Originally Aired: March 6, 1952

Dragnet #143, "The Big Evans," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ed Jacobs are assigned to personnel division to investigate a serious complaint against one of their own. Officer Blanchard, a patrolman working South Central, stands accused of assault and battery by George Evans, a boarding house operator whom Blanchard arrested the previous day on narcotics charges. Evans claims the young officer beat him savagely and dislocated his shoulder, and he has two witnesses to back up his story. Blanchard insists he's innocent, explaining that Evans was already injured when he found him during a routine bust at the rooming house, but he has no way to prove it.

Friday and Jacobs face a difficult investigation as the case becomes a matter of credibility. Evans alleges that Blanchard demanded a payoff and attacked him when he refused, while Blanchard maintains the three suspects are lying drug users who would say anything. With Evans sporting fresh cuts and bruises and two witnesses ready to testify against the officer, Friday must determine whether they're dealing with a corrupt cop or an elaborate frame-up designed to discredit a legitimate arrest.