Police Officer, keep those hands where I can see them.
First Aired- September 21, 1967
Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon are working out of Homicide division. After a long 18 hour day of work trying to work on their case about a robbery where the store owner died, Joe goes to a laundromat to buy cigarettes near his apartment. When he arrives, he finds a burglar trying to steal from the coin box, and shots are fired. During the shoot-out, the burglar dies, and Friday is investigated by the shooting board to see if it was a justified shot.
Just the Tropes, ma'am:
- Always on Duty: Averted and played straight. Joe was off duty when he went into the laundromat to buy the cigarettes as he lived right down the street, however when he saw the burglar he identified himself as a police officer and fired his gun. This is Truth in Television as Police Officers are supposed to intervene in a crime even if they're technically off the clock.
- It Began with a Twist of Fate: The whole plot kicks off because Joe went to get some cigarettes. However, the laundromat's cigarette machine is broken.
- Bloodless Carnage: Joe hits Arthur in the back left shoulder yet no blood is shown on him, only on the floor. However, a Freeze-Frame does show blood on his back.
- Brick Joke: The detective at the scene gives Joe the rest of his pack of cigarettes when he shows up. At the end when they finish their investigation, he gives Joe a full carton of cigarettes and tells him to stay out of trouble.
- Courtroom Episode: While not in court, it is before a board of police officers from internal affairs acting as judges along with a court reporter and other police officers as attorneys.
- Fake Memories: Brought up when the investigation team and the board are unable to find the bullet the burglar fired. They think that Friday may have imagined the burglar shooting at him due to being tired and having an unusually long day at work.
- Fight Scene: One of the few times the 1960s version has a fighting and shooting scene. With both the Arthur and Friday firing shots at each other along with the Arthur throwing objects at Friday.
- Foregone Conclusion: As the main character, Friday will be back working with the police, as this is the second episode of the second season. The main tension is trying to figure out HOW the board rules and if he will have to face any type of punishment.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: The missing bullet is behind a shelf. There was a mark under the shelf where the bullet hit that everyone thought was a carpenter pencil mark. The investigators examined the wall over 10 times before finding it. In fact, the investigators mention that Friday was only an inch off to where he thought the bullet was.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: The missing bullet the burglar fired is hidden behind a shelf. Both Gannon and the investigator said that it was a one in million shot the bullet hit there.
- Instant Death Bullet: Averted, Friday does hit him, but he stops and walks back to his car with his girlfriend to drive away. His death is offscreen.
- Killed Offscreen: Arthur Ashton, the burglar, dies off screen.
- Noodle Incident: Friday tells his Captain that he appeared before the shooting board only one other time when he fired his gun, but it was different because Gannon and a bunch of witnesses were there. Nothing about the first time is brought up or shown again.
- Red Herring: The police do find a gun nearby that Friday believes was Ashton's, but he had tossed into a barrel full of waste oil so there were no usable fingerprints and no way to tie it back to him.
- The Runaway: Marianne Smith is a juvenile who ran away from home to be with Arthur.
- Screaming Woman: Marianne Smith, Arthur Ashton's girlfriend, screaming MURDERER to Friday's face.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The original case Friday and Gannon are working on before the shooting is forgotten about after Joe fires his gun off duty. However, the captain does say that he has been pulled off of all his investigations due to the board hearing. It is also implied that Gannon is still working on the case with another detective.
