Sept. 15, 1963 - Tonight marks the series premiere of “Arrest and Trial,” a crime drama airing from 8:30 to 10 p.m. on ABC. Each episode will consist of two segments. Set in Los Angeles, the first part (“The Arrest”) follows Detective Sergeants Nick Anderson (Ben Gazzara) and Dan Kirby (Roger Perry) of the LAPD as they track down and capture a criminal. The apprehended suspect will then be defended in the second part (“The Trial”) by criminal attorney John Egan (Chuck Connors, pictured). Gazzara agreed to play the role of Anderson only after extracting a promise from the producer that scripts would avoid stereotypical depictions of police officers. In a TV Guide interview, Gazzara said: “I play a thinking man's cop — a serious student of human behavior, more concerned with what creates the criminal than how to punish him. In other words, I'm not the kind of cop who asks, ‘Where were you the night of April 13th?’ It's my job to show that there is room for passion and intellectualism and personal display even within a policeman."
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