drop the formalities; it's christmas eve. call me dudley.
excellent. how's this? the sanctity of the night is an invitation to the darker criminal element. our vigilance will not be diminished.
that's smith with an s.
this way, gentlemen.
this is sergeant ed exley. son of the legendary preston exley. he's the watch commander tonight and a damn fine job.
i was fortunate enough to be partnered with his father when i was a rookie. it makes a man feel old. that's a fact. feel free to get a feel for the place.
a word with you, lad.
to the memory of your father.
the day he got the medal of valor. a simpler time.
that was his favorite toast. i saw the test results on the lieutenant's exam. you placed first out of twenty-three.
you'll make lieutenant inside a year. patrol division?
you don't have the eye for human weakness to be a good detective. or the stomach. you're a political animal, edmund.
am i? would you be willing to plant corroborative evidence on a suspect you knew was guilty in order to ensure an indictment?
answer yes or no.
would you be willing to rig crime scene evidence to support a prosecuting attorney's working hypothesis? yes or no, edmund.
would you be willing to beat confessions out of suspects you knew to be guilty?
would you be willing to shoot hardened criminals in the back to offset the chance --
then for god's sake, don't be a detective. stick to assignments where you won't have to make those choices. patrol, internal affairs, but not the bureau.
at least get rid of the glasses. i can't think of one bureau man who wears them.
stensland's a disgrace. straight d fitness reports from every c.o. he ever served under. but white is a valuable officer.
no, edmund. he's a man who can answer yes to those questions i ask you from time to time.
that'll be hard to come by. the men hate a turncoat.
you'll reap the benefits, but are you truly prepared to be despised within the department?
so be it.
sergeant, we'll get right to it. nine civilian witnesses have identified you as hitting ezekiel garcia.
john, i doubt you've ever drawn a stupid breath. don't start now.
lad, may i have a word with you?
say goodnight to your friend and join me by those back tables.
he made his play amd he got what he wanted. they're making him a detective.
call me dudley.
lad, i admire your refusal to testify and your loyalty to your partner. i admire you as a policeman, particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjutant to the job. and i am most impressed with your punishment of wife beaters. do you hate them, wendell?
and for good reason judging from what i know of your background.
it would've happened years ago if you hadn't carried him. why the loyalty, wendell?
your partner's through. department scapegoat on the chief's orders. he's been billed, he'll be indicted and he'll swing.
don't underestimate his skills. as a politician he exceeds even myself. but the department needs smart men like exley and.  direct men like yourself
wendell, i want you to come to work for me.
they're yours. take them.
four of the defendants recanted their testimony.
i need you for an assignment the chief's given me the go-ahead on. a duty few men are fit for, but you were born for. you'll be working out of homicide.
will you work for me?
how what, wendell?
you should stay away from a man when his blood is up.
then maybe you should stay away from him all the time.
edmund, you don't want it and you can't have it.
it's mine. i'll make you my second in command.
why?
get on it.
with mickey cohen in prison, los angeles is organized crime free. the chief wants it to stay that way, edmund. the means are not for the weak-hearted.
come, wendell, you can do better than that.
we know all that, lad. tell us, who do these shooters work for?
we want you to go home. uncuff him, michael.
mr. sifakis is a known loan shark from san francisco. he arrived this afternoon at union station. looking for business opportunities in our fair city. an organized crime associate in need of re- education in the ways of polite society.
it's part of the play, edmund. a sincerity test.
sit him back down.
wendell, you need to accompany detective lieutenant exley on official police business. i'll finish up here.
'nite owl massacre.' hyperbole aside, this is a heinous crime that requires a swift resolution. the public will demand it and this department will provide it. six victims. one of them, one of our own -- dick stensland. as it happens, he was a nite owl regular. in the wrong place at the wrong time.
robbery looks like the motive. we have rubber glove prints on the register and preliminary forensics strongly lean toward a trio of gunmen. we do have one hot lead, so listen well. three negro youths were seen last night discharging shotguns in the air at griffith park. a park ranger i.d.ed them as driving a 1948 to 1950 mercury coupe, purple in color. an hour ago, a canvassing crew found a news vendor who saw a purple merc coupe parked across from the nite owl around 3:00 a.m.
the d.m.v. worked all night to get us a registration list on '48 to '50 purple mercs. there are 142 registered to negroes in l.a. county. fifty two-man teams will shake three names apiece. hot suspects you'll bring here. interrogation rooms have been set up. they'll be run by lieutenant edmund exley. hollywood squad.
ed, i want confessions.
i think you'll be surprised what edmund's capable of.
masterful, edmund. your father would've been proud. this one's on the verge.
don't get sidetracked. stay with the nite owl.
you've got it, wendell.
we're going through the front.
your father would've been proud.
there always are. but there are also three men and three guns. matched forensically. a few loose ends don't matter.
breaking a big case sticks you in a whirlwind. a little self-doubt? it's natural. just keep it inside. between you and you.
where did you intend to start. prostitution? gambling? go back to cleveland, lad. this is the city of angels and you haven't got any wings.
john vincennes. it's three a.m., lad.
lucky for you that my wife and four fair daughters are at the beach in santa barbara.
a disgrace as a policeman. straight d fitness reports from every c.o. he ever served under. what about him?
what's this all about, lad?
you're narco, lad, not homicide. and since when do you work with edmund?
don't start trying to do the right thing, john. you haven't had enough practice.
have you discussed this with anyone else, john?
not even with exley?
sergeant vincennes' body was found in echo park at ten o'clock this morning. killed by a single .38 round to the heart. one of our own, gentlemen. we cannot tolerate it. justice must be swift and merciless. that's all.
edmund, a word with you. we received a tip this morning. did vincennes ever mention the name rollo tomasi?
anonymous. probably nothing.
you're perplexing to me these days, wendell. you're not your old, cruel self anymore. i need proof that the extracurricular work i had planned for you remains within your grasp.
i've long been involved in containing hard crime in such a way that myself and a few colleagues might someday enjoy a profit dispensation. that day will soon be here and you'll share handsomely. grand means will be in our hands, wendell.
imagine crime limited to the criminal element who perpetrate it. imagine the means to keep the nigger filth sedated. but don't stop there. extrapolate. imagine the police in control. it's big, lad.
you have your extracurricular secrets, i have mine. we'll hold a clarification session soon. for now, i need your fearsome old habits at the victory motel. we're going to brace a man who may know who killed jack vincennes. can i count on you?
this is mr. hudgeons, wendell.
it's for your own safety. now what can you tell us about sergeant john vincennes?
but you were business associates?
alright. we'll drop that line for now. next topic. please comment on pierce patchett.
wendell. i want full and docile cooperation on all topics.
and?
reciprocity, mr. hudgeons, is the key to all relationships.
and?
wendell!
i wouldn't trade places with edmund exley right now for all the tea in china.
hush-hush.
i'm loathe to kill my brother officers, edmund.
jack was a shame, but dick stensland had the audacity to try to sell me my own heroin. through his whore girl friend. i sent him to make the buy. the rest is history.
a vacuum, edmund. that's what we have in los angeles. sending mickey cohen up created it. my containment work maintained it. certain photographs guarantee it. organized crime has been held back, but there's still a demand for the services it provides.
absolutely. prostitution and gambling are victimless crimes. the heroin we'll run down to the coloreds. anesthetize them. as long as it's not a middle class problem, no one will care. it's still a crime free city.  for respectable people.
this isn't politics, edmund. there won't be winners and losers when it's over.
just the living and the dead. it's always been that way in the bureau. you should've realized that before you became a detective.
we're policemen! let me do the talking. they'll make you chief of detectives.
why not, lad? absolute justice?
really? would you be willing to rig crime scene evidence to support a prosecuting attorney's working hypothesis?
would you be willing to beat confessions out of suspects you knew to be guilty?
are you willing to shoot hardened criminals in the back to offset the chance they'll --