If there is one thing that Theo Kojak is known for is taking care of his cops. One of his anti-crime cops played by David Selby is going to need a lot of care.
Selby's got himself in a jackpot for doing his job and saving the life of his partner. The two were working undercover as a pair of winos and they spot a Puerto Rican boosting a battery with a partner. In trying to make an arrest the kid grabs the partner's gun and points it at Selby who has his own weapon out and fires and kills him in a split second. That's the time these life or death decisions are made.
How sad it was that a kid who probably would have gotten a slap on the wrist, maybe a few months at Riker's Island winds up dead. As Walter Brennan said in My Darling Clementine 'when you pull a gun, kill a man'. And cops have to act under that assumption, comes with the job.
How sad also for Selby who becomes the target of a local neighborhood agitator and demagogue Jaime Sanchez. He whips up a lot of racial antagonism for his own ends.
Selby's performance dominates this Kojak episode. No one should have to go through what he did.
Selby's got himself in a jackpot for doing his job and saving the life of his partner. The two were working undercover as a pair of winos and they spot a Puerto Rican boosting a battery with a partner. In trying to make an arrest the kid grabs the partner's gun and points it at Selby who has his own weapon out and fires and kills him in a split second. That's the time these life or death decisions are made.
How sad it was that a kid who probably would have gotten a slap on the wrist, maybe a few months at Riker's Island winds up dead. As Walter Brennan said in My Darling Clementine 'when you pull a gun, kill a man'. And cops have to act under that assumption, comes with the job.
How sad also for Selby who becomes the target of a local neighborhood agitator and demagogue Jaime Sanchez. He whips up a lot of racial antagonism for his own ends.
Selby's performance dominates this Kojak episode. No one should have to go through what he did.
