Directed by Deran Sarafian
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, & Carol Mendelsohn
"Officer Blue" is the ninth episode of Season 1. It originally aired December 1, 2004.
Synopsis:
A mounted police officer is shot and killed in Central Park. Aiden investigates a possible murder in a pizza shop.Tropes for the episode:
- The Chain of Command: Discussed during Mac's interrogation of a suspect who had been dishonorably discharged from the Army because he went against orders from his commanding officer. Mac takes much offense from this and tells the man that, as a Marine, he knows the chain of command is sacrosanct.
- Confess to a Lesser Crime: Aiden gets the perp to do this by telling him they believe he stabbed & killed the victim after hitting him. The guy denies everything but the hit - which is the actual cause of death.
- Cooked to Death: One victim is killed by having his head slammed in the door of a pizza oven. The oven is going at the time, so his face ends up burned.
- Due to the Dead: Mac and Stella are seen changing out of their dress uniforms following the funeral of the mounted officer.
- Eagle-Eye Detection: Danny spots someone acting a little bit odd on a video tape from Central Park and tells Mac, "They don't call me 'Eagle Eyes' for nothin'."
- Everything Is 3D-Printed in the Future: As part of his reconstruction of the crime, Mac 3D-prints a copy of the bullet that killed the mounted policeman.
- In the Back: The officer is shot by a sniper while astride his horse. The bullet enters his back, passes through his body, dents the saddle horn and ends up lodged in the horse's neck.
- It's Personal: Mac takes losing one of their own very seriously, putting everyone at his disposal on this case until it is solved.
- Lying to the Perp: Mac reminds Aiden of what he calls "the rule" - that officers can lie to perps legally in order to obtain confessions. She remembers this when she interrogates the perp.
- Title Drop: It's the name of the officer's horse.
- Totally Not a Criminal Front: When Aiden enters the pizza shop where her victim was last seen, there are several tables of men placing bets and exchanging cash, but no one eating. She tells Mac, "That place is no more a restaurant than a church in Hell's Kitchen." One of the charges they later hit the owner with is illegal book-making.
- Try Everything: Stella and Danny surmise that the perp in the officer's case has hidden his weapon in a trap he'd installed in his car, and that it is opened by using some combination of the trunk being either open or closed along with both the windshield wipers and the radio being either on or off. After trying several combos and none working, Stella tells Danny, "Ah, screw it; just turn everything on." He opens the trunk, turns on the wipers and radio, and... nothing happens. He exclaims, "Rat bastard!" and bangs the steering wheel with his fist, sounding the horn - which finally causes the trap to pop open, revealing the sniper rifle.
- We Have to Get the Bullet Out!: The bullet that kills the officer ends up in the horse's neck. It's removal is a big plot point, as well a bone of contention between Mac and Stella.
