[...] [Street traffic] [Cajun Zydeco Music] [Car door slams] [Tom's lounge, bar] [Zydeco singing] [Indistinct chatter] [Female voice, indistinct chatter] [Male voice, indistinct chatter] [Narrator:] Is this man sick, drunk, or mentally disturbed? Or perhaps all three at once? Before the evening is over, some team of policemen may have to decide, and this man's life may depend on the outcome. [Singing:] "You stole my heart right from the start and there ain't nobody like you." [Car horn beeps] [Singing:] "There ain't nobody, there ain't nobody, ain't nobody like you." [Singing:] "You stole my heart right from the start. And there ain't nobody like you." [Singing:] "Yeah, there ain't nobody like you. No, there ain't nobody like you. There ain't nobody like you." [Police dispatch:] At 8560 East 55th Street, that's at the bar, check for a man who was supposed to have a gun. [Narrator:] More than half the people [Indiscriminate background chatter]whom the police must arrest have the smell of alcohol on their breath. Most of these people are drunk. But is that all? Has the old wino who's been booked more often than the police care to remember suffered a fall that could cause him to die in the cell before morning? The sad truth is that no one can tell with certainty. The mask of alcohol can hide all but the most obvious signs of physical and mental illness. In circumstances like these, even the skilled physician often makes mistakes. [Indiscriminate chatter] This is why every police department needs to develop a system of continuous observation that begins the moment of arrest and does not relax until the prisoner is discharged. [...] [Cell door opens] As the mask of intoxication wears off, clues can be spotted, particularly by the turnkey who has learned to look for them. [Tom:] Just checking. Go back to sleep again. [Narrator:] What the turnkey sees, what he saw an hour ago, what the arresting officer saw and reported to the booking officer, determines which man is taken to the hospital and which man can be kept in the tank. [Indiscriminate chatter] On a typical weekend, most city lockups are crowded with men who are booked simply as intoxicated, or drunk and disorderly. Most sleep it off, are released the next day, and all too often have to be picked up again within a few days, if not hours. [...] The public wants them off the streets, kept out of sight. Policemen generally find arresting such people a dull, disgusting chore. They too grow callous. Then the effects of alcohol can mask all but the most obvious signs of physical and mental illness. People who have chronic diseases that are often confused with drunkenness-- diabetics, for example-- should be encouraged to wear identification tags. [AMA diabetic medal] This one warns the jailer he will need medicine while in custody. [Tom:] [?] [Clanking] [Indiscriminate chatter] [Narrator:] But you won't find many such helpful hints in an average run of prisoners. Drunk or sober, they're likely to be full of complaints and resentments. And some, full of cunning. It takes a sharp intelligence to detect who is simply miserable, and who is in mortal danger. [Tom:] James Henry? [James Henry:] Yes. [Tom:] I see according to your arrest [?] the doctor has you written down as a diabetic. [James Henry:] Yes. [Tom:] If I recall correctly, the last time you were in here, you had a sore here on your arm. Did it heal up did up yet? [James Henry:] Well, I-- [Flashlight click] I got another one. [Narrator:] Handling and helping people who've been drinking is both a chore and a skill. A skill every police officer is duty bound to acquire. [Police dispatch:] 504, East 90 and Euclid. One down in the doorway. [Tom's lounge, bar] [Man passed-out and snoring] [Speaker 3:] Ah, you can't hurt a drunk. [Speaker 4:]: He's too relaxed. [Speaker 3:] Yeah. [Narrator:] This is a popular and dangerous myth. People who drink are more likely to suffer serious consequences from falls, exposure, and infections, because nature's warning signs, including pain itself, are masked by the effects of alcohol. [Street traffic and city noise] [...] [Gasping for air and snoring] [Police officer 1:] Get the kit and a blanket. [Snoring] [Narrator:] Few cities can afford hospital treatment or ambulance service for simple intoxication. Policemen are expected to decide on the spot who needs medical care right away, and who can wait until morning. [...] [Police officer 1:] Give me a sponge. [Narrator:] The man down routine begins by positioning the victim's head so he won't breathe in, and strangle on his own vomit. Then a systematic check is begun for signs of internal injury. [Police officer 1:] Pupils are dilated. [Police officer 2:] Respirations all right. [Traffic and city noise] [...] [Police officer 2:] No broken bones. [Police officer 1:] His pulse is a little fast. [Narrator:] All unconscious people should be taken to the hospital, regardless of the fact that they have been drinking. When a person cannot be aroused by a simple pain pressure test, such as the one used here, there is even more reason to take him to the hospital. [Police officer 1:] Get the stretcher. [Street traffic] [...] [Snoring] [Physician:] When you found him, was there anything to indicate that he might have fallen or hit his head? [Snoring continues] [Police officer 1:] Uh, he might have tripped over something, but we couldn't say for sure. [Physician:] Did you look around? [Police officer 1:] No, we didn't. [...] [Physician:] It's a good thing you brought him in anyway. Smelling as he did from alcohol, he might just as easily wound up in the drunk tank. [Snoring] You can see he's been vomiting. He's lost control of bowel and bladder. When you see this with unconsciousness, bring him in just as you did. [...] [Police officer 2:] OK doc, he's all yours. [Physician:] Thanks. [...] [Indiscriminate chatter] [...] [Responding police officers:] [?] [Fred:] What's your name? [Police officer 3:] You been drinking tonight? [Fred:] Where have you been drinking? [Police officer 3:] Don't you know where you've been drinking? Where do you live at? [Narrator:] The grand mal epileptic, after he has suffered a major seizure, is likely to be disoriented and confused. He seldom remembers what happened during his attack. Some have flailing movements that can be mistaken for combativeness. It's easy to confuse all this with simple drunkenness when there is the smell of alcohol on the breath. [Police officer 3:] Hey Fred, epilepsy. [...] [Fred:] "I have epilepsy." "If found unconscious or behaving abnormally," "my condition is not due to drinking." [...] We have a name and a doctor. [Police officer 3:] Let's go to the hospital. [Fred:] Come on, let's go. [Narrator:] Too few epileptics, as yet, carry identification. Though harmless to others, they often need police protection, and assistance in finding medical help. [Nurse:] Oh boy, a few more hours and I'm off duty. Hi fellas, what's up? [Police officers:]: Hi nurse. [Fred:] Epilepsy. [Nurse:] OK, I'll get the doctor and be right there. [Fred:] Why don't you brace yourself. [Epileptic patient:] I'm feeling OK now, I'm feeling fine. I had a few drinks. I know I shouldn't have. No reason why I can't go home. [Fred:] You're still going to have to see the doctor. What are you looking for? [Epileptic patient:] I got some medicine here someplace. [Public address system] Dr. [?][Fred:] I got it right here for you. No, you'll have to wait and get it from the doctor. [Nurse:] Do you want to bring him in here, please. [Narrator:] Of course, most drinkers whom the police must handle aren't so amenable. [Man in street:] Shut up! Sucker punch!Get him down. [Narrator:] The community wants such drinkers locked up for its own safety, and yet is quick to criticize the police for using the physical force this requires. Against this, an impersonal professional approach is a policeman's chief safeguard. [Group in street:] Police! Police! Police! [Indiscriminate screaming] [Bystander:] What are you doing here? Hey, hey, let that man go. [Narrator:] At times like this the policeman who lets himself become involved in arguments loses half his effectiveness. [Neighborhood resident:] You police is smart. You turn that man a-loose. Police brutality. I don't know why you don't leave these peoples alone. He hasn't did anything. Now turn him a-loose. [Bystander:] Take him to jail--why y 'all take him to jail for? [Indistinct group chatter] [...] [Liquid pouring] [Pete Kelley:] I don't want to hear it, you stupid son of a bitch. [?] [Banging table] [Smashing beer bottles] [Crowd jeering] [Banging tables] [Glass breaking] [Loud raucous talking] [Pete Kelley:] Look at this guy. Hey, look at this guy, drinking a Coca-Cola [?]. Hey, there is a drug store next door [?]. Oh for Christ sake. Waitress! [Smashing beer bottle] I'm not gonna pay a nickel for a 7-Up [...] [Laughter] [Friend:] All right come on sit down, sit down. [Indiscriminate arguing] [Pete Kelley:] This asshole here. [Police officer 4:] What are you guys making all the noise about over here? Ah geez, you're bothering everybody in the bar. [Pete Kelley:] We're not making-- no, no. You ain't talking to me--You ain't talking to me. [Police officer 5:] It's time to go home now. [Pete Kelley:] Why don't you guys go out there and take care of a couple of the crooks in the city, instead of come here and-- I pay your goddamn salary. [Indiscriminate loud chatter] [Pete Kelley:] You ain't taking me out of here, you bastards. I'm telling you, you ain't taking me. Hey give me a little help here. These goddamn cops [Inaudible] [Laughter] [Bartender:] [?] [?] Tie him up, come on. [Police officer:] You got that one in there? [Pete Kelley:] Alright come on, let me go. I ain't going no goddamn pokey. You silly feds. Come on, let me go! Let me go! Let me go. [Police officer 5:] We have a wild one. [Woman bar patron:] Hey, why don't you fellas punch that guy in the mouth for all that dirty language he's using? [Police officer 5:] Listen lady, we put up with that every day. In the morning after he sleeps it off, he'll probably be all right. [...] [Police dispatch:] At 7040 West Third, there's an intox causing trouble [Baby crying] [Narrator:] Sick, drunk, or mentally disturbed. Or perhaps, all three at once. For many people, the use of alcohol is in itself a kind of disease. In a wealthier neighborhood, men who drink too much would more likely be handled by their private physician or psychiatrist, rather than the police. [Police officer 6:] What happened? Did he fall down the stairs or something? [Building resident:] Not as I know of but they been raising hell upstairs, and keeping my babies awake all evening. [Police officer 7:] What were you guys doing up there, drinking and having a ball? [Baby crying] [James Honeywell standing with blank stare] [Baby continues crying] Don't you ever say anything, fella? [Baby continues to cry] [Police officer 7:] What's your name? [Baby crying] [Police officer 7:] You hard of hearing? [James Honeywell standing with blank stare] Let's get this guy up. [Baby crying] [Police officer 6:] Well, here's your hat Charlie. [Footsteps shuffling] I'll just take this guy along too? [...] [Narrator:] If this man hadn't been drinking, his actions and appearance might suggest that he is mentally ill. But for the time being, the police must act upon the more obvious evidence of intoxication. [...] In every case, the booking officer should determine afresh that the prisoner is physically fit to be put in a cell. [Sergeant:] How tall are you? [Police officer 7:] [Shouting] How tall are you? [Clyde:] What are you asking me for? You guys know. I've been here often enough. [Sergeant:] He's about 5' 6". [Police officer 7:] Stick around here. We're not through with you yet. Stick around. [Clyde:] OK, OK. [Sergeant:] How much do you weigh? [Clyde:] 200. [Sergeant:] 200? [Typewriter clacking] [Sergeant:] What's the color of his hair? [Clyde:] Green. [Police officer 7:] It's brown, Sarge. [Typewriter clacking] OK Clyde, let's go. [Gait opens] [Jail guard:] Come on, Clyde, let's go to bed. [Jail guard leads man down the hallway] Better lie on the floor, Clyde, you'll fall off the bench and hurt yourself. [Narrator:] This is a wise precaution. Chronic alcoholics often suffer blackouts soon after their source of supply is cut off. [...] [Typewriter clacking] [Sergeant:] What is your name, fella? [Police officer 6:] Say fella. what's your name? I don't know, Sarge. He ain't said nothing since we left the house. [Sergeant:] See if he has anything on and [?] his identity on. - OK - Look in his pocket. [Police officer 6:] His name is James Honeywell. [Sergeant:] Where do you live, James? [Police officer 6:] Doesn't give no Cleveland address on here. [Sergeant:] Where do you live, fella? [Police officer 6:] Where do you live at? [Sergeant:] Well, we'll make it home for him for the time being. [Typewriter clacking] [...] [Narrator:] Prisoners should be checked on every few minutes, particularly when they've been drinking heavily prior to arrest. Well-lighted cells give the jailer a better chance to see changes that can warn him when a prisoner needs emergency medical care. [...] [Jail guard:] Better hit the sack fella'. [Man behind bars:] OK officer. [...] [Jail guard:] Why don't you get some sleep? [James Honeywell:] I don't sleep. [Jail guard:] You don't sleep? Man, it's going to be a long night for you. [...] [Narrator:] By transfer time, when prisoners are moved from district stations to central lockup, most of the men, booked when drunk, will have lost their glow. There is a better chance to spot physical and mental disorders. [Indistinct chatter] [Police officer 8:] Same old crowd. - Um [?] Alright, let's shake it up now. [Narrator:] Many people have been booked as intoxicated who were suffering mild strokes, diabetic comas, heart attacks, uremic poisoning, and infections of many kinds, because they had the smell of alcohol on their breath. No police department can be blamed for making such mistakes occasionally. But no department can be excused for continuing to hold these people in jail, without medical care, once there has been time enough for the effects of alcohol to wear off. [Police jail guard] James Daniel. [Narrator:] Experienced jailers learn to keep a careful watch on old regulars for the tale signs of oncoming DTs. [Police jail guard:] Huggins, Hays, Jackson. [...] [Inaudible background noise] [Nick Jackson:] Hey, you know a little bit about music, don't you? [Speaker 1:] Yes. [Nick Jackson:] What kind of music? [Speaker 1:] Novelty acts. [Nick Jackson:] You do novelty acts? [Speaker 1:] Yes. [Nick Jackson:] Let's see you do a novelty act. [Speaker 1:] I play on my head. Watch this one here. [Speaker 1 taping on his head] [♫ Yankee Doodle went to town ♫] [Nick Jackson laughing] [Speaker 1 taping on his head] [Tapping ends] [Pete Kelley:] [Laughing] [Nick Jackson:] Pretty good. That's all right. [Speaker 1:] Thank you. [Nick Jackson:] That's good, that's very good. You know anything else? [Speaker 1:] Foghorn. [Nick Jackson:] Foghorn? I ain't never heard no foghorn. [Foghorn signal horn] [Laughter] [Foghorn signal horn] [...] [Tom] Here we go, George. [...] Take it? [...] [Slurping] [Narrator:] Prisoners who are allowed to go into delirium tremens without medical attention often die of them. Ideally, such medication would be given by a doctor or nurse in a hospital, but an hour's delay can be fatal. [...] Even in hospitals that are equipped and staffed to handle such cases, death from attacks of the DTs run as high as 6%. Giving a prisoner a small dose of paraldehyde to tide them over until the doctor arrives is obviously no more than first aid, but if he can be protected from the shock of a full-blown attack, it may save his life. [Tom:] Easy down. Atta boy. You feel better now since you had that medicine? [George:] Ah, sure. [?] [Tom] Atta boy. Now you just lay there and take it easy. That medicine will take effect, and you'll feel a lot better. OK? [Indiscriminate background noise] [Cell rattling] [Running water] [Splashing face] [Foot shuffling] [...] [Clyde:] [Screaming out in pain] [Speaker 2:] Officer. Turnkey. Help, sick man. [Tom:] What happened here? [?] [Inaudible] [Speaker 2:] He fell down. [Tom] Let's get him up. Watch his head. [Speaker 2:] He fainted, you know. [...] [Prison physician:] Any complaints, mister? [Prisoner shakes his head NO] Well Nick! How you doing? [Nick Jackson:] Hello Doctor. [Nick Jackson:] I had a bit too much to drink. [Prison physician:] Oh no, back with us, huh? [Nick Jackson:] Back with you. Say doctor, will you give me an aspirin so I can [?] [Prison physician:] Tom will take care of it for you. [Nick Jackson:] Yes sir, thank-you. [Inaudible background noise] [...] [Prison physician:] Clyde, this is the doctor. How do you feel now? [Clyde:] [?] Bad. [Prison physician:] Do you know where you are, Clyde? [Clyde:] Yes, I'm in jail. [Prison physician:] How long ago did he have his medication, Tom? [Tom:] About a couple of hours ago, doctor. [Prison physician:] Let me have your flashlight a minute, may I? [Click] Thanks. [Narrator:] Jail physicians, busy with the obviously urgent calls for their services, seldom have time to watch prisoners closely on their own. They must depend on observant jailers like Tom to spot those they should see. [...] [Tom:] How are you today? [Billy Jackson:] Pretty rough this morning, Tom. [Tom:] Are you going to make it all right? [Billy Jackson:] I guess so. [Tom:] Take it easy. [?] in a few minutes. [Tom:] How are you today, buddy? [James Daniels:] I'm a little shaky. What time do I go to court? [Tom:] No court today. It's Sunday. Have to wait till tomorrow morning. How about you, fella. How are you doing today? [Bob Hunt:] I feel pretty good today. [Tom:] You going to make it all right? [Bob Hunt:] Yeah, I think I'll make it. [Tom:] That a boy. [Paper donut wrapper unfolding] [Indiscriminate chatter] [Indiscriminate chatter] [Tom:] What's a matter fella? Aren't you going to eat this today? [James Honeywell:] I don't eat. I'm not hungry. [Tom:] Well, you'd better eat something. It's a long time between meals up here. You know, that cart won't be around for quite a while yet. You sure you're feeling all right? Nothing wrong? [Speaker 1:] Hey Tom, do you think I can have that food that guy's got in there? [Tom:] No, he's going to eat it himself later on. [Speaker 1:] OK thanks. [Speaker 1:] Hey Tom, there's a guy sick out here. [Indiscriminate noise] [Prison guard:] Get back in your cell. [...] [Tom:] Give me a hand here will you buddy? [Coughing] [Billy Jackson:] What's wrong, what's wrong? [Narrator:] Sometimes when a heavy drinker is taken off alcohol suddenly, he falls into rum fits. [Tom:] Give me a hand and hold his feet there. Just hold his ankles down. Don't hold them too tight. You don't want to cut the circulation. Just hold them firm. [...] Hold him firm [Narrator:] These seizure-like attacks are often mistaken for epilepsy, and have helped spread the impression that epileptics drink more than other people, which is not so. However, people in rum fits and epileptic seizures should be handled alike-- restrained only when necessary to keep them from hurting themselves, and allowed to recover their composure without being moved. [..] [Tom thumbs through "Jail Medical Information" guide] Keeping an informal desk record of prisoners who prove to have special medical problems helps Tom to anticipate trouble, sometimes even prevent it, by seeing that they get the medical care their condition requires more promptly. For example, next time, he'll know Pete Kelley can't be allowed to sober up without some kind of medical control. [Inaudible] Clinic lines are long in almost any jail. On weekends, when the medical staff is most likely to be shorthanded, a jailer's ability to spot trouble early is of particular value. [Inaudible background noise] [Cell gate clanking] [George 2:] Hey Tom, It's about your going home time isn't it? [Tom:] Yeah, it getting pretty close George. [George 2:] Sure was a long [?] [Thud] [Tom:] How are you sir? [Billy Jackson:] Hey Tom, who are all the [?] this morning? [Tom:] Oh we might have Judge Sawicki on the fire warning. Today's Sunday. [Tom:] How's our buddy doing here? [George:] I'm pretty sick, Tom. [Tom:] Oh, we'll take care of you. [Billy Jackson:] Tom, I was on a bad one last night. You know, I got to kind of check myself on that thing, you know? [Pete Kelley:] Yeah, I sure as hell have to, after that fit I threw this morning [Tom:] Why don't you ask the judge for 30 days, so you can get straightened out a little bit, get dried up? It's the only way you're going to stay out of this place. [...] [Pete Kelley:] A fella was telling me about that alcoholic rehab program they got out at the workhouse. [Tom:] It's very good. We've had a lot of guys that went out there from here. They don't come back up here anymore. [Billy Jackson:] Yeah? [Tom:] They apparently got straightened out. I did see a few of them. They're dressed nice, they're shaved. Matter of fact, I seen a few of them that own their own cars already. [Pete Kelley nods] [Inaudible chatter] [Pete Kelley:] See ya tomorrow Tom. [Billy Jackson:] Take it easy Tom. [Tom:] See ya tomorrow [?]. [George:] See ya in the morning. [Cell door bangs shut] [Indiscriminate background noise] [...] [Prison guard:] Let's go, let's go, let's go. [Cell door unlocking] [?] Shut the door Eddy. We got a full house tonight Eddy. [Prison guard:] Let's go. Right in here. That a boy. [Thud] Sit down here now. [Cell door closing] [Cell door locking] [...] [Inaudible babble] [Prison guard:] Sit down. [Speaker 4:] Hey amigo, amigo. [Indiscriminate loud singing] [Indiscriminate quiet singing] [Indiscriminate background noise] [...] [Tom:] All right, men. Everybody up front. Time to go to work. Everybody out. Let's go. [Inaudible] [Tom:] Daniels! [...] [Inaudible] [...] [Tom:] Honeywell! Honeywell? What's your first name? [James Honeywell:] James. [Tom:] Hunt! First name? [Bob Hunt:] Bob. [Tom:] Okay, Bob. [Tom:] Kelley! [Pete Kelley:] Pete. [Tom:] What's a matter, Pete? Pretty wobbly yesterday fella. What have you been drinking? [Pete Kelley:] Just beer. Are we going to court? I want to get out of here. [Tom:] I don't know. Were you drinking any [?] [Pete Kelley:] I've been in here two days. I'm sober. I'm dried out. All I need need is-- [Tom:] Remember what you had besides the beer? [Pete Kelley:] Nope, I'm dry now. Let me-- Let's-- [Tom:] Pete, you're in pretty bad shape. I think we'd better send you over to the hospital, and have a doctor check you. [Pete Kelley:] Nothing that a shot of whiskey won't fix. [Tom:] Come on there, Pete. [Tom:] You might have to lay down for a little while. [Courtroom indiscriminate noise] [Narrator:] The community wanted these men off the street, kept out of sight until they were sober. Now what? [...] Most trials for simple intoxication last less than a minute. The judge, like the prison doctor, is too pressed for time to find out much about a prisoner on his own. [...] [Court officer:] Billy Jackson. [...] [Court officer:] Mr. Jackson you are charged with intoxication. How do you plead? [Billy Jackson:] Guilty. [Judge Sawicki:] What is Jackson's record? [Court officer:] Three arrests in the last two years, your honor. The past arrest occurring, December 26 for intoxication. [Judge Sawicki:] The last arrest was last year? [Court officer:] Yes, your honor. [Judge Sawicki:] All right, Jackson, the court sentence will be $10 in costs, and 10 days in jail. I'll suspend the date this time. [Billy Jackson:] Thank you! [Judge Sawicki:] $10 in costs. [Billy Jackson:] Thank you now. [...] [Court officer:] James Honeywell. [Silence] [Court officer:] Mr. Honeywell, you are charged with intoxication. How do you plead? [Silence] [Judge Sawicki:] James, how do you plead? [James Honeywell:] Guilty. [...] [Narrator:] Old regulars may get a small fine, or perhaps a few days in the workhouse. First offenders are usually released with a warning. [Judge Sawicki:] So watch your step. Behave yourself. [Court officer:] What is the sentence, your honor? [Judge Sawicki:] Cost, suspended. You may go. [Court officer:] Nick Watson. Mr. Watson, you are charged with intoxication. How do you plead? [Nick Watson:] Guilty [Judge Sawicki:] Weren't you here, just a little while ago? [Nick Watson:] Yes, I was here. A while ago, I was back. [Street traffic] [Narrator:] Most people who drink to excess do so to meet some deep psychological need that isn't likely to be relieved by repeated arrests. The police know, perhaps better than anyone else, how futile this course of action can be. Yet our society still handles the problem, for the most part, through police action alone. [...] Someday we may come to recognize alcoholism for what it is; a physical and mental illness rather than a crime. Yet the value of police work with the people who drink cannot be measured simply by the number of individuals it helps, or fails to keep sober. [Street traffic] [Indiscriminate background chatter] This man's head injury could have brought death, had he been kept in jail over the weekend. Instead, two alert policemen brought him to the hospital. [Speaker 6:] Can I have some water, please? [Physician:] Not quite yet. [Narrator:] Pete Kelley is suffering from a neurologic malady often developed by alcoholics that can cause permanent brain damage if untreated. But it responds quickly to medication. Kelley is getting treatment because Tom Mobile was looking for this kind of trouble. [Physician:] Pete, open your eyes. Come on, wake up. Open your eyes. How many fingers do you see here? [Narrator:] Clyde's attack of DTs could have been fatal, had arrest not brought his condition to medical attention. [Door sign] [Homicide Unit] [...] [Detectives chatting] [Detective 1:] Grandmother's basement is it? [Detective 2:] Yeah, it's the one- [Narrator:] What any one officer sees or fails to see, what he reports or fails to report, is often a matter of life or death. Could the police have prevented this tragedy? [Detective 2:] One time on the right side of the head. That's what did it. [Detective 1:] It's pretty clear it's suicide, but I think we better check around and see if anybody noticed anything. [Detective 2:] Yeah, Yeah. [Police officer 7:] Yeah, I remember the kid. He seemed peculiar when we picked him up. Can't understand it. Didn't act like an ordinary drunk. [Police officer 8:] Yeah, I remember something was wrong with him. I should have told the sergeant when we first brought him in. [Sergeant:] Yes, I remember him. That was the fellow we couldn't get much out of. He wouldn't tell us anything. [Jail guard:] Oh, that's the guy. He said he didn't sleep. We get a lot of queer ones like that, especially on weekends. But how is anyone going to know? [Tom:] Gee, it's funny I didn't spot him. I did talk to him a few times there. He was a little hesitant when I asked him how he was feeling. Of course, nobody else said nothing, and there was nothing marked on his arrest slip, either. So, I guess I let one get by me too. [...] [Narrator:] Perhaps no one person saw enough that was unusual in Honeywell's behavior to feel justified in warning the court, so he could be given a psychiatric examination before his release. Yet had they passed along their suspicions to the next observer, and the next, the sum of their watchfulness could have kept this boy from walking out of the courthouse that Monday morning to freedom, and to death. [...] [Cell door clanking] The mask of alcohol continues to challenge the policeman's skill, and his patience, every week in the year. [Speaker 7:] I hit the sidewalk. [Tom:] You hit the sidewalk? Did they take you to a hospital? How's the arm? [Speaker 7:] It's alright. [Tom:] OK. What happened to you, buddy? [Speaker 8:] Too many good-looking girls. [Tom:] Too many good-looking girls. Is that the only place you got hurt? [Speaker 8:] Yeah. [Tom:] OK. [...] Feeling pretty bad today, huh Jackson? [Billy Jackson:] Yeah. I've never felt so bad. [Tom:] You fell as though you got a jury coming on? [Billy Jackson:] Yeah. [Tom:] I thought you told me last week, you were going to ask the judge to give you 30 days so you could get straightened out all the way. [Billy Jackson:] I will this time. [Tom:] I think I'd better take you back in the clinic to get you fixed up a little bit. [Billy Jackson:] Yeah. [Tom:] You need a drink? [Billy Jackson:] Yeah, appreciate it. [Tom:] Can you stand up all right? [Billy Jackson:] Yeah. [Tom:] That a boy. Take your time. [...] How long have you been drinking, Jackson? [Billy Jackson:] I don't know, Tom. About 5 to 6 weeks, I imagine. [Tom:] What are you drinking? Beer or wine, or were you drinking red? [Billy Jackson:] I've been drinking everything. [Tom:] Everything you can get your hands on, right? [Billy Jackson:] Yeah. [Tom:] I think we'd better give you a little something to settle you down here, don't you? [Billy Jackson:] OK. [Narrator:] Until we find some new approach to the problem, understanding policemen can do a great deal to help those millions of Americans who find their course of self-destruction, through drink, halted temporarily by arrest. [Tom:] You ever try to do anything for this drinking there? [Billy Jackson:] I tr-- I tried it, Tom, I tried. [Tom:] All on your own, huh? [Billy Jackson:] Yeah. [...] [The Mask] [Rolling credit] [Is third in a series of training films] [for the police produced for] [The Louisiana Association for Mental Health] [Planned by, Loyd W. Rowland, PhD.] [Written and directed by, George C. Stoney] [Photographed by Bil Godsey] [Edited by, Irene Wilson Laune] [Location sound by, Carroll Williams] [Narrated by, James Daly] [Psychiatric advisors, Edward H. Knight, M.D.; James W. Jolliff, M.D.] [National Institute of Mental Health representative, Harold M. Hildreth, PhD.] [A George C. Stoney Associates Production] ...