 From the beginning of what?

20:29 I told you.

20:29 He ran into my car. What more do you want to know? Sorry it happened, but I couldn't help it. Look at my car.

20:34 How am I going to get to work in the morning?

20:36 Will you please tell us what happened here, miss? Just as near as you can remember?

20:38 Well, I was going down this way on Wilshire on my way home.

20:42 I started to make a left turn onto Toberman, and this cop on the motorcycle drove right into me.

20:46 Wasn't anything I could do. His fault. I couldn't help it.

20:48 Could we see your operator's license, please?

20:50 Certainly. Let's see it. Here's some place.

20:53 Yeah, here it is.

20:54 All right.

20:54 Do you want to read it out, Frank?

20:55 Yeah. California operator's license number B-208-927. Okay, got it. Corrine, C-O-R-I-N-N-E, M. Norton, 10,033, Ruth Allen, Los Angeles.

21:07 10,033. Right.

21:07 Female, 5'3 1⁄2, 123 pounds, born February 18, 1909. Blue eyes, brown hair.

21:21 Uh-huh.

21:22 Must wear adequate glasses. Just a minute. Okay. You have your glasses with you, Miss Martin?

21:27 Oh, yes, right here in my purse. I really don't have to wear them. I can see just as well without them.

21:31 Were you wearing your glasses at the time of the accident?

21:33 Yes, I was. I took them off right after the accident. Here they are, right here in my purse.

21:39 See?

21:40 Miss Norton, we understand the motorcycle officer had his red light and siren in operation at the time of this accident.

21:45 Did you see it or hear it?

21:46 No, I didn't hear any siren, and I certainly didn't see any red light.

21:49 Then when's the first time you saw the officer, ma'am?

21:51 When he hit me. He seemed to come out of nowhere. He was going very fast.

21:54 You say you were in the process of making a left turn. Is that right, Miss Norton? Did you give a hand signal indicating that you were going to turn?

21:59 Of course I did. I always do.

22:01 You touched your car since the accident.

22:03 What do you mean, have I touched it?

22:04 It was your car just like it was when you were driving it prior to the accident.

22:07 Yes, I suppose it is. I mean, with the exception of the damage he did.

22:10 You're sure you gave.

22:11 A hand signal, Miss Norton?

22:12 Of course I am. What's this all about, anyway?

22:15 Well, if your car's exactly the way it was before the accident, and you're telling us the truth here, how do you account for the fact that the left-hand window of your.

22:21 Car is still rolled up here?

22:22 What?

22:23 The window on the driver's side of your car there, it's closed tight.

22:26 You couldn't have made a left-hand signal, nor could you.

22:28 What?

22:28 I don't understand it. I'm sure I made a signal. I think so, anyway.

22:32 Are you trying to say I'm to blame for that cop's death?

22:35 We're not trying to say anything, ma'am. We're trying to get the facts here.

22:37 Well, you certainly have a funny way of doing it. What do you call facts, anyway? Trying to incriminate me in this thing? I was making a left turn and he ran into me. It's as simple as that. I don't know what you're so excited about.

22:47 The man just died, Miss Norton. We're trying to find out why.

22:50 Why ask me? I didn't kill him.

22:51 Speeding along on a motorcycle like that, he shouldn't have been going that fast anyway.

22:55 That's his job, ma'am. That's what they pay him for. He was chasing a drunk driver.

22:58 All right, that's his job. He knew it was dangerous when he took it.

23:00 Yes, ma'am.

23:01 Part of his job, that's what we pay him for.

23:03 Well, he's dead, Miss Norton. Who's going to pay him for that?

23:05 2.15 a.m.

23:10 A traffic car took Corrine Norton downtown to the station where her statement was to be taken and a further investigation made. Frank and I contacted Sergeant Joe Whitehead of the medical detail and informed him of Mike O'Brien's death. He told us he'd notify the business office and the parents of the dead officer. Because of our close association with O'Brien, we happen to know that he planned to get married July 15th, the first day of his vacation.

23:33 The girl he was going to marry was an Evelyn Monroe. She lived in the Silver Lake District. We told Whitehead that we'd notify her. 2.30 p.m., Frank and I drove out Sunset Boulevard to the girl's house.

23:46 Oh, hi, Frank, Joe.

23:47 How are you?

23:48 Is Mike with you?

23:49 Well, no, he isn't, Evelyn.

23:50 Well, come on in. Have some coffee. I'm just waiting for Mike.

23:52 All right, thank you.

23:53 I guess Mike's a little late tonight. Come on in. How do you like your coffee?

23:56 Cream and sugar?

23:58 Like will be all right, thanks. Both of us.

24:00 Look at the dining room table.

24:01 Pretty nice, isn't it?

24:02 Yeah, that one's very nice.

24:04 Nicest wedding present I think I've ever seen. Didn't know we had so many friends. You see what the boys in the motor squad sent us? Electric mixer, all the attachments, too.

24:12 Yeah, we see them. Very nice.

24:13 What's the matter, Joe?

24:14 Hard day?

24:15 Yeah, I was.

24:16 It was a tough one.

24:16 Oh, you're just like Mike. When he gets off work, he's grumpy as a bear. I don't know why. Nothing tough about your job. You ought to work for the man I work for. Coffee's coming right up.

24:26 Joe. Yeah. You're going to have to tell her I can't. Do me a favor.

24:31 Yeah, I'll try.

24:35 Here you are. I think you ought to like these donuts. I get them at the bakery down the street. Mike's crazy about them.

24:43 Would you sit down on that one, please?

24:44 I'd like to talk to you.

24:45 Oh, sure, Joe.

24:46 You sound serious.

24:47 What's the matter?

24:49 It's about Mike, Evelyn.

24:50 Mike?

24:51 What about him?

24:52 He wanted us to come by and see you.

24:54 He was hurt tonight.

24:55 Oh, no.

24:57 Was it bad?

24:57 Yeah, I'm afraid so.

24:59 What happened?

25:01 Where is he? Can I see him?

25:02 No, not now.

25:03 A little later.

25:04 What happened? They told his mother and dad?

25:06 Yeah, Evelyn. Joe Whitehead's out there now.

25:08 Joe Whitehead?

25:09 Medical detail?

25:10 Yeah, that's right.

25:10 He usually doesn't go out right away unless they're dead.

25:14 Joe?

25:14 Joe?

25:16 Joe, tell me the truth.

25:17 What's happened to Mike? What's happened?

25:21 Well, he's dead, Evelyn.

25:23 No.

25:25 It isn't the truth.

25:26 He can't be dead.

25:27 He was chasing a.

25:27 Drunk driver over on Wilshire. A woman turned in front of him. Couldn't get out of the way. Didn't have a chance to lay his bike down.

25:35 I'm sorry.

25:36 It's not true. It can't be it's not true. He called me at 11. He'll be here at any minute. He'll be here any minute.

25:49 All right, Evelyn.

25:49 Evelyn, there's nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do. Crying at help, I'd cry with you.

25:56 But it's not right. It isn't right. Why should he die?

26:00 Why should he?

26:01 I'm sorry. It went fast.

26:04 He didn't suffer.

26:06 Talked about you. The last thing was about you.

26:08 Hard to realize.

26:10 I can't understand it.

26:11 I can't.

26:12 There's no reason for it.

26:14 No reason for a lot of it.

26:16 Why, Joe?

26:17 Why did he have to die?

26:18 Why did he.

26:20 I've got an idea, maybe.

26:22 What?

26:23 Somebody forgot to put out their arm.

26:27 The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent.

26:37 On October 2nd, an inquest was held at the county morgue, city and county of Los Angeles, state of California. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of excusable homicide in the death of motorcycle officer Michael O'Brien. In a moment, a word about another trial. Normally at this time, we give you the result or outcome of legal proceedings against a person or persons for criminal action. You've already heard the results of the documentary cases portrayed on Dragnet tonight. Fourth of July weekend is at hand. Forty million automobiles will drive five billion miles. Please make every mile a safe mile.

27:18 Be considerate of the other driver on the road and have a happy weekend. We don't want to read your name on Dragnet's trial page. 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 Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Vic Perrin, Stacy Harris, Vic Rodman. Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking.

28:00 Ladies and gentlemen, you may now read Dragnet every day on the comic page of your favorite newspaper.

28:05 Please consult your local daily paper.

28:10 Yes, adventure is yours tonight with Counter Spy on NBC.

28:20 Welcome back! In an episode, Jack Webb actually listed in a 1955 article for Pageant Magazine as his favorite episode. He wrote... There's no plot as such, no mystery about who committed the crime. It's a series of vignettes of entirely routine cases taken from the files of the Accident Investigation Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. Our object was to show the whore in the heartbreak which attends a traffic accident, the kind of commonplace murder that happens every day on U.S. highways. In this story, a young police officer... Good friends to Friday and Smith has been fatally hurt in the line of duty. And then includes a script of most of the final part in there.

29:20 And then he writes at the end, there's a villain. A good man died because a lady forgot to give a commonplace traffic signal. That's the best kind of Dragnet story about more or less ordinary people caught up in situations beyond their depth were subject to chaotic fate. And I think it's an effective episode. Well done. And in some ways, it kind of feels like a precursor to the type of show that would become Adam-12. And I think it had a very interesting structure. While it's clear that all throughout this 4th of July weekend, there are all sorts of incidents occurring, the two big, serious, dramatic incidents are sandwiched with a bit of a lighter story about an eccentric character. which I think makes it not

30:28 too heavy to get through, but at the same time, it helps both of the big punches to land with the closing safety announcement having some real power. The scene where the doctor goes ahead and gives the father this big lecture in the hospital is an interesting one. On one hand, you might think it is. Uncharacteristic or unrealistic. I think they set this up better than you would have a lot of lectures later on.

31:07 I mean, I do think that in the 60s series, you just kind of have to accept that that's the way Joe Friday rolls. He's been doing this long enough and is to the age where he'll say what he thinks. But here it's set up where... He is clearly personally affected by this, and he has seen a lot of this. It relates to his own son, and he has just reached a breaking point where he lets the composure slip and hits the father with full force, and then the dramatic conclusion of finding out that The 16-year-old died due to following his father's driving lessons. And, of course, the finale hit like a train with just how welcoming his fiancée is and how much she was talking about the wedding gifts and then just utter devastation. The middle bit

32:18 is also amusing. I'm glad that Dragnet, despite there being something to criticize about that scene, didn't do what they had actually done and have a funny drunk driver. But instead they had an eccentric guy who was a bit sauce, but thankfully not behind the wheel. And you also have some really interesting linguistics here that was kind of illuminated with a more recently discovered episode of Philip Marlowe. Now, in that episode, in the course of an investigation, Marlowe encounters an older man, and he calls him dad. And the guy is actually quite appreciative of it, and he contrasts it with who would call older men pops. who are being condescending and treating them as if they're children and not taking them seriously. But Dad is viewed as

33:30 warm and friendly and respectful. And that is probably where Friday's dialogue and approach comes from. Now, this is not to say that if you've called someone pops that you are automatically disrespectful because... This really captures the feeling of a time and the manners of a time and not, you know, something that would go on through all ages.

34:01 But there is at least that thought process that would go into this sort of writing. Now, the one thing that in this episode, the one line that kind of makes you go, and that is where in the Clyde scene, He lumps Clyde in with those who turn in false fire alarms, those who confess to murder, and some who just beat their wives. My feeling, to quote Sesame Street, is one of these things is not like the other. Now, of course, it's not being said that this is okay.

34:44 In fact, false alarms is mentioned. But in about a year, they did another episode that showed how dangerous calling in false alarms can be. But it's clearly not taken as serious as a crime. Certainly not as serious as reckless driving. And again, just like a few months ago with the big producer, we do see these sort of evolving standards and views again. from law enforcement as to what is actually important, reflected in Dragnet, and the level of severity with which the law treats different crimes. Listener comments and feedback now, and we go to YouTube with a comment from Jeffrey on the big donation, which they reported on the results of the big guys in the racket. The One Day Wonder got the minimum amount One year. Hopefully

35:44 the head guy got the max 10 years. Well, you would like to think so, but I kind of doubt it. One thing that Dragnet does is it exposes, when it covers a crime, it explains to you why you should care about this particular crime. It shows the impact that it has as observed by law enforcement. And why they may take something a lot more seriously than a typical TV writer or a politician. And sometimes it's because they see the impact more. And it helps us as an audience to care about these crimes which are not necessarily murder or something as visceral as that. Now, in some cases, that message has not been received by lawmakers, so you end up with relatively light sentences for pretty horrific things,

36:46 as we talked about again in The Big Producer. But there are also those restraints in the expanse of keeping people in jail for that long that a prosecutor has to weigh, you know, just like they do today. So at the street enforcement and prosecution level, it's a very challenging issue. Now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. Thank you to Splinator, Patreon supporter since August 2024, currently supporting the podcast at the strongest level of $ 4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support. And that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back next

37:37 Thursday with another episode of Dragnet, but join us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny Dollar, where... He's safe.

37:45 Yeah. Hey, who lives in that big house across the road?

37:49 Oh, Mr.

37:49 Barton J.

37:50 Robinson.

37:51 Used to be an attorney.

37:52 Robinson, sure.

37:54 He's the one who prosecuted that big insurance fraud a few years ago for one of the companies I serve.

37:58 See him there eating his breakfast?

38:00 Ah.

38:01 A bachelor, isn't he?

38:02 Yes, he lives all alone.

38:04 Hmm.

38:04 I think I'd better warn him to stay away from you, that you're my property.

38:09 He's the most punctual man I've ever seen.

38:12 If he isn't there when I'm eating my breakfast, I know I've overslept.

38:15 Here, now.

38:17 And if you want some toast... Got it.

38:20 Hey, uh, Betty, I've been thinking.

38:22 Yes? Well, maybe it's just my crazy criminal mind, but.

38:26 Thinking about what, Jimmy?

38:28 About... Yeah, about that.

38:30 Holy smoke.

38:31 You know, I've got so used to it morning after morning.

38:34 Hmm, two of them.

38:37 No, crazy kids.

38:39 You know who they are?

38:40 Oh, somebody had the police come out here a couple of mornings, but of course they didn't show up then.

38:46 And I guess everybody else has just got used to them the way I have.

38:49 Now, let's eat. Funny, though.

38:52 What?

38:53 The crazy backfire. Once they get past here, they stop it.

38:57 Well, don't worry.

38:58 I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives. And check us out on Instagram, instagram.com slash greatdetectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.