Since this is a Recaps page, Spoilers are off per policy. You Have Been Warned.
At a diner, several police officers hang out off-duty and one of them, Alice Cushman, is shot outside. She survives, but now Briscoe and Green have to track down the shooter. Alice was having an affair with another officer, so the detectives initially look into whether her husband shot her for cheating. But then they discover that a teenage boy named Stevie Thomas was responsible. Stevie, who is Black, blames white police for the death of his brother Eric. The Thomas family believes Eric was unlawfully shot by white cops.
Eric's death was officially ruled a suicide. However, the detectives and McCoy uncover a catalogue of incompetence and possible cover-ups in the investigation. Jason Hendri, a Black serial killer, claims he killed Eric. But since Hendri will never be released from jail, he has no reason to tell the truth. Meanwhile Stevie's lawyer Carl Halpert, who specialises in civil rights cases, inflames the press around the trial.
Despite McCoy and Southerlyn's best efforts to find the truth about Eric's death, Stevie is ultimately acquitted and the DAs are left with serious questions about the system.
This episode contains examples of:
- A Deadly Affair: Subverted. The detectives initially think Alice's husband tried to kill her for cheating on him, but then they find out about Stevie's involvement.
- Crusading Lawyer: Stevie's lawyer is one of these with regard to any suggestion of racism.
- Downer Ending: Stevie is acquitted for shooting Alice, big brother Eric's death remains unsolved, his suspected killer is not brought to justice, the coroner whose decisions led to the episode's events isn't disciplined and Eric's body itself is unlikely to be recovered.
- Misplaced Retribution: Stevie attempts to kill an arbitrary police officer because he believes a police officer murdered his big brother.
- Never My Fault: Dr. Berardi gets royally pissed off when the detectives call her out on how her sloppiness caused Eric Thomas' death to be ruled a suicide. While you can understand how incredibly overworked she is residing in the Big Apple, her unwillingness to take any responsibility for the events stops it quickly.
- Never Suicide: Eric's death was officially declared a suicide, but his family claims this is incorrect. They're probably right about this.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Eric Thomas's mother is still alive, 8 years after his death.
- Revisiting the Cold Case: Briscoe and Green try to reopen the case of Eric's death. Unfortunately, there is no evidence for them to work with.
- Serial Killer: Hendri is one and is serving multiple life sentences as a result.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Alice's husband invokes this to try to get her to quit her job, as he feels it's too dangerous for a woman.
- Title Drop: Halpert refers to the police "ticking the suicide box" to cover up Eric's death.
