Directed by EW Swackhamer
Written by Jacob Brackman & Jack Richardson
Officer Fredo Parisi and his partner Davis interrupt a drug deal between a group of young Black men. The suspects run and one of them, Tommy Richardson, is shot and killed by Fredo. Fredo insists it was self-defense because Tommy pulled out a gun. But Tommy was popular in his community and by all appearances a model citizen; no one who knew him can believe he'd try to shoot someone.
The Black community sees Tommy's death as a hate crime by corrupt police, while the police feel Fredo is being unfairly blamed. But Fredo's obvious racism means Greevey and Logan can't discount the possibility of murder. They eventually learn that Tommy intended to buy a gun from his associate Silky during the drug deal; Fredo took the gun and planted it on Tommy's body. Fredo is charged with murder.
At trial, Davis testifies against Fredo, and Robinette and Stone cut a deal with Silky - who is prepared to tell the jury that Fredo planted the gun and then intimidated him into keeping quiet. But Fredo commits suicide before Silky can be called as a witness. Stone thinks that if Fredo had just admitted he wrongly thought Tommy was armed, instead of planting the gun, no jury would have convicted him. Greevey apologizes that the case was rough on Stone but says he had to do his best to keep other cops from making the same mistake as Fredo.
This episode contains examples of:
- Ate His Gun: Mentioned by Schiff as Fredo's method of suicide.
- Driven to Suicide: Fredo ultimately does this rather than be exposed at trial.
- Drugs Are Bad: The pastor of Tommy's church gives a sermon about this at the funeral.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Stone makes this comparison after learning that Tommy was selling drugs to help others in the impoverished local community.
- Loved by All: Everyone in Tommy's community loved him, and they do not take kindly to the suggestion that he was involved with drugs and guns.
- Out of the Frying Pan: Tommy had a friend who wanted to quit sex work, so he hired her as a drug runner, but this just exposed her to a different set of risks.
- Outliving One's Offspring: When Tommy's brother comes into the department for questioning about Tommy's death, their mother comes with him.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Fredo is very racist against African-Americans.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Inspired by the death of Edmund Perry, who was killed by an undercover officer that claimed the deceased had been trying to mug him.
- Rhymes on a Dime: The detectives try to question two girls who respond in rhyming freestyle rap.
- Scary Black Man: Fredo tries to portray Tommy as this. It doesn't hold up well since Tommy, a clean-cut, respectable honors student, was about as far from the trope as one gets.
