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A COP’S CHOICELogline:Called on to investigate a corner-store robbery, an inner- city cop witnesses his partner murder an unarmed teenager suspected of the crime. Torn between his loyalties—the cop must choose if he will remain loyal to the department or the truth. FADE IN EXT. SHOT. ALROSE POLICE DEPARTMENT—LATE EVENINGCUT TO:INT. SHOT—POLICE DEPARTMENT The Bullpen, the place where all the officers gather to do their office work. An elevator opens and we see KEVIN ROYCE step out with a couple other officers. The officers and KEVIN ROYCE all fan out towards their own separate desks. CUT TO:Two desks that rest on either side of an aisle for walking space. Sitting at the one desk is PATRICK McCLAIRE. PATRICK is a broad-shouldered man and of average build. He has rusty red hair a roguish appeal to him. He is leaning back in his chair and tossing a paper ball in the air, catching it on its way down.PATRICK(Joking)I was beginning to think that I’d have to do this paperwork myself. PATRICK holds up a stack of papers. CUT TO:KEVIN sitting down at his desk. KEVIN(Joking)You know you could have at least started.CUT TO:PATRICK(Laughs)Hey, we made a deal. You do the paperwork this week and I buy us and a couple lucky women a few drinks at Tully’s. (Pauses)Speaking of which, how is it going with that pretty blonde you took out earlier? CUT TO:KEVIN as he is organizing his desk. He shrugs.KEVINYou mean Kathy? Yeah, she was alright, I guess. Nothing sparked though.CUT TO:The two men sitting at their desks. PATRICKWhat about that woman you always talk to? That reporter from the Alrose Press? KEVINYou mean Tamara? Oh. She’s a friend. We’ve known each other since we were in grade school. PATRICKIf I was in your position, I would have—CUT TO:Their Captain-- Leroy Dominguez—- walking towards them. He is a White-Hispanic man of stout stature and a steel-serious persona. He calls across the room.DOMINGUEZYou would have turned in the police report that you owe me! PATRICKI was just going to—DOMINGUEZYou were not going to ‘just do’ anything. I came over here to tell both of you that we just got a call and I need the two of you to investigate it. KEVINWhat’s the situation Captain? DOMINGUEZThere was a robbery on 5th and Wayne Avenue just a few minutes ago. Witnesses report it was a guy and a few of his buddies. They split up when the cops arrived, not before they managed to make off with some cash. Police picked up his friends, now they are looking for their leader. PATRICKDo we have a description of the suspect? CUT TO:DOMINGUEZMale. Tall. Muscular. Black. KEVINThey just described almost forty percent of this precinct’s population.CUT TO:DOMINGUEZWitnesses also report that the kid’s hair was cut short. I know it’s not much to go off, but we must find him. There are reports of a kid with a similar description dealing illegal drugs. Getting him in our custody will give us a chance to find out who he is working for. The two of you are the best officers I have on hand. Investigate, and if you find him, bring and book him. CUT TO:KEVIN as he pulls his weapon out of his desk drawer and slips it in his belt. DISSOLVE TO:INT. SHOT. COP CAR-- A COUPLE HOURS LATER KEVIN AND PATRICK have their vehicle parked along the side of a street. Outside the car, the city continues life as usual. The two men are drinking coffee and scouting. CUT TO:The car radio. DISPATCHAlpha and Beta what’s your twenty? CUT TO:KEVIN as he speaks into the radio. KEVINDispatch, this is Alpha. Beta and I are parked a couple blocks south down from the corner store on Wayne Ave, where suspect was last seen. Going to be here for a while until the perp is caught. DISPATCHCopy that. Call in at 15 hundred hours for check in.KEVINCopy that. CUT TO:PATRICK as he drinks his coffee. PATRICKThink there’s any possibility that we will be out of here before ten tonight? CUT TO:KEVIN and PATRICK. KEVIN glances over at Patrick. KEVINWitnesses say the guy we’re looking for usually comes here around the same time every day. If he continues the pattern, he’ll be here shortly. PATRICKI’d rather be at the bar chasing a pretty brunette than some punk who thought it’d be a good idea to pop a corner store. CUT TO:KEVINWouldn’t be so bad if we had a better description. CUT TO:PATRICKHeh. When someone is robbing you, you’re not too focused on the details. Just staying safe and getting the basics. Rest of it is up to us. CUT TO:KEVINA tall young Black man though? Really? No other distinguishing features besides that? We might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack.CUT TO:PATRICK shrugs.PATRICKWhatever gets the job done at the end of the day.CUT TO:KEVINDon’t know if I agree with…(He trails off)Hey, do you see that guy there? The one in the hood? The one walking a little suspiciously. Like he’s checking over his shoulder?CUT TO:A WIDE-SHOT of a person—what appears to be a tall figure. He is African American, and he is wearing a black hoodie with the cowl pulled over his facial features. He wears a pair of jeans that are only just staying up at the waist. PATRICK(Voice from the car)Witnesses did report seeing a guy wearing a blackhoodie running through here like someone was chasing after him.KEVIN (Voice from the car)Looks like he’s being extra cautious.KEVIN and PATRICK in the car. KEVINLet’s go check it out. CUT TO:The officers step out of the car and approach the guy in the hoodie. As they get closer to him, KEVIN holds up his badge. KEVINExcuse me, sir! A.P.D. We just want to stop and ask you a few questions.The SUSPECT starts running away. PATRICK(Shouts)Freeze! KEVINHalt! Speaks into radio.Dispatch! Alpha and Beta have a signal zero. Repeat. Signal zero. Unarmed. Pursuing now. Requesting back up.CUT TO:The SUSPECT as he is running down the street. We can hear his feet pounding the ground as he runs. The SUSPECT runs off the screen and the officers appear, with PATRICK leading, his gun drawn but aimed towards the ground. KEVIN—in a likewise fashion—follows suit. The chase takes them through the streets. We see the man run into oncoming traffic at a crosswalk. Amazingly, he does not get killed by an oncoming car. Instead, he slides across the hood of the vehicle and keeps running. As the cops chase after him, angry drivers shout at them. Still they are relentless in chasing after the SUSPECT. The chase takes them through a busy street. The SUSPECT tries to weave his way through the crowd to lose them. However, what he does not realize is that KEVIN has passed PATRICK and is now trailing behind him. CUT TO:A CLOSE-UP SHOT of the SUSPECT as he is running. We can see that he is panting, a drop of sweat rolls down his face. His eyes veer to the right and he turns sharply in that direction. CUT TO:A WIDE MED-SHOT of KEVIN as he too sees the alley, down which the SUSPECT is fleeing. Recognizing the ally, he pauses, and PATRICK does the same. PATRICK looks to his comrade for a plan. In a heartbeat, KEVIN delivers. KEVIN(Giving directions)I’m going to follow the suspect down this way. There’s a wall that will stop him. He will have no choice to but to take a left. You meet him just as he does, and we’ll box him in. CUT TO:PATRICK(Smirking)On it!CUT TO:KEVINRemember. De-escalate. We want to bring him in. CUT TO:PATRICK as he continues running down the street. Meanwhile KEVIN chases after the suspect down the alley. CUT TO:The SUSPECT as he reaches the section in the alley where the wall has been built. Realizing that he can’t climb it, he decides to veer off to the left. SUSPECT(Gasping)CUT TO:A WIDE-SHOT of PATRICK. He is slowly approaching the SUSPECT, his weapon is drawn and aimed.PATRICKDon’t move dirt-bag. Put your hands above your head where I can see them!CUT TO:A MED-SHOT. The SUSPECT quickly turns around and starts to run back in the opposite direction. However, he quickly skids to a halt when he sees that KEVIN is also walking towards him. CUT TO:A CLOSE-UP of KEVIN. KEVIN(Calmly)If I were you, I’d listen.CUT TO:A WIDE-SHOT of the KEVIN, PATRICK, and SUPSECT. SUSPECT glances at both officers and then starts to raise his arms up in the air. CUT TO:A MED-SHOT of the SUSPECT and PATRICKPATRICK(Commanding)Get on the ground! CUT TO:A MED-SHOT of the SUSPECT. SUSPECT(Nervously)You going to shoot me? Go ahead. You will anyway. CUT TO: A CLOSE-UP of PATRICK. PATRICK(With an edge in his voice)I said put your hands behind your head and get on the ground. KEVIN, PATRICK, and the SUSPECT as the SUSPECT raises his hands.SUSPECTI swear I didn’t want to rob that store!CUT TO:A CLOSE UP SHOT of PATRICK.PATRICK(Voice still carries edge.)Save it for the interrogation! CUT TO:A WIDE MED. SHOT of KEVIN and SUSPECT. KEVIN(Trying to calm the suspect.)Just listen to my partner. If you come with us, you can tell us what you know. We understand you have connections to drug dealers…CUT TO:SUSPECT(Frantic)I don’t have a choice! I gotta help take care of my family! I don’t know—CUT TO:PATRICK(Harshly)Cut the chatter! CUT TO:Realization dawns on KEVIN. PATRICK is starting to become too aggressive.KEVIN(CALMLY TO SUSPECT)Listen. We don’t want to hurt you. Okay? Just comply with our orders, and we’ll all make it out of this unharmed. CUT TO:SUSPECT(DESPERATELY)I can’t go with you. If they think I ratted them out they’ll hurt my family! PATRICK(AGGRESSIVELY)Should’ve thought about that before kid! KEVIN(PERSISTENTLY)Listen. I know this may be hard to believe, but I understand. I grew up my whole life in this city. Times and faces change. The nature of the situations hasn’t. I get that you’re scared. You probably didn’t want to rob the store. Probably only chose the life that you did because you felt there’s no other choice.SUSPECTThere is no other choice! Not for people like me! Nobody cares! You only have yourself and your own if you’re lucky!KEVINLet me prove you wrong. Let us take you in for questioning. Nobody needs to get hurt today. CUT TO:SUSPECT, KEVIN, and PATRICK. There is a moment of tension as the SUSPECT debates his options. CUT TO:PATRICK(SHOUTS)Get on the ground! CUT TO:The SUSPECT stands still for a few moments. Slowly he starts to get down on his knees.CUT TO:AN XTR. CLOSE-UP SHOT of PATRICK as he shouts, and he fires his gun. CUT TO:AN XTR. CLOSE-UP of KEVIN as he shouts, trying to stop his partner but it’s too late. PATRICK fires the gun. CUT TO:A WIDE SHOT of the SUSPECT as he is shot, and falls to the ground, his head hitting the pavement, face turned towards the camera. We can see now that the SUSPECT is a young kid, probably around sixteen-years-old. For a moment, there is life in his eyes. Then as blood starts to pool around him, his life begins to fade. We hear voices muffled in the background and a shadow over the SUSPECT. FADE OUTFADE INEXT. SHOT. THE ALLEY—LATE EVENINGThe scene opens with an image of yellow police tape in front of the alley and police cars parked in front, their lights glowing. CUT TO:Captain DOMINGUEZ. He steps out of the police car. Behind them, a news crew is snapping photos and a reporter is speaking into a TV camera. Meanwhile a police officer (a woman) walks up to him. OFFICERSchool I.D. says he’s 16. DOMINGUEZCriminal record? OFFICERA couple of misdemeanors. All charges were dropped. No real violent history. They arrive on the scene where the SUSPECT’s body lies. KEVIN and PATRICK stand gravely off to the side. The two cops discuss in hushed whispers as the chief talks with the coroner (a woman). PATRICK(Worried)Captain is going to be pissed. KEVIN(Angrily)A kid is dead. Because of you. Of course, he’s pissed!PATRICKBecause of us! CUT TO:A CLOSE-UP of KEVINKEVINI was getting through to him! We could’ve walked out of here with him alive and in custody. Your trigger-happiness got a kid killed! CUT TO:A CLOSE-UP of PATRICK PATRICK(Defensively)That kid was resisting!CUT TO: A WIDE-SHOT as a car rolls up to the end of the alley. CUT TO:TAMARA DANIELS steps out and closes the door. She is an African American woman of average height and build, but she is also very beautiful. She has dark brown skin and her hair is natural. CUT TO: A WIDE SHOT of KEVIN and PATRICK. KEVIN can see that TAMARA is approaching the scene of the accident. He can hear her shouting. TAMARAI need to talk to Kevin! CUT TO: KEVIN as he sees her. Despite protests from PATRICK he walks over to her and stands on the opposite side of her from the police tape. CUT TO: A WIDE MED. SHOT of the two of them standing and talking. KEVINWhat are you doing here, Tamara? ................
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