The Trial Board

In a bizarre move, a police officer who Joe Friday doesn't even know has asked that Friday defend him on charges of accepting bribes from a bookie (among other things). When Friday goes to see this officer, the young man is rather mouthy--and acts as if Friday is out to get him. Considering that Friday didn't ask for the job and has no idea who this Officer Phil Waverly was, Friday responds by jumping back...hard! When Waverly finally backs off, he's apologetic and says he chose Friday to defend him because of his impeccable reputation for honesty.

It turns out that Waverly did at least do one thing wrong--when he was first approached by police, he did not identify who he was because he was scared nor was he very forthcoming at first. He said that this was because he did not initially know that the man he was with was a bookie and he was afraid his fellow officers would not believe him. By the end, the truth (naturally) comes out and all is well. And, the bookie is a total scum-bag.

Overall, not an especially interesting episode but it is good because it shows a side of police work you'll never normally see. Worth seeing, but not among the best.