The Special Victims Unit are called in after a black man is accused of sexually assaulting a man, as well as harassing a woman and her son. Despite being accused, the man claims he is innocent. When a new suspect is found, the man is acquitted but he quickly files a lawsuit against the Special Victims Unit, which soon makes the case extremely difficult with the community losing trust in law enforcement.
Tropes
- Continuity Cavalcade:
- While Olivia is meeting Capt. Curry, they mention meeting each other at Ed Tucker's funeral.
- Curry also brings up the Joanne Castille case.
- Downer Ending: The grand jury declines to indict Joe Murphy after he plays on their prejudices towards the police (though as it's not an acquittal, he can still be arrested in the future if more evidence is gathered), Eric Aquino is still in a coma and it's unclear if he'll wake up, and Jayvon Brown is suing the NYPD, including Benson and Fin personally, for wrongful arrest.
- It's All About Me: After Jayvon Brown is cleared for Eric Aquino's assault, he refuses to help SVU by answering them about if he saw Joe Murphy acting suspiciously, asking why he would help them even if he did see Murphy. While it's completely understandable he's angry at the NYPD for his wrongful arrest, he potentially hinders getting a rapist off the streets by prioritizing his anger.
- Not Helping Your Case: The reason Benson brings Jayvon in on his protest warrants is because he refuses to answer SVU's questions at the park that could have gotten him cleared of Eric's rape much more quickly without needing to bring him in to the precinct.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: Demore Barnes was added to the main cast in this episode.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: This is the first episode taking place in the COVID-19 era, showing people both wearing masks, social distancing and using hand sanitizer.
- The Scapegoat: Benson and Fin receive the brunt of the blame for the Jayvon Brown fiasco when the real cops to blame are arguably the uniformed officers who cuffed him without probable cause. Benson and Fin were unaware Colleen Reynolds called the police prior to Eric being found and the arresting officers never mentioned this to them, giving the impression they were acting by-the-book. Benson and Fin only ended up bringing him in because he already had outstanding warrants for protesting and his refusal to answer questions didn't help in ruling him out as Eric's rapist any faster.
