Southland: What Makes Sammy Run – A Review

Southland: What Makes Sammy Run

“Veteran cops know better than to take work home with them.” What a great opening line for this week’s episode. Great advice, too, for all cops. Unfortunately, even though the old-timers know better, the job is in their blood and that’s where it’ll remain until the day the bagpipes play.

A cop’s job is a tough, grueling job. Police officers see all sides and aspects of human life. They witness people’s behavior at its best, and at its worst. They laugh, they fight, and they hurt—all in an eight-hour shift. Their job is to protect the citizens within their jurisdictions. To do so, they’re sworn to enforce the laws of their communities and of their state and country. That’s it. That’s all they’re required to do.

No one orders a cop to spend a few minutes talking to a lonely, elderly person whose spouse of 50 years has recently passed away.  It’s not a requirement of an officer’s job to hold the hand of a sick drug addict, or to cry when a child is injured. They don’t have to work 36 hours straight, for free, while searching for someone’s little girl that didn’t come home after school. The job is an emotional roller coaster. It’s a career that’s brimming with pain, hurt, and sorrow. And that, Southland fans, is what makes Sammy run…

Now on with the review.

They’re back—the killers with the pointed-toe cowboy boots. And this time they shoot a couple of guys in a crowded nightclub. Investigators arrive to work the scene and we hear quite a bit of joking and clowning around. This is normal. Cops do what they have to do to deal with day-in and day-out death. It’s not meant to be disrespectful to the victims or their families. Not at all. It’s merely a coping mechanism for the officers.

– Detectives are seen during a brainstorming session in front of a large whiteboard. This is good stuff. I had one in my office for the same purpose. My partner and I spent many hours hashing out theories and ideas over the material on the board. Many cases have been solved in this manner. We also used the board for pre-search warrant/raid briefing sessions. Very realistic.

– A detective’s daughter was in the club when the shooting occurred, and she was sprayed with blood spatter from one of the victims. The spatter looked genuine. In fact, the angle of impact of the drops and droplets were depicted accurately. So accurate that I could almost picture a point of convergence. Great eye for detail.

– Sammy is shown trying to mentor a kid who’s teetering on the fence between good and bad. He takes the time to go to the kid’s house to speak with the boy’s mother. He takes the boy to a movie and to a restaurant. He’s trying to do all the right things, but the kid still manages to fall onto the bad side of the fence where he shoots and kills another kid. Unfortunately, the boy has been brought up in that type environment and lifestyle, which all to often becomes the only way of life they know how to lead. It’s like training to be a cop. Instructors drill the same information into their heads, day in and day out, until it’s ingrained into their minds. No longer do they have to stop and think before acting on a specific situation. Instead, they react instinctively. The same is true for kids who’ve been brought up on the streets. It’s all they know, and what they know is what they’ll do. Every time. Again, I can’t say enough good things about the writers and actors of this show. They’ve really done their homework. They may not admit it, but somebody from this show has lived this life. I know, because I’ve been there, too.

– I liked the scene where Cooper snatched the Ipod from the guy taking the upskirt photos. Not exactly legal, but I’m sure I’d have done the same thing (breaking the phone, not taking the photo).

– There’s a domestic call that Cooper and Sherman answer, and guess who’s at the heart of it? Yep, it’s the pointy-toe-cowboy-boots folks. Cooper tells Ben that they’re going to search inside the residence to make sure there’s no one inside who’s injured, or possibly dead. This is a legal search, without a warrant, but only if they search for people, not “things.” This type search is for the safety of everyone involved—officers and residents. All too often, an attacker lies in wait, sending the terrified victim outside to tell officers that all is well. Then, after the officers leave the attack continues. But, all sorts of evidence is discovered during these searches, such as the nearly 4 million dollars in cash that Ben discovered.

 

– Once the cash and guns are found (legally, because the lump looked like a person lying under the blanket) Cooper runs outside and yells, “Hook ’em up (handcuff them).” This was the right thing to do. Those two killers knew it was only a matter of time before officers found their stash, and they’d certainly have no problem killing someone to get away.

– During the search a cellphone rings and one of the detectives answers. I’ve done this many, many times. I’ve also responded to messages left on pagers. Once, I even told a guy to come by the residence we’d just raided because I wanted to buy some dope from him. He did, and we arrested the big dummy. After all, he’d only walked by five or six police cars to come calling with a big ‘ol bag of dope in his jacket pocket.

This episode continued with two other raids—Trinney’s place and of a boat used for drug smuggling. The entry/raid teams carried out the procedure pretty much like a real team would.

Officers discovered Trinney’s severed head in a box, and again made jokes about the horror they’d stumbled upon. That’s probably what real cops would do to cope if faced with a similar scenario. Sure, it would bother anyone to find something that gruesome, but when you see things like that on a regular basis…well, you have to deal with it somehow.

Once again, this show tops the list when it comes to realism. Each week I feel as if I’m back on the job, chasing bad guys with Cooper and Sherman. Great show!

By the way, the print of Ben’s vest can be clearly seen in the photo above. This show is all about detail.


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Castle: Boom – A Review of the Police Procedure

My goodness, where do we start? I know you’re always supposed to begin with something nice before dropping the bomb (pun intended), like Paula Abdul used to do on American Idol. Before telling some caterwauling off-key crooner they’d be better off cleaning sewers with a toothbrush than trying to sing for a living, Paula would offer a few kind words, like “Your one big ear looks exceptionally lovely tonight,” or “The color of your house is really nice.” So, I guess I should do the same, because this wasn’t pretty.

I could begin by saying, “At least Lainie Parrish wasn’t on the show.” But I’m thinking that might not have been a bad thing. In fact, an appearance by the M.E. would have been a huge improvement over the horrible condescending FBI character played by Dana Delaney. What a totally unbelievable person! Hers was the worst character to have ever appeared on this series. I simply could not get into the show at all knowing that every single word out of her mouth was going to be irritating, or something totally false about police work. And that’s a shame, because I normally enjoy the banter between Beckett and Castle. I also like the heat that’s generated between those two. But not in these two episodes. I simply could not get past this totally unrealistic FBI person.

Oh, I’d better say this again before my email box fills with threats and nasty notes. This review is strictly about the POLICE PROCEDURE used on the show. Yes, I do know the show is fiction. No, I’m not trying to get the show canceled. No, I do not hate any of the actors or writing staff. We do this review because people asked us to write them. They wanted to know if what they see on this show is true, or not. They wanted to know if cops really do the things they see on Castle? Well, our job was very easy this week and last, because basically nothing you saw in either episode was realistic. Horrible is the word that comes to mind.

Anyway, let’s have a look.

– I think everyone predicted that Beckett had weathered out the explosion by taking cover in her bathtub, which is exactly what happened. I suppose that could work. Why not? In the first season someone drowned in a bathtub filled with motor oil.

– Not-So-Special Agent Shaw tells Beckett, “My rules. You do what I say, when I say it, and how I say it.” Puleeze…The FBI has absolutely no authority over local law enforcement officers. None. Take a hike, woman. And take that magic board with you, too.

– Agent Shaw (rolling my eyes) pokes around the mounds of burned-beyond-recognition debris in Beckett’s apartment and comes up with a pea-size piece of evidence—the thing that caused the explosion. What exactly is this so-called agent’s job? Is she a profiler or an arson expert? What led her to the spot where she found the evidence? You don’t just dig through ash at random. There are specific clues—telltale signs— that lead investigators to the hot spots.

– I actually laughed out loud when I saw the bullet clinging to the brick wall in a huge circle of bright red blood that looked as if someone had spray-painted it there. The tip of the round was barely damaged and didn’t even chip the soft brick. It was just…well, stuck there. The crime scenes in Who Framed Roger Rabbit were more believable. And that blood…give me a break. Why are they suddenly dumbing down this show? Is there a No Viewer Left Behind program we didn’t know about?

– Beckett and Castle go into a bar (nope, not the opening of a joke) and see a huge banner advertising the serial killer. Beckett tells the barkeep she has to take it down because the case is still ongoing. What? The police don’t have that authority. Not yet, anyway.

– The goofy FBI surveillance team surrounds the killer’s apartment. Sure, they’re all in undercover garb, dressed as restaurant customers, letter carriers, etc., but they each have those wacky earpieces hanging from their heads, and their actions are as obvious as sore thumbs. And it got worse when Beckett announces that she’s seen the guy on the roof. The UC’s (undercover) immediately begin reaching for their weapons and talking into hidden microphones. Well, the killer is no dummy. He picked up on those not-so-subtle movements right away and flees.

– Agent Shaw tells Beckett she’s off the case. Beckett’s captain even backs the FBI agent’s order. Again, she has no authority over Beckett. In fact, the case should have been Beckett’s to work, not the FBI’s.

– The captain tells Beckett she’s too close to the case to be involved. This much was true. She shouldn’t have been involved in the investigation once it was known that she was the target.

– Well, it looks like Beckett borrowed Lainie Parrish’s crystal ball. Somehow, she magically knew, from looking at a couple of blood drops on the ceiling of Agent Shaw’s SUV, that the agent had elbowed her kidnapper, giving him a bloody nose. The attacker then recoiled from the pain, which caused blood from his nose to spurt onto the ceiling of the car. Then, Beckett tracked huge blood puddles to a couple of tires tracks on the pavement. Beckett then said, “He had a gun on her and forced her to a waiting car.” How did she know he had a gun? Why not a knife? Or a slingshot? Or nothing?

– What can I say about the FBI’s magic board that was able to locate the killer’s hideout using a blurry image of a bridge tower outside a window. Perhaps someone should type in Bin Laden’s name. I’m sure Agent Shaw would have him in custody in a matter of minutes. Seriously, the thing that bothered me most about this can-do-everything board was that it was a cheating tool for the writers. They didn’t have to put forth any effort to solve the crime. When they reached a point where they wanted to be lazy they merely had the agent consult the magic mirror for answers. We were cheated.

– Who didn’t see the totally predictable ending coming our way—the agent getting rescued by Castle and Beckett with Castle shooting the suspect? Castle shooting the gun out of the guy’s hand was silly, but it wasn’t as ridiculous as the rest of the show.

By the way, Castle said he was aiming for the guy’s head when he shot the gun out of the guy’s hand, right? If that was the case, chances are he’d have missed entirely because guns tend to rise when fired, especially when they’re fired by someone who’s not used to shooting.

I really feel bad that I had nothing good to say about these last two episodes. I’m sure there was something in all the hogwash that was worth watching, but I couldn’t seem to see around the FBI agent. Besides, she really made Beckett seem submissive, which should have never happened.

And, the agent’s duties were all wrong, her equipment was silly, and she was overboard obnoxious and condescending. To me, the killer was much nicer. I’d rather endure two root canals than watch another show featuring her character. I certainly hope we never see her again.

I know, let’s ask the guys what they thought about these two episodes…

That’s what I thought.

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And The Winner Is???

We have a winner!

Last week we asked you to send us your questions for Michael Cudlitz, star of TNT’s gritty police drama, Southland. All the entries were quite good, which made the panel’s decision very difficult, so we’re pleased to say the winner is (drum roll) Melanie Atkins.

Melanie – “I love Southland. Michael, do you ever find yourself reacting like a law enforcement officer in real life? I’ve read that other actors, some of the Law & Order folks, to be specific, have had that instinct kick in and have taken control in emergency situations.”

Melanie, your question will be forwarded to Michael for answering on the Southland Facebook page on April 5, 2010, and again later on the TNT,tv website. Your DVD will be shipped to you by the good folks at TNT (please contact me via email to work out shipping details).

Remember, folks, Season 2 of the gritty police drama SouthLand is in full swing on Tuesdays 9/10c on TNT. Our reviews of the show are posted each Wednesday morning. Please show your support by watching.

* Prizes are supplied by the SouthLand Team at TNT.

Please check back often for more Southland contests. We have another one brewing right now! By the way, TNT has generously donated DVD’s for the Writers’ Police Academy raffle. And, one of those DVD’s has been signed by the cast!

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Notice

There is only one spot left in the Writers’ Police Academy FATS training. Sign up today!

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Weekend Road Trip: The Cotswolds, England

Last Week In England With Paul Beecroft

 

My friend, Paul Beecroft, has spent a good deal of his life in law enforcement, in England. He’s worked Foot Patrol, Area Car, Instant Response Car and also as a Police Motorcyclist. He’s currently a coroner’s investigator and has traveled all over England, Wales, Scotland and even Germany to investigate crimes.

Today, let’s leave the world of cops and robbers and join Paul as he takes us on a trip to The Cotswolds, in England. Please enjoy.

Paul – “A few years back I jointly wrote, with a friend, a biography about a Falconer from the past who was sadly KIA in France during WWII. On Monday last I went to an area of England known as The Cotswolds and visited the home where the person subject of the bio lived. The house is no longer owned by the family and is in fact split up into apartments. Very little though has changed, certainly externally. Although not obvious the current tenants have done a lot of work to try and preserve this huge old English house.”

Driveway leading up to the entrance.

House from a distance.

Side View

Rear view

Front

Chapel at rear of house. Built 1140-1150 but restoration has taken place over the years.

Inside chapel.

The old Kennels area.

Nearby stream.

It was also Lambing season.

Local views

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Friday’s Heroes: Remembering The Fallen

Friday's Heroes - Remembering the fallen officers

The Graveyard Shift extends its condolences to the families of each of these brave police officers.

Sergeant Ira G. Essoe Sr., 69

Orange County Sheriff’s Department

February 4, 2010 – Sgt. Ira G. Essoe, Sr. succumbed to complications from gunshot wounds he received in November 1980. He and his partner had attempted to stop three men from breaking into a car in a mall parking lot when all three suspects opened fire on Sgt. Essoe, striking him twice. Sergeant Essoe survived by his wife and three children.

Sgt. Essoe (seated) is pictured with his son and grandson, both who serve with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Officer Brian Walsh, 34

Federal Way, Wa. Police Department

March 21, 2010 – After responding to an officer-involved shooting, Officer Brian Walsh suffered a fatal heart attack. He is survived by his expectant wife and two children.

Ranger Kenneth Betancourt, 29

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources

Ranger Félix Rodríguez, 31

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources

March 23, 2010 – Ranger Félix Rodríguez and Ranger Kenneth Betancourt were shot and killed during an apparent robbery attempt at the Department of Natural and Environment Resources in San Juan.

Ranger Betancourt is survived by his two young children.

Officer David Haynes, 27

St. Louis Missouri Police Department

March 24, 2010 – Officer David Haynes was killed in an automobile accident during a vehicle pursuit of a burglary suspect. He is survived by his wife.

*Thanks to ODMP and The St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

*     *     *

Would you like to win the entire first season of Southland on DVD? How about having the opportunity to ask Michael Cudlitz (John Cooper) that question that’s been bugging you since the show first aired? Well here’s your chance. Check out the details straight from the folks at TNT.

Let SouthLAnd Star Michael Cudlitz Answer Your Question and Win Season 1 on DVD!

Season 2 of the gritty police drama SouthLand is in full swing on Tuesdays 9/10c on TNT, and we have special access to the show’s star, Michael Cudlitz. We’d like to come up with the most creative and original question possible – and that’s where you come in!

Send your question to Michael via this post by Friday 3/26/2010. Ask anything you like, but the winning question must be creative and original and must not have already been covered at: http://www.tnt.tv/series/southland/display/?contentId=56444

The winner will receive Season 1 of SouthLAnd on DVD and will have their question answered online by Michael Cudlitz.

* Prizes are supplied by the SouthLand Team at TNT.

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Glo-Gloves: Let Me See Your Hands

Working traffic accidents at night has always been a safety problem. For whatever reason—fatigue, driving while impaired, talking on cell phones, rubbernecking, etc.—drivers often fail to see officers standing in the roadway when they’re tending to the injured, investigating the accident, or even directing traffic.

Police uniforms are normally dark—deep blue or black, and rightfully so. They don’t want to stand out like a human bull’s eye at night. However, dark uniforms are counter-productive during the times when officers really need to be highly visible—while directing traffic and working automobile accidents. To increase visibility officers wear reflective gear, such as vests and raincoats.

Most officers keep their equipment, including their safety vests, flares, and traffic cones, inside the trunks of their patrol vehicles. Vests are quite visible when illuminated by oncoming headlights. Flares light up small patches of roadway, and bright orange cones are okay. But these are all fixed objects, which is what etches into a motorist’s mind—all those brightly colored, reflective things are inanimate objects. After all, they’re not moving, right? The same is true for the officer who’s standing in the midst of a sea of orange. That big orange thing isn’t moving, so it must be a safety device.

There are two very simple solutions to the problem. Officers can hop up and down so drivers can tell they’re not part of the safety equipment. Or, they can wear reflective gloves that highlight their hand movements. A simple wave of an illuminated hand alerts the driver that what he’s seeing is a human, and not a tall traffic cone.

Enter…Glo Gloves. Officers can slip on a pair before getting out of the car, an act that also provides a measure of safety while they’re walking to the trunk to grab the other safety equipment.

Glo Gloves are made from stretchable nylon/Spandex to allow for a comfortable fit, and the flexible material affords maximum mobility and dexterity. Great idea, huh? I just hope officers don’t mistake them for their regular gloves and accidentally slip them on during a nighttime stakeout!

*     *     *

Would you like to win the entire first season of Southland on DVD? How about having the opportunity to ask Michael Cudlitz (John Cooper) that question that’s been bugging you since the show first aired? Well here’s your chance. Check out the details straight from the folks at TNT.

Let SouthLAnd Star Michael Cudlitz Answer Your Question and Win Season 1 on DVD!

Season 2 of the gritty police drama SouthLand is in full swing on Tuesdays 9/10c on TNT, and we have special access to the show’s star, Michael Cudlitz. We’d like to come up with the most creative and original question possible – and that’s where you come in!

Send your question to Michael via this post by Friday 3/26/2010. Ask anything you like, but the winning question must be creative and original and must not have already been covered at: http://www.tnt.tv/series/southland/display/?contentId=56444

The winner will receive Season 1 of SouthLAnd on DVD and will have their question answered online by Michael Cudlitz.

* Prizes are supplied by the SouthLand Team at TNT.

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Southland: The Runner – A Review

This week things settle down a bit as we join Detective Adams doing what detectives do during the course of their day—investigate crimes. An investigator’s day is a busy one, but not normally as frantic as the 8 to 12-hour shifts worked by patrol officers. The difference? Patrol officers spend their time reacting to crimes as they happen. Detectives work the crimes in reverse, starting with the aftermath. And that process can be very slow.

In the opening scene of this week’s episode, Detective Lydia Adams is investigating the murder of a young woman, a college student, who once had everything going for her until her addiction to crack cocaine led to her downfall. Adams commented about the bullet wound in the girl’s back, a wound that was pretty typical in size and shape for one caused by a 9mm round. This scene actually helped viewers get a pretty decent picture of what a real gun shot wound looks like in the field. This accurate portrayal was in sharp contrast to the bullet wounds we saw in another cop show that aired on Monday night.

Anyway, back to the dead girl in Compton. Adams notices burn marks on the girl’s mouth/lips and fingers. This is a sure sign that she’d been smoking crack cocaine. Crack is often smoked in metal devices which become very hot as the “rock” burns, which can quite easily sear human flesh.

So, how was the show’s accuracy this week? Let’s have a look at some of the major points.

– Detectives begin questioning neighbors, hoping someone will come forward with a description, a name, or something that could point them in the right direction of the killer. This process can be like tooth-pulling, as we saw when a woman was stopped by an officer as she walked by. “Hear nothing and see nothing,” was her statement, which were five words more than most people offer. Folks just do not want to get involved, fearing for their own safety.

– Investigators enter a home to question a possible suspect. The kid’s grandmother quickly morphs into angry mother hen mode and orders the cops out of her house. Again, the detail in this scene was great. In many areas like this one, kids live with their grandparents, especially the grandmother, while the parents are off doing whatever it is they do.

– Meanwhile, back at the murder scene officers are attempting to gather evidence in a yard filled with litter and debris. Yes! Finally, a TV show gets this right. Crime scenes are rarely ever as neat and tidy as what we’re offered on most TV shows. The scattering of garbage and junk makes evidence collection a very difficult job.

– Many TV shows wrap their evidence in neat little bundles for the viewing audience. It’s all right there for officers to find the second they set foot on the scene. Not this show. Detectives have to work for what they get. For example, two empty 9mm casings were found at the scene, but only one round struck the victim. Where was the second round? Were there two victims? This happens in the real world all the time. The missing “second round” is a part of every case that must be solved, even if it actually means no more than the shooter missed his target.

– Adams and partner deliver the death notice to the parents of the murder victim. This was one of the most difficult parts of my job, and one case stands out in my mind to this day. I can still picture the husband peering out at me through an opening in the living room curtains as I parked my unmarked car and walked to the front door. It was early in the morning and dew was still heavy on the grass. I caught the scent of bacon frying as it drifted over from a neighbor’s house. Another set of curtains parted and a set of very young faces pressed against the glass, wondering why a white man with such a worried look on his face was coming to their door at such an early hour, before the school buses began making their rounds. Those thirty or so steps from my car to the house told the entire story. I didn’t need to say a word when the door opened. His wife of twenty-five years, and the mother of three kids, standing there like stair steps, wouldn’t be coming home.

Adams did a great job in this scene. She plays her part very well. in fact, she’d be a great partner.

– Adams and partner hear gun shots so she calls it in and drives away. In the old days cops would have investigated the sounds. Today, gun shots are as commonplace as bums begging for money at intersections. You sort of want to report them, hoping the cops will make them move on, but it’s really not worth the bother. Besides, they’d just show up again later.

– The crew ends up in a busy hospital ER searching for the “second” victim (they always turn up in emergency rooms). While there they spoke to a man who’d accidentally shot off his ear during an arrangement with his wife. The wife placed the severed ear into an ice-filled glass and brought it to the ER. Officers took a look into the bloody glass and one then asked his partner, “You want to get something to eat?” This is so typical of real cops—the sick, black humor. Sometimes, it helps ease the horror. On the other hand, I’ve seen officers eating while waiting for a tow truck or ambulance at brutal automobile accidents. So it’s not all about soothing raw emotions.

– Detectives learned that the murder victim had attempted to steal an IPod and jewelry from her sister so she could sell it to buy crack. This is very real side-effect of crack smoking. The addict simply cannot stop smoking the stuff once they go on a binge. The drug’s hold on the user is tremendous! Therefore, they’ll do what it takes to buy the next rock, and sometimes that means stealing from close family members. Remember the grandmother who’s been caring for the kid? She’s the first to start missing items–DVD players, jewelry, TV’s, etc. Anything that’ll bring $20, the price of a single rock, which is only about a 60 second high.

– The fake arrest of snitch Casper was great. I used to do that all the time. It prevents witnesses from thinking the guy is ratting out his buddies.

– I had to chuckle when the lady approached the officers and said, “Every time I come home they’s ho’s in my house.” People do this all the time. Officers can be in the middle of working a mass murder and some Bozo will walk up and ask about something personal in his life—something trivial compared to the scene at hand. Like the old man who stopped his car behind mine on an interstate. Well, I had my gun out and was ordering the driver of a car to  toss out his gun, get out, show his hands, and then lie on the ground. You see, the man was wanted for a recent murder. The older gentleman hobbled right up behind me with his little AAA map asking for directions. AND, he got really angry when I yelled for him to go back to his car. AND, he called in a complaint to my chief because I wouldn’t stop what I was doing to help him.

– Adams and partner pull up behind the murder victim’s father while he’s sitting in his car contemplating shooting who he thinks is his daughter’s killer. The procedure they used to get him out was pretty good. They each had their weapons out and one officer gave the commands while the other partner stood behind the driver’s door of the police car, using the door and the A post (the vertical piece of metal between the windshield and the door opening) for cover. Good stuff straight from Police Academy 101.

Adams cuffed the father without knowing if a crime had been committed. This was fine because officers are permitted to cuff someone, especially someone they believe is armed, for their safety.

– Again, Sammy chases a thug on foot. This time the guy’s pushing a baby carriage loaded with a real baby. The crook tosses a gun out and when it hits the concrete it discharges. This would be a rare occurrence. Normally, the trigger must be pulled for a pistol to fire. Dropping them just doesn’t do it. Sure, it’s happened, but it’s a rare, rare thing to happen. I’ve seen cops loose their service weapons during foot pursuits and the only thing that happens is the gun gets scratched up a bit. Well, there’s the embarrassment thing that goes along with dropping your gun, but that’s another story.

– Finally, we saw a few close-ups of Ben and John’s uniforms. Did you by any chance notice the perfectly ironed and sharply creased shirts worn by the two officers? Well, those razor sharp creases down the front and backs of their shirts are permanent fixtures. They’re called military creases and the shirts come from the factory with them pre-sewn into the fabric.

chief-badge-and-insignia.jpg

Military creases shown on this chief’s shirt (from top of badge and top of name tag to each shoulder).

By the way, I also noticed the guys weren’t wearing their vests. Sure, there were at a funeral, still…

Now for the big news! Would you like to win the entire first season of Southland on DVD? How about having the opportunity to ask Michael Cudlitz (John Cooper) that question that’s been bugging you since the show first aired? Well here’s your chance. Check out the details straight from the folks at TNT.

Let SouthLAnd Star Michael Cudlitz Answer Your Question and Win Season 1 on DVD!

Season 2 of the gritty police drama SouthLand is in full swing on Tuesdays 9/10c on TNT, and we have special access to the show’s star, Michael Cudlitz. We’d like to come up with the most creative and original question possible – and that’s where you come in!

Send your question to Michael via this post by Friday 3/26/2010. Ask anything you like, but the winning question must be creative and original and must not have already been covered at: http://www.tnt.tv/series/southland/display/?contentId=56444

The winner will receive Season 1 of SouthLAnd on DVD and will have their question answered online by Michael Cudlitz.

* Prizes are supplied by the SouthLand Team at TNT.

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Castle: Tick, Tick, Tick – A Review of the Police Procedure

Tonight’s episode is the first of a two-parter, and I have to admit I’m thankful the network broke this particular show into segments. Why? Because there’s no way I could stomach this all in one sitting. The writers definitely went for over the top stupid this time.

Sure, the usual humor was there, and the fire between Beckett and Castle was definitely blazing hot. And, of course, Alexis was as adorable as ever. But the police procedure and forensics were absolutely horrible. The cop-type stuff was so bad I quit taking notes after I filled the fourth page of a legal pad. Shoot, I’d filled two pages before the opening credits finished rolling.

I’m going to skip a lot of the bad procedure this week, because I’d like to get into bed before sunrise. It’s 12:22 now, so wish me luck. Here goes…

Oh, please do remember the purpose of this review. I write it to point out the good and bad police procedure used in the show, not to ding the writing, the acting, the commercials, the production, the casting, the stage lighting, etc. This review is solely to help writers get their facts straight. Castle is a work of fiction, and it’s a comedy (bordering on Leslie Nielsen Naked Gun and Police Academy silly this week). I appreciate the show for what it is. So please don’t send me nasty emails and threats because you’re in love with Nathan Fillion. I don’t know the guy, but I’m sure he’s really nice. So are the writers who ASKED me to do this review. AND, I like the show!

Warning! I’ve inserted an image of a real gun shot wound below. It may be considered graphic to some people.

Anyway…

– We see the first victim, a guy who’d been shot five times while inside a phone booth. My wife and I both shook our heads at this scene, and I don’t think we stopped shaking our heads in disbelief until the previews for next week’s show came on. My wife, who has a PhD in pathology and is quite familiar with death by both natural and unnatural causes, commented about the cascading rivers of blood that had poured down the victim’s chest. She referred to the numerous gun shot victims she’d seen over the years, and stated that in most cases gun shot wounds are remarkably unremarkable. As a former police detective and a former EMT, I agree. Normally, entrance wounds are small, about the size of the projectile itself, and any bleeding that occurs usually soaks into the clothing (which acts as a wick) beginning at the site of the wound and spreads outward.

stippling-on-shirt.jpg

This is the shirt worn by an actual shooting victim. The shot was fired at close range (notice the black powder burn). I was in the morgue when this shirt was removed from the body. The image below is of the wound received by the man wearing this shirt. The wound was approximately the size of the bullet.

bullet-hole.jpg

– Enter Lanie Parrish, the M.E., and she was in rare form tonight. I do believe her morgue is the only one in the entire world that incorporates crystal balls and Ouija boards as part of their autopsy room tool arsenal.

How else could she possibly arrive at some of her magical medical conclusions? Lanie, bless her little heart, offered her first wacky determination of the night when she said she knew the victim had consumed a martini based on a tox report. There’s no way to arrive at that conclusion based on what’s contained in a tox report. A tox report would indicate an alcohol content. And stomach contents may have revealed pieces of an olive, maybe. Had she ordered specific tests, maybe the other ingredients would show up, too. I don’t know. But there is no “martini” test. Besides, who could possibly say with certainty that the victim didn’t consume each of the martini’s ingredients separately? Now, if Lanie had then shaken, not stirred, the dead guy vigorously to mix those ingredients…

I think something stupid fell from Lanie’s mouth each time she opened it in this episode. Awful. Awful. Awful! Oh, and she had the martini tox report in a matter of hours, not days or weeks like in real life.

– Beckett says the crime scene folks collected 200 fingerprints, over 1,000 fibers, and 60 DNA samples from the phone booth where victim #1 was murdered. So what? It’s a public phone booth. What good are all those pieces of evidence without a suspect to match them to? Sure, you could run the prints through AFIS and the DNA through CODIS, but what would that prove? That someone in the system had used a public phone booth? Well, shame on them. But again, so what? Besides, do you realize how long it would take to process 200 fingerprints and 1,000 fibers? How about the cost of running 60 DNA tests? Probably not gonna happen without a suspect.

Victim #2

– The killer calls Beckett and tells her she can find this victim’s body on a carousel. Beckett and entourage approach the scene driving on an asphalt path. Well, when they arrive at the carousel they each drive off the pavement and park in the grass. Why? They could have destroyed tire tracks, footprints, and other evidence. Dumb move.

– The M.E. consults her tea leaves and says there’s a contusion on the victim’s side that’s consistent with the muzzle of a .45 caliber.

Was it this muzzle?

This one?

Or this one?

Or maybe she meant this muzzle…

It doesn’t matter because there’s no way the bruise on the victim’s side could have proven anything without an object to match it to, an object that was not available. It didn’t even look like the end of a gun barrel to me.

– Parrish says the killer was left-handed because the muzzle bruise was on the victim’s left side. WHAT?? Sure, that might be true if the killer was standing behind the victim and used his left hand to jam the barrel into the victim’s left side, but not if he was standing in front of her. Then the bruise would have appeared on her right side. AND, the killer could be like me. I’m left-handed, but I shoot with my right hand. Many left-handed people use both hands, each for different tasks. I can even write forward and backward at the same time—forward with my right and backward with my left. Yes, I could actually write this blog forward and backward, at the same time. The bruise thing proves absolutely nothing.

– Okay, time for the FBI–the Fart, Barf, and Itchers (a line from a James Lee Burke novel) to enter the scene. Their mission? Take over the case.

Special Agent Whatshername ducks under the crime scene tape barking out orders like she’s Queen of Murder Solving. Nope. No way. No how. Not in a million years would this happen. For starters, the FBI doesn’t normally work murder cases. That’s not what they do. They’re mostly concerned with things like counterterrorism and organized crime. In fact, here’s a list of crimes they do investigate. I copied the list from their website, so there’d be no mistaking what you see.

1. Counterterrorism
• International Terrorism
• Domestic Terrorism
• Weapons of Mass Destruction

2. Counterintelligence
• Counterespionage
• Counterproliferation
• Economic Espionage

3. Cyber Crime
• Computer Intrusions
• Online Predators
• Piracy/Intellectual Property Theft
• Internet Fraud

4. Public Corruption
• Government Fraud
• Election Fraud
• Foreign Corrupt Practices

5. Civil Rights
• Hate Crime
• Human Trafficking
• Color of Law
• Freedom of Access to Clinics

6. Organized Crime
• Italian Mafia/LCN
• Eurasian
• Balkan
• Middle Eastern
• Asian
• African
• Sports Bribery

7. White-Collar Crime
• Antitrust
• Bankruptcy Fraud
• Corporate/Securities Fraud
• Health Care Fraud
• Identity Theft
• Insurance Fraud
• Money Laundering
• Mortgage Fraud
• Telemarketing Fraud
• More White-Collar Frauds

8. Major Thefts/Violent Crime
• Art Theft
• Bank Robbery
• Cargo Theft
• Crimes Against Children
• Cruise Ship Crime
• Indian Country Crime
• Jewelry and Gems Theft
• Retail Theft
• Vehicle Theft
• Violent Gangs

– The FBI will gladly assist local police departments, and many investigators welcome their knowledge and resources. But FBI special agents, no matter how special they may think they are, do not ride into town and take cases away from local law enforcement. It’s not their job to do so, and they don’t. Not ever. Murders and all other local cases are always investigated by the local police. If they need help they normally call another local agency, such as the sheriff’s office or state police. Besides, how did the FBI learn about the murder? Who called them?

This scene was especially ridiculous. But believe me, it got worse. In fact, these guys are much more believable.

Well, the next thing SA Jordan Somethingorother does is take over the entire police department. What, the FBI doesn’t have an office in NYC? Give me a break. Sure, I’ve had the pleasure of working with several agents from various three letter federal agencies. You know what they used for an office while they were in our neck of the woods? Their vehicles. They also acted like decent human beings, unlike the agent in this show. They even knocked on the door to my office when they needed to see me. Oh, and they had to check in at the front desk just like I had to do when I went to their offices.

I’m skipping a lot of stuff here, because there’s not enough space on the internet to write all the FBI nonsense in this episode. But feel free to chime in with the stuff that made you roll your eyes.

– A fingerprint search was conducted, through AFIS I suppose, and a match (a hit) showed up on the computer. It even gave the suspect’s name, address, phone number, blood type, shoe size, and favorite sports team. No, no, and no! This is not the way it’s done. The system selects several possible matches, which must be compared to the lifted print by a certified fingerprint examiner.

– Beckett and FBI SA Notrealistic question the guy who sold his little finger to the murderer. They treated the guy like a poor, poor, pitiful witness when actually he’s an accessory to murder. The killer told him what he was going to do with the finger. He knew his prints were going to be used in a murder. He knew the police would be coming for him. And he knew he was a decoy. That makes him a criminal! I also question how effective the severed finger would be in leaving prints in various locations. Once the digit was severed I believe it would stop producing the oily secretions that creates latent prints. I’m not sure how long that would work, but I thought I’d toss that out there as food for thought.

– Agent Getsonmynerves told Beckett to go home and get some rest.

Beckett says no, but the agent responded with, “Don’t argue with me, you’re no good to me if you’re burned out.” Beckett’s next words should have been, “You’re not the boss of me,”  because she’s not. The FBI has no authority over local law enforcement. None whatsoever.

– Castle spends the night at Beckett’s house (they’re getting awfully close to turning this into old Moonlighting episodes). When Castle opens the door to get the morning paper a body falls inside the apartment. Well, this has nothing to do with police procedure, but did you guys notice that when he opened the door he forgot to undo the security chain? Didn’t matter because it just fell off. I guess that was a prop error they didn’t catch during edits.

– Lanie, Lanie, Lanie… She’s just had to come back for one more gaze into her forensics crystal ball. She says she found formaldehyde under the victim’s fingernails and in her hair. How? Why would she be testing for this stuff? Besides, the M.E. would not be doing this testing. She’d send samples to the lab where scientists would do that sort of examination. Then she says she also discovered clay, polyurethane and animal blood, and to Lanie that could mean only one thing…the victim was a taxidermist. Well, it could also mean she worked in a North Carolina textile mill where the local soil is mostly red clay. Perhaps she worked in a furniture store where an exterminator had killed a rat, or a paint factory, or any number of other things? Besides, how many people in this world are familiar with the components of a taxidermy shop?

– SA Jordan Notsosmart leads a pitiful entry team into a search of a possible killer’s home. There were a few things totally wrong with this scene (other than the agent attempting to run in heels), such as Beckett talking to the guy on the phone and not warning the entry team that he’s inside and has a gun. Hello, Det. Beckett. People could get killed here. Of course, she may have realized that one shot could finally silence the annoying female agent. Anyway, the guy shoots himself before they get inside. Tension is gone now, which is a great indicator that this guy wasn’t the killer. Anybody else catch this? I mean this is a two part show, right? Okay, the cops are poking around and the agent sees a bunch of bomb-making equipment, including devices used as detonators, LIKE THE CELL PHONE she picks up. And what does she do, this highly trained agent? She starts punching buttons on the phone! By the way, that’s what makes bombs go boom.

Okay, we’ve made a full circle now, because Castle figured out that the guy who shot himself used his right hand to pull the trigger, and mystical, magical Lanie Parrish said the killer was left-handed (remember the stupid muzzle-bruise theory?). Again, this was so, so obvious. The director did everything short of using a flashing red arrow to point at the suicide guy’s right hand.

Well, the show finally ended and it did so with a bang. Yep, Beckett’s apartment blew up. But was she in it, or was she staying somewhere else? After all, she was peeking out of the shower like she didn’t have a clue where things were located.

There’s only one thing about this episode that’s worse than Lanie’s horrible scenes, and that’s the fact that part two of this nonsense is on the way and there’s nothing I can do to stop it…

TV Overmind photos

*Please refresh your browsers. I’ve made several changes to this blog entry since it posted (10:06 am est).

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*Important notices*

– Please check back later in the week for a cool contest where you could win Season 1 of SOUTHLAND on DVD and have your great question answered by Michael Cudlitz (John Cooper) on tnt.tv.

– There are only three spots left for the Writers’ Police Academy FATS training! Hurry! Register today. You won’t want to miss this exciting part of the event!

/by

Officer Down! But Why?

Officer down!

Two simple words with a huge meaning — life or death.

When searching for a topic for today’s blog I stumbled across a series of troubling headlines, many involving the shooting of police officers by a thug with a gun who thought nothing of pulling the trigger. In fact, shooting and killing a police officer in these modern times is an act regarded by some as no more serious than swatting a fly.

When did society make this turn, where a human life is no more valuable than that of an insect? Kids can longer travel to Mexico during spring break out of fear of being gunned down or beheaded by members of drug cartels. A simple walk in a park sometimes leads to a missing person case that all too often ends with the discovery of a body in a landfill or shallow grave in the woods. Suicide bombers kill anybody they can, doesn’t matter who. They just want to kill somebody.

Police officers respond to calls of domestic violence only to be shot by the very people they’re trying to help. Traffic stops result in gun fire. Bank robberies and convenience store hold-ups end in shoot outs.

Each and every day police officers are slapped, punched, spit on, kicked, stabbed, cut, and shot. All while enforcing laws, and protecting citizens and their property.

Cops didn’t band together and write up a bunch of laws so they’d have something to do.

It wasn’t a police officer who one day decided to make pot illegal, which, by the way, was the cause of two Baltimore, Md, police officers being shot this past weekend. Officers stopped a car and subsequently found marijuana. During the arrest of the car’s occupants the driver pulled a .25 caliber pistol and fired. He shot one officer in the cheek and the other in the hand. The suspect was shot and killed by the third officer at the scene.

Each Friday I post a list of officers killed in the line of duty during that week. As most of you know, I rarely ever report a death-free week. What you don’t see are the survivors — the officers who are hurt, wounded, or involved in shooting situations during the course of their shifts. To give you an idea of what goes on, here are just a few of the headlines for the past couple of weeks.

Jacksonville, Fl. – Arrest Made After Two Florida Cops Shot During Pursuit

Citrus Heights, Ca. – California Officers Shot During Struggle With Suspect

Baltimore – Maryland Officer Shot At Traffic Stop, Suspect Killed

Salt Lake City – DA Says Officer Justified In Shooting

Hemet – California Police Tense After Latest Gang Threat (police stations and cars have been booby-trapped with explosives, gas, and other deadly weapons)

Oak Hill – West Virginia Cop Survives Shooting; Manhunt For Suspect

Atlanta – Suit Says Ga. Cop Wasn’t Certified When He Shot Suspect

Elyria – Ohio Cop Killed Responding To Disturbance

Anaheim – Off-duty Cop Fatally Shoots Violent Man

Jefferson – North Carolina Officer Dies At the End Of His Shift

Philadelphia – Pa. Gun Trafficker Gets Ten Years After Cop’s Death

Liberty County – Texas Sheriff’s Deputies Shot, Suspect Dead

What has happened to people? Why are things as they are? Are bad things influencing good people? Are people copying what they see and hear?

Video games?

News?

Movies?

TV?

Bad parenting? Poor education? What????

Why do people kill? Why do the lives of police officers mean nothing to some people?

I ask you, would you want a job where going to work meant you might be stabbed, shot, or even killed? And people wonder why cops can’t trust anyone.

I’m just saying…

/by

Weekend Road Trip: The Fishin’ Hole

A drive down a dirt road overgrown with tall weeds, honeysuckle, and goldenrod revealed an old water and rust-stained dam, a deserted factory engulfed in vines, and a secret fishing spot. In all the quiet it was easy to imagine smoke billowing from the stacks, water rushing over the dam, and a line of workers standing in line to punch a time clock. Nevermore.

/by