Television: L.A.P.D. Blues

The Shield asks what's O.K. in the name of security

Vic Mackey is a gang leader. And he is a gang leader's worst nightmare. He murders to keep his secrets. And he saves little girls and babies. He is a criminal. And he is a cop. What kind? "Good Cop and Bad Cop left for the day," he tells a suspect he's about to interrogate (i.e., torture). "I'm a different kind of cop."

The Shield (FX, Tuesdays, 10 p.m. E.T.) was inspired by Los Angeles' Rampart police scandal. But it asks a question that is all too relevant in the days of liberty vs. security: How far do we want...

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