"South central Los Angeles." "You hear those words, and already, there's a story coming together in your head." "Like when people talk about the old west." "You see two gunfighters on a dusty street, but no one thinks about how those fellas got there, why they're about to pull the trigger, who else might catch one when the bullets fly." "Only way to know the real story is to put yourself in their boots." "I'm saying, though, miss Kelly, you can't just listen to all that soft-ass college rock." "First of all, watch your language, please, around these kids." "Second of all, I can listen to whatever I want." "This is America." "You've got to at least listen to some Kendrick." "He's got that hood thing and that college vocabulary, you know what I'm saying?" "All right." "I'll make you guys a deal." "I'll give Kendrick a try as long as you all promise to come to one class this week at the center, okay?" "Learn some of that college vocabulary." "What?" "Look, counselor, I know you're a busy man, but we're dealing with a case possibly related to water street, so any light you may be able to shed would..." "What was your name again, officer?" "Detective..." "Craig." "Excuse me... detective Craig." "Okay, here's a hypothetical, detective Craig." "Say a cop walks into your office and asks about a 10-year-old case..." "A case in which your client was charged with murdering a police officer on the evidence of a planted firearm." "Allegedly planted." "That's the spirit." "Only, this detective shares the last name with the arresting officer in said case..." "Billy Craig." "Well, hypothetically, if I were the lawyer," "I would see it as an opportunity to find out the truth." "You're not here working a case related to water street, are you?" "You're here as a son." "A son with, obviously, grave doubts about his father." "And my job isn't about the truth." "It's about representing my client... delvon Lincoln." "Teflon." "He claimed he was in the employ of a dirty cop, which is the reason..." "So he claimed..." "That no charges against him ever stuck." "Hence, the name teflon." "Okay, then, why shoot a cop?" "Why bite the hand that feeds him?" "Now, that is an excellent question." "Why would a drug dealer with a permanent "get out of jail" card want to shoot a police officer?" "Seems to me teflon made a hell of a fall guy." "That's not who my father was." "Do you have any idea why I'm comfortable putting aside attorney/client privilege to even talk to you about this matter?" "Because there is no attorney/client privilege any longer." "It died with teflon." "90 minutes after being remanded into twin towers, 43 stab wounds." "His mattress looked like a sponge." "Unsolved, of course." "Sounds like a hit." "I believe they call that "tying up a loose end."" "Who did it?" "On the inside?" "I heard Mexican mafia." "Mexican mafia?" "Why them?" "Who were they working for?" "I have no idea, detective Craig, but I suspect that was the point." "There'd be nobody left to ask, and there wasn't..." "Until you stepped into my office." "Welcome, detectives." "Today was not a good day." "All this for a drive-by?" "The victims are two males, black..." "Apparently, west Compton mob-affiliated..." "And a girl..." "Kelly price, not from the neighborhood." "Where from, then?" "What was she doing here?" "Well, she worked here while she was getting her master's degree." "Raised in Baldwin hills, went on to ucla, graduated summa cum laude." "She was outside on the steps talking to a group of kids, when a car pulls up..." "One driver, one shooter." "No one got a good look at them." "Well, that explains the dog-and-pony show." "Take her out of the picture and this never even makes the news." "The other two, you said west Compton mob?" "That's right." "They've got gang cards on file." "Nothing major, but they're definitely banging." "West Compton mob still feuding with the avalon royals?" "Like the hatfields and the mccoys." "Nice to know some things never change." "Shall we pay a visit, trainee?" "In a second." "In moments like these," "I believe it's important to reflect on who we are." "What's up, guys?" "My name's Kyle." "You police?" "I'm a detective." "You good police or bad police?" "I try to be a good one." "Yeah, but you're not always." "I'm always trying." "Just like Kelly was always trying to be the best teacher she could be, right?" "How we want our children to see us... to see themselves." "You know the best way to be a good policeman?" "I don't know." "Maybe try not to shoot so many black folks?" "That..." "And talk to people." "Because at times like these, it's easy to lose your way." "You hear anyone talk about the shooting, who they thought it was?" "And resources to delivering justice." "I just threw up in my mouth." "Stirring oration, deputy chief Lockhart." "Cram it." "Joy." "What you said meant a lot to all of us." "Frank, this is Todd barber." "He sponsors this and many other community centers around Los Angeles." "That's very generous." "Not really." "I grew up with nothing." "Not in a neighborhood like this, but kids deserve a place to go." "Doesn't matter what neighborhood." "Detective Rourke is running point on this case." "I am?" "I am." "I didn't know Kelly personally, but I know what she meant to the people here." "The response from your department's been great." "You know, we have our own security team." "They'd be more than happy to pitch in if you think they could help." "In fact..." "Paul?" "Detective Rourke, this is Paul dinardo..." "Spent 20 years with the sheriff's department, now my head of security." "I'll be straight with you, fellas... when I'm out hunting," "I don't like to catch scent of anyone else stomping through the woods." "Know what I mean?" "Not here to step on any toes, detective." "Luckily, we're not dancing." "Gentlemen, detective, deputy chief." "My mom says never talk to police..." "About anything." "They'll twist you up and put a case on you." "I'm not here to twist you up." "I just want the men who did this... the bad guys." "You know who the avalon royals are, right?" "You see them?" "Were they in the car?" "How about any of your friends?" "Somebody saw something." "You're not a snitch." "I respect that." "I'll see you around." "Ignore the first runner." "He's just holding the dope." "There's your shot caller." " Five-0!" " Yo, cops, man!" "Should've worn your nikes." "Don't!" "You're probably used to shooting unarmed black men?" "Not so easy knowing I'll shoot back." "Is that your big-yard stare, hardass?" "It might scare the little old lady at the corner store, but I'm not impressed." "You wouldn't last 15 minutes in Afghanistan." "You're all talk, rookie." "I don't fear the oppressors..." "Or their house slaves." "Take off that badge and gun." "I'll show you how we get down out here, boy." "Give it a rest." "You're not gonna goad my partner into..." "It's been a slow morning, anyway." "50 bucks on my trainee." "Got you covered on that one." "Whoo!" "Man!" "Your old man's smiling down from heaven right now." "You want to cry police brutality now?" "Yeah." "I seen how you get down out here, homey." "Dope-slinging and drive-bys do not a revolution make." "How many brothers you put in the ground?" "How many kids you orphan?" "How many kids you have?" "You got a lot of anger, bruh." "I'm not a therapist or anything, but you can't carry all that anger with you." "You could get cancer or something." "You shot a civilian, and her only crime was standing next to a bunch of gangsters from west Compton." "Everybody knows you guys been beefing with west Compton since the dawn of man." "You think I'd be out on the corner after pulling a drive-by?" "You need to check your assumptions, bruh." "Looks like we're not the only ones making assumptions this morning." "You're trespassing." "We just come to take what's ours." "What's that, little homey?" "Your life, bruh." "Guys!" "Guys!" "Hey!" "Guys, come on." "Why get ourselves into some "high noon" type situation here when we could just put down some cardboard and settle this with an old-fashioned breakdance competition?" "Dice?" ""Yo' mama" jokes?" "Man, you crazy." "You're here for the same reason we are..." "The drive-by that killed Kelly price." "Man, you know we won't hit you in front of the center, right?" "Why?" "What about the center?" "Community center's supposed to be off-limits..." "A neutral zone." "Violate that, that's a capital crime." "But y'all pigs don't got to worry about it." "We got this." "That's not how it works." "Yeah?" "Then how does it work?" "Let me tell you how it's gonna work." "You give us 24 hours to figure out who it is." "24 hours, we bring you a name." "We don't, then you can turn the neighborhood into fallujah, for all I care." "24 hours." "And then the bodies start dropping." "And Isis ain't got nothing on us." "You just cut a deal for a 24-hour truce in south central." "Time's running out." "We have no next moves, and you're playing games." "Helps me think." "We should have put bracelets on all these dudes." "Are you really buying that the avalon royals weren't involved in the shooting?" "You never worked the south end, like me and your dad did." "There's a rhythm to these things." "Those guys knew we'd come calling." "They didn't lie low." "Tells me they're not involved..." "Not directly." "So, then, we have nothing." "This one's gotten under your skin?" "That's good." "But you can't force it." "Not gonna get anywhere running around south central busting heads." "They're used to it." "Have faith, trainee." "Drive-bys are like mule deer..." "They follow a well-worn path." "In the next 12 hours, the car from the drive-by will show up." "Trust me." "Then we'll have a trail to follow." "Doesn't give us a lot of time." "You want a cup?" "I'll take a beer." "That's not gonna help." "Where are you, son?" "Talk to me." "You heard about this girl..." "Kelly price?" "The one who was shot." "I'm not sure what it is about this one, but I feel connected somehow." "Maybe you see this girl the way you see yourself." "What do you mean?" "Doing her part in a neighborhood she felt connected to but not one she fully understood." "I do understand." "I'm on the outside looking in." "She..." "Became a part of it." "Black man with a badge." "Your father struggled with it, too." "Did dad ever mention the water street case to you?" "It was one of his last cases..." "Just a few months before..." "He wasn't himself the last few months." "Not himself enough to plant a gun on a guy?" "Your father?" "That's not all." "This guy, he was killed in prison..." "Maybe to keep him quiet." "Is this really about your father's legacy or is this about you justifying the work that you do with frank Rourke?" "Because I've seen a change." "And what really worries me is, I'm not sure that you have." "Solving your father's murder isn't why you became a cop." "And I think this girl, Kelly, reminds you of that." "But you can be all these things, Kyle..." "Billy's son, frank's partner." "But the most important thing is, baby, don't lose yourself." "Nothing in witness statements." "Exactly what you'd expect with a gang-related shooting." "People are worried about their own kids." "Vicious cycle." "And the surveillance footage gave us no clear angle on the shooters?" "Nope." "What about the west Compton guys who got killed at the scene?" "Well, they've got gang cards on file..." "Low-level dealers." "Managed to piss somebody off." "This one doesn't feel right, man." "How's it supposed to feel?" "Someone punches a hole in the fabric of the universe, it lingers, you know?" "Just out of professional curiosity, are you high?" "I know what you mean, but no." "This is really him." "This girl Kelly, she was all positive charge, right?" "Surrounded by light, and something..." "Something upset the natural order." "Wait." "You might actually be onto something." "Well, don't act too surprised." "Not about the hippie garbage, but something's definitely wrong with this shooting." "Check out the spray pattern." "The shooter brought the muzzle back around." "I see it..." "Left to right and then back again." "And the concentration of firepower is there." "Right where Kelly was sitting." "She wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time." "Kelly was the target." "All units be advised..." "Vehicle in drive-by recovered." "One suspect down, two in custody." " What'd I tell you, trainee?" " Just like mule deer." "You're right about the car." "Make and model line up with witness statements." "Plates look like they're burned beyond recognition." "Doesn't matter." "It's stolen." "Suspects jacked it to pull the drive-by, then torched it to cover up any physical evidence." "Pretty standard stuff, except this one looks like arson interruptus." "Raw dogg?" "And Isis ain't got nothing on us." "Gentlemen." "Dinardo?" "What the hell's he doing here?" "Rent-a-cop says they were here on an investigation, sniffing around the 'hood for the guys who shot Kelly price." "Catches raw dogg here torching the suspect vehicle." "Raw dogg pulls on him, Paul blart comes out on top." "He's licensed to carry..." "Says he fired in defense of his own life." "No witnesses." "So, supposedly, raw dogg shot his own guys because of some kind of internal beef?" "Wouldn't be the first time." "But Kelly was the target." "Maybe that girl wasn't as innocent as she seemed." "I don't buy it." "Trainee's got a point." "Yesterday, raw dogg was ready to start a war to avenge his homeys." "We're missing something." "Dinardo agreed to come down to rhd and give a statement." "Is that right?" "Hey, Paul." "Appreciate you coming down." "Boss said you used to be with the sheriff's." "This must bring it all back?" "The hum of fluorescence, the rustling of paper..." "The pinching of asses in pantsuits." "Coffee used to be better." "A drop of whiskey will fix that right up." "I remember." "Listen... one cop to another..." "This was a righteous shooting, frank." "Brother, I hear you." "Trust me..." "I don't care." "I saw raw dogg's rap sheet." "Like we used to say..." "Nhi, no humans involved." "Nowadays, it's easier to shoot someone if you're not police," "No I.A. Investigation, trial by media." "Damn right." "One thing bugs me, though..." "One cop to another." "You got there first, which means..." "You held out on me, dinardo." "Mr. barber felt it was his responsibility to make things right." "His responsibility?" "How's that?" "This girl was shot on his property, right?" "That translates to legal liability." "He was anxious to deliver justice to the girl's parents in order to prove to them that he cared." "You still haven't given me a straight answer as to how you just happened to be Johnny-on-the-spot." "Because I was able to do what you can't..." "What we never could..." "Spread some money around." "Goes a lot further than just asking questions." "Who told you?" "No." "Even I don't give up my sources, detective." "Look, I wanted to get the job done right, done quick..." "For Kelly, all right?" "And I'm not the least bit ashamed of how it turned out." "You said it yourself..." "You got to answer to internal affairs and the jackals in the media." "I just have to answer to my own conscience." "And Mr. barber." "What did he say?" "Claims he paid for the information." "Won't say who." "At this point, it doesn't matter who." "Come on." "What do we know about this guy or his boss?" "Barber?" "Guy's got a clean record, Kyle." "Said he was a developer." "Humor him." "Okay." "Started with strip malls." "Apparently, those weren't ugly enough, so he moved on to housing developments." "Best known for the aqua mesa planned community." "He live out there?" "Yeah." "So dude takes a strong interest in south central but lives as far away as someone can get without leaving the county." "Would you rather him not help rehab these community centers?" "Look, Kyle, the preliminary ballistics line up just like we thought they would." "That is the weapon that killed Kelly price, on the ground, lying next to raw dogg, with his prints all over it." "Now, none of us are thrilled that dinardo found him first, but sometimes the bear eats you." "So, raw dogg's the shooter." "Okay, but why?" "Why would he target Kelly?" "Why would he put his own crew in the line of fire to get her?" "How am I the only one who cares why this girl died?" "And here comes the joy." "Detectives, I need briefing so I can get this out in front of the press." "We could use some more time." "I'm confused." "Do we or do we not have the shooter and the murder weapon?" "Well, as it just so happens, my distinguished trainee here was attempting to engage in some honest-to-goodness detective work." "What else is there to solve?" "There's no motive." "This isn't a court of law, detective Craig." "We didn't need to prove motive..." "Just that raw dogg was the shooter." "Which we've done." "We should be talking to his boss." "I already have." "And I let Mr. barber know that we were less than pleased about his people's involvement in the case." "But there's much more at stake here." "We have a community that needs healing and a public that needs to know that we're effective." "You will not pursue this any further." "Do you understand?" "As far as the department is concerned, this investigation is closed." "Barber called her." "10th floor must have some kind of bat phone for rich people." "The bat phone was for a rich guy." "That's right!" "I'm going out there." ""Out there," trainee?" "That's way past reseda." "The sun'll be down soon." "I hear tell there are vampires out that way." "God." "What?" "You don't like tom petty?" "You're not going anywhere, detective." "You can't give me orders." "I'm not under your chain of command." "I'm under his." "So, boss, the question is, am I going out there alone... or are you coming with me?" "look at these houses... no soul." "Like rows of big, stucco gravestones." "Used to be horse country and citrus groves out here." "Ranchers sold their land, traded in their ponies for jet skis." "Groves got paved over with asphalt and sod." "What's the matter, trainee?" "Suburbs got you down?" "You're even more stoic than usual." "You see someone like Kelly price, and you think," ""there's so much more I could be doing."" "She's the last person who should be dying on the sidewalk." "Nobody should be dying on the sidewalk." "Not Kelly price, not your old man." "Truth is, no one gets to choose." "I went to see Jack rawls the other day." "Know him?" "Know him?" "Shaved his father on his wedding day." "'Course I know him." "No one works harder against the public interest than Jack rawls, esquire." "I don't know." "He kind of reminded me of you..." "Like he got the joke." "I won't be insulted in my own car, trainee." "It was your case that sent me there... water street?" "He represented delvon Lincoln..." "You know, teflon." "Is that right?" "Seemed to think that delvon Lincoln's death was some kind of conspiracy, that he worked for dirty cops who wanted to keep him quiet." "Permanently." "Somebody ordered a hit on teflon." "There something you want to ask me?" "Was it you?" "And my dad?" "No." "Then who was it?" "Go meet the neighbors." "It's all your trucks." "Every day, they clog the way out of town." "I'm waiting at that freeway ramp meter 10, 15 minutes some mornings." "What I don't understand is, where in the hell are they going?" "You're sending all those trucks to the city." "Meanwhile, we still don't have the community pool center or those roads and houses you promised for phase 4 and 5." "I understand your impatience." "Really?" "But I give you my word that phase 4 and phase 5 and the community pool center will all be finished by the end of the year." "Every Thursday evening..." "Friday is trash day, so we have manuela put out the cans on Thursday." "They come out of the shadows like clockwork with little lights on their cap and great big bags, like gypsies." "So far, they only seem to want the trash, but what happens when that's not enough?" "What then?" "Thanks, as always, Mrs. Cheney." "Protecting your recyclables is something the community takes very seriously." "If there are no more concerns?" "Evening, folks." "Detective frank Rourke of the LAPD, and this is my trainee, detective Kyle Craig." "Mr. barber invited us here to remind you that aqua mesa leads the county in prescription-drug abuse and damn fine pornography." "So keep a friendly eye on your neighbor, and remember..." "If you see something, say something." "Well, I got to hand it to you, detective Rourke..." "That's gonna go down as one of the most colorful hoa meetings in aqua mesa history." "This place has history?" "What exactly can I do for you two gentlemen?" "Well, we were hoping you could help us understand something." "I'll sure as heck try." "Why was Kelly price murdered?" "You know, I wish I had an answer for you, detectives, but..." "You were eager enough to send him out and shoot the man responsible for it." "Makes it look an awful lot like you didn't want us getting to him first." "You're damn right I wanted to get there first." "Lawyers told me I had to." "Do you have any idea what kind of liability" "I was exposed to on this whole thing?" "You withheld evidence and went after the shooters to avoid getting sued?" "I grew up in Bakersfield..." "Poor as dirt." "And now I got everybody here looking to me for answers." "Not to mention the folks down at the community center." "I got a lot to protect, so excuse me if I took care of that scumbag before you got the chance, but I'm not sorry." "Gentlemen." "Still doesn't feel right." "Further proof that nothing good ends in aqua mesa." "It's the trucks." "Keep talking." "Like that guy from the hoa meeting said..." "All these trucks moving supplies, but they're behind on construction in the man's own development?" "It sure as hell ain't headed to south central." "Todd barber's a lot of things, but he ain't that charitable." "So what's he hiding?" "Everybody in his tax bracket's hiding something." "I'm not concerned with everybody." "I'm concerned with why Kelly price had to die." "And our answers are here... somewhere." "Tell me you don't feel it." "All right, trainee." "Let's wait around till the sun goes down and then have ourselves an old-fashioned warrantless look-around." "Working late?" "What would Ms. Cheney say?" "Well, what do we have here?" "Cocaine." "This goes way beyond tax evasion." "No wonder they're up so late." "Don't take a deep breath unless you want to find out what it was like to be alive during the '80s." "Right." "It's time to crash the party." "Ever been snow-globed?" "Easy." "Bet you want to talk now," " Freeze!" " Drop it!" "Hands up!" "Drop the guns!" "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "This is a flagrant safety violation." "You gentlemen aren't wearing hard hats." "And trust me... accidents do happen." "So, this is why Kelly price died?" "Drugs?" "Kelly had a keen eye." "She noticed some things I wish she hadn't." "People depend on me." "But Kelly just couldn't see the bigger picture." "Bigger picture?" "I think I see it." "You're overextended at aqua mesa." "So you got into bed with the drug cartels and came up with the bright idea of pressing cocaine into drywall." "Easy to transport across state lines, break down, and distribute." "Then you build a few community centers, go into business with the local gangs." "Now you got yourself a distribution network far away from your own precious neighborhood." "And then Kelly price happened." "She probably came to you, expecting you didn't know about it." "And you made the decision to take her life so you can save your own." "Dinardo took care of the rest." "Stole a car, made Kelly's murder look like a drive-by." "He'd seen enough of them when he was a cop." "And raw dogg made an easy fall guy." "He caught you trying to torch the car, and you kill him, too." "I did the city a favor." "Yeah?" "What about Kelly price?" "Her heart was always in the right place." "That's why I'm gonna put her name on the community center." "I can't memorialize you the same way, but to me..." "This will always be frank Rourke's dead end." "Gentlemen." "Our meeting was supposed to be tomorrow." "We got a schedule conflict." "Well, as you can see, I'm handling some business here." "Don't mind us." "We can wait." "You stupid?" "Making cops disappear is just gonna bring down more heat." "Then we all suffer." "It's bad enough the girl caught one." "I told you..." "I found the man responsible, and he's been dealt with accordingly." "Once these cops are in cement, we're back in business, as usual." "You're being played!" "He's the one who had Kelly shot." "What's he talking about?" "Nothing." "He's not talking about anything." "He's trying to save his own skin." "Think about it." "Those gangsters weren't the target." "Kelly was." "She was sharp... she figured out your little operation at the community center, and she died for it." "For your dope... for nothing!" "That money in your pocket has Kelly's blood on it." "This true?" "Even if it was, you know the price of doing business, homey." "I'm not your homey!" "Easy, fellas." "Bang!" "Going somewhere?" "Nhi." "No human involved." "You bring enough violence into this world... it will follow you home." "Kyle!" "Is he worth it?" "That's what you got to ask yourself." "Will he be worth it tomorrow?" "You good police or bad police?" "You idiots." "In this town, you don't build what I have without making friends in some high places." "I got insurance measures, you know." "So you can go ahead and arrest me." "See if it sticks." "The only friends in high places you're gonna have is the guy on the top bunk in your cell in chino." "I bet he's a real good listener." "Do you know the story of Saul from tarsus?" "He was in a gang called the pharisees, until god hit him with a bolt of lightning on the road to Damascus." "Well, this is your Damascus, cuddy." "You're the new head of security at the community center." "That means no dope, no drive-bys, and let all the other sets know of it." "Anything pops off within a mile of that place..." "I'm not god in this story, cuddy." "I'm the lightning." "And if I have to strike you down again," "I swear on my father you'll never get up." "Let's go." "Hold up." "If it's cool with you, I'd like to make a citizen's arrest." "Heartwarming to see a young man take an interest in his community." "Wait a minute." "We gonna see what sticks." "Alive." "Alive." "Come on, guys." "Guys, w-we can work something out." "Come on." "You want a house?" "You can take your pick." "Nah, homey." "This neighborhood's creepy as hell." "Good morning, detective Craig." "I was hoping you could shed some light on yesterday's events." "Well, I'm just as shocked as you are, ma'am." "But now the community can heal..." "like you said." "One injustice does not excuse another." "I don't know what you mean." "So you're telling me you and frank had nothing to do with it." "Nothing to do with what?" "Todd barber was found in a very compromised position last night." "Someone clearly wanted to make a statement." "Seems to me the man pissed off a lot of dangerous people." "He's lucky to be alive." "Indeed." "I know that you went to see Jack rawls the other day." "You had me followed?" "You forget who I am." "I don't need to have you followed, Kyle." "People tell me things." "So, is there anything you would like to tell me?" "Whatever frank and my father did to put teflon away, you signed off on that." "So, what else?" "Did you approve what happened to him on the inside?" "Yeah." "That's the answer I expected." "And there is something I'd like to tell you." "My eyes are open." "I'm seeing the choices you're making, Kyle..." "Clear as day." "And if you keep going down this road, you'll be on your own." "Solving your father's murder isn't the only reason that you became a cop." "This girl, Kelly, reminds you of that." "Hey, Sean?" "Yeah?" "Come give me a hand." "You know, it's tradition to plant a tree for someone you've lost." "I planted one for my dad." "And we can plant this one for Kelly." "Thanks, man." "Tearing stuff down..." "That's easy." "Building up... that's hard." "We try to leave this world a little better than we found it." "Remember that."