First Aired - January 25th, 1968
Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon are working in the Frauds Division, Bunco Section. Tyler Finch comes down to the precinct to give Officer Gideon C. Dengle a trophy for his outstanding help in the local area he is assigned to. However, a major problem arises as there is no Office Dengle on staff. Friday and Gannon must track down Officer Dengle to find out what he is up to.
Just the Tropes, ma'am:
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Played Straight and Subverted. Gideon Dengle walks into an area and helps out the citizens because he is wearing a badge with a matching uniform and no one questions his authority. However, he tries it again when working as a fireman and none of the other firemen are fooled.
- Impersonating an Officer: Gideon Dengle is impersonating a police officer and has done nothing but be helpful to the citizens, with each person Friday and Gannon talk to having huge praise for him. When Friday and Gannon finally locate him he is now impersonating a fireman. As his rights are being read, he decides to read them off from memory himself.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Downplayed because Dengle, while being the Villain of the story isn't evil. Gideon Dengle, while impersonating a police officer, is loved by the community so much that people who were issued parking tickets come to pay them. Even when they find out the tickets were fake, they still insist on paying them. Two teenagers who broke curfew also come to turn themselves in.
