The detectives and prosecutors must decide who is more culpable in the brutal death of an innocent doctor: the man who beat the doctor to death with a wine bottle, or the racist who spread rumors on social media that the victim was actually an armed and dangerous criminal, and thus may have incited the attack. Their difficulties are compounded by Detective Shaw, whose outrage at having been racially profiled and harassed by two white cops leads him to take steps in the investigation without coordinating with Price.
- Bittersweet Ending: Deluca is convicted of first degree manslaughter, and Burke takes a plea of seven years in prison, but not only is Shaw's complaint against the white police officers who profiled him thrown out, their retaliatory complaint against him gets him a one-week suspension.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Downplayed. Everyone agreed that Shaw technically violated procedure by not following the orders of the patrol officers, and that he further screwed up by not telling Price about the retaliatory complaint they filed against him (which Deluca's lawyer then used to ambush Shaw on the stand). However, everyone also makes clear that his mistakes were trivial and functionally irrelevant compared to the racism demonstrated by the officers, who had no valid basis for ordering him to get down anyways.
- Foreshadowing: Though Dixon and Cosgrove tell Shaw that his anger is justified, they also warn him that going up against the blue wall could have a negative effect on his career, and sure enough, all Shaw earns at episode's end is a suspension without pay.
- Malcolm Xerox: Shaw is accused of being this when he's on the stand. The defense attorney cites the investigation against him to argue that Shaw just wanted revenge against white people and so arrested Deluca.
- Mistaken for Racist: Everyone assumes that Deluca is posting fake stories about black criminals because he's racist. It turns out that his real motive is that he's trying to make people think certain neighborhoods are riddled with criminals so he can lower property values and buy up real estate at a discount. Once he owns the properties, he stops spreading rumors, waits for the property values to recover, and then sells at a tidy profit.
- Profiling: Shaw gets harassed and nearly shot by two white police officers on the basis that he's black, like a suspect they're seeking, in spite of his protests that he's a detective. The episode's villain (a white man) as well weaponized this with false claims of black men being criminals, getting one killed and a previous man beaten, so this would drive down property prices in areas he (a realtor) wanted to buy up for later profit.
- Shame If Something Happened: One of the officers who profiled Shaw threatens to derail his career if Shaw makes his complaint. When Shaw goes forward, the officers report him for not having followed procedure.
