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In Training Day, did Alonzo always plan on having Jake killed by Smiley? After the scene where he kills Roger, he appears to still be trying to win Jake over to seeing his side of things; that they are doing what they do for the greater good. Jake doesn’t seem convinced, but he also appears to be undecided; he didn’t threaten to report him or anything. Then, Alonzo delivers Jake to be killed by Smiley's gang.

I am confused as to whether this was part of his plan all along or not. I know that at one point he says “I’ve been planning this for weeks!” but it sounds like he is talking about simply killing Roger and getting away with it.

I see two options:

  1. Alonzo never planned on letting Jake live or become part of his team. But if this is the case, then why not simply kill him at Roger's house like the other cops wanted to? It would have been easy to explain that he was killed by Roger while trying to arrest him. Much easier than a story that first Jake killed Roger while trying to arrest him, and then immediately after was killed by a separate gang in an unrelated incident. And why did he bother trying to still convince Jake that he was doing the right thing?

  2. Alonzo was only planning on pinning Roger's shooting on Jake. He actually did want Jake to become his partner and come around to seeing his side of things. But if this is the case, then when did he change his mind? We never see Jake give a flat-out response to Alonzo that tells him that he can’t trust him; that he has to go with plan B of having him killed.

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    Well, what I can recall, he made that call to Smiley right after the cleanup of the Roger job. I believe that if Jake had gone along with the plan, taken the cash and allowed himself to be paraded as a hero as Alonso said, it would have given Alonso another strong ally inside, and as a potential successor as he pointed out. He saw that that wasn't the case, and decided to give the job to an outside party, who would've dealt with Jake discreetly. But my comment is opinion based, as I'm wondering if this question is also?
    – Nicholas Aysen
    Oct 8, 2018 at 5:22

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Alonzo planned to train a new guy into his illegal ways of policing and gaming the system for financial gain and power.

Alonzo saw the potential in Jake to be a very capable leader. This was illustrated through Jake’s ability to save the schoolgirl from two crackheads singlehandedly, and his playing strong safety position in high school football. Jake was also unique in his scruples and had a strong moral code. Alonzo learned the extent of Jake’s morals in the house after the murder of Rodger. But, by the time Alonzo realized it was in his best interest to kill Jake, the whole situation had spiraled out of control - Jake turned the shotgun on Alonzo and an officer was bleeding out - it was too late to execute Jake and have time to “scenario” or put a story together explaining how and when Jake got shot and killed.

Alonzo definitely called Smiley before Jake got back in the car after Rodger’s murder. “Make sure that bathtub is clean.” Alonzo also was still trying to win Jake over in the car but Alonzo plays everyone. It is in his nature so he is not trustworthy. Jake maybe could have saved himself by taking the money in the car but Alonzo was ready to kill him at that point regardless.

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  • A bit speculative but well reasoned and as such could very well be as good an answer as the stack gets.+1 & welcome to the sight Mr Allen.
    – Stephen Francis
    Mar 10, 2021 at 8:29

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