Film / In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders

In the Line of Duty: The FBI Murders is a 1988 made-for-TV movie based on the 1986 Miami FBI shootout and starring Ronny Cox as Ben Grogan, Bruce Greenwood as Jerry Dove, Michael Gross as William Russell Matix, and David Soul as Michael Lee Platt. The film is a dramatization of a real life case of two robbers (Matix and Platt) in the Miami area who target banks and armored cars. Special Agents Grogan and Dove, as well as other members of the Miami FBI Division are the agents investigating the crime wave Platt and Matix are behind. The film alternates between the FBI agents investigation and personal lives, and the personal lives and crimes of Matix and Platt. The investigation culminated in an April, 1986 shootout that resulted in four fatalities.

The movie has several stand-alone sequels by the same director, including A Cop for the Killing, Manhunt in the Dakotas, Street War, Ambush in Waco, The Price of Vengeance, Hunt for Justice, and Blaze of Glory.

Has nothing to do with the Hong Kong series of the same name, also known as Yes, Madam!.

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This movie contains examples of:

• Addiction-Powered: Averted. Incredibly, even though both assailants took multiple shots before dying (Platt took 12 hits, Matix six hits) drugs were not a factor in their ability to withstand the onslaught, and both were drug free at the time of their deaths.
• Afraid of Blood: Agent Mireles states in the movie that the sight of blood makes him pass out, nevermind what happens later in the movie.
• Armed Blag: Platt & Matix' first robbery was an armored car.
• Artistic Licence – History:
  • The film has Matix and Platt drive a mid-1970s Monte Carlo in the final shootout. In actuality, the car they were driving at the time of the shootout was a 1979 model, with a smaller body size.
  • While the film makes a big deal about SA Ben Grogan losing his glasses in the gun battle and presents it as making Grogan heavily impaired in his vision, according to the FBI medical director, Grogan's vision without his glasses was not that bad.
  • Matix goes into Villainous Breakdown territory from the very first time he's hit by a bullet. In actuality, he was struck in the head by at least one bullet and was rendered unconscious for a good portion of the shootout, regaining consciousness in time to join Platt as he tried to escape in Grogan and Dove's FBI vehicle.
  • While the amount of shots Michael Platt takes during the final gunfight seems incredible, in reality, it was EVEN more. Platt was shot a total of 12 times before he could no longer continue the gunfight. While some of the shots were in non-lethal areas like the legs and feet, the television film actually downplays the damage he takes in the final gunfight. The number of wounds Matix takes are also a bit reduced.
  • In the film, Orrantia fires two shots before being taken out of action by return fire. In reality, Orrantia's injuries were relatively minor, and he fired twelve shots in the engagement.
  • Grogan wasn't shot by standing up from cover half blind and being shot. He was actually still in cover behind his car trying to help SA Jerry Dove get his pistol working again and both were unaware that Platt was advancing on their position until Platt came out of nowhere, shot Grogan in the chest, shot SA John Hanlon in the groin, and shot Dove in the head. The telefilm also downplays Dove's manner of death.
  • While an eyewitness claimed that Platt shot at SA Ed Mirales, Jr. three times and missed, similar to what we see transpire in the film, Mirales, Jr. himself says he does not remember that occurring, and neither did an eyewitness Metro-Dade policeman, nor did either Agents Risner or Orrantia.
  • The responding Metro-Dade police are shown waiting until the firefight was over to advance on the scene. In actuality, they approached while the shootout was ongoing, and assisted the wounded Hanlon and other agents.
• Bank Robbery: How Platt & Matix make their money.
• Berserk Button: Platt at certain times. Especially during the pinball scene.
  • Matix becomes furious finding out his wife is pregnant and drives her out of their home. He later warns his mistress to not become pregnant during a tense argument in a restaurant.
• Blind Without 'Em: Ben Grogan wears glasses throughout the movie, which goes completely unmentioned and seems innocuous enough until he loses them in the car crash and it seriously impedes his marksmanship as a result.
• Bloodless Carnage: An armed car guard gets shot in the stomach with a shotgun? He just lays on his back and winces.
  • Subverted somewhat in the final shootout, although some of the gunshot wounds, such as Grogan being shot in the chest, are not seen.
• Colbert Bump: Good luck finding a YouTube comment on the movie's upload that doesn't mention Paul Harrell's video on the shootout.
• Crazy Survivalist: The FBI raids their camp after they suspect them to be the ones behind the robbery, only to be proven wrong.
• Crooks Are Better Armed: One of the most famous examples in 20th century American police history. Michael Platt's Ruger Mini-14 and its .223 Remington ammo far outclassed the .357 Magnum revolvers, single Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and 9mm auto-loading pistols the FBI agents had on hand, and allowed him to pull a One-Man Army shootout against eight agents. The movie exaggerates this by depicting his rifle as the fully-automatic AC-556K variant of the Mini-14 loaded with an extended 40-round magazine, which he also reloads once. In reality, Platt used a regular semi-automatic Mini-14 with a standard-sized magazine, and did not fire enough shots to require a reload.
  • Further research about the event in the 21st century, as well as Agent Edmundo Mireles Jr. (the man who killed Platt & Matix) publishing his own personal autobiographical account of the shootout, revealed that the FBI team should have had three additional long guns available besides Mireles' lone shotgun. A second shotgun that should have been accessible to the team had been moved into a car's trunk earlier in the day instead of sitting ready between the seats, and two other FBI agents assigned to the team who were equipped with an M16 assault rifle and an MP5 submachine gun had the unfortunate coincidence of both needing to use the restroom at the moment Platt & Matix were spotted and the stakeout team took off in hot pursuit without them, which left them stranded away from the gunfight and unable to bring their weapons to bear.
• Determinator: Platt infamously suffers multiple gunshot wounds during the final shootout, several of which would have been eventually fatal, but refuses to die and goes on to kill or incapacitate the majority of the FBI team.
  • Agent Mireles ultimately ends the firefight with most of his team dead or wounded despite a crippling injury preventing him from using his shotgun or revolver properly.
• Developing Doomed Characters: SA Ben Grogan and SA Jerry Dove.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Only Platt has the privilege of calling Matix "Willy".
• Fatal Family Photo: A photograph of all the FBI Agents on the case at a barbecue before the shootout is shown during the credits.
• Foregone Conclusion: Anyone familiar with the 1986 Miami FBI Shootout will know it culminated in the tragic deaths of SA Ben Grogan and SA Jerry Dove, and criminals William Matix and Michael Platt.
• From Camouflage to Criminal: Platt & Matix were both military soldiers turned bank robbers.
• Hiding Behind Religion: Matix uses the church to hide his true history as a bank robber.
• Immune to Bullets: In the final shootout, Platt & Matix were still mobile and articulate despite being filled with bullets during the final shootout. Platt took 12 hits and Matix six.
• Instant Death Bullet: Averted. Many characters survived their injuries and most of the ones that didn't had been shot multiple times.
  • Subverted in Ben Grogan's case. He was shot through the heart and died instantly.
• Jurisdiction Friction: Discussed after the first robbery between the FBI agents and a police detective.
• Living a Double Life: Platt & Matix are both successful businessmen and churchgoers when they aren't committing their crimes.
• New Meat: Agent Dove is a newcomer to the FBI team and is well-qualified but has comparatively little field experience. Naturally, he earns his squad nickname right before the final shootout.
• Not Quite Dead: The target shooter Platt & Matix shot for his car in the Everglades turns out to have survived the shooting.
• Phony Veteran: Vickie doubts Platt's military achievements upon first meeting him, only to be quickly told off.
  • Funnily enough, shortly after that discussion, Platt falsely tells Vickie that he's working for the CIA and explains that's how he and Matix have such large amounts of money.
• Robbing the Mob Bank: While it is never shown, Platt & Matix both comment that robbing banks would be easier than robbing drug dealers.
• Tempting Fate: Jerry Dove is finally given his department nickname just before the final shootout where he loses his life.
• Villainous Breakdown: Matix starts blubbering from the very first time he's hit, and keeps going through most of the shootout, to the point where Platt tells him to shut up.
• Worf Had the Flu: Agent Grogan is established early on to be the 'best shot in Miami' but is nearsighted. His glasses are knocked off and accidentally crushed at the beginning of the final firefight and he ultimately dies when he fails to see Platt during a lull in the gunfire. Despite this, he does still manage to hit Platt several times.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Despite gunning down numerous armored car guards and people lone target shooters for their cars, Platt hesitates killing an elderly bank teller because she couldn't get a door open.