A young officer, who was about to be married the next day to another officer, Karen Kelley (Susan Blanchard), is killed during a gang fight. Lt. Buckles (Don Galloway, of Ironside fame) comes in as an overly by-the-book officer to lead the investigation. A young man, Bobby Romero (Chu Chu Malave) is quickly (mis)identified as the shooter, and Galloway is heading an all-out search to find him, figuring a quick arrest can be his chance for advancement. He is the poster boy for the phrase: "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."
Sgt. 'Pepper' Anderson (Angie Dickinson) and Lt. Bill Crowley (Earl Holliman) are not at all convinced Romero is the right culprit. But they are repeatedly shut down, criticized, and redirected by martinet Galloway. Poor Crowley spends the entire episode fuming over this idiot. I have a temper too, so I know how it is, but it's funny to watch Holliman's performance, he does a great job. Dickinson gets in a funny bit of her own. When Galloway quotes the bible to Holliman about curbing his temper, Dickinson quotes back a relevant bit of scripture to him: "Only a simpleton believes what he is told. A prudent man checks to see where he's going." Galloway is left with no response. It's an excellent moment.
Meanwhile, both Galloway's and Romero's own actions make things worse. In spite of that, Pepper & Crowley still manage to sneak in some of their own investigation on the side. Holliman speaks to a kid from the barrio, who says it was the cops's friend who was killed, so why should he care? Holliman gives a wonderful speech to him, explaining why he *should* care and why it matters to him, and that the officer was not out patrolling some ritzy neighborhood, instead, he was there, protecting the kid and his family and neighborhood from harm. Pepper & Crowley persevere and eventually determine who the real shooter is. As you might expect (and you'd be disappointed if he didn't), Galloway hogs all the credit for capturing the correct shooter.
