WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:11.000 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. 00:11.000 --> 00:14.680 Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. 00:14.680 --> 00:28.480 NBC brings you Dragnet. 00:28.480 --> 00:30.440 You're a detective sergeant. 00:30.440 --> 00:33.080 You're assigned to robbery detail. 00:33.080 --> 00:36.160 There's a potential killer on the loose in your city. 00:36.160 --> 00:39.840 Eighteen women have been beaten and robbed by this man. 00:39.840 --> 00:43.360 The newspapers call him the werewolf. 00:43.360 --> 00:46.920 Your job is to get him. 00:46.920 --> 00:54.240 Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime investigated and solved by the men who 00:54.240 --> 01:00.680 unrelentingly stand watch on the security of your home, your family, and your life. 01:00.680 --> 01:05.100 For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will 01:05.100 --> 01:09.920 travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case, from beginning to 01:09.920 --> 01:13.360 end, from crime to punishment. 01:13.360 --> 01:19.160 Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. 01:19.160 --> 01:26.280 It was Thursday morning, February 2nd. 01:26.280 --> 01:29.000 It was raining in Los Angeles. 01:29.000 --> 01:32.840 We were working the early morning watch out of robbery detail. 01:32.840 --> 01:35.040 Detectives in Los Angeles work in pairs. 01:35.040 --> 01:37.040 My partner's Ben Romero. 01:37.040 --> 01:38.320 He's a sergeant and so am I. 01:38.320 --> 01:40.120 My name's Friday. 01:40.120 --> 01:43.520 The boss is Ed Backstrand, chief of detectives. 01:43.520 --> 01:48.720 I was on the way back from the teletype room and it was 3 a.m. when I got to room 27A, robbery 01:48.720 --> 01:49.720 detail. 01:49.720 --> 01:50.720 Hi, Ben. 01:50.720 --> 01:51.720 What's up? 01:51.720 --> 01:52.720 Keep your coat on, Joe. 01:52.720 --> 01:53.720 Just had a hot shot call. 01:53.720 --> 01:54.720 Coming, Skipper. 01:54.720 --> 01:55.720 Right behind you. 01:55.720 --> 01:56.720 Let's go, Freddie. 01:56.720 --> 01:57.720 Well, what was it, Ed? 01:57.720 --> 02:00.720 Another woman robbed, almost beaten to death. 02:00.720 --> 02:02.720 Well, how many does that make? 02:02.720 --> 02:04.720 About 18 in six weeks. 02:04.720 --> 02:05.720 Is that right, Skipper? 02:05.720 --> 02:06.720 Yeah, 18 too many. 02:06.720 --> 02:09.720 Come on down these stairs to the garage. 02:09.720 --> 02:10.720 Yeah. 02:10.720 --> 02:12.200 What about that suspect we had, Ed? 02:12.200 --> 02:13.200 You mean Martin? 02:13.200 --> 02:14.200 Yeah. 02:14.200 --> 02:15.200 Had to release him this morning. 02:15.200 --> 02:17.200 But I got a good tail on him, Henderson. 02:17.200 --> 02:19.200 Yeah, we got any reports yet? 02:19.200 --> 02:21.200 Nothing definite to hold him for. 02:21.200 --> 02:22.200 Here's the garage. 02:22.200 --> 02:23.200 Let's hustle it. 02:23.200 --> 02:24.200 Right. 02:24.200 --> 02:27.200 Then if this isn't Martin's job, Skipper, and he's not the right man... 02:27.200 --> 02:31.200 Then we start all over again and we work night and day till we find the right man. 02:31.200 --> 02:32.200 Here's the car. 02:32.200 --> 02:33.200 Let's go. 02:33.200 --> 02:34.200 Ben, you drive. 02:34.200 --> 02:35.200 Yeah, all right. 02:35.200 --> 02:40.200 How do the victims describe this guy, Ed? 02:40.200 --> 02:41.200 Pretty sketchy. 02:41.200 --> 02:44.200 Supposed to be tall, dark, long black hair. 02:44.200 --> 02:48.200 Last woman said he had a face like an animal, something like a dog. 02:48.200 --> 02:49.200 A wolf. 02:49.200 --> 02:50.200 A wolf? 02:50.200 --> 02:51.200 Yeah. 02:51.200 --> 02:57.200 She said, something like a werewolf. 02:57.200 --> 02:58.200 Something like a werewolf. 02:58.200 --> 03:02.200 Well, he almost had to be that, judging from the way he operated. 03:02.200 --> 03:06.200 He was either an animal or a raving maniac. 03:06.200 --> 03:09.200 One thing we were sure of, he was smart and he was dangerous. 03:09.200 --> 03:15.200 For almost two months, he'd foul the streets in a stolen car in the early morning, usually 03:15.200 --> 03:17.200 between 3 and 5 a.m. 03:17.200 --> 03:23.200 And the victims were always lone women, most of them waitresses coming to work or going 03:23.200 --> 03:24.200 home. 03:24.200 --> 03:27.200 He dragged them into the car, robbed them, beat them until they were unconscious, and 03:27.200 --> 03:29.200 then threw the body out into the street. 03:29.200 --> 03:34.200 That's just what we found when we pulled up to the curb near the corner of 8th and Grand. 03:34.200 --> 03:39.200 One cruiser car was already there and so was the ambulance. 03:39.200 --> 03:42.200 About a dozen people were standing around looking at the crumpled figure of a woman 03:42.200 --> 03:44.200 sprawled out on the sidewalk. 03:44.200 --> 03:48.200 Two officers were talking to the only witness, a thin, sallow-faced newsboy. 03:48.200 --> 03:50.200 His story didn't give us much to go on. 03:50.200 --> 03:54.200 Like I was telling these cops or these officers, sir, I was walking up 8th Street on my way 03:54.200 --> 03:59.200 home as usual when I see this blue Chevy sedan pull up down a block there a little way and 03:59.200 --> 04:01.200 dump out the dame's body. 04:01.200 --> 04:03.200 Actually, I don't know what to think. 04:03.200 --> 04:05.200 Did you get a look at the license plate? 04:05.200 --> 04:07.200 Well, no, I didn't. 04:07.200 --> 04:09.200 To tell you the truth, I could hardly keep from... 04:09.200 --> 04:11.200 I was just plain scared. 04:11.200 --> 04:14.200 What did you do after you saw him throw the body out, son? 04:14.200 --> 04:18.200 I just stood there for a minute and the fellow in the car drove right on past me. 04:18.200 --> 04:19.200 Did you get a look at him? 04:19.200 --> 04:20.200 I sure did. 04:20.200 --> 04:22.200 How close were you when he drove past? 04:22.200 --> 04:26.200 Well, couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 feet away. 04:26.200 --> 04:29.200 I was right over there by the street light near the curb. 04:29.200 --> 04:31.200 Would you know this man if you saw him again? 04:31.200 --> 04:36.200 I don't know about his height or his build or his weight, but, mister, his face I'll never forget. 04:36.200 --> 04:37.200 Why do you say that? 04:37.200 --> 04:39.200 It was just like the paper says about him. 04:39.200 --> 04:42.200 Right here on the front page. Here, read it. 04:42.200 --> 04:43.200 See? 04:43.200 --> 04:45.200 Woman says the attacker looked like werewolf. 04:45.200 --> 04:51.200 That's all the newsboy could tell us. 04:51.200 --> 04:53.200 The suspect drove a blue sedan. 04:53.200 --> 04:56.200 He had a face like a werewolf. 04:56.200 --> 05:00.200 We covered the neighborhood for clues and we questioned a dozen people, but we got nowhere. 05:00.200 --> 05:09.200 We took the witnesses' name and address and we drove down a couple of blocks to an all-night gas station. 05:09.200 --> 05:11.200 14-R, ultimate call. 05:11.200 --> 05:15.200 I'm going in here and call the office and see if Henderson's called in on Martin. 05:15.200 --> 05:17.200 We might still have a suspect. 05:17.200 --> 05:20.200 Right, skipper. 05:20.200 --> 05:23.200 Looks as mad as a wet hornet, doesn't it, you? 05:23.200 --> 05:24.200 Yeah. 05:24.200 --> 05:28.200 Did you get a good look at that woman's face when they moved her in the ambulance? 05:28.200 --> 05:32.200 Hell. Sure does like to mess them up. 05:32.200 --> 05:36.200 I don't know how we're going to get them, Ben, but we better do it fast. Next time it'll probably be murder. 05:36.200 --> 05:38.200 Well, here comes the skipper, Joe. 05:38.200 --> 05:41.200 Uh-oh. Doesn't look good. 05:41.200 --> 05:43.200 What is it, Ed? 05:43.200 --> 05:46.200 Just talked to Henderson. 05:46.200 --> 05:48.200 He tailed Martin to a bar in Long Beach. 05:48.200 --> 05:52.200 He hasn't been out of his sight for two minutes since yesterday. Martin's clear. 05:52.200 --> 05:54.200 And we're right back where we started. 05:54.200 --> 05:56.200 Yeah, with one more half-dead woman in the hospital. 05:56.200 --> 05:58.200 Well, how about that stone and cars, skipper? 05:58.200 --> 06:00.200 Wait a minute, wait a minute. Get that radio up. 06:00.200 --> 06:01.200 Okay. 06:01.200 --> 06:04.200 Code 3, ambulance dispatched. 06:04.200 --> 06:08.200 Attention, all units on Grand Avenue between Venice and Washington. 06:08.200 --> 06:12.200 A woman victim of robbery and attack. Code 3, ambulance detached. 06:12.200 --> 06:16.200 Code 3, red light and siren. Come on, Friday, let's roll. 06:22.200 --> 06:25.200 Oh, we couldn't be sure, but it sounded like another one. 06:25.200 --> 06:27.200 Six minutes later we were there. 06:27.200 --> 06:30.200 Same story. Werewolf. 06:34.200 --> 06:38.200 The next day the chief ordered the number of cruiser cars doubled in the central district. 06:38.200 --> 06:42.200 This was for the early morning watch with plain clothesmen to back them up. 06:42.200 --> 06:48.200 Then the newspapers played it vague and in two days the story was on the front page of every paper in town. 06:48.200 --> 06:52.200 Maybe that should have made the werewolf lay low, but it didn't. 06:52.200 --> 06:57.200 Because at four o'clock that morning while Ben and I were patrolling with the other cars he got his twentieth victim. 06:59.200 --> 07:03.200 Attention, all units. Whittier between Soto and Matthews. 07:03.200 --> 07:08.200 A woman victim of 211 and attack. Code 3, ambulance dispatched. 07:10.200 --> 07:13.200 Here's a report on that blue sedan he used the other night, Joe. 07:13.200 --> 07:15.200 Found it out on Anaheim Telegraph Road. 07:15.200 --> 07:16.200 Any luck with it? 07:16.200 --> 07:18.200 Not one fingerprint we can use. 07:18.200 --> 07:19.200 Anything else? 07:18.200 --> 07:19.200 Nothing. 07:19.200 --> 07:20.200 Well, how about the auto theft details? 07:20.200 --> 07:25.200 Same old story, Joe. He steals a car, use it once and then drops it. Never leaves a thing behind. 07:25.200 --> 07:27.200 That's great. We're sure moving fast. 07:27.200 --> 07:29.200 How about that big guy you picked out of the line up this morning? 07:29.200 --> 07:31.200 Oh, I checked his alibi. It's perfect. 07:31.200 --> 07:33.200 Now we haven't got even half a clue. 07:33.200 --> 07:37.200 Yeah. Well, come on, let's check with Eddie. He's instructing the police women on a plan for tonight. 07:37.200 --> 07:42.200 All right. Now you've heard the reports, you understand how the suspect operates and what you're to do. 07:42.200 --> 07:46.200 Remember, all of you forget you were ever police women. Change the way you walk. 07:46.200 --> 07:49.200 The way you carry yourselves. That's the part you're playing, all right? 07:49.200 --> 07:53.200 And be careful and don't take any chances. All right, Freddie. 07:53.200 --> 08:00.200 Okay, Ed. Now, just to make sure you look the part, we're spotting each one of you at different restaurants and coffee shops throughout the central district. 08:00.200 --> 08:04.200 From seven o'clock tonight until daylight tomorrow, each one of you is going to be a waitress. You got that? 08:04.200 --> 08:05.200 Yeah. 08:05.200 --> 08:07.200 Okay, Ben, you want to give them their assignments? 08:07.200 --> 08:09.200 Okay, Joe. Now here's the way it lines up. 08:09.200 --> 08:13.200 Marge Kissel at the Top Hat Cafe. That's on 9th Street between Alpharad and Westlake. 08:13.200 --> 08:14.200 Okay. 08:14.200 --> 08:17.200 And Katie Wells, Joe's Coffee House, Brooklyn Soto. 08:17.200 --> 08:18.200 Right. 08:18.200 --> 08:22.200 Pat Fieldon at the All Night Steakhouse on Fegarore Street between Florida and Denver. 08:22.200 --> 08:30.200 No, the trick of using decoys to lure criminals into a trap wasn't exactly new, but, well, it was just one of the old tricks that we figured might land the werewolf behind bars. 08:30.200 --> 08:35.200 At seven that night, Ben and I made the rounds and found each of the police women on her job as a waitress. 08:35.200 --> 08:44.200 Well, the overall plan was simple. The girls were to leave the different restaurants between 3 and 5 a.m. that morning and pretend they were walking home. 08:44.200 --> 08:51.200 We mapped different courses for each one of them to throw out as much bait as possible and yet not to make it look suspicious. 08:51.200 --> 08:58.200 Each police woman from the time she left the restaurant and stepped out into the deserted streets would be pretty much on her own. 08:58.200 --> 09:05.200 We had officers planned it all along the way at designated intervals, but a big element of chance and danger was still there. 09:05.200 --> 09:09.200 All we could do was cross our fingers and hope. 09:09.200 --> 09:11.200 How much more time, Joe? 09:11.200 --> 09:13.200 Let me see. She's doing two minutes. 09:13.200 --> 09:16.200 Yeah. Waiting gets on your nerves. 09:16.200 --> 09:17.200 That'll won't be long. 09:17.200 --> 09:19.200 This corner doorway's a pretty good look, houseboy. 09:19.200 --> 09:23.200 Yeah. Wait a minute. Listen. 09:23.200 --> 09:25.200 Who is it, Joe? Can you see? 09:25.200 --> 09:26.200 Get back. 09:26.200 --> 09:27.200 What is it? 09:27.200 --> 09:31.200 Wait a minute. It's Marge Kissel. There's a man following her. 09:31.200 --> 09:32.200 A big guy. 09:32.200 --> 09:34.200 If it's the werewolf, where's his car? 09:34.200 --> 09:36.200 I don't know. Maybe he changed his plans. Get back. Here they come. 09:36.200 --> 09:41.200 Get a look at him, Joe. 09:41.200 --> 09:44.200 Oh, pretty good. Not too suspicious. Might be coincidence. 09:44.200 --> 09:46.200 I got a pretty good lead. Come on, let's go. 09:46.200 --> 09:48.200 Stay back in the shadows. 09:50.200 --> 09:51.200 Joe. 09:51.200 --> 09:52.200 So where'd the guy go to? I lost him. 09:52.200 --> 09:54.200 A little coffee shop up on the next corner. See? Take a look. 09:54.200 --> 09:57.200 Oh, yeah, yeah. He's opening the door. 09:57.200 --> 10:03.200 He's turning on the latch. Looks like a false alarm, Joe. 10:03.200 --> 10:06.200 Well, let's check him anyway. 10:11.200 --> 10:14.200 Well, I didn't think we'd be that lucky on the first try, and we weren't. 10:14.200 --> 10:19.200 We asked the man a few questions, and it didn't take him long to show us he wasn't our man. 10:19.200 --> 10:21.200 He owned the coffee shop. 10:21.200 --> 10:26.200 So Ben and I went back and took up our posts again and waited for the next decoy. 10:26.200 --> 10:33.200 We covered that ten-block course six times that morning, back and forth, following the bait. 10:33.200 --> 10:35.200 But it was almost as if the guy could sense a trap. 10:35.200 --> 10:37.200 Not once did we get a nibble. 10:37.200 --> 10:41.200 By the time our last decoy finished the route, it was almost daylight. 10:41.200 --> 10:45.200 Joe, I never was so glad to see that sun come up in my whole life. 10:45.200 --> 10:47.200 My feet feel like they're puffing right up out of my shoes. 10:47.200 --> 10:49.200 Yeah, me too. 10:49.200 --> 10:53.200 Come on, let's get over to the car and check on the other squad out in Boyle Heights. 10:53.200 --> 10:55.200 Oh, hit the radio, will you, Ben? 10:55.200 --> 10:56.200 Yeah. 10:56.200 --> 10:59.200 Joe, there must be some easier job on the force than this. 10:59.200 --> 11:01.200 Yeah, you and me both. 11:01.200 --> 11:03.200 Now let's see what happens to the others, huh? 11:03.200 --> 11:06.200 80K to unit 104K, come in. 11:06.200 --> 11:09.200 104K to unit 80K, go ahead. 11:09.200 --> 11:11.200 104K, this is Friday. 11:11.200 --> 11:12.200 You doing any good out there? 11:12.200 --> 11:14.200 This is Miller, I'll call Curtis. 11:14.200 --> 11:15.200 Stand by. 11:15.200 --> 11:17.200 80K to 104K, Roger. 11:17.200 --> 11:18.200 What do you think, Joe? Maybe a buy? 11:18.200 --> 11:19.200 I don't know. 11:19.200 --> 11:23.200 This guy seems to work like a mind reader. 11:23.200 --> 11:24.200 Well, he can't win all of them. 11:24.200 --> 11:28.200 104K to unit 80K, this is Curtis, go ahead. 11:28.200 --> 11:29.200 This is Friday, Al. 11:29.200 --> 11:31.200 How'd you do out there? Any luck? 11:31.200 --> 11:33.200 Just checked in the last gal, Joe. 11:33.200 --> 11:35.200 Eddie Welch, not assigned. 11:35.200 --> 11:37.200 Okay, Al, have the men check in. 11:37.200 --> 11:39.200 80K clear, KGPL. 11:39.200 --> 11:41.200 Okay, let's go, Ben. 11:45.200 --> 11:47.200 When we finally got back to the office that morning, 11:47.200 --> 11:49.200 both Ben and I were ready for some sleep, 11:49.200 --> 11:51.200 but it didn't look like we were gonna get it. 11:51.200 --> 11:53.200 We just about finished going through the overnight reports 11:53.200 --> 11:55.200 for some kind of a lead when the phone rang. 11:57.200 --> 11:58.200 Robbery Friday. 11:58.200 --> 12:00.200 Hi, Joe, this is Wilkerson, auto theft. 12:00.200 --> 12:02.200 Hi, Wilkie, you got something for us? 12:02.200 --> 12:04.200 Not much, Joe, but it might work into something. 12:04.200 --> 12:07.200 Just got a report in on a pair of stolen license plates. 12:07.200 --> 12:08.200 Oh? 12:08.200 --> 12:10.200 Yeah, I'm not much of a hawk show, 12:10.200 --> 12:11.200 but I figure there's just a chance 12:11.200 --> 12:13.200 it might be you a werewolf boy. 12:13.200 --> 12:14.200 How come? 12:14.200 --> 12:16.200 I don't know, maybe just a hunch. 12:16.200 --> 12:18.200 After 13 years in this business, 12:18.200 --> 12:20.200 you get to know thieves pretty well. 12:20.200 --> 12:22.200 Sometimes you got to even think like them. 12:22.200 --> 12:23.200 Okay, Wilkie, thanks. 12:23.200 --> 12:24.200 We'll check by in a couple of minutes. 12:24.200 --> 12:26.200 All right, Joe. 12:26.200 --> 12:27.200 What do you have to say? 12:27.200 --> 12:29.200 A pair of license plates stolen last night. 12:29.200 --> 12:31.200 Wilkie's got a hunch it could have been our man. 12:31.200 --> 12:32.200 That might be an angle, Joe. 12:32.200 --> 12:35.200 If that werewolf guy had hang on to one car long enough, 12:35.200 --> 12:36.200 we'd have a chance at him. 12:36.200 --> 12:38.200 Well, he's too smart for that. 12:38.200 --> 12:39.200 I don't know, Joe. 12:39.200 --> 12:41.200 Sooner or later, he's gonna make a mistake. 12:41.200 --> 12:42.200 Yeah. 12:42.200 --> 12:46.200 Come on, let's check with Wilkie. 12:46.200 --> 12:48.200 Well, we checked with Wilkerson. 12:48.200 --> 12:50.200 We got the best piece of news we'd had in days. 12:50.200 --> 12:53.200 On the average, 95% of stolen cars 12:53.200 --> 12:55.200 are recovered or located within 24 hours. 12:55.200 --> 12:57.200 In the remaining 5%, 12:57.200 --> 12:59.200 Wilkerson, by a simple process of elimination, 12:59.200 --> 13:01.200 narrowed down the number of cars 13:01.200 --> 13:02.200 the suspect might be driving. 13:02.200 --> 13:04.200 Wilkie figured six cars. 13:04.200 --> 13:05.200 There they are. 13:05.200 --> 13:07.200 Now, I'll bet you if you picked up your man tonight, 13:07.200 --> 13:08.200 he'd be in one of these cars. 13:08.200 --> 13:09.200 Let me see, huh? 13:09.200 --> 13:11.200 Two-door black sedan, yellow convertible, 13:11.200 --> 13:14.200 another sedan, green, blue coupe, black coupe, 13:14.200 --> 13:15.200 and a gray convertible. 13:15.200 --> 13:16.200 Well, that's good work, Wilkie. 13:16.200 --> 13:18.200 At least we got something to look for now. 13:18.200 --> 13:19.200 Yeah, you're right, Joe. 13:19.200 --> 13:20.200 Now, Wilkie, you got the numbers 13:20.200 --> 13:22.200 of those stolen plates you're talking about? 13:22.200 --> 13:23.200 Yeah, right here, Ben. 13:23.200 --> 13:25.200 They're already on the hot sheet. 13:25.200 --> 13:26.200 Good. Keep us posted, huh? 13:26.200 --> 13:27.200 As usual, Ben. 13:27.200 --> 13:29.200 See you later, Wilkie. 13:31.200 --> 13:32.200 That's a good break, Ben. 13:32.200 --> 13:34.200 Something to keep us busy tonight. 13:34.200 --> 13:35.200 Tonight? What do you mean? 13:35.200 --> 13:36.200 We're setting another trap. 13:36.200 --> 13:37.200 Same thing as last night. 13:37.200 --> 13:39.200 Same police women, same everything. 13:39.200 --> 13:42.200 Well, only this time let's hope he steps into it. 13:42.200 --> 13:46.200 You know, Joe, this werewolf character's getting me mad. 13:51.200 --> 13:53.200 That night, we followed in our own footsteps. 13:53.200 --> 13:55.200 We planted the police women decoys 13:55.200 --> 13:56.200 in three separate districts, 13:56.200 --> 13:58.200 and a few minutes before 3 a.m., 13:58.200 --> 14:00.200 our squad of men took up their positions. 14:00.200 --> 14:02.200 The same police women went to their waitress jobs 14:02.200 --> 14:03.200 in the same restaurants, 14:03.200 --> 14:05.200 and Ben and I and the rest of the men 14:05.200 --> 14:06.200 stood in darkened doorways 14:06.200 --> 14:08.200 or empty filling stations. 14:08.200 --> 14:10.200 Whatever cover we could find. 14:10.200 --> 14:12.200 And we waited and waited. 14:17.200 --> 14:18.200 What time is it, Joe? 14:18.200 --> 14:20.200 Let me look. 14:20.200 --> 14:21.200 Half past four. 14:21.200 --> 14:23.200 Thank you. 14:23.200 --> 14:25.200 Any sign, Joe? 14:25.200 --> 14:26.200 No, nothing yet. 14:26.200 --> 14:28.200 Come on, stay in the shadows. 14:32.200 --> 14:34.200 That's the way it went all through the early morning. 14:34.200 --> 14:37.200 Same plan over and over again until daylight. 14:37.200 --> 14:39.200 Ben and I had to check in at the station, 14:39.200 --> 14:42.200 go over the late stolen car reports with Wilkie, 14:42.200 --> 14:44.200 catch a few hours sleep at home, 14:44.200 --> 14:46.200 and then come back and do it all over again. 14:46.200 --> 14:48.200 The next night, the next morning, 14:48.200 --> 14:51.200 the night after that, and the morning after that. 14:51.200 --> 14:54.200 Five days later, Ben and I were ready to call it quits. 14:54.200 --> 14:56.200 I'll admit it, Joe, I can't figure it. 14:56.200 --> 14:57.200 The guy's either psychic 14:57.200 --> 14:59.200 or else he can smell a cop a mile away. 14:59.200 --> 15:02.200 Yeah, well, at least we got that stolen car angle left. 15:02.200 --> 15:04.200 You check with Wilkie yet this morning? 15:04.200 --> 15:05.200 I'll give him a call now. 15:05.200 --> 15:07.200 All right. 15:12.200 --> 15:13.200 Auto theft, Wilkerson. 15:13.200 --> 15:14.200 This is Ben, Wilkie. 15:14.200 --> 15:16.200 Got anything for us this morning? 15:16.200 --> 15:18.200 Yeah, I was just gonna call you. 15:18.200 --> 15:20.200 You fellas ought to let me solve your cases for you. 15:20.200 --> 15:21.200 Why? What'd you get? 15:21.200 --> 15:23.200 The boys picked up three of those six stolen cars 15:23.200 --> 15:24.200 since late yesterday. 15:24.200 --> 15:27.200 Great. Now what does that leave us with? 15:27.200 --> 15:28.200 I hear the three still missing. 15:28.200 --> 15:29.200 Yeah. 15:29.200 --> 15:31.200 Four, X-ray, 763. 15:31.200 --> 15:32.200 Yeah. 15:32.200 --> 15:34.200 Five, six, young, 342. 15:34.200 --> 15:35.200 Mm-hmm. 15:35.200 --> 15:37.200 Six, one, Robert, 385. 15:37.200 --> 15:38.200 Yeah. 15:38.200 --> 15:39.200 Got those? 15:39.200 --> 15:40.200 Yeah, thank you, Wilkie. 15:40.200 --> 15:41.200 I'll check you later. 15:41.200 --> 15:42.200 Good news? 15:42.200 --> 15:43.200 Remember those six missing cars? 15:43.200 --> 15:44.200 Yeah. 15:44.200 --> 15:45.200 Wilkie says the boys found three of them 15:45.200 --> 15:46.200 since late yesterday. 15:46.200 --> 15:47.200 Here's what's still out. 15:47.200 --> 15:49.200 The blue coupe, the yellow convertible 15:49.200 --> 15:50.200 and the gray convertible. 15:50.200 --> 15:51.200 Yeah. 15:51.200 --> 15:53.200 Well, this feels like the right track for a change, Ben. 15:53.200 --> 15:55.200 Blighty, Romero, got a minute? 15:55.200 --> 15:57.200 Sure thing, skipper. Come on, Joe. 15:58.200 --> 15:59.200 What do you got, Ed? 15:59.200 --> 16:02.200 Woman up in Hollywood just called in with this. 16:02.200 --> 16:05.200 She said she walked down to the corner from her house last night 16:05.200 --> 16:06.200 to mail a letter. 16:06.200 --> 16:07.200 On the way back, a guy pulled up in the car 16:07.200 --> 16:09.200 and tried to drag her inside. 16:09.200 --> 16:10.200 Any description? 16:10.200 --> 16:11.200 Big, heavy, set, dark, same thing. 16:11.200 --> 16:13.200 Well, how'd you get away from them, skipper? 16:13.200 --> 16:16.200 She said she started running as soon as he made a motion toward her. 16:16.200 --> 16:18.200 When he saw her on up the steps of her house, 16:18.200 --> 16:19.200 he jumped back in the car and took off. 16:19.200 --> 16:21.200 Well, how come she didn't call in before this? 16:21.200 --> 16:22.200 She hasn't got her phone. 16:22.200 --> 16:24.200 She's ready to leave the house again until this morning. 16:24.200 --> 16:26.200 Sounds good, chief. You got her address there? 16:26.200 --> 16:27.200 Yeah, yeah. 16:27.200 --> 16:31.200 Mrs. Tom Burdick, 1237 Wilcox, 16:31.200 --> 16:32.200 apartment 10. 16:32.200 --> 16:35.200 Come on, Ben. This might be what we're looking for. 16:43.200 --> 16:45.200 Who is it? Who's there? 16:45.200 --> 16:47.200 Sergeant Friday, ma'am. Police. 16:47.200 --> 16:49.200 Oh, just a moment. 16:53.200 --> 16:55.200 I'm Sergeant Romero, Miss Burdick. 16:55.200 --> 16:57.200 This is my partner, Sergeant Friday. 16:57.200 --> 17:00.200 We come out to check on your call about that little trouble last night. 17:00.200 --> 17:03.200 Oh, well, I don't know if I'm going to be much help to you. 17:03.200 --> 17:06.200 I was so frightened about all I could do was just run. 17:06.200 --> 17:08.200 Well, could you add anything to the man's description, Miss Burdick? 17:08.200 --> 17:11.200 I mean, other than what you told the chief on the phone? 17:11.200 --> 17:14.200 Well, no. Honestly, I don't think I can. 17:14.200 --> 17:19.200 All I saw was this tall, dark man jumping out of his car and starting for me. 17:19.200 --> 17:23.200 He had a heavy build and seemed to me, well, a large head, 17:23.200 --> 17:25.200 with lots of long, black hair. 17:25.200 --> 17:27.200 Oh, hmm. 17:27.200 --> 17:31.200 Miss Burdick, would you recognize this man if you ever saw him again? 17:31.200 --> 17:34.200 Well, I think I might. 17:34.200 --> 17:37.200 He was such an unusually big man, almost frightened me to death. 17:37.200 --> 17:39.200 Well, just one more question, Miss Burdick. 17:39.200 --> 17:42.200 Could you describe the car this man was driving when he approached you? 17:42.200 --> 17:46.200 His car? Why, yes. 17:46.200 --> 17:48.200 It was a gray convertible. 17:48.200 --> 17:50.200 Miss Burdick, are you sure of that? 17:50.200 --> 17:53.200 Yes, I'm sure of it. A gray convertible. 17:53.200 --> 17:58.200 Thank you, Miss Burdick. That's all we wanted to know. 17:58.200 --> 18:02.200 Sometimes when you're on a case, you can chase yourself around in circles for weeks 18:02.200 --> 18:06.200 trying to fit together just two little pieces of a yard-long jigsaw puzzle. 18:06.200 --> 18:10.200 And a lot of the time, you find the answer where you least expect it. 18:10.200 --> 18:13.200 But once you get that feeling you're after the right man in the right way, 18:13.200 --> 18:16.200 there's nothing that can shake you. 18:16.200 --> 18:19.200 When Ben and I got back to headquarters, we went straight to the chief's office 18:19.200 --> 18:22.200 with a story, and we had him stake out the gray convertible. 18:22.200 --> 18:25.200 In other words, if any detective or officer spotted the car, 18:25.200 --> 18:28.200 he reported it back to us, but he stayed away from it. 18:28.200 --> 18:31.200 We figured that there probably weren't more than two of the victims 18:31.200 --> 18:34.200 who could take the witness stand and identify the man who robbed and beat them. 18:34.200 --> 18:37.200 Not with a smart defense lawyer, anyway. 18:37.200 --> 18:41.200 So there was only one way to catch this suspect. Red-handed. 18:44.200 --> 18:46.200 Here they are, Joe. 18:46.200 --> 18:49.200 Both sets of license numbers for that gray convertible. 18:49.200 --> 18:51.200 Here are the original, and here are the numbers on the stolen plates. 18:51.200 --> 18:53.200 Good. Everybody got a hot sheet? 18:53.200 --> 18:55.200 From the chief all the way down to the gen. 18:55.200 --> 18:57.200 Fine. Now let's get together with Ed, huh? 18:57.200 --> 18:59.200 Hot shot, Joe. Grab it. 18:59.200 --> 19:00.200 I got it. 19:00.200 --> 19:04.200 On the corner of California and Oakwood, a woman badly beaten. 19:04.200 --> 19:07.200 On the corner of California and Oakwood, a woman badly... 19:07.200 --> 19:09.200 Come on, Ben, another one. 19:09.200 --> 19:11.200 But Joe, it's broad daylight. 19:11.200 --> 19:13.200 Yeah. Doesn't figure, does it? Come on. 19:13.200 --> 19:15.200 That vacant lot over, Joe. 19:15.200 --> 19:19.200 Two plain clothesmen and uniformed officers were keeping the crowd back. 19:19.200 --> 19:22.200 An ambulance was drawn up by the curb, but it was empty. 19:22.200 --> 19:25.200 When we got down to the rear of the lot, we found out why. 19:25.200 --> 19:27.200 They were waiting for the coroner. 19:27.200 --> 19:30.200 The woman was young, not much more than 30. 19:30.200 --> 19:34.200 Her body was half sprawled across the muddy ground, and her face was turned upward. 19:34.200 --> 19:36.200 It had been badly beaten. 19:36.200 --> 19:39.200 They figured it happened last night, and they were waiting for the coroner. 19:39.200 --> 19:43.200 The woman was turned upward. It had been badly beaten. 19:43.200 --> 19:45.200 They figured it happened last night, Sergeant. 19:45.200 --> 19:47.200 Have the fingerprint men been notified? Yeah. 19:47.200 --> 19:49.200 How about the crime lab? Just called them. 19:49.200 --> 19:52.200 That's good. Now let's keep everybody out of the area till they get here. 19:52.200 --> 19:54.200 All right, Sergeant. Who found the body? 19:54.200 --> 19:57.200 One of the kids in the neighborhood. Owen was dead when he found her. 19:57.200 --> 20:00.200 Did she live around here? About a half mile away. 20:00.200 --> 20:04.200 I hear she's got three kids. Or she had three kids. 20:06.200 --> 20:08.200 You've seen enough, Ben? 20:08.200 --> 20:11.200 Let's get on back to headquarters. 20:16.200 --> 20:19.200 All the way back to headquarters, Ben and I planned our next move. 20:19.200 --> 20:23.200 And by the time we got to Ed Backstrand's office, we knew exactly what had to be done. 20:23.200 --> 20:27.200 When we told him about the werewolf murder, he didn't say a thing for a minute. 20:27.200 --> 20:30.200 He just stared across the room at the calendar on the wall. 20:30.200 --> 20:33.200 Then he brought his hand down hard against the desk. 20:33.200 --> 20:38.200 Friday, Romero, I'm only going to say this once, so get it straight. 20:38.200 --> 20:41.200 That guy's pulled his last job in this city. 20:41.200 --> 20:44.200 He's through robbing and beating women, and he's through with murder. 20:44.200 --> 20:47.200 I've given you time to track him down, and now I want him in. 20:47.200 --> 20:49.200 No stalls, no excuses. I want him. 20:49.200 --> 20:53.200 I don't care how many men you use, and I don't care how you get him, but get him. 20:54.200 --> 20:56.200 That's all. 20:56.200 --> 21:00.200 Ben and I worked all that afternoon right through dinner, up until 8 o'clock. 21:00.200 --> 21:04.200 By that time, the overall plan was down on paper and already in action. 21:04.200 --> 21:10.200 It was one of the biggest things we'd ever tackled, and well, we didn't know if it was going to work. 21:10.200 --> 21:13.200 We only knew it had to work. 21:13.200 --> 21:19.200 We had a squad of 65 cars to stretch out over 40 square miles of the city in one big dragnet. 21:19.200 --> 21:25.200 The blockade itself would be stationary most of the time, and we had to get the rest of the people to come. 21:25.200 --> 21:31.200 We'd have to get the rest of the time, and working inside it would be two cars, 14 policewomen as decoys, 21:31.200 --> 21:34.200 with two plainclothesmen assigned to watch each policewoman. 21:34.200 --> 21:37.200 If and when the werewolf was sighted in the gray convertible, 21:37.200 --> 21:39.200 we'd automatically take over the police radio for the whole city, 21:39.200 --> 21:42.200 and Backstrand would direct the chase from headquarters. 21:45.200 --> 21:50.200 A little after 8, we had coffee and hamburgers, and we went to Ben's for a few hours. 21:50.200 --> 21:54.200 Ben tucked his kid in bed as usual, and then he laid down for a nap. 21:54.200 --> 21:58.200 I talked to his wife until I dozed off in the chair. 21:58.200 --> 22:02.200 At 11.30, she woke us up. I combed my hair, put on my coat. 22:02.200 --> 22:07.200 Cops' wives are like everybody else's. They worry. 22:07.200 --> 22:12.200 When we met at headquarters, we did some last-minute checking on details with Backstrand for about a half an hour, 22:12.200 --> 22:14.200 and then we were all ready to go. 22:14.200 --> 22:20.200 By five minutes past two, half the dragnet crew pulled out of the police garage and scattered over the city to their places. 22:20.200 --> 22:27.200 By 2.35, the other half pulled out, and a few minutes later, Ben and I followed. 22:27.200 --> 22:36.200 At three minutes to three that morning, Backstrand took over communications and checked every car in the operation. 22:36.200 --> 22:41.200 It was a good start. Every man in his right place by the right time. 22:41.200 --> 22:47.200 The trap was set. All we needed now was to find our suspect, the werewolf, inside. 22:47.200 --> 22:51.200 Control 4 to unit 80K. Control 4 to unit 80K. 22:51.200 --> 22:53.200 80K to Control 4. Go ahead. 22:53.200 --> 22:55.200 This is Backstrand. Standing by. 22:55.200 --> 22:58.200 80K. Roger. Clear. KGPL. 22:58.200 --> 23:01.200 Okay, Ben. Now let's go find him. 23:01.200 --> 23:05.200 I've got a hunch, Joe. Let's try the Wilshire District first. 23:05.200 --> 23:07.200 Sounds all right to me. Let's go. 23:12.200 --> 23:16.200 For the first hour and a half, we raked the Wilshire District back and forth. Not a sign. 23:16.200 --> 23:24.200 Then about 38 minutes past four, we headed back for the downtown area and parked in an alley where we could double check on one of our police women decoys. 23:27.200 --> 23:33.200 Here comes one of the girls now, Joe. Pat Field. Bet her feet are almost as tired as mine. 23:33.200 --> 23:35.200 You see anything else, Ben? 23:35.200 --> 23:37.200 Nothing. Quiet as a church. 23:37.200 --> 23:39.200 No, no, wait a minute. 23:39.200 --> 23:43.200 The car just turned a corner. Heading up in the same direction she is. 23:43.200 --> 23:46.200 Joe, Joe, it's slowing down. Wait a minute. 23:46.200 --> 23:48.200 It's pulling up beside her. 23:48.200 --> 23:51.200 It's a gray convertible. It's him, Joe. Come on. 23:55.200 --> 23:57.200 Ben, get down. He sees it. He's got a gun. 24:00.200 --> 24:01.200 You all right here? 24:01.200 --> 24:05.200 Yeah, look at that guy take off. 80K to Control 4. 80K to Control 4. 24:05.200 --> 24:13.200 We've spotted the suspect. He's driving a gray Ford convertible. License 6-1-ROBERT-385. 24:13.200 --> 24:18.200 Suspect's headed east on Olympic from Alameda. Driving without lights, suspect is armed. 24:20.200 --> 24:24.200 He had a fast car and he knew how to drive it. We almost lost him twice. 24:24.200 --> 24:28.200 Two minutes after we sighted him, Backstrand took over full radio control. 24:28.200 --> 24:31.200 Control 4 to Unit 80K, your location. 24:31.200 --> 24:37.200 80K to Control 4. We're traveling at a high rate of speed headed east on Olympic crossing Soto Street. 24:37.200 --> 24:40.200 Control 4 to all units, stand by. 24:40.200 --> 24:45.200 Units 11A, 12 and 13R close in on the intersections at Olympic and Lina. 24:45.200 --> 24:51.200 Units 41, 42, 45 and 104K move on on the next four crossings east to left. 24:51.200 --> 25:01.200 To the north and south, Units 105, K14, A17, R43T. Lock all main arteries. 25:03.200 --> 25:08.200 In the next half hour, the 65 cars in the drag net had pulled in like a noose around a five-mile area. 25:08.200 --> 25:11.200 Ben and I hoped it was just a matter of time. 25:11.200 --> 25:15.200 Unit 80K to Control 4. Control 4 to 80K, go ahead. 25:15.200 --> 25:19.200 He's headed north on Fresno Street, crossing Whittier Boulevard. 25:19.200 --> 25:25.200 Attention all units, 80K now pursuing suspect north on Fresno from Whittier Boulevard. 25:25.200 --> 25:31.200 Units 15, 105, K11R and 18A block off the intersection on Fresno and 4. 25:31.200 --> 25:34.200 Hey Ben, up there ahead, what's he trying to do now? Look, he's turning around. 25:34.200 --> 25:37.200 Yeah, yeah, and he's coming right forth. Watch it Joe, look out! 25:39.200 --> 25:41.200 Pretty close, 80K to Control 4. 25:41.200 --> 25:43.200 Control 4 to 80K, go ahead. 25:43.200 --> 25:49.200 Exchanging shots with suspect, watch it Ben, here he comes again. 25:49.200 --> 25:52.200 Sure likes to use that gun, doesn't he? Sure does. 25:52.200 --> 25:56.200 Hey Joe, look, he's turning east. He's running for Hollenbeck Park. 25:56.200 --> 25:58.200 Yeah, 80K to Control 4. Control 4, go ahead. 25:58.200 --> 26:01.200 Suspect just drove up over Curb and into Hollenbeck Park. 26:01.200 --> 26:06.200 Control 4 to all units, Control 4 to all units, converge on Hollenbeck Park. 26:06.200 --> 26:21.200 Suspect is in the walkies on, use caution, Code 3. 26:21.200 --> 26:23.200 There he is Ben, watch it. 26:23.200 --> 26:25.200 Looks like a nice baseball game with all these headlamps. 26:25.200 --> 26:27.200 Yeah, come on, let's get him. 26:27.200 --> 26:30.200 Never say die, huh Joe? Joe, can you get a shot at him? 26:30.200 --> 26:37.200 Don't shoot, don't shoot, I'll give up, don't shoot. 26:37.200 --> 26:39.200 Ben, step out on the open and get your hands in the air. 26:39.200 --> 26:41.200 Alright, alright, I give up, but don't shoot. 26:41.200 --> 26:43.200 You're a brave killer. Yeah, come on. 26:43.200 --> 26:45.200 Alright, get your hands in the air, come on, higher. 26:45.200 --> 26:47.200 Joe, look out, he's got a knife. I got him. 26:51.200 --> 26:56.200 Joe, those women were right. He does look like a werewolf. 26:56.200 --> 27:00.200 Yeah, you got your handcuffs. 27:00.200 --> 27:02.200 Yeah. 27:07.200 --> 27:10.200 Okay, got a cigarette? 27:10.200 --> 27:14.200 I've been out for an hour, middle place across the street, maybe we can get some there. 27:14.200 --> 27:16.200 Okay, there's the crew from the 41R. 27:16.200 --> 27:18.200 Hey fellas, take him into robbery, will you? 27:18.200 --> 27:20.200 Okay, brother. 27:20.200 --> 27:22.200 I think there's a vending machine in there. 27:22.200 --> 27:26.200 Uh huh. 27:30.200 --> 27:34.200 Say, you got some chains for the cigarette machine, mister? 27:34.200 --> 27:36.200 I think so. 27:36.200 --> 27:41.200 Say, who was that guy all them cops were after over in the park a little while ago? 27:41.200 --> 27:44.200 I picked up the werewolf. Been reading the papers. 27:44.200 --> 27:47.200 Yeah. You a fellow of the cops? 27:47.200 --> 27:49.200 Yeah. 27:49.200 --> 27:52.200 Sure made it easy for you, didn't he? 27:52.200 --> 27:56.200 All you cops had to do was surround the little fella in the park. 27:56.200 --> 27:58.200 Nothing to it, huh? 27:58.200 --> 28:02.200 Yeah, that's right, mister. Nothing to it. 28:09.200 --> 28:12.200 The story you have just heard was true. 28:12.200 --> 28:16.200 Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. 28:16.200 --> 28:20.200 Walter Barton, known as the werewolf, was tried and convicted, 28:20.200 --> 28:24.200 and is now serving a full life sentence at the state penitentiary. 28:30.200 --> 28:36.200 This has been Dragnet, the third in a new series of authentic cases from official files. 28:36.200 --> 28:41.200 Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the office of C.B. Horrell, 28:41.200 --> 28:45.200 Chief of Police, Los Angeles Police Department. 28:45.200 --> 28:52.200 Tonight's program is dedicated to Sergeant Mario Victor Diro of the Los Angeles Police Department, 28:52.200 --> 29:00.200 who on the morning of January 1st, 1943, gave his life so that yours might be more secure. 29:00.200 --> 29:05.200 Dragnet came to you from Los Angeles. 29:05.200 --> 29:27.200 This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.