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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1979)
It's a no-win situation for Karl Hettinger (played by John Savage, left) surrender his gun or see his partner blown away by Gregory Powell (James Woods, center). Hettinaer aives up his pun and Powell and his partner, Jimmy Smith (Franklyn Seales in far right of last photo), force Hettinger and his partner to drive out to an onion field in the middle of nowhere There Hettinger's partner is killed Hettinger escapes And Detective Pierce Brooks takes on the case *vxos court* Z w* 1 —^ 1 J ‘It was a search for error. Jr 1G1Q not a search for the facts Eugene Police Chief Pierce Brooks recently watched himself portrayed in a movie that stands to become both a critical and commercial success But the screening of The Onion Field was not all a pleasure for him Brooks was moved by the retelling of the case “Hell yes. he says. “I'm no piece of furniture Though the film sketches Brooks as a cool, efficient investigator, Brooks did not emerge unscathed from the case The California Supreme Court criticized him for his methods “I tell you, now you know why I'm bitter ” he says “What they did to Hettinger and said about me were unfair and hypocritical Brooks was personally involved with the case for six years before he accepted the Springfield police chief job in 1969 After working in Lakewood. Colo and attending school on a doctoral fellowship, he accepted the Eugene job in 1976 Actor Ronny Cox portrays Brooks as a calm, chain-smoking cop who has a low-key. almost friendly manner with Powell and Smith “You have to become emotionless to the issues just as they (Powell and Smith) are to society.” Brooks says of his interviews with the two “They have rib remorse toward society The state Supreme Court scored Brooks tor neither providing the defendants with counsel nor reading them their criminal rights, even though those two laws were not on the books back then • | insisted You gotta have an attorney."' Brooks says. But their response was, We don’t like attorneys It's bad luck ' The Court says I kept interrogating them too much." he says "Hell. I was down there because they wanted to talk to me " Brooks says his job was "to find out what really happened." no me^n feat because, he says. Powell had a tremendous ego' and Smith talked in circles The treatment of Karl Hettinger, the cop who saw his partner shot in the face and who was dragged down by fellow cops and the courts, raises Brooks Ire "That s where I get emotional," he says • It shows a great weakness in our criminal justice system Here are people in the courts that believe the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment and violates one's con stitutional rights I think what happened to Karl Hettinger was cruel (Continued on Page 7B) SUPER SAVINGS on our MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS ONLY $19995 AH 711/3356 Speakers AM/FM stereo receiver with 3-speed automatic record charter Complete with &-lnch, 2-way acoustic suspension speakers ONLY $19995 SK-1 Portable AM/FM cassette recorder, loudness control, jacks for external mikes, speakers, runs off batteries, house current or car power with adaptor Regular pnce $219 00 ONLY *33995 KH-4433 Features highty advanced Loaded DecK'“ with Sons Finder ” and Auto-Repeat, semi-program mabie record changer, magnetic phono cartridge and AM/FM receiver. (Does not include speakers.) ONLY $27995 KH-2277 A total music system that combines an AM/FM stereo receiver with cassette playback/recording deck, automatic record changer and full range speakers. GET IT ALL MT Downtown: Campus: 1022 Willamette • 343-1223 860 East 13th • 484-1488 Hours: 10-6, Mon-Sat./downtown, 12-5 Sun. ^ LIMITED TO STOCK OH HAND 'its a tine end to all my scheming to sit here with the dead hugged to my breast and the silly mug ot the moon grinning down, enioying the /oke A tenant tarm woman A tormented man Moonlight begets insight into an ill fated relationship Eugene O'Neill takes you back to 1923 tor a mew ot James Tyrone after A Long Day s Journey Into Night Curtain 8 pm Robinson Theatre University of Oregon Box Office Hours: Noon-4 pm Mon-Sat Phone 686-4191 A Moon for the Nov. 2, 3, a 9, 10, 1979 University Theatre
