our thoughts go out again to mrs. christine collins, of lincoln heights --
-- whose young son, walter collins, disappeared almost two weeks ago.
though she is not a member of our congregation, we pray for her today
every day, new bodies show up along mulholland, or in ditches, the work of police chief james davis and his so-called "gun squad." every day the needs of honest citizens are put second to greed and personal gain. every day, the city sinks deeper into a cesspool of fear, intimidation and corruption. once the city of angels, los angeles is now a place where our protectors have become our brutalizers. where to be the law. is to be above the law. where none dare speak truth to power. but we will not be silent. we will continue to put their offenses and their failures in full view of the public. we will not be intimidated.
lovely bit of phrasing, isn't it? noticed since the return of the boy to his mother. not only does it state clearly that you are the boy's mother, one could infer from this that you are somehow responsible for these changes. and that the police are concerned for the boy's welfare in your hands. you should try the eggs, they're very good.
someone in authority at the lapd lied? good heavens, i may have to go lie down.
i was not laughing at your situation, mrs. collins. it's just. after one has this sort of conversation enough times, a certain degree of hysteria begins to set in. please, sit. reluctantly, she does. shakes her head in disbelief.
to avoid admitting a mistake. that they brought back the wrong boy. anyone reading that with half a brain would see through it instantly. sadly, that leaves out about half the times' readership, but still.
you have no idea how many people have sat in that very chair and said those exact same words to me in relation to our friends at the los angeles police department. mrs. collins, i have made it my mission to bring to light all the things the lapd would prefer no one knew anything about. a department ruled by violence, abuse, murder, corruption and intimidation.
when chief davis took over the lapd two years ago, he said --
he picked fifty of the most dangerous cops on the force, gave them machine guns and permission to shoot anyone who got in their way. he called them the gun squad. no lawyers. no trials. no questions, suspensions or investigations. just piles of bodies.
bodies in morgues, bodies in hospitals, bodies by the side of the road, barely alive. not because the police wanted to wipe out crime, they just wanted to get rid of the competition.
mayor cryer and half the police force are on the take. prostitution, gambling, bootlegging, you name it. when the gloves came off, pretty soon the rest of the department got into the brutality act. didn't want the gun squad to have all the fun, after all.
the more they got away with it, the worse things got, because when you give folks the freedom to do whatever they want, as god saw in the garden of eden, they'll do just that.
this police department does not tolerate dissent, contradiction.  or embarrassment, mrs. collins. you have the power to embarrass them. and they don't like it. not when they became the heroes of the hour the day they stood there posing with you, having rescued a lost boy from the wilderness.
a lot of mothers' sons ended up being sacrificed to expediency around here, mrs. collins. yours wouldn't be the first. do this right, and maybe yours will be the last.
this is their attempt to win by framing the discussion their way. "why, of course it's her son. yes, there have been changes. we're looking into it, and isn't it strange that they happened after the boy got home?" they're putting you in the position of having to disprove what they're saying. and that's hard. most people believe what they hear from the police or the government. if you play it their way, you. and your son. are going to lose.
change the rules of engagement. re- define the argument. they brought in their expert, so you bring in yours. you have an advantage they don't. you know your son better than they ever will, and in that knowledge is the proof you need. get that information, put it out there. make them respond to you, not the other way around.
once people side with the police, it's a hard climb. but even in a town as loud as this one, the voice of truth can be heard. if you're willing to take it all the way in spite of the dangers. and they are very real, mrs. collins, make no mistake. once you open the book on these people, you're going to be looking over your shoulder every day, maybe for the rest of your life. you up to it, mrs. collins?
i'll see you tonight at eight for my broadcast. i'll leave the back door open and a light on. good luck.
mrs. collins. christine!
i'm sorry. i didn't want you to find out like this. i'm sorry. i'm sorry.
can we come in?
i know. my sources tell me the police commission is going to come out with a report that whitewashes the whole thing. they're going to say that jones and the rest of the lapd did absolutely nothing wrong, that the real blame is with the kid. and with you, for being difficult and forcing them to put you away for your own safety.
jut one problem.
now i want you to tell mr. hahn here the whole story, from end to end, leave nothing out, he'll need it all if he's going to get the city council involved.
almost there. just a few more blocks.
protest?
i don't know. all i know is that i think i just stopped breathing.
the lord works in mysterious ways, mrs. collins. he looks behind them, to where the police have stopped. there's no way in hell they can make a move in the face of something as big as t his. briegleb smiles.
boy howdy, does he ever. come on.
mothers and their children are connected in amazing ways. my uncle joined the army during the big war, and the day he died, before we ever heard a word about it, my grandmother woke up in the middle of the night and said, "bobby's gone." she just. knew.
mrs. collins --
i understand that you don't want to accept this. what mother does? but you have to let go. and start over. for yourself. he'd want you to move on.
he is, christine.
we should go.