Dragnet: Attempted City Hall Bombing 07/21/1949
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How does a bomb threat bring Detective Friday back to City Hall?
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Ladies and gentlemen. The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed. Protect the innocent. NBC brings you dragnet.
You're a detective sergeant. You've been off duty two hours. You receive an emergency call from the chief of detectives. An entire block in the heart of your city is threatened with complete destruction. Your job. Report at once. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime, investigated and solved by the men who unrelentingly stand watch on the security of your home, your family, and your life. For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case from official police files. From beginning to end. From crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action.
It was Tuesday, November fifteenth. Was raining in Los Angeles. We were off duty reporting in on an emergency call. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Baxtrand, chief of detectives. My name's Friday. It was eight thirty two AM when I walked in the Spring Street entrance of the city hall.
You, Sergeant Farney? Yeah, that's right. Uh take my elevator, Sergeant. It's the only one in service. All right. I'll run you up to 16. The chief's waiting for you up there.
What's the pitch? Only one elevator in service out of ten. The place looks deserted. What's going on?
Nobody in the building. All the office people have been sent home. Lots of trouble.
Somebody declare a holiday?
No joke, Sergeant. Big trouble.
All right, you convinced me. What is it?
Here we are. Sixteenth floor. Over here, Friendly. Hi, Joe.
Hello, Ben. You made good time. Came as soon as I got the call, Ed.
Sorry to have to bring you back in. You worked last night, didn't you?
Yeah, midnight to eight this morning.
Sorry. Come on. What is it, Skipper? Why all the hush, uh? Wait till we get inside. In here.
Okay.
Number one, let's keep our voices down. All right. I'll make it as brief as I can. Every minute counts. What time you got, Friday? 833. All right, here it is. Fifty five minutes ago, a man walked into this building with a homemade bomb under his arm. If we don't release his brother from the county jail by nine o'clock this morning, he says he'll pull the trigger on the bomb and blow up the whole building. He's kidding, Skipper. Who
is the
guy? Name's Vernon Carney. Here's his package. He and his brother have been in and out of jail since nineteen thirty seven. Small time thieves. Yeah. There's the FBI kickback. We had him once before, both of them. Brother's name is Elwood. Serving a year for car stripping.
Why does Vernon Carney threaten to blow up City Hall?
And this two bit thief is sitting here in a city hall with a bomb on his lap? That's right. In the next room. What kind of a bomb is it, Ed? You think he's bluffing? Could be bluffing, but the crime lab says no. Lee Jones from the lab get a look at it. Been in there twice. One into the box is glass. Says you can't see much without a closer look, but you can't get near the guy. What do you want us to do? It's a volunteer job. You can take it or leave it. I won't order you to do it. How you want to handle it? You sure you want
a piece of this one, Romero? No, he doesn't, Ed. He's got a family. Get me another single man. We'll give it a try.
Wait a minute, Joe. What makes this do this job so different? Anytime we kick a door in, we never know what's on the other side.
That's what makes it different. This time we do.
No, you're not gonna cut me out. Not the only time I know what I'm getting into. All right. Chandler's tried. Hannon, Davis, Watson, they've all tried. This guy Connie knows what he's doing. There's no pushover. But somebody's got to get that bomb away from him. Right in. Romero, it's your baby now. I looked at my
watch. It was 836. We left back strand and started down the hall. Carney was gonna make good his threat to blow up the building by nine o'clock. We had exactly 24 minutes to talk him out of it.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How does a bomb threat bring Detective Friday back to City Hall?
0:00–3:18
2
Why does Vernon Carney threaten to blow up City Hall?
3:18–8:45
3
How do police negotiate with a hostage holding a homemade bomb?
8:45–10:01
4
How do detectives confirm the City Hall bomb is real?
10:01–13:17
5
What plan do police make to reach Carney through a City Hall window?
13:17–19:04
6
How does Officer Romero attempt the dangerous rope rescue?
19:04–22:52
7
What happens when Carney’s brother arrives at City Hall?
22:52–25:54
8
How do police seize the bomb and discover why it did not explode?
25:54–30:02
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
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