**SPOILERS**After a hard day of cooking for and serving her very very satisfied customers at her star-rated restaurant "The Toulouse" Kathryn Stanfill, Mary Tyler Moore, noticed as she left for home this beady-eyed young man waiting outside in his car looking straight at her. Scared to leave for her car Kathryn called for the police to check this guy out. Within minutes a squad car pulled up and out popped the police officers who, after the person refused to open his car door, worked him over to the point where his life was hanging on a thread with the cop in charge Sgt. Brian Kaleen, Fredric Lehne, doing all the dirty work beating him with his baton until he fell limp on the ground like a sack of flour.
Kathryn shocked at what she saw, even though it was her who call the police, in the police beating she's later contacted by internal affairs Let. Patkanis, Edward Asner. It turns out that Let. Patkanis has had it in for the brutal Sgt.Kaleen for some time and asked the very reluctant restaurateur to testify against the thug with a badge. At his trail Kathryn's testimony is what convicted Sgt. Kaleen and have him suspended for six months, without pay. Kleen also had his personal file frozen so that he'll never go beyond what he is now, a sergeant, for the entire time that he's is on the police force.
Angry and vindictive Kaleen isn't going to take all this, his six month suspension and career frozen in place, lying down and for the rest of the movie he'll make life hell no only for Kathryn but her husband Neil,Dennis Arndt and son Adam, Adam Scott, as well. Kaleen has trumped up sexual harassment charge planted on Neil and also has Kathryn's very troubled young son Adam framed in the brutal murder of a young hooker that he picked up in the city's downtown red-light district.
Shocking but not really surprising story of what a corrupt or overly brutal policeman can do with the help of his friends on and off the force to an average citizen who's foolish enough to testify against him and think that his, or in this case her, life will ever be the same again. This is not to say that Kathryn did anything wrong in at first calling the police for help and then reporting the police to the internal affair office for using too much force. It's that the police and local justice departments couldn't offer her, and her family, any help when she stuck her neck out in reporting and testifying against police who are out of control.
Somewhat convoluted and feel-good ending doesn't at all erase the pain and suffering that poor Kathryn and her family went through. The two or possible three murders that Sgt.Kaleen and his fellow hoods with badges committed to cover up his crimes did't convince anyone that by going to the police to report a crime will ever ingratiate you with them when you ever need their help you in the future. In fact the dirty cops, like in the movie, will go out of their way to make you regret that you ever reported, and testified in court, a crime to the police that they committed.
Kathryn shocked at what she saw, even though it was her who call the police, in the police beating she's later contacted by internal affairs Let. Patkanis, Edward Asner. It turns out that Let. Patkanis has had it in for the brutal Sgt.Kaleen for some time and asked the very reluctant restaurateur to testify against the thug with a badge. At his trail Kathryn's testimony is what convicted Sgt. Kaleen and have him suspended for six months, without pay. Kleen also had his personal file frozen so that he'll never go beyond what he is now, a sergeant, for the entire time that he's is on the police force.
Angry and vindictive Kaleen isn't going to take all this, his six month suspension and career frozen in place, lying down and for the rest of the movie he'll make life hell no only for Kathryn but her husband Neil,Dennis Arndt and son Adam, Adam Scott, as well. Kaleen has trumped up sexual harassment charge planted on Neil and also has Kathryn's very troubled young son Adam framed in the brutal murder of a young hooker that he picked up in the city's downtown red-light district.
Shocking but not really surprising story of what a corrupt or overly brutal policeman can do with the help of his friends on and off the force to an average citizen who's foolish enough to testify against him and think that his, or in this case her, life will ever be the same again. This is not to say that Kathryn did anything wrong in at first calling the police for help and then reporting the police to the internal affair office for using too much force. It's that the police and local justice departments couldn't offer her, and her family, any help when she stuck her neck out in reporting and testifying against police who are out of control.
Somewhat convoluted and feel-good ending doesn't at all erase the pain and suffering that poor Kathryn and her family went through. The two or possible three murders that Sgt.Kaleen and his fellow hoods with badges committed to cover up his crimes did't convince anyone that by going to the police to report a crime will ever ingratiate you with them when you ever need their help you in the future. In fact the dirty cops, like in the movie, will go out of their way to make you regret that you ever reported, and testified in court, a crime to the police that they committed.