Even when cops do everything right, things can still go sideways. Learning to accept this is a big part of the job.
Lydia is driving while talking with Russ, who is sitting at some cafe. She's upset by what has been said in a gossip magazine. "Who reads these things," Russ says as he pages through the same magazine. He reassures her once again that nothing will happen to her because she didn't do anything.
It looks like a typical morning at Nate's except that Sammy is there instead of Nate. Mariella comments about two guys (off-duty cops) that are outside doing some work. Sammy tells her, "Everyone wants to help out."
Cooper and Sherman talk with a woman who had previously complained about a trailer next door that was used by addicts and hookers. After talking with her at a community meeting, Cooper had told her that he would get the trailer moved. It's a month later now and the trailer is still there. A worker with the city had told John it would be moved; but it hadn't happened so far.
As Cooper, Sherman, and the woman look down at the trailer, two plainclothes cops arrive, "just like clockwork," the woman says, Cooper understands exactly what's going on with the trailer. The other cops have no incentive to get the trailer removed because they know they can come by any time and get a felony arrest Cooper asks the other cops about the trailer, they give him attitude, and basically tell Cooper it's not their job to get the trailer removed. As the other cops walk away, Cooper gives a smirk and says to them, "We're done, huh?" You know at that point that Cooper will take care of getting the trailer removed; one way or another.
Sammy is upset because Sal is keeping him out of the rotation of detectives that are taking cases. Sammy thinks it's because the BSS shrinks don't think Sammy should ride alone. Very telling. BSS thinks that Sammy still isn't ready to be on his own.
Sal tells Sammy that some GIT cops brought in someone the previous evening that is a suspect for Nate's murder. The cops have already gone through the suspect's apartment, but found little, if any, evidence to tie the suspect to the murder. The snitch that gave the info to the police is a basehead, so he is not a very reliable witness. Sammy wants to do a six-pack lineup so that he can identify Nate's murderer. Although I don't see how Sammy can make that identification - his back was turned when Nate was hit. And though the guy who did it continued to hold the pipe during the entire scene; who knows if Sammy ever saw the guy due to the chaos of the scene? Sal emphasizes to Sammy that the ID needs to be, "squeaky clean."
Lydia and Josie are working a murder in a grocery parking lot. The dead guy got caught in the crossfire of two arguing guys. There is a witness that gives Lydia information, but she is concerned about the bleeding on the back of his head. He says he hit the ground when the shooting started and bumped his head then. He explains what he saw and then Lydia calls the paramedics over to check him out. One of the regular uniform cops teases Lydia, "We think you're a lot hotter in person." Lydia comes right back with, "Isn't there something else you could be doing; like traffic control maybe?" The other cop laughs and says they don't think she did it. The witness is being loaded into the ambulance and Lydia questions the paramedics about it. It seems the witness doesn't just have a scrape; he's got a bullet in his head.
Cooper and Sherman are in their patrol car and Cooper is arguing with a city worker on the phone regarding the trailer. "And we wonder why people go postal," Cooper says when he gets off the phone. They pull up next to a park where two ice cream vendors are arguing over territory in front of a bunch of kids and their parents. It takes both Sherman and Cooper, plus Cooper's excellent command presence, to separate and quieten the two arguing men. Cooper asks them what they think they are teaching the kids by arguing like that. You should be teaching them "share and share alike." Sherman suggests that they trade off days. So one of the vendors volunteers to take the weekends (which is when most sales take place). This infuriates the other vendor who calls the first vendor a terrorist. The second vendor accuses the first of selling guns; and they get into it again. Cooper and Sherman separate the two and as Cooper cuffs one vendor he tells Sherman to cuff the other one. "You know what? I need sugar," Cooper says, "Free ice cream! Courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department." The kids run screaming to the ice cream carts as we watch Sherman pull the top off of a Push-up. And Cooper tells one vendor, "Here you go buddy; have a Bomb Pop." Ha! He tells the vendor that accused the other of selling guns, to have a Bomb Pop.
Sal explains the rules of the six-pack lineup and then turns the floor over to a detective that has no knowledge of the case. She gives a few more instructions to Sammy before she places the six-pack in front of him. He looks at it for a few seconds before getting up and walking out of the room. Sal follows him out to a courtyard. Sammy says he saw the face, but he needed some air. Sal is compassionate and says take a few minutes before you go back in. Sammy says he can't do it now, he wants to do the ID tomorrow. Sal thinks Sammy isn't sure about who did it; but Sammy says he does know, he just didn't realize how hard this process would be. Sammy asks Sal to stall so that he can do the line-up tomorrow.
So here's my theory on the Sammy ID storyline. I think Sammy misidentified the suspect on purpose, and was pretty sure he knew which suspect murdered Nate. By delaying the ID until the next day, he hoped to get a live line-up where he could get a full view of the suspects bodies, he could ask to listen to their voices, and he could eliminate suspects based on physical appearance (the suspect with the withered hand). By misidentifying the suspect, Sammy achieved two things: the suspect would be released and therefore within Sammy's reach; and the suspect would not be on guard because Sammy hadn't identified him. Also, after the line-up mis-identification, Sammy sits in the parking lot; watching to see which suspect comes out with the attorney.
Dewey has called Cooper and Sherman to the location of a unique accidental death. "We went lights and siren for this?" Cooper asks as he walks by Chickie and another woman. Dewey explains he had to get them there before the coroner moved the body. The body is lying on a bed, partially covered by a sheet. A big-screen TV has fallen on the top part of the man's body and killed him. From the position of the TV and the fact that the TV missed her by only a couple of inches, we can all figure out what the woman was doing. Dewey confirms this by telling Sherman and Cooper, "I always say; blow jobs can save lives."
Lydia is visiting the murder witness in the hospital. She learns that he's an excellent artist since he has drawn his perspective of the murder scene. He gives Lydia additional information - the suspects are light-skinned blacks. One had a tattoo and the other wore and Angels cap. Josie pulls Lydia out of the room because the doctor wants to talk to them. The doctor informs them the he doesn't have long to live and they're both very shocked. The bullet lodged deep in his brain and surgery to fix it would almost certainly kill him.
Josie and Lydia are called back to work to see Detective Fernandez. She tells them that they, along with the RHD guys and the first 6 officers on the scene of the celebrity murder are being suspended with full pay and full benefits. (Why wasn't Russell suspended? He was at the scene at the same time Lydia and Josie were.) Lydia is pissed and makes her displeasure known.
Sal tells Sammy that the suspect's attorney watched the video of the six-pack ID and now wants Sammy to do a line-up. Sammy is happy with that since he'll be able to see the suspect right in front of him. Sal gives Sammy a long, hard look; trying to see into Sammy's brain to see if Sammy's being honest or not.
Chickie, Dewey, Cooper, and Sherman are having lunch. Cooper is on the phone about the trailer again, while the others are playing "Top This" with various death scenes they've worked. This is Dewey's element and he tells a story about a bird flying in his face when he opens a door. Ben, big-eyed, is paying rapt attention to Dewey's stories. Cooper says, "Shit, she just hung up on me!" Dewey asks, "Why do you even care, man?" Cooper responds, "I find it novel, Dewey, every once in a while to give a shit."
Russel meets with Lydia at the hospital and they discuss her suspension. She is also frustrated that the detectives who are supposed to replace her are not returning her calls. Russel tells her it's not her case any more, so why make it harder on herself. "Cause it's not just about me." Lydia's boss told the captain that Lydia would not stay at home during her suspension and the captain sent Russ to try to convince her to go home. Lydia says, "Yeah, well,snap a picture and leak a photo of this," as she flips the bird with both hands. Lydia tells Russ she can't believe this is happening; all her hard work, her rep. Russ tries to soothe her by saying cases like this are hard to prove and this will blow over soon. Just wait it out. Lydia asks him if he's wrong, will he be her lead rep and go through everything with her. Russ thinks she should use an assigned rep, but Lydia says she doesn't trust anyone else. Russ counters that he doesn't have any experience and Lydia says, "But you have my back." Russ says, "Of course." And he agrees to be her rep. That whole conversation was just full of irony. And that Russell is still holding on to his secret at this point is just mean.
Sammy is at Nate's house taking out the garbage. He challenges the guy in the front yard that's been helping do odd jobs around the house. Sammy accuses him of helping out in order to get in good with Mariella. The other guy says that Sammy is the one who is staying at the house. Sammy tells him that he was Nate's partner and he's helping out Nate's family the way Nate would have wanted. The other guy tells Sammy that he needs to get some help. As the guy leaves, Sammy looks up and sees that Mariella has heard the entire conversation.
Lydia watches as they wheel the gunshot victim, Henry Watts, to surgery. They are going to place some burr holes to help relieve some of the intracranial pressure that is building up in his brain due to the continued bleeding.
Sammy and Mariella are sitting on the patio, drinking a couple of beers after the kids are in bed. She tells him he's good with kids and he says that's because the kids sense that he's one of them. Mariella says he went after the guy that was helping around the house pretty hard. Sammy apologizes and Mariella says she's sure it's because of the stress of the lineup tomorrow. Mariella grasps Sammy's hands with hers and asks, "What are we doing, Sammy?" But before Sammy can say anything, Petey comes to the door and says he's thirsty. Then he asks, "Soooo, you're going to be my Dad now?" Mariella goes into the house before Sammy can say anything. Sammy really needs to get out of that house. He's taken Nate's place almost completely.
It's early morning and Sammy has once again driven to the site of Nate's murder. But none of the bangers are around at this time of day. He walks over to the spot where Nate died and takes Nate's badge out of his pocket as he silently scans the area.
Lydia is back to see Henry after his procedure. He now has a few more monitors, some new IV fluids, he's on oxygen, and he now has a one-on-one nurse sitting in the room with him; monitoring him at all times. He's having a harder time speaking too. He also has two new holes in his skull to help alleviate some of the intracranial pressure. He tells Lydia the doctors don't seem to want to operate; or no one knows how. He talks about how he met his fiancee and how lucky he is. Then he asks Lydia what she would do. Would she have the surgery for the one percent chance of survival, or would she try to hold on for a chance to say goodbye? Lydia tells him she was in love once; with one of her training officers when she first started on the job. But he was killed in the line-of-duty and she wasn't there to tell him goodbye. So if Henry loves his fiancee, he should hold on.
Sammy is at the prison for the line-up. He asks for #2 and #3 to repeat a phrase, then he asks for #6 to take his hand out of his pocket. He identifies #3 as Nate's murderer, but after a few seconds he says no, I meant to say #2. Sal informs him that #2 is an inmate at the jail. Sammy is an emotional guy. But he certainly didn't seem too upset about mis-identifying Nate's murderer. And the guy who actually murdered Nate was #4 in the line-up.
Cooper has received the good news that the trailer has been taken care of that morning. Sherman says, "So now we're going to double-check." Cooper responds, "Well, do you trust anything the city tells you?" "No," Sherman says. So Cooper and Sherman are on the way to the trailer to verify that the trailer is gone.
Chickie is talking on her cell phone as she and Dewey drive in their patrol car. She tells Dewey about the murdered cop's partner picking the wrong guy out of the line-up. They get a call for an armed robbery and speed off to the address. They arrive just as the suspect, armed with a knife, runs out the door of the business. He turns and flees so Chickie runs after him.
Cooper and Sherman arrive at the trailer site, not surprised to see it still there. Cooper says, "That's it!" as he and Ben get out of the car. Cooper surveys the trailer before walking next door to get a sledge hammer. He smashes the concrete blocks the trailer's tongue is sitting on. Looks like Cooper's back is just fine today. He showed no signs of back problems this entire episode. Then with the help of Ben and the neighbors; they roll the trailer into the alley, blocking traffic. Cooper calls a tow service to move the trailer. Didn't we all know Cooper was going to get this resolved? Sherman and Cooper hear Chickie's radio transmission about being in a pursuit and they run to the car so they can be backup to the pursuit.
The pursuit continues with Dewey and Chickie. The car they're chasing suddenly veers to the left, revealing a woman in the crosswalk straight in front of them. It's too late for an evasive maneuver and they hit the woman, throwing her up on the hood of the patrol car. When the patrol car stops, she rolls onto the pavement. Cooper and Sherman race by since they are now the primary pursuit car. Chickie does CPR (not very well, I might add), but it's too late, the woman is dead. The car with the suspects crashes into another car and Sherman and Cooper secure the suspects and call for an ambulance for the injured in the other car.
Sammy sits in the parking lot of the jail. He watches as people leave the jail and finally sees what he's been waiting for. Suspect #4 walks out, followed closely by the attorney from the line-up. They say a few words, then shake hands. If Sammy didn't already know which suspect killed Nate, he does now.
Henry Watts is going downhill fast. Lydia is at his bedside and asks him if he wants anything. But Henry is carrying on his own conversation that doesn't make sense. His fiancee arrives and when she talks to him he recognizes her. Lydia and the nurse leave the room to give them some privacy.
Cooper goes to Chickie as she is getting in her car after the shift. She's obviously very stressed from what happened and she feels it's partially her fault. Cooper tells her they did what they were supposed to do - it was a tragic accident. Chickie insists she is partially responsible since they were the primary car and they lost air support. She could have called off the pursuit. Chickie tells Cooper she wasn't going to be a cop - she just wanted to surf or bartend. But she had a kid to support. She needed a job and that's all this was supposed to be. "How many surfers run toward gunfire? Teachers? Bartenders? They just jump in their car and go after these assholes? Cut yourself a break. Who deserves to be wearing that uniform?" Cooper is showing one of the reasons he is considered such a great TO. He knew or saw that Chickie was having a hard time after the accident that killed a woman. He tries to make her see that she wasn't responsible. And that she deserves to wear the uniform more than a lot of others.
Lydia is in the cafeteria of the hospital when the nurse that was taking care of Henry Watts approaches her to tell her that Henry's fiancee was right beside him when he passed away. The nurse also tells her that what Lydia told Henry was beautiful and she's sorry Lydia had to go through that. Lydia tells the nurse that she made it up - cops are good storytellers. I personally think part of Lydia's story about being in love is true.
Sammy goes back to his old house where Tammy is living with her boyfriend. At first, Tammy is not happy that Sammy is there and tells him that was their agreement. Sammy says, "I got no place to go." Tammy walks off the porch and when she gets to Sammy, she realizes that something is causing him to be very emotional. She asks him what's wrong and he responds that he fucked up; everything he touches turns to shit. "What did you do," Tammy asks. "It's what I didn't...it's what I couldn't....it's what I couldn't do...I couldn't." Sammy says crying. Tammy brings his head to her shoulder and comforts him. Since I think Sammy purposely didn't ID the correct suspect in Nate's murder, I think what he's talking about here is that, like Nate, he couldn't let things go. He wouldn't identify the correct suspect and let the guy go through the criminal justice system. He has revenge plans for the suspect and he wouldn't get to follow through on those plans if the suspect was in jail.
Lydia pulls up in front of her house. As she gets out of the car, Russ pulls up behind her. "You came to check on me?" Lydia asks, "Come on, I need a drink." Russ follows her to the porch but doesn't go any further. They talk about the big stories of the day - the cop that killed a pedestrian; and the bad ID of Nate's murder suspect. Lydia says, "And now I'm about to lose my job for leaking photos of a dead celebrity. All these years of being a good cop and that's my Google hit." Her voice shakes as she talks about being up all night and the rage she feels. "Who could do this? Not just to me, but to us?" Lydia wonders.
"I did," Russel says, "I, uh, gave them a couple of photos and they paid me half a million bucks." He apologizes to Lydia, "If I had known the photos were from your phone, I wouldn't have done it." He has admitted to Detective Fernandez and the Captain that he was the one who sold the pictures to TMZ; and he has been fired for doing so. Russ tells Lydia at least he has money in the bank. You can tell from Lydia's face that she is hurt and devastated. Russell apologizes again for all that Lydia has gone through and he wishes he had told her sooner. Lydia's lips tremble as all sorts of emotions scroll across Lydia's face: denial, anger, weariness, hurt, strength. "I don't even know you," Lydia says, "I don't even know you, dude." Lydia turns and walks in the door as Russell pleads with her to stay and talk.
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