The Big Amateur

Wouldn't you like to know what was really behind all this? I mean what did Gideon Dengle really do; how did he make his living? Why was he not really a cop or firefighter? While "the story...is true," we know that means there has to be only a couple or so facts about a case file, and then the writers could come up with whatever they wanted. But if the real case even resembles this episode, it would seem that Dengle had applied, and perhaps had worked, as a police officer or firefighter, but for some reason he was not so employed then. Perhaps there is something he lacked that the ep doesn't touch...may eyesight, for one; law enforcement still does not hire applicants who must have glasses (I don't know about fire departments), but will allow officers to remain who later must have them. Then maybe he couldn't keep his mind on class when he was in school, so he never got a diploma or equivalency. Perhaps he was financially secure and just live a childhood dream, and the means to do it.

Anyway, I think there is more to it than he was just "some kind of nut" who wanted to play policeman. And maybe there was only one or 2 incidents, not all this high praise and helping kids get into the car and rescuing an old lady's cat. They just decided to pour it over with all that good will stuff.

Friday and Gannon embark on a case where a community wishes to give an award to a local officer, but the officer doesn't exist in the roles of LAPD. As they follow one lead after another, they hear story after story about the officer's honesty and helpfulness to the merchants in the neighborhood.

They have to suspect he's setting the business owners up for a big take at some point in the near future, but no real evidence exists to indicate that's about to happen. It's a frustrating and puzzling case for our favorite pair of detectives, as they wonder if they'll ever catch up with the guy and find out what's really happening.