Badge Heavy (S5E06)

1972-10-25 • 30 min

Officer Charlie Burnside pulls a prank on Officer Albert Porter, a friend of Reed's. Porter, who does not find the prank funny, informs Reed that Burnside is frequently "badge-heavy" (rough) with his suspects. After dealing with an inept would-be robber, Malloy and Reed observe Burnside choking a suspect. Reed reports the incident, but nothing is done by the Captain because the victim would not admit Burnside was the aggressor. Burnside turns cocky on Reed saying he has "an ace in the hole" and that Reed was mad about the prank he pulled on Porter, but it is later revealed that Burnside got to one of the robbers, placing him under investigation. At the end of watch, Burnside tries intimidating Reed, then tries brushing his intimidation off as a joke when he realizes the other officers are against him; when they all walk out, Burnside resigns.