Echo Chamber Doctors

-You better put that down...

-Give that to me!

..before I put you down!

I'm no-one's punchbag now!

What have you got to say for yourself?

What?!

POLICE SIREN WAILS

Tell it to the police!

Once Dr Wheeler's done, we'll get him back to the dry cell.

All yours, gents.

You smell like a distillery.

You got everything?

Yes, I've got the forensic samples

and a blood sample to check for alcohol levels.

I recorded some bruising on his body which are consistent with...

She was into it.

..with someone trying to fight him off.

-Couldn't get enough of it.

-Cheers, doc.

Right, let's go.

SIREN WAILS

6388 to control. I'm at the scene in Cranbourne Gardens.

I need an ambulance here, immediately. You're Heston Carter?

Dr Heston Carter, yes. I apprehended this man.

He was ransacking my house and I defended myself.

-You used the cricket bat, sir?

-Yeah, I caught him in the act.

I asked him to leave and he refused.

-Was he armed?

-Yes.

-What with?

I'm telling you, he was!

Don't worry, sir. I'm sure we'll find it somewhere.

Ah, here it is!

-Sir, please, put it down.

-I wager it has his fingerprints on it!

He's wearing gloves.

Come and see the damage he's done to my house!

Oi! Service!

-Calm yourself down.

-Oi!

I'm moving you to a new cell.

-I've got a complaint.

-Oh, yeah?

That doctor? He's gone home?

Yes. Why?

He was drunk.

The only one drunk was you.

I had a couple of beers. That's all.

Check the blood samples.

-My brief here yet?

-He's been held up.

You like to think you've got a bit of power over people, don't you?

Is this what you were thinking when you raped that poor girl?

Just let me know when my brief gets here, yeah?

-You hit him with the bat in here?

-Yes. I was defending myself.

Then he carried on out into the street?

Yes.

Did he threaten you?

He broke in and he had a screwdriver!

Sir, I need to be clear about this.

Did he actually directly threaten you?

I felt in danger. He's a criminal

and I have the right to protect my property.

I'm a GP. I'll have a look.

The paramedics are more than qualified.

Really not a good idea, sir.

I was minding my own business getting ready for bed

and he broke in.

You believe that, don't you?

What I believe isn't important, sir.

You don't believe him, do you?

What I believe doesn't matter. It's a rape case.

If this gets to court and the blood samples

and the evidence on the scratches aren't squeaky clean

the defence'll rip it to shreds it's as simple as that.

I'm not happy doing something that'll destroy the reputation of a colleague.

What about the girl who's been raped? Doesn't she matter?

Of course she does. If there's any discrepancy between the two samples,

the defence'll destroy them both.

Yeah, and if his barrister starts getting tricky about the evidence,

and your samples are identical to Wheeler's, it backs up the evidence

and saves his reputation.

C'mon, Jimmi. This is about the justice of a young woman.

Oh, what is this, eh? All doctors together and to hell with the victim?

That's not fair. We don't know that Dr Wheeler was drinking.

I need to speak to him.

And is...

"And is" what? Is there something you're not telling me?

How is the thief?

We'll know for sure later.

That could have been me, you know.

Shouldn't you arrest him? I've all but done your job for you.

We usually wait till they're conscious, sir.

If it's appropriate, then he'll be placed under arrest.

If it's appropriate?!

Shouldn't you go with him? In case he tries to escape?

He won't try to escape, sir.

You made sure of that.

What's that supposed to mean? I'm not the criminal here.

I'm arresting you on suspicion of assault.

You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention...

CONTINUES MIRANDA RIGHTS

You're arresting me?

-Me?!

-Yes, sir.

This is outrageous.

You should be thanking me for catching a dangerous criminal,

not arresting me!

I am the victim here, not that...

Unconscious man on his way to hospital?

Well, I refuse. I mean, do you know who I am?

Sir, get in the back of the car.

Can I at least get some clothes?

No, sir. We'll need what you're wearing as evidence.

Well, I'm going to speak to your superior.

Two weeks ago, this PC came to speak to me,

a bloke had been arrested for drunk driving.

Wheeler took the bloods. The bloke accused Wheeler of being drunk.

Well, that makes it even more important that

we cover ourselves with this.

He was just trying his luck.

You hear all sorts of accusations about police officers, doctors, everyone in here.

I still want you to retake his blood and check injuries.

That's a last resort, given the risks.

And as soon as you can. We can't keep him in a dry cell forever.

Who's to say the drunk driver and your suspect don't know each other?

Drunk driver mentions that he met a doctor who was drunk on the job,

your suspect remembers hearing this

and sees an angle that will help his case, you know?

If we start taking more samples,

it will flag up to the defence that there's a problem.

Let me speak to Wheeler, find out what's going on.

You find out if the other two know each other.

C'mon. Out.

You have to get out.

You took forensic samples, blood samples

and recorded some injuries with a suspect...

Kyle West.

Yes, accused of rape. How did that go?

Well, they called me in

because Kyle West has made an accusation against you.

You were drunk.

Good. I'm sure it's rubbish. I just needed to check with you before...

No, no, no, that won't be necessary.

Dave, there's no need for you to... come in.

No, Dave...just stay there.

For the benefit of the tape,

can you confirm that you're waiving your right to a solicitor?

I don't need a solicitor to clear this up.

The burglar was hit by a cricket bat.

Item FC1. Can you confirm this cricket bat's yours?

Yes, of course it is.

This is the bat you hit the injured man with?

Yes. Look, I am the victim here.

-Do you keep it in your bedroom?

-Yes.

Why?

For self-defence?

It's ornamental. An Englishman's home is his castle.

Doesn't that mean anything anymore?

-Can you restrict yourself to answering the questions, please?

-I haven't committed a crime!

I woke up, there was an armed burglar ransacking my house.

What am I supposed to do?

Hold the door open for him so he doesn't trip up and hurt himself?

Was he in your bedroom?

No.

So you took the bat from your bedroom down to the kitchen.

This was before you knew he was armed.

Yes. No. I...

You assaulted him in the kitchen?

I didn't assault him!

Will you stop putting words in my mouth?

How many times did you strike him?

-Is that important?

-Yes. Once?

Yes.

You're sure it was only once?

Yes, I told you. In my kitchen.

I'm not some animal!

I am trying to help you clear this up,

but this arrest is outrageous.

I have done nothing wrong.

I am a doctor, I am a partner at The Mill Health Centre,

I am a respected member of the community

and you should just stop this nonsense right now and release me!

This way.

Yeah, can I speak with DS Cooper, please?

Come on.

Rob! Someone sensible at last.

Can you have a word with this man and make him see sense.

I'll call you back.

Dr Carter's not a violent fella!

The man is unconscious. In hospital. There's holes in his story.

He says he hit him once, the man's got severe head

and shoulder injuries.

He's lying to us.

C'mon, Cooky, sometimes people's heads are spinning.

They barely know what day it is, never mind what happened.

The details'll come back to him soon enough.

Yes, once he's got his story straight.

What he's told me doesn't match up with what I've seen.

What're you asking me to do, Sarge? Drop it?

No, just use some common sense.

Don't forget someone like him will get a lot of public sympathy.

He's helped a hell of a lot of people.

You could come out of this looking bad.

Someone like him?! He thinks he can do what he wants.

He thinks he's above the law and he's made sure I know it.

He's been giving it the big "Don't you know who I am?"

All right, well, Heston can be a bit full of himself.

But there's no harm in him. He's a decent bloke.

He almost murdered that man. Now he thinks he can lord it and lie to us.

I'm not having it, Sarge.

-I'm appalled that you're giving the time of day to these lies!

-Dave, I'm giving you a heads up.

I can smell the alcohol on you from here.

I had a half a glass when I got home, when I was off the rota!

You can only have been home for five minutes! Did you drive in?

Yes.

One, I'm not over the limit.

Two, I was on my way to bed when you called me!

So are you going to take a breathalyser test?

Let's all take a step back.

I didn't ask him to come in, but I did inform him of this situation.

If it was me I'd come in as soon as I could to clear it up.

This is a serious allegation. But this, maybe this, is our fault.

Because if you have been drinking, it could lead to a rapist walking free.

OK, Rob, could I have some time with Dr Wheeler please?

Rob, Rob, thank goodness! How all this happened is beyond me.

I was getting ready for bed...

How can I be treated like a criminal

when it was a criminal who broke into my home?

Shhh, sit down, I don't have long.

Do you want some advice?

Absolutely. Any advice gratefully received.

There's nothing wrong with defending yourself and most coppers in the station will be on your side.

And the law will back up homeowners who use reasonable force

to defend their property

but I think you got a bit unlucky getting PC Cook.

He's not a city boy, he's not streetwise,

and he has this thing about people not being respectful towards the police.

When have I ever been anything but respectful to the police?!

And I think he thinks you haven't told him the whole truth.

Well, I fear that...

You fear what, Heston?

I fear I may have told a bit of a fib.

About hitting the thief once?

It's OK, Cook told me. Did you hit him more than once?

I'm not sure. I could see he was suspicious.

He was trying to pick apart my story...

Well, it's not a story, it's the truth!

I wasn't thinking straight.

I really am in the most dreadful trouble, aren't I?

Right, listen, you didn't hear this from me

and you definitely don't tell Cooky I told you this,

but you need to get a lawyer.

But I'm innocent! I don't need...

It doesn't matter, Heston. You've told a lie.

-That makes you look guilty.

-Thank you.

Oh, and Jimmi's here. Do you want me to send him down?

No, I don't want anyone from The Mill knowing I'm here! Not Jimmi, not Julia, not Karen.

I don't want them to know I'm involved!

You need to think about how you can make this go away before it becomes a problem.

I agree.

If the defence finds out about this accusation,

and it's unimaginable that they won't,

or if they learn that you came in here...

Look, what I'm saying is, if I was the defence, I'd ask why you didn't take a breathalyser test

and provide a sample to prove the allegation is false?

What? Because a suspect makes a ridiculous allegation?

If I went around leaving blood samples every time I'm in here,

I'd be like a pin cushion.

But this is different.

How so?

You have a reputation.

Are you saying my work has ever been anything less than professional?

No.

Are you saying that the samples I collected are less than watertight?

No. But can you guarantee that they are?

If you have a problem...

I do NOT have a problem.

If...

you have a problem maybe this is the first time

it has affected your work.

This guy is lying! He's heard someone say something about me drinking

and he sees can use it to discredit the case against him.

And yes, I like a drink now and then. You don't?

Sure. But I don't have a reputation.

And I don't have two different suspects accusing me

of drinking on the job.

You know we can get called out at any moment.

We're supposed to live like monks just in case?

It's never more than one or two.

Just take the test.

I already told you. I had half a glass.

Then if the suspect is lying, it'll give you something to fight back with.

Is this all it takes...

for criminals to damage a doctor's professional reputation?

HE BLOWS

Excuse me! Excuse me!

Hello?

I need to have a word with PC Cook.

43.

Maybe it was more than half a glass.

But these things, they're not always accurate.

And I'd brushed my teeth, used mouthwash, that can distort...

All this in the five minutes you were home?

You're way over the limit.

I don't know if you've got a drink problem or not, only you do.

But you're lying to yourself as well as to me.

This is affecting your work.

I think Dr Wheeler should remove himself from this case.

Ill health. I will take over his police surgeon duties until...

Hang on, I haven't agreed to any of this.

Do you want to tell him more about the case?

The girl went to a party. She's only 18.

Met West. They started to flirt, she wanted to go, he wouldn't let her.

She tried to resist, then he turned violent

and he...

how much do you want to know?

You might be all his QC needs to destroy the case.

Do you want that on your conscience?

PHONE RINGS

Yeah?

Great, OK, I'm on my way.

Gentlemen, I think we can be reasonable and resolve this now.

What I said earlier wasn't entirely truthful.

So you lied?

No. I got caught up in all the excitement.

You thought it was exciting?

No, my mind was a bit of a blur.

I think my memory's much sharper and clearer now

and I think I must have hit him more than once.

The man's unconscious. Tell us something we don't know.

I felt in danger! He threatened me with a screwdriver.

I was terrified!

I was burgled a few weeks ago and you gentlemen weren't very...

I thought I was going to have to deal with this on my own again.

It could even have been the same chap.

You admit you hit him repeatedly with a cricket bat?

-Yes, I must have done.

-How many times?

-I don't know for sure.

-You think that one might come back to you?

Is he conscious?

No. Got some nasty head injuries.

And severe injuries to the shoulder.

You're the doctor. What's the worst case scenario?

Well, severe injury to the head can be fatal.

But I didn't hit him on the head.

A minute ago you were saying it was all a blur.

Now you seem very sure of what happened.

Are you 100% certain, sir?

I think I need a lawyer.

Right now, I think there's something in these accusations against Wheeler. We need to deal with it.

Sarge, what's this about Lewis Jones?

Yeah, you did him for drink driving?

-Weeks ago.

-He made an accusation against Dr Wheeler, that he was drunk when he took the samples.

It didn't go anywhere, nothing came of it

but Kyle West has just made the same accusation.

-It might mess up the forensics.

-I know what it means, Sarge.

What we could do with now is Jones and West knowing each other,

otherwise we've got a problem.

They do!

They had a failed business venture together two years ago.

That's when I first came across Kyle West.

-That's great. It's a stitch up.

-You had me worried for a minute!

Brilliant. All right, Jimmi, we'll go with Wheeler's samples.

I still think there's a problem. I need to take over.

Not anymore there isn't.

Like you said, it'll just draw attention to forensics.

No, we'll go with Wheeler's.

-You called me in in the first place to take the samples again.

-That was then.

If Dr Wheeler's happy, I'm happy.

If you've got some evidence other than the word of two lowlifes

that he's been drinking on the job that's different.

You don't give a man much time to think, do you?

Tell me...

how's the girl bearing up?

She's brave, but she's in pieces.

It's not easy for her and she knows how many blokes get away with this sort of thing.

If the case falls apart and he gets out...

She doesn't know what's in store, does she?

Identification, the trial, everything.

Probably not.

But we'll do our best to get her ready for it.

But we really need to be sound, right?

If we're not, we're letting her down.

Yeah, well, we've managed to establish that these two clowns

know each other.

If they push these accusations,

we can argue that they've cooked this story up together.

And the next time?

-The next time?

-The next time I come in...

drunk. What...

What if...

I really need a drink now(!)

I work unbelievable hours, what with the practice and this...

I guess I use the drink as a crutch to get through.

You know, I see some really sad cases here.

They've all got a story, haven't they?

-Oh, yeah.

-Not just the victim. The victims are hard enough,

but sometimes the criminals too.

They've wrecked their own lives, and they know it.

They see me and they think I'm the first person who's on their side.

I get home and...

I need to drown out their voices.

You know what I mean?

Yes.

I think...

..I need to resign as a police surgeon.

I think...I need...

..to take some time out of the practice too.

Can you contact them?

Yeah, I'll take care of it.

I'll tell them you have some personal issues that need some time

and they haven't affected your work yet but if they're not taken care of yet, they will.

OK?

Thank you.

Pick up the car in the morning.

This is the right thing, isn't it?

Yes. There's plenty of help out there for you. Counselling, AA...

-I know all that.

-I'll call you tomorrow.

I need to know you've heard all your options. I'll kick start everything. You just need to turn up.

You didn't have a drink, did you? Before we called you in?

No. I better go and deal with Kyle West.

As agreed, we're going to take some more forensic samples off you,

then you can see your brief.

If you'd take that off.

I'm entitled to some privacy.

It'll be OK.

I will be just outside the door.

Missing you already.

Have I seen you here before?

No.

Last time, I was in for GBH. That wasn't you?

I'm going to take some samples.

Um...do you know someone called Lewis Jones?

I had this bloke in here, a couple of weeks ago.

He was accusing Dr Wheeler of the same thing.

What a coincidence, eh?

Nothing to say?

Good.

All good?

-Yes.

-Great, that was close.

Better luck next time.

Are you going to tell your brief or shall I do it?

Oh, let it be me, please.

Heston? What's going on?

Just give me a minute.

Any developments?

Yes, Sarge.

"Dear Mr Carver.

"I'm getting in touch regarding Dr David wheeler.

"Dr Wheeler sought my help with some personal health issues

"which require immediate treatment.

"I'll be in touch tomorrow to further discuss the matter,

"but it's my professional opinion that he is acting responsibly

"and that it is in his interests, and the interests of your practice,

"if he takes immediate compassionate leave to begin treatment.

"Regards. Dr Jimmi Clay."

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

How are you?

Oh, you know, the acoustics are rather fine.

I can practise singing my favourite arias.

Can I get you anything?

Yeah, a big fruit cake with a file baked inside, that would be nice.

Come on. Stop it. Rob has explained what happened.

We are going to fight this.

The duty solicitor's put things on hold.

They'll look to bail you in the morning.

I am disgusted that I have to spend a night in the cells.

And I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't defended myself.

You're the victim. Don't forget that.

I know that. Thank you for saying so.

Any news from the hospital?

His name's Curtis Brown. He's just got out of theatre.

His injuries were worse than they expected.

What could happen with this?

Cook says that they are talking about a charge of attempted murder.

It might not come to that.

-It could.

-Murder?

-I'm sure it'll be fine.

-You don't know that!

Even if it's fine, it could be jail, my career finished. How could this happen?!

One, two, three!

-Do you hear this, Dad?

-No, Dane, he can't!

-You wonder for why!

-Because he's dead!

-Trudi!

-We're trying to talk here!

I was just wondering if you'd had any more thoughts

about our little soiree?

-It was an accident!

-He's the accident!

-Shut it, Wayne!

-Why don't you make me, eh?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd