Frank Pembleton quotes from Homicide: Life on the Street

Pembleton

What you will be privileged to witness will not be an interrogation, but an act of salesmanship - as silver-tongued and thieving as ever moved used cars, Florida swampland, or Bibles. But what I am selling is a long prison term, to a client who has no genuine use for the product.

Pembleton

Tim, will you stop beating that horse? It's dead, it's dog meat, it's glue.

Pembleton

You want to trust me. I know that. But you're holding back that little bit. Tell me what happened. I'm not going to write it down or anything. I'm going to sit right here. You see no...I have no pen in my hand. Nothing up my sleeve. Please, don't look at me as a cop. Look at me as a friend. Look at me as a friend. Cause that's how I'm looking at you. As a friend. Not as somebody that committed murder. Not as a really vicious person. Because you're not. I think a lot of you. You told me about your drinking and about being an arabber and everything else. I got problems too. Hell, we all got problems. Tell me what happened. I'll believe anything that you say.

Pembleton

Life would be perfect, if it was only kids and dogs.

Pembleton

You know, being cops, I kind of hoped they'd be better liars.

Pembleton

[Having persuaded an innocent man to confess to a crime he didn't commit on Giardello's urges] He would have stood a better chance in the back of a paddywagon with the jackboots and clubs. He would have gotten a fair shake.

Pembleton

The Jesuits taught me how to think - I haven't felt safe since.

Pembleton

With God on our side, who can stand against us?

Pembleton

[to the nun] I don't pray anymore. I used to. I used to pray for answers. A clue, a sign of what I should do, how to find something precious in this life. There was a time when I thought it was my job. But is it? Nothing in this world changes because of what I do. The hurt goes on and on. God has… God has given up on us. He doesn't hear us any more, sister.

Pembleton

It's till death do you part. You die - you part.

Pembleton

Finding love is like solving the perfect crime: you look at every shred of evidence, you talk to every witness, follow up every lead, but more often than not, what wins in the end is just pure, dumb luck. And you my friend, are just not lucky.

Pembleton

Where I come from, EVERY life has meaning... even yours, Felton, even yours.

Pembleton

One time, one time I'd like to hear about a murder that makes any sense. One time, for any reason.

Pembleton

You know, every day I get out of bed and drag myself to the next cup of coffee. I take a sip and the caffeine kicks in, I can focus my eyes again, my brain starts to order the day. I'm up, I'm alive. I'm ready to rock. The time is coming when I wake up and decide I'm not getting out of bed. I'm not getting up for coffee or food or sex. If it comes to me, fine; if it won't, fine. No more expectations. The longer I live the less I know. I should know more. I should know that coffee's killing me. You're suspicious of your suspicions? I'm jealous, Kay. I'm so jealous. You still have the heart to have doubts? Me, I'm going to lock up a fourteen-year-old kid for what could be the rest of his natural life. I gotta do this; this is my job. This is the deal, this is the law, this is my day. I have no doubts or suspicions anymore. Heart has nothing to do with it anymore. Its all in the caffeine.

Pembleton

You know now, don't you? You got the fear, now. Don't you? Son, I don't usually find myself giving advice, especially to 14 year old killers, but please, please listen to me. Just this one time. Keep your ass to the wall. Don't trust anybody, don't believe anybody, don't help anybody, don't ask anybody for anything. Do you understand?