Dragnet.
Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
You're a detective sergeant.
You're assigned a robbery detail.
A gunman has robbed a bank in your city.
From his method of operation, you know he's dangerous.
Your job, get him.
Dragnet.
The documented drama of an actual crime.
For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files.
From beginning to end, from crime to punishment,
Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
It was Wednesday, May 4th. It was warm in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch out a robbery detail.
My partner is Frank Smith, the boss of Chief Detective Stab Brown.
My name is Friday.
It was 12.36 p.m. when I got the call and it took me eight minutes to get back to the city hall.
Robbery squad room.
That you, Joe?
Yeah.
Back here.
What's up?
Bank job and slugging. We've got a rule on.
Where?
Anybody else on it?
Yeah, J.J. and Murph went out.
All right, let's go.
Friday, Smith?
Yeah, Luca.
You two gonna cover the bank holdup?
Yeah, we're just leaving.
Dono called in. He's out with J.J. and Murph.
They got it covered out there.
Skipper wants you to tag Georgia Street and talk to the guard.
See if you can get any information out of him.
All right. What's the name?
I haven't got it. There's a uniformed man with him.
Old guy's in pretty bad shape.
Yeah.
When the thief left the bank, the guard tried to stop him.
Old man pulled a gun, misfired, pistol with the old guard.
He's in critical condition.
We just got word that you can talk to him.
If you get right over there, better make it fast.
All right.
And good luck.
Yeah.
We gotta come up with an identification.
We gotta get it in a hurry.
The guy's still running.
It's a matter of time before somebody gets in his way.
Yeah.
We can't count on it next time.
Hmm?
The gun's jamming.
12.47 p.m.
Frank and I left the city hall and drove over to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital.
It took us five and a half minutes traveling code three.
We went up to the third floor and met the officer who had been with the guard.
You fellas from Central?
Yeah, Friday and Smith.
I want to see the victims.
You missed them.
What do you mean?
He died five minutes ago.
We checked with the doctor in attendance and found that the victim had said nothing to
aid in identifying the suspect.
We returned to the office.
A local broadcast on an APB had been gotten out of the man carrying his description.
The crew from the crime lab had gone over the premises of the bank without gaining any
new information.
The clerks and tellers had been brought to the city hall to check the mug books.
Everything possible was being done to apprehend the bank guard's killer, but without being
able to identify him, the job was almost impossible.
At 2.48 p.m., we got a call from Captain Donahoe.
That's right, Skipper.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, they're in the mug room now.
No, not yet.
Wait a minute.
Joe, you want to toss me in that pad there?
Yeah.
Here you go, Skipper.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
I see.
I get it.
Now, we'll check right away.
Yeah, as soon as we find out.
Yes, sir.
All right, goodbye.
What do you got?
Don checked around the neighborhood, found a news voice, saw the suspect leave the bank.
Yeah.
Kid got the license number.
An immediate check was made with the Department of Motor Vehicles and with our vehicle records.
It took us two minutes to get the information.
Yeah, we figured it'd turn out that way.
Hey, want to give me the address?
All right.
Okay, we'll run it out.
How about it?
Car was stolen a week ago.
The team of men went out to talk to the owner of the automobile.
Additional broadcasts were gotten out on the stolen car carrying the license number, the make, and model description.
In the event the car was found abandoned, it was to be staked out and we were to be notified.
Roadblocks were set up in the area adjacent to the bank and all vehicles were checked.
Captain Donahoe came in from the scene and a meeting was held between him and Chief of Detective Stad Brown.
At the time, 25 officers from robbery division were trying to find a lead to identify the thief.
We knew what he looked like, what kind of car he was driving.
We knew what kind of gun he had and how much money he'd stolen, but we didn't know who he was or where to find him.
The night dragged on.
At 1.26 a.m. we got our first break in the case.
Excuse me.
Yes, ma'am.
I'm one of the bank tellers.
Yes.
The officer who was with us went out to bring in some coffee.
I see.
He said if we found anything, he'd come in here.
Yes, that's right.
Well, we have. All of us agree. We're real sure.
What is it?
The holdup man. We found his picture.
The suspect was identified as Thomas Bud Carey, WMA, 26 years.
According to his package, he'd been arrested the first time when he was 16.
He'd served a total of five and a half years in state institutions.
We checked with Fred Galloway of the adult authority and found that there was an outstanding warrant on Carey for parole violation.
Additional broadcasts were gotten out carrying his name and description.
Officers in the field were notified of the latest developments.
While other teams of men covered Carey's known hangouts and friends, Frank and I left the office and drove out to see his mother.
She lived in a rundown apartment house on the east side of town.
The building was dark when we got there.
Yeah, here it is, number five. Watch this step.
Yeah, they ought to put a light in here.
This ought to be it.
Yeah.
Maybe Carey might be here.
What do we have here?
Open up.
Who are you? What do you want?
Police officers. We want to talk to you.
Nothing for the cops. Get out of here and leave me alone.
Come on, Miss Carey, open up.
I ain't Miss Carey no more. Now go away.
We can do it two ways. You can talk to us here or we can go downtown.
What's it about?
Your son.
On it.
Where's he going?
We want to check.
For what? There ain't nothing here. One lousy room, that's it.
We can see it.
It's the kitchen.
Better take a look at the stove. Might be something there.
Ah, a place to clean, you know.
Not true either.
Now what do you want?
Have you seen your son?
He's in trouble again.
We'd like to talk to him.
What's he done now?
You know where he is?
No.
You know where we can find him?
I haven't seen him for a couple of months. Might as well be dead.
Well, he isn't.
Ain't any difference to me, one way or the other.
You know where he lives.
It ain't here.
That's no kind of an answer.
Question don't fit either.
Look, I'll tell you.
I'm his mother.
Long time ago, gave him the world.
I've had trouble ever since.
Gallagher again.
I'll sleep with the radio on.
Lady, you got any idea where we can find your son?
No.
You got any close friends?
Maybe. Yes, I don't know.
How about girls?
What about?
Has your son got one?
Last time I saw him, he had a couple, both of them married.
Same as always, he couldn't do anything the easy way.
If it wasn't a problem, he'd make one.
Is there any place he'd go if he was in trouble?
Kind.
Ma'am?
No kind of trouble.
What's he done this time?
It'd be better if we talked to him about it.
Yeah, always that way.
Talk to him.
Do any good.
I tried for a lot of years.
Didn't do no good.
Know why?
What's that?
Know why it don't do no good?
Well, because he don't listen.
You can stand right in front of him and scream the top of your head right off and he don't hear you.
Is that right?
When he was little, first time I caught him stealing, I talked.
All day and all night, for a week I talked.
He stood there and looked at me.
It was over.
You know what he did? You know?
No, ma'am.
He did it again.
Every time he turned around, he stole something.
I tried it all.
Beatings, yelling, all of it.
I tried it all.
His father walked out and by the six, like this by himself.
Did everything I could to bring him up right.
Read the books.
Saw the minister.
Even had the relief people talk to him.
He just wouldn't listen.
No.
That time when he was 16, when we first picked him up, I thought that might do it.
You know, being in jail, judge in the court.
I prayed it would make a change.
No.
Didn't.
A couple of days later, he was right back.
Can you tell his probation officers about it?
Bud was 5'10". He was 16.
Weighed 170 pounds.
If I'd opened my mouth, he'd hit me.
Pretty hard thing to say, isn't it?
It's harder to live with.
All the time, all the tears.
I'm tired of crying.
I'm tired of working.
I'm tired of being alive.
I used to pray for him.
Asked God to make him come out of it.
Be a good man.
I prayed and I prayed.
I figured I was praying for the wrong thing.
So I changed.
No.
I know him.
I know how he thinks and what he'll do.
He's mean.
And the soles of his feet, he's mean.
I still pray.
Maybe you're the one to do it.
What's that?
Kill him.
Frank and I arranged for a stakeout on the building,
then we drove back to City Hall.
Captain Donahoe and Chief Brown were directing the search
from the robbery office.
The morning papers had carried the story,
and we were receiving calls from citizens who'd seen Carey.
From the report, it was believed he'd gotten out of the block 8 area
and was heading for the San Fernando Valley.
Roadblocks were thrown up on streets leading off the freeway,
and additional men were called in from the Valley Division
to aid us in the search.
7.42 a.m.
It had been 19 hours since Carey had held up the bank.
In that time, the entire facilities of the police department
had been devoted to his capture.
Lieutenant Dave Terry from the Sheriff's office had joined Captain Donahoe
and was coordinating their activities with ours.
7.45 a.m.
Frank got back for some hot coffee.
Anything new?
No, got a report Carey was seen at the Vineland Cut-Off.
Check-off?
Don't know yet.
I got some coffee for you, George.
No, thanks.
Anything happen?
Yeah, we got him pinned down.
Where?
Valley.
A lot of ground.
We just got a call.
Carey pulled into a gas station on Riverside,
attendant recognizing.
Tried to stall, Carey got wise, started to leave.
Yeah.
Pulled a gun, shot the man up pretty bad.
Kill him?
No, got him in Valley emergency.
What about Carey?
Still loose.
Toner?
Yoska.
Friday.
Smith.
By.
I see.
We got him.
Where?
Broke into a house on Woodman.
Couple motorcycle officers got him pinned down.
Let's go.
Joe.
Yeah.
Tag the business office.
Check out everything in the racks.
All right.
Go with him, Frank.
We'll need gas, shells and masks.
Barricade and penetration.
Better take a box of double lots for the shotguns and plenty of 45s.
You be there?
Leaving now.
I'll go with Joe and Frank, sir.
Okay.
Let's go.
It's getting rough.
Yeah.
What about the house he's picked?
What do you mean?
Who's in it?
What kind of place is it?
Doesn't make a lot of difference.
We still got the same job.
We left the city hall and drove out to the valley, code three.
By the time we'd gotten there, several other officers from central robbery in the valley
division were on the scene.
We talked with Sergeant Pat Murphy of our office.
What do you know about the place?
Six rooms.
Here, let me lay out for you.
Got a pencil?
I got a pen here.
Oh, thanks.
All right.
Now, the house is built in the shape of a U.
Okay.
The living room runs along the front, the dining room.
Here on the corner.
Here?
Yeah.
Now, the kitchen is here, and here's the back door.
Any cover there?
Officers are following me watching it.
Yeah.
There's a closet here off a service porch.
Oh.
On the other side, there's a bedroom here, door, the bath, and another bedroom.
Just the two doors.
Yeah, the front and the one off the kitchen.
Where'd you get this layout?
I talked to the woman next door.
She's a friend of the family, owns the place, been in the satellite.
Where are they?
With the family?
Yeah.
We're not sure.
A neighbor says she thinks they're all out, and the man goes to work at six.
The woman usually drives the kid to school at about 730.
Who put out the call?
Motor officers.
They saw the car, parked the curb, went to check it out.
Kerry was inside.
He made the house.
Did they try to get him out yet?
No.
They weren't sure he was alone.
How'd you do?
Well, we got here right after they had him.
At the time we got to Kirby, started the shoot.
Any chance of getting to him from the back of the house?
It'd be rough. The shades are all pulled down.
Hard to tell where he is.
If we go in, he could be sitting under the window waiting for us.
How about the phone?
We tried, and he won't answer.
Are that all of it?
As much as we got.
Well, what do you want to do?
Give him a chance to walk out.
It'll be his choice.
Talk to him?
Yeah.
Give him a chance to open the door.
It's going to be hard.
We haven't been able to get near the place.
Big things to make sure he's alone.
As far as we've been able to tell he is, there's no movement inside, no noise.
Trying to round up the family now.
Can't wait for that.
Let's get on it.
I'll try to talk to him.
You can't make it, Joe. He's in a box and he knows it.
Well, maybe that'll bring him out.
You want to do it? Go ahead.
He makes a move. Get out. Fast.
I won't need that. We'll give you coverage.
All right.
Last time you heard from him he was in the living room. Is that right?
Yeah.
Three windows on the left there.
Okay.
Easy, Joe.
All right.
Carrie?
Carrie? Carrie? Carrie?
Come on, Carrie. You can't sit in there forever.
Play it smart. Walk outside and it'll be all right.
Don't cause any more trouble now. How about it?
Carrie?
You're making it rougher on yourself.
Come on out, Carrie. You can't win. You know that.
No! No! Get out of there!
I don't have to tell you it didn't work, huh?
Clock ran out before you started.
Carrie isn't going to walk.
No.
Well, he called it.
No.
Get me the gas guns.
The people living across the street and on each side of the house were asked to leave their homes in the event there would be any more shooting.
The riot guns were brought from the car and they were loaded with penetration gas shells.
Because of the physical layout of the house it was decided to shoot into the rear of the building and try to drive the suspect toward the front of the place.
Officer Murphy along with Lieutenant Stoner went back to the alley that ran along the rear of the property.
The two uniformed men covered the sides of the house and Frank and I took up our stations in front of the building. 914 A.M.
How's the time?
That way ought to be in position.
You all set on that gun?
Yeah.
You think he'll give up?
I don't know. Flip a coin.
He ought to be laying an end now pretty quick.
There he goes.
There he goes. The way the house is divided he could close the doors to the back room and keep us going for a while.
At least we'll have an idea where he is in the house.
I'm sure pouring it in.
It's lousy stuff.
Tear gas.
Lousy.
Still remember it from the academy.
Frank. Front window. See it?
No.
Shade was pulled by it. I think I saw something.
What did he carry?
Get to Stoner. Tell him to hold the gun.
Yeah.
He's got a woman in there with him.
Because of the possibility that there might be another person in the house, all shooting into the building was stopped.
An immediate effort was made to identify the other person.
The owner of the place, Virgil Bush, was contacted.
He told us that he and his wife had left the house at about the same time.
She'd taken their son to a neighborhood school.
And then he thought that she'd returned to the house.
A check was made at the school and the youngster was found to be present.
From all indications, Mrs. Bush was in the house with Carrie and was being held a hostage.
10.56 a.m. We met with Captain Donahoe and Lieutenant Stoner.
Any chance you were wrong, Joe?
No, I don't think so.
Right after the guns went off, I thought I saw the woman at the front window.
It looked like she was trying to get out.
What do you want to do now, Skipper?
Not much left.
That woman's got to get out of there before we can go in after Carrie.
That's the way to do that, is going after her.
What about using triple chasers?
Might work.
If we go in the back way, we can drive Carrie toward the living room.
Yeah, but what if he takes the woman with him?
Keep him busy enough and he won't.
Figures she's given him plenty of trouble by this time. It'll be rough for him to drag her along.
Then it might work.
Who's going in?
Frank, now you can do it.
You can give us a cover.
Where are you going to make it?
Which rooms did you hit, Stoner?
Back bedroom and the kitchen.
That covers both sides of the house then.
Yeah.
The gas holding?
As far as we can tell, it's still there.
Might be better then to go into the bedroom. Drive Carrie into the living room.
Hope we can pick up the woman on the way.
All right. You got the masks?
I'll give them.
Want to give me a hand, Frank?
Yeah.
We'll give you all the cover we can, Joe.
Good.
We'll shoot into the house and we'll make Carrie think we are.
Once you got the woman, bring her out.
If Carrie goes into the living room, don't try to go after him.
Let him sit for a while. We'll take care of the rest of it later.
Okay.
Here you go, Joe.
Here are the triple chasers. Six of them ought to do, huh?
Yeah.
I'll take the sawed-off.
We should be able to handle him with that.
I don't have to tell either one of you to take it easy.
No.
We want that woman, but we want her alive.
Anything comes up that gets in the way, pull out.
Don't wait to ask questions.
Right.
All right, get on it.
Let's go, Frank.
Joe.
Go in front for keeps.
You know, he'll kill you if he gets a chance.
Well, that makes it easy.
Hmm?
We won't give him one.
Frank and I went around to the back of the house and put on the gas masks.
He loaded the shotgun and flipped off the safety.
I checked the triple chasers.
They're about the size of a beer can and they're built like a hand grenade.
Two seconds after the pin is pulled and the lever is released,
the shell explodes into three parts.
Each of them throws out a large quantity of tear gas.
By using them, an officer can completely fill an area with gas almost immediately.
A few minutes after we were in position, the covering gunfire started.
That's it. Let's go.
You gonna talk one in the bedroom?
Better. Make sure it's clear.
I'll watch it.
Go ahead. I'll cover you.
Come on.
That's clean.
I'll get the next room.
It's the bathroom, isn't it?
Should be.
I'll get the door out.
You got the pen?
Wait a minute.
Give it a second.
Let's go.
It's empty.
Bedroom next?
Hold it.
Okay.
Let's go.
It's Kerry!
He's in the living room.
We better get him.
On the bed. It's the woman.
Come on. We better get her out of here.
Is he naked?
I think so. Get that window with you.
Wait till I get the shade.
I'll go first. I'll take her on the outside.
Hold it right there, Kerry!
It's us, Murph!
Give us a hand. We got the woman.
Here, let me help.
Okay, Joe.
You got her?
Let's get her out of here.
Wait till I get this mask off.
Okay, Joe.
Wait on it.
How's the woman?
She seems to be all right.
Want to give me a hand?
Thank God you made it.
I thought he was going to kill me.
Every minute I thought he was going to kill me.
You're all right now, Miss Bush. Take it easy.
He's crazy. That man's crazy.
If you hadn't got it, he'd have killed me, Joe. I know it.
All right, Miss Bush. Let's get out of here. Come on.
You got her, huh?
Yeah, skipper.
You all right, ma'am?
Yes, it isn't his fault, though. I've never seen anybody like that before.
All right, Mrs. Bush. Do you want to take her to the car, Murph?
Sure. Just a minute, ma'am.
What?
How many guns did you see?
What difference does it make?
It makes a lot of difference to us.
I don't know. He's got a pistol.
Yeah, we saw that. Anything else?
Yeah, he's got a rifle to a shotgun, I think.
Did you see it?
He brought it into the house.
Where is it? What do you mean?
What part of the house is it in? Do you know?
The front room, I guess. That's where it was the last time I saw it.
Has he got any shells for it?
A lot of them. But his pocket's full.
All right, that's all. Thank you.
If you tried, he'd take a couple of you with him.
Well, it isn't going to change things.
He's still going.
Mrs. Bush was taken to one of the neighborhood houses
and we got ready to take the suspect into custody.
The house was completely surrounded.
All of the doors and windows were covered.
Each man was instructed to shoot to kill him
the event Carrie tried to escape or made any effort to fire into the crowd.
In a last attempt to get him out of the house without additional bloodshed,
the bullhorn was brought from the car and we tried to talk to him.
Be all right, Joe.
Tell him this is the last time around, Joe.
We're through playing games.
Carrie?
Carrie, give it up.
Throw those guns out and you follow them.
All right, we'll tell you where you stand.
There are a lot of us out here.
We've all got orders to kill you if you try anything.
You think you can sit in there and we can't touch you?
You got it wrong.
We'll blow the roof off if we have to.
Tell him he's got ten seconds, Joe.
Count them all for him.
Stand by with the gas guns.
Go ahead, Joe.
Carrie, you're running out of time.
We'll give you ten seconds to come out of there.
It's the last time.
Throw the guns out and come out after them.
Ten seconds, Carrie. That's all you got.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
Time's up.
Come in that front porch.
Here's the machine gun, Joe.
I got it.
Must have good lungs.
Toss some more in.
He's got to come out pretty quick.
There he is.
He's down.
Easy now.
Carrie.
Carrie.
Not moving.
Cover me.
How about it?
It's all right.
He must have been dead when he hit the floor.
We were lucky.
No, no, no.
What? We had to kill him.
The story you have just heard is true.
The names were changed to protect the innocent.
On Monday, May 9th, an inquest was held in the coroner's office in and for the county of Los Angeles, state of California.
The coroner's jury found that the death of Thomas Herbert Carey was caused by gunshot wounds resulting from an attempt to resist arrest.
The officers were absolved from blame.
Dragnet, the story of your police force in action is a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
The story of your police force in action is a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
The end.