In the opening scene Harlan Garrison (Martin Sheen) explains to Harry Orwell that he is the man who shot him causing his eventual retirement from the police department. He states that it was about 4 years ago on Friday January the 18th. That would have been 1969 and the 18th of January that year was on a Saturday. The 18th of January fell on a Friday in 1963 and not again until 1974.