NYPD Blue (season 10)

Sipowicz and Clark go to arrest a shooting suspect and Sipowicz ends up pushing a woman down to the floor. Medavoy and Jones catch an older woman who has been severely beaten and bound with tape. The investigation leads them to a high school student caught using the woman's credit card, and a friend of Clark's shows up at the 15th to tell Clark his name has popped up in the investigation of a murdered prostitute. Sipowicz and Clark's suspect, Lyle, tells them the woman belonged to Money T, a violent smack dealer, and that Money T will come after Sipowicz. IAB shows up to interview Clark about his involvement with the murdered prostitute. Clark insists she was an unregistered confidential informant, but that does not look good for Clark, especially when he's told that he may be looked at for her murder. Clark immediately rushes out to meet his father, who he is covering for. Sipowicz and Clark run a game on Lyle, to get him to give up Money T. Lyle gives them a location where they could find Money T, but when they raid the place, they turn up just a couple of dealers and a small amount of dope. When they return to the station, Clark tells Sipowicz he's protecting his father. As they leave their car, shots ring out, and an innocent bystander is killed. Sipowicz goes to tune up Lyle, but is stopped by Clark. The two almost come to blows when Lieutenant Rodriguez enters and calms things down. Sipowicz and Clark go at Lyle, who gives up the fortress Money T hides out in. Medavoy and Jones bring in a kid named Joseph as a suspect in the beating of the old lady. During questioning, Baldwin finds an address to another lady. They go to question the lady about Joseph, but find her, too, bound and beaten. Sipowicz, Clark, McDowell and Ortiz lead the raid on Money T's place, and catch him — along with 14 million.

While the squad looks at pictures of Irvin's new used Mercedes, Clark lets Lieutenant Rodriguez know he is staying active on the job, as his implication in the death of a prostitute is meaningless. Clark tries to convince the Lieu that he was not involved with the prostitute, but Rodriguez does not seem to believe him — or care. A call comes in from the FBI reporting a bomb threat at the Family Court building. As the detectives try to evacuate the building, McDowell and Ortiz witness a letter bomb that goes off in a Judge's chamber, spreading a burning white powder. Clark and Sipowicz return to the station house, where Officer Laughlin teases Clark about his alleged involvement with the dead pross. Clark is informed that IAB has called him, and he leaves to meet Fraker. Sipowicz then receives a call that another letter bomb has gone off spreading a mysterious white powder, this time at a lawyer's office — the lawyer is at the hospital, suffering cardiac arrest. At their meeting, Fraker tries to get Clark to rat on Sipowicz in exchange for getting a pass on the dead pross. When Clark gives him nothing, Fraker lets him know he is a suspect in the pross' murder, and he is on restricted duty until further notice. Sipowicz and McDowell bring in a Larry Orth, who faced the judge targeted in the attack, and was arrested for mailing threatening letters to the President. At the same time, lab results come in that the white powder is just a mixture of cayenne peppers and egg shells. Medavoy recognizes the ingredients as part of a Santeria ritual, and go to ask a contact who practices Santeria, who confirms their suspicion. Sipowicz and McDowell get nothing from Orr. On a hunch, McDowell looks through the judge's files for anyone with a Hispanic name, and comes up with a Tim Hale, whose emergency contact is a Laline Fernandez. They go to bring him in. Maya asks Baldwin to lunch, and later asks him out on a date. Baldwin is hesitant at first, but finally gives in to Maya's charms. The word reaches the squad that the attorney died from heart failure. Sipowicz and Clark question Hale, who denies any involvement. McDowell and Ortiz question Fernandez, who slips up and reveals she gave Tim the powder, thinking he was going to use it on their boss. When Clark and Sipowicz go back at Tim, he confesses, explaining how he was a victim of the system. Sipowicz meets Clark, Sr., and explains to him the trouble Clark is in. After enduring Clark Sr.'s snipes, Sipowicz tells him he should fix the situation. A.D.A. Haywood informs the squad that they are handing Hale off to the FBI. Just after picking his car up, Irvin is carjacked at gunpoint.

Sipowicz and Clark catch a DOA, Rocky Morton, who has been shot in his apartment, once in the groin and once in the head, his gun lying at his side. His apartment is filled with electronic goods, and he was discovered by his business partner, Joe Robinson, who was next door with the plumber and heard the shots. Medavoy and Jones respond to a shoot-out at a food mart, where the store owner chased out and may have shot the Hispanic robber. At the same time, McDowell and Ortiz respond to a Hispanic man, Javier, found at the doorstep of a married couple, Liz and Ricardo, who claims he was shot by a robber down the street. McDowell and Jones believe the severely wounded Javier may be the suspect in the food mart robbery. When they return to the station, Irvin tells McDowell her sister, Michelle, has called. McDowell meets her sister, who has a black eye and is pregnant, at the diner. Michelle admits her husband Rick has beaten her, and asks if she can stay with Connie—but she instructs McDowell not to confront Frank. Following up on the murder of Rocky, Sipowicz and Clark question Chloe, an ex- of Rocky's, at the adult video store she works at. She claims that while she had a beef with him, it was over, and points them in the direction of Anton, a pimp she once worked for who had a crack deal with Rocky go bad. McDowell tells the squad what is happening with her sister, and asks Sipowicz if he can go at Frank. They send a uniform patrol to bring Frank in. McDowell and Ortiz then respond to a Hispanic man found DOA in a port-a-potty in Battery Park; a .45, cash, and a checkbook from the food mart are found on the body. McDowell and Ortiz go to the hospital to question Javier, but encounter his brother instead. Javier's brother confirms that Javier went to college with Liz, and they once dated. Sipowicz and Clark go to pick up Anton, who tries to escape out the back window. When he is confronted by the uniforms guarding the back, he opens fire, wounding one of the officers. He is then arrested. Sipowicz and Clark bring Anton in and question him, who admits he roughed up someone earlier that morning, but it turns out to be someone else — not Rocky. Rodriguez interrupts, and informs Clark and Sipowicz that a Chris has been brought in, trying to offload some Palm Pilots that were missing from Rocky's apartment. Uniforms bring in Frank, who is slightly inebriated. As Sipowicz is out to collect Chris, McDowell has Medavoy and Jones talk to Frank. They tell Frank he is done, and to leave town — if he gets near Michelle again, he's going to jail. They then let him go, but McDowell is not happy with how they handled the situation — she wanted them to go at him harder. Sipowicz and Clark question Chris, who eventually admits he was brought in by Chloe to rob Rocky, but that Rocky fought back when he wasn't supposed to, and it turned bad. Chris insists he only shot him once, possibly in the leg, before running. McDowell and Ortiz question Liz about her relationship with Javier, and she eventually admits that she was seeing him because he is the real father of her son. She hid him when her husband came home unexpectedly, and accidentally shot Javier. Javier is insisting he was shot by a robber, to protect his son. Sipowicz and Clark go back at Chloe, who admits Rocky had put her out to work on the street and confirms Chris' story, insisting only one shot was fired, and Rocky was not dead when they ran. As the squad meets with Haywood, Haywood catches Maya flirting with Baldwin. Ballistics come back, revealing the bullet in Rocky's head came from his own gun.

Sipowicz and Clark respond to a 5-year old girl, Claire, missing from a park. Her father, Steve, claims that he notified a friend's nanny that he was going to the bathroom, and when he returned, his daughter was gone. The friend's nanny, who was watching another little girl named Caitlin, is also gone. At the station house, they bring in the nanny, Elizabeth Garner, who points them in the direction of a street artist who is always hanging around in the park. She tells Sipowicz and Clark that she remembers an incident where a little girl lifted her dress at the artist. Caitlin, the other little girl, is unavailable for questioning, as she is hysterical. McDowell and Ortiz catch a DOA on West Broadway, and are soon joined by Medavoy and Jones. The DOA is a young girl, LaNesha, seventeen, who was dragged down the block before being shot by someone in the passenger side of a car. They find LaNesha's backpack, and learn that she is pregnant. Clark and Sipowicz interview the street artist, who is clean. He recognizes Claire, because her father leaves her alone a lot. At the 15th, McDowell receives a call from a uniform that has responded to a domestic abuse call at her sister's apartment. McDowell goes to see what's happened, and finds Michelle has been beaten again. McDowell has the uniforms arrest Frank. Clark and Sipowicz go to interview Caitlin, who is doing better. She tells them that Claire liked ice cream, and sometimes, the ice cream man would give her free ice cream. She also confirms that Claire would sometimes get ice cream on her own. Baldwin and Jones bring in Larry, a basketball prospect who was the father of LaNesha's baby. Larry claims he knows nothing, and was with his friend Anthony. They let him go, but before he leaves, Ortiz checks Larry's cell phone, and sees many suspicious calls to a man named Percy, a.k.a., "Boo," with two of them just before and after the murder. McDowell and her sister argue in the coffee room, McDowell trying to help her battered sister. Jones and Medavoy bring in Boo for questioning. He claims he had no idea about LaNesha's pregnancy, and he was just acting as an unpaid associate, helping Larry. He claims he was at home, on the phone, arranging conference calls for Larry at the time of the murder. Sipowicz and Clark go back the park looking for ice cream trucks, and learn that the men's bathroom is a haven for homosexual activity — and that's where Steve had gone when he left Claire alone. Jones and Medavoy put Boo together with another man who drives a car similar to that seen leaving LaNesha's murder. Steve comes in with his wife, Tess, for more questioning. Sipowicz and Clark reveal they know what he was doing in the bathroom, and ask if there is anything else they should know. Ortiz interrupts with news that a uniform has stopped an ice cream truck owned by a convicted sex offender. James Strickland, another basketball prospect, is brought in for questioning by Medavoy and Jones. He eventually caves, and reveals Boo dragged him into the situation. He claims that Boo didn't tell him about LaNesha, that LaNesha and Boo got into an argument, and that when he tried to speed off, Boo grabbed LaNesha and dragged her. He then took out a gun and shot her. He even reveals where the murder weapon is. Sipowicz and Clark question the ice cream truck driver on the street, and when Sipowicz gets rough with him, he admits that he gave her a ride to a man named Randy's apartment. They raid Randy's apartment where they find Claire, drugged and made-up to look like an adult, the apartment filled with photographic equipment. During the entry, they catch Randy. Medavoy and Jones bring Boo back in, who tries to put the blame first on James, then Larry. Medavoy and Jones bring in Larry, who claims he only told Boo to take care of "it," meaning the pregnancy, not "her." At the hospital, Tess confronts the detectives about how they handled investigating Claire's disappearance. When she threatens to go to the Deputy Mayor, Sipowicz reveals Steve's secret.

Sipowicz and Clark respond to a DOA on Stuyvesant, a 16-year-old boy named Nathan Emery. A witness claims that two men stabbed Nathan and stole his bike. At the squad house, Sipowicz and Clark talk to Emery's father, who tells them his son was a good boy. After walking Mr. Emery out, McDowell gets a call that Frank was bailed out the night before by her sister. McDowell goes off to the motel her sister was living at to find her. A man arrives at the 15th with Nathan's stolen bike, and eventually gives them a description of the man who sold him the bike, and information that he hangs out at a pool hall. At the motel, she questions the clerk, who is less than helpful, but eventually gives her the key to Michelle's room. McDowell enters to find Michelle severely beaten, bleeding. McDowell calls for an ambulance. Sipowicz and Clark arrive at the pool hall and find Charles Cooper, who fits the description given to them by the shop owner. At the hospital, the doctor tells McDowell that her sister has suffered some serious injuries and a concussion, but should be OK. A specialist is on his way to check on the baby. Sipowicz and Clark question Cooper, who says the whole stabbing was his friend Grover Dawkins' idea. At the same time Medavoy says Cooper is clean. They are going to try to find Grover. Ortiz goes to Frank's last job, at a telemarketing firm. His old boss points Ortiz to a bar, The Frosted Mug, where Frank liked to hang out. Medavoy gets Cooper to call Grover, who arranges a meeting later that day. As Medavoy brings him back in to the Pokey, Cooper hits him from behind with a chair and escapes out the window. They go after Cooper without putting the escape over the air, to keep word from spreading. Sipowicz, Clark and Jones pick up Grover at the meeting place. While they are arresting him, his cell phone rings and Sipowicz answers – it's Cooper. Sipowicz makes it clear the escaped Cooper sold Grover out. McDowell arrives at the hospital, but can't find her sister. The doctor comes out to tell her that Michelle had abdominal bleeding, and went into labor. Her daughter is in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit, eight weeks premature. Then McDowell learns that her sister did not survive the injuries and the stress of labor. McDowell calls Sipowicz, who lets the squad in on the news about Michelle. Sipowicz and Clark then interview Grover who puts it back on Cooper – and tells them that Cooper was posing as his brother, and is really Terrell Cooper, who has a long criminal record. Ortiz goes to The Frosty Mug, and learns that Frank spent the day there drinking, and is heading to catch a bus to Pittsburgh. Sipowicz goes to the hospital to meet McDowell, who asks him to catch Frank before he skips town. Using Grover's cell phone, Medavoy figures out where Terrell is hiding, but the Lieu only sends Clark and Jones to bring him in (which they do). Sipowicz and Ortiz catch Frank as he's stepping onto the bus to Pittsburgh. Sipowicz and Ortiz question Frank without telling him about Michelle's passing. He claims that Michelle fought just as much as him, and when he left, she was cursing at him. Meanwhile, Cooper tries to put Nathan's death back on Grover, but Clark and Jones don't go for it. Eventually, he confesses to stabbing him in the leg. When Frank finishes his statement admitting he hit Michelle, Sipowicz and Ortiz tell him Michelle died from her injuries. They arrest him for murder, leaving him crying like a baby. Haywood swears to send Frank up for the full ride for what he did. Jones checks on Medavoy, asking if he's OK. Medavoy claims he's fine, but his embarrassment and anger with what happened is plain to see.

Jones and Medavoy meet McDowell and Ortiz, where they are investigating the fatal shooting of a police officer — Maya's partner. After getting a description of the two men who opened fire on Maya and her partner (Maya, too, was shot), McDowell and Ortiz get a report of a wounded man breaking into a building. When they investigate, they find one of the perps on the roof, dead. McDowell and Ortiz later get a call about a kidnapped boy, Marcello Zepata. They question the boys adoptive parents, who point them in the direction of the missing child's birth mother, Louisa Salazar. Meanwhile, Clark goes through the apartment building the dead perp was found on, and finds a boy, Robert DuPree, who was home alone and saw the shooters (in fact, one of the shooters threatened to kill him if he told anyone what he saw). Clark questions Robert back at the station, and learns that the man who threatened Robert was bleeding from his hand. Sipowicz tells Clark not to tell anyone that they are questioning the boy without his parent's consent. McDowell and Ortiz find Louisa working at a grocery store, where she has cleaned up her act and sobered up. She claims to know nothing of the kidnapping of her birth child, and says she was at work when the kidnapping was committed. They ask her about the boy's birth father, and she tells them how they can find Javier, who she has not seen since she was pregnant. They bring Javier in, who knows nothing. He tells McDowell and Ortiz that Louisa has turned gay, and has a girlfriend, Theresa. The Lieu finds out that Sipowicz and Clark are questioning Robert without consent, and tells them they have to call his father. Sipowicz argues back, saying the boy is the only witness to the crime, and if his father is contacted, he'll end the questioning. They argue, and Lieutenant Rodriguez instructs Sipowicz to call the father. Clark gets a call that his father is at a bar, drunk and causing problems. Clark goes to pick Sr. up, who eventually leaves with Clark. Medavoy and Jones question a walk-in who was a witness to the cop shooting, and says that he saw Maya and her partner start to frisk the perps moments before the shootout began. Jones goes to Maya in the hospital with this information, and she eventually admits that she was frisking one man when she heard her partner having a problem with the other perp. She turned away from her man, who pulled out a gun and opened fire. Robert's father arrives at the station and pulls his son out of the investigation. Sipowicz and Rodriguez argue again, Sipowicz upset that the Lieu let a witness to a cop killing walk out the door. Just then they get a call that a Martel Cates has just been admitted to the hospital, the top of his finger missing. McDowell and Ortiz bring in Theresa for questioning, and press her on the kidnapping. When faced with both her and Louisa being sent to jail, she caves in and admits Louisa followed the family to find her son. Theresa snatched the boy and gave him to her aunt in Brooklyn. Jones meets Haywood to ask for help in fixing Maya's statement, to include the information that she turned her back during a shakedown. Haywood gives Baldwin the file, so he can make a change. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Martel, who insists he got his hand wound in a garbage disposal. Robert and his father walk back into the station, as Robert wants to help the detectives. They bring him in to ID Martel, and Robert fingers Martel as the man who threatened him. Rodriguez gives Sipowicz the green light to do whatever he has to do, to get Martel to confess. When the two detectives re-enter the room, they lean on Martel fast, using his wounded hand as leverage, and get him to admit he was the shooter. McDowell and Ortiz bring Louisa in, and confront her with Theresa's admission. They give them a moment to say goodbye to each other. As the squad shuts down, Sipowicz and Rodriguez clear the air, realizing they both just want to clear cases and are on the same side. McDowell gets a call that her paperwork has gone through, and she has become the foster parent to her niece. Jones goes to see Maya and finds her catching a cab, heading out of town. Ashamed by her fatal error, Maya is leaving the force. Jones tells her not to let this get her down. Clark arrives at home to confront his father on his drinking. Sr. tells him to grow up, that he is a man like any other. Clark asks if his father has become an informant for the Rat Squad, which offends his father. Sr. claims he is just working through the humiliation of having his son learn of his whore-mongering, and the damage he has caused to his own reputation.

As Sipowicz and Theo get ready in the morning, Theo asks if they'll get to see Connie again. Sipowicz has to tell his son that Connie is very busy with her sister's baby, and they're good on their own, but he can see Theo's disappointment. At the station, Connie is hesitant to let Theo come by to see the baby. A call comes in on a dead prostitute found at a vacant lot, a Lucy Corbit. Medavoy and Jones respond to a call on a dead woman, Carla Morton, who the super has found dead in the laundry room. Meanwhile, a friend of Lucy Corbit's, Jill, is brought in, but she claims she does not know that Lucy was working as a call girl. Lt. Rodriguez meets his ex-wife Angela for lunch, where he confronts her for the mistakes she made when they were married. Angela explains that she just wants to apologize to Rodriguez. A second body is found in the vacant lot, and Medavoy and Jones have learned that Carla Morton tutored people including a Rashard who was once arrested on a rape charge. They are also bringing in the super's nephew, Jerry, who does some off-the-books work around the building. Reverend Elizabeth Murray, a female pastor, arrives on behalf of Rashard. She claims Rashard has been an exemplary member of their congregation, and makes Medavoy and Jones give their word they will treat Rashard fairly if she brings him in. The second dead prostitute turns out to be a Jacklyn Miller, killed in exactly the same manner as Lucy Corbit. Medavoy and Jones interview the nephew, Jerry, who tells them Carla had a boyfriend named Rashard. Ortiz tracks down the last ten phone calls on Jacklyn's cell phone, and turns up a Reed Jacobson and another prostitute named Darlene Woody, who was brought in last night by Vice. Reed comes in and admits to calling the prostitute, but that he was just stringing her along and never met her. Darlene is brought down who tells them that Jacklyn was meeting a john on 2nd and B; Reed lives on that block. Sipowicz and McDowell step aside and Sipowicz explains that Theo needs McDowell in his life, and that Theo considers her his mom. Sipowicz asks her to let them into her life, that he can help her, but she storms out, not believing that he is dumping this on her now. McDowell and Ortiz go at Reed, but he is smart enough to know they're playing him and he shuts down. Clark and Sipowicz decide to head down to Reed's job to see what they can dig up. Medavoy and Jones bring in Rashard, who finally comes in to talk to them. Rashard pleads his innocence and explains that he is upset about Carla's murder. Rashard comes across as very nervous. At Reed's job, they interview Shannon, who got into a fight with Reed the day before. She explains that he's a wacko, and that he treated her poorly when she rebuffed his advances. She told her boss, who brought Reed in, and Reed later flipped out on her. Medavoy and Jones decide to try to use Reverend Elizabeth to get Rashard to confess. Angela arrives to bring Rodriguez his father's money clip, and leaves him her business card for him to call her. Medavoy and Jones go back at Rashard, letting him know that Reverend Elizabeth wants him to confess. They get Rashard to agree to speak to her, and then trick her into telling Rashard to tell the truth. He still maintains his innocence, but Medavoy convinces him that he may have blacked out when he admitted his crime. Medavoy and Jones then go out and tell the Reverend that Rashard has confessed. Jill comes in and tells Medavoy and Jones that she has found web sites on her laptop that Lucy Corbit had logged on to, confirming she was a prostitute. Medavoy and Jones are trying to make their case to Haywood when the ME report comes in – the blood type does not match Rashard's. Sipowicz and Clark go back at Reed with the web site Lucy used, but he still refuses to admit to anything. Clark brings up Shannon, and Reed reveals he's angry at Shannon because she tried to use him for Jimmy Buffett tickets. Medavoy and Jones bring Jerry back in and confront him with the evidence from the ME. When Jones finds scratches on Jerry, he admits he got high on rock and lost it on Carla. Clark asks Shannon to go in and talk to Reed, to try to get him to open up. She reluctantly agrees, and goes in and asks him to apologize. Reed begins to insult Shannon, and when she tries to leave and tells him he is a loser, he tries to attack her. Sipowicz catches him before he reaches her, and in his riled state, he admits to murdering the two prostitutes. Clark reveals the truth to Shannon, and tells her she had nothing to do with his actions. Medavoy and Jones apologize to Rashard for what happened. Reverend Elizabeth arrives to take Rashard home, and reminds Medavoy and Jones that they had given their word they would treat him fairly. The Lieu picks up his ex-wife's card and meets her for dinner. She tells him she is the agent for a great apartment in the village, which she takes him to; he agrees it would be a great apartment, and the two passionately embrace and start to make love.

Lieutenant Rodriguez is at work early when Angela arrives with coffee, and seduces him in the office; they sneak into the viewing room and start to fool around. Clark and McDowell are investigating a young female, DOA, with two small puncture wounds on her neck; the uniform recognizes the DOA as Heather Peterson, a 17-year-old auxiliary cop from the 15th precinct. They learn that six months ago, she had a restraining order issued against an ex-boyfriend. McDowell and Ortiz respond to a firebombing, a Molotov cocktail thrown into a car. Two wtinesses, Raymond and Syrriah Dobbs, point them in the direction of a homeless man named Choppy. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Heather's ex-, Quentin, who claims he had been her legit boyfriend, but knows nothing of her death. It is revealed the puncture wounds on Heather's neck are from a pellet gun. Haywood asks Jones to investigate her grandmother, who might be the victim of a phone scam. McDowell and Ortiz can't find anyone named Choppy when they are sent on a stabbing call across the street from the firebombing. Medavoy finds Heather's diary, and discovers a list of cops in the 15th Heather was sleeping with. They first bring in the Captain of the Auxiliary, Captain Lane, who at first denies it, but then admits to an affair when the diary is revealed, but claims he has no reason to do Heather harm, and can offer no help. The stabbing victim, Joe Whittaker, appears beaten up. Joe claims his fight wounds are unrelated, and had nothing to do with the firebombing. Jones asks Mrs. Haywood about the phone scam, who reveals she's sent $5,000 to the scam artists. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Officer Shannon, who claims Heather was just a cop groupie, and it was an open secret amongst the uniforms that she was available for play. They get Shannon to confirm names of other cops sleeping with Heather, as Medavoy gets a lead on two suspicious cars that were seen around Angela's murder scene. McDowell and Ortiz return, and are immediately sent back to respond to a shooting around the corner from the firebombing. Laughlin arrives to talk to Sipowicz and Clark, who only wants his delegate and won't talk. When Sipowicz threatens him with IAB, he reveals he was at the gym all morning, but refuses to talk more without a delegate and lawyer. McDowell and Ortiz arrive back and find the shooting victim is Raymond and Syrriah's grandmother, who has been shot in the leg. The two claim to not know who was shooting at them, and McDowell and Ortiz bring them in for questioning. Medavoy brings in a Mr. Craig Rawl, who admits to being at the parking lot near where Heather was found. He claims to know nothing, and Medavoy asks to search his car. Jones brings in a Paul, who claims to know nothing about Estelle Haywood and the phone scam. Jones offers for him to return the money in exchange for recommending parole; he claims he has half the money at home, and they leave to get it. Medavoy comes back and reports Rawl's car is clean, and the Lieu says to let him go. Laughlin comes back and asks to speak with the detectives in private, now that he's learned no one's going to get jammed up over the underage issue. He tells them she had a stalker, named Rawl, who she complained about, but Laughlin did nothing about it. McDowell and Ortiz go at Raymond, who finally admits he has a problem with Joe Whittaker across the street, who he says tried to rape his sister. Raymond admits he beat Joe up, who responded by firebombing the car; Raymond then stabbed Joe. They then question Syrriah, who trips up on the rape story, and admits that she was protecting her boyfriend, and Joe did nothing. She begs to go home, because Raymond called their father after their grandmother was shot; Syrriah is worried about what will happen if the father gets to Whittaker without knowing the truth. Clark and Sipowicz go to Rawl's apartment, who pulls a pellet gun on them; they fire first and shoot Rawl in the arm. Before they call an ambulance for him, they question him about Heather. He admits to being angry at her and shooting her with the pellet gun. McDowell and Ortiz arrive in time to find Mr. Dobbs holding Joe Whittaker at gunpoint. They tell Dobbs the truth, who backs down, and they bring them both in. Haywood comes down to confirm Rawl confessed, and to follow up with Jones, who tells her he's recovered the money for Estelle. Haywood asks if he's available for dinner, and he says yes. Sipowicz and Clark bring Laughlin in one more time, and because he didn't help Heather when he had the chance, they give him the choice of turning his badge in or they go to IAB. Laughlin tells them they're making a rat move, and it will get around. Rodriguez and Angela have a home-cooked meal together, and Angela says if she had a second chance, she'd do whatever it took to not screw it up. Rodriguez asks if they can take it slow, and she agrees. Clark arrives at the bar to talk to his father, who's been drinking. When his father goes to the bathroom, Clark questions the bartender, who tells him Sr. is in every night, drinking heavily.

Sipowicz and Clark arrive at a crime scene in a small apartment — the DOA is a Carla Solomon, a Child Protection Services worker, shot in the head. Her neighbor, Wendi, claims it's a suicide, that Carla's been depressed lately. The uniforms who have responded to the call all throw attitutde towards both detectives. When they return to the 15th later that morning, all of the uniforms turn their backs on them. Detective Shannon tells Sipowicz and Clark everyone they talked to has been called downtown by IAB. As they head up to the second floor, one of the officers calls them "rats." Marie Burgess, Carla's boss, arrives with a box of files on a Kelly Coles, who she claims threatened Carla. Marie says yesterday was a good day for Carla. An older woman, Ruth Dwyer, arrives to speak to Sipowicz. She explains she is the recent widow of Paul Dwyer, who worked at the 15th twenty years ago. It was Paul's dying wish to have half his ashes buried at the 15th, and instructed her before he dies to talk to Sipowicz. Sipowicz says he'll look into it. Medavoy and Jones bring in Kelly, who knows nothing of Carla's murder. He claims he was at home, and cites his own wife and kids as his alibi. Meanwhile, an Andrew Taylor arrives to talk to Rodriguez. He claims he's Angela's ex-husband, and that she has stolen his BMW. He also alleges that she's still got a drug habit, which Rodriguez takes offense to. McDowell and Ortiz question Anne Knepper, who had a beef with Carla because Carla took her daughter away and told Anne's mother Anne and her baby were HIV-positive. Anne claims she was turning tricks on Canal Street when Carla was murdered. Jones and Medavoy question Alan Ward, who was upset Carla did not prevent his son from wrongfully being taken away from him. He claims he was at home when she was murdered, except for one hour, when he went back to his job. When they ask him tow write it down, he lawyers up, gun-shy of having the system take advantage of him again. Sipowicz and Clark leave to pick up Mike Mendez, and on their way out, they run into Laughlin, cleaning out his locker. Laughlin accuses the two of screwing him, and Sipowicz tells everyone downstairs that if this hostility continues, he's taking it outside. McDowell and Ortiz question Richard Webb about Carla Solomon. Webb blames Carla for removing his son, despite his admitted sexual abuse to the boy. He claims he, too, was at work and then at home. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Mike Mendez, who claims he was drinking beer at the waterfront, but can come up with no other alibi. Ruth comes in to see if there is any news, and as Rodriguez and Sipowicz try to gently tell her they will not be able to keep her late husband's ashes at the precinct, Laughlin comes in and rudely says goodbye Clark and Sipowicz, upsetting Ruth. Medavoy and Jones question Kang Tebong, who lost his child for two months, but his son has been returned. He admits he was very angry with Carla, but knows nothing of her death. The ME report comes in, and Carla's death was not a suicide. Sipowicz gets a call from the ATF telling him the gun that shot Carla was part of a stolen batch, being sold by a bartender. Rodriguez gives him the OK to bring in the bartended when Martens from IAB arrives. Martens tells them they're lucky he didn't come down on them, and won't reveal who flipped. Ortiz and McDowell bring in Ella Monroe, who is working two jobs to keep her children fed. Angry that her kids were taken away because she's trying to make ends meet, she admits to once shoving Carla, but takes offense at the thought she killed Carla. Medavoy and Jones question Carrie McDermott, bi-polar and drug-addicted. Carrie claims she was at her mother's house last night. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Tony the bartender and lay out the situation for him. He at first claims ignorance, but realizing he's up against federal charges, he rolls and ID's who he sold the gun to. As Sipowicz and Clark go to reveal their shooter, they run into Eddie Gibson, who Sipowicz had called earlier about Paul Dwyer. Gibson says Dwyer saved his life, and Andy has to do right by him. Sipowicz and Clark then re-question the child abuser, Webb, about the gun. He eventually admits he saw her at the market two months ago and followed her home.

Accompanied by Irvin, Sipowicz says goodbye to his apartment, as he and Theo are moving in with McDowell. Irvin thanks him for sub-letting the apartment to him. Sipowicz and Clark arrive to find Ortiz already on site. She is responding to a call from Gene Cardeo, whose bi-polar son Michael has vandalized his home and has run off. McDowell stops by to grab Ortiz to take her to a DOA on 12th. Sipowicz and McDowell talk a little about moving in together, and it's obviously got Sipowicz stressed. He turns to Clark, who gives him the cold shoulder. Rodriguez leaves a message for Angela, who has missed a breakfast date. They tell the Lieu S& C look for Michael Cardeo, who is off his meds but has no criminal record. Sipowicz takes Clark into the bathroom and confronts him on giving him the cold shoulder, and Clark tells Sipowicz that his father has flipped. Sipowicz assures Clark they'll work it out, and gives him a friendly hug. McDowell and Ortiz arrive at an apartment where they find Victoria Walsh DOA; the uniform tells them there is a lump of burned up plastic in the fireplace, maybe a videotape. Jones and Medavoy interview Victoria's friend Paula, who found the body. Paula says she wasn't very close with Victoria, but she liked to party. Sipowicz and Clark find Michael singing on the street and take him in to the station. Rodriguez arrives at Angela's apartment and finds her just awoken, wearing the clothes she was in last night. He immediately knows she's high. He tells her they're done, and he's not doing this again. She begs him for help getting in a program. Sipowicz and Clark interview Michael, asking if he vandalized his Dad's home. While they interview him, he starts saying "She can't breathe." McDowell dumped Victoria's phone, and has found a lot of calls to her shrink. A call comes in from a program for Rodriguez. Martin and Helen Walsh, Victoria's parent's, arrive, asking if she's hurt anyone again. They tell McDowell she once attacked her therapist. They also reveal she's adopted from an alcoholic home. When McDowell tells them she's dead, the mother hyperventilates and calls her therapist. The lab comes back with one frame from the melted videotape; it's of the victim, naked. Gene Cardeo comes in, his lip busted. He says that Michael attacked him, and he is now afraid of Michael. Martens arrives, and Clark and Sipowicz bring him in the bathroom. They confront Martens about Clark Sr. being pushed to flip. Martens tells them that if Sr. put in his retirement papers today, he'd see that Fraker was bluffing about withholding his pension. Clark catches Martens before he leaves, and asks him to free up Laughlin out of the jam, as promises were made. Victoria's therapist is interviewed by Jones and Medavoy, and claims she can't discuss her patient. She eventually reveals that Victoria was sleeping with an older man who was taking care of her, but she never said a name. Clark, Sr. meets Jr. at the precinct. Clark tells his father that Sr. needs to retire and that it was a bluff; Sr. says he needs to think about it. Clark impresses on him that the appointment with the pensioner is already made, and there's nothing to think about. Rodriguez meets Angela at a restaurant who tells him she's serious about getting help. She accepts responsibility for her slipping, and Rodriguez tells her she has to check into a rehab tonight, and that he's taking her to Brooklyn Heights at 5:30. Ella Dotson arrives to talk about Michael at the same time Medavoy and Jones receive two frames from the videotape-one of Victoria naked, one of her having sex. Sipowicz and Clark interview Ella, who says Michael is not violent, but that he did break plates after attending Ella's grandmother's funeral. A report comes in that Michael has been detained vandalizing his father's house. Medavoy and Jones bring in Mr. Walsh and question him about his relationship with his daughter. They reveal the frames from the video to him, and he claims he has a sex addiction. He insists, though, that he didn't kill her, that he was at work and has an alibi. Medavoy asks for names, and he lawyers up. Sipowicz and Clark arrive and find Michael upset. He insists she can't breathe and gets violent again. They bring him back to the 15th. Dr. Buerge, Martin's therapist, is brought in by McDowell and Ortiz about Martin being a suspect, but he claims doctor-client privilege. On his way out, Sipowicz grabs Dr. Buerge and asks him to talk to Michael. Dr. Buerge asks Michael who can't breathe, who helps Michael communicate; Michael relives seeing his father suffocate his mother with a pillow. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Gene, who tell him everything is OK with Michael. They tell him the memory has come back of Michael seeing his mother be killed. He claims she was dying from cancer, and he had promised her he wouldn't let her suffer. They go to talk to Haywood, but don't arrest Gene. McDowell and Ortiz bring in Helen and show her the photo. She says she had no idea what was going on, and hasn't spoken to Victoria in a week. They come back at her with Victoria's phone calls to her mother last night. She eventually admits that she didn't mean to kill her, and that her daughter was threatening to reveal her affair with her adopted father. Sipowicz and Clark make their case to Haywood, that Mrs. Cardeo indeed had cancer, was down to 85 pounds, and didn't want to live anymore. Haywood agrees to not push on Gene. Clark announces his father is retiring, and invites the other detectives to the party. Clark and Sipowicz then go in and explain to Michael that his father was helping his mother, that he was taking away her pain.

Clark, Sipowicz, Medavoy and Jones arrive at a DOA and find Laughlin back on the job. He runs down the details of the DOA: a woman, Denise Woodson, was being carjacked when an unidentified black man rescued her and shot the carjacker. Denise claims she works for a record company and was on her way to a release party for music artist Delray Kelly, and wants to get her stuff out of her car; Sipowicz won't let her, as the car is part of the investigation. McDowell and Ortiz arrive at a filthy, rodent-infested apartment that was the last known address for the DOA. They find three dirty children locked in a deplorable bathroom. They take the kids out as the youngest cries for her mama. The mother of the children is Joyce Bradovich, who has had a case worker with child services for a year and a half. Medavoy and Jones meet with Joyce's case worker, Patrick Keneely, who tips them off that she's probably at Tompkins Park copping. Keneely tells them the last time he was at the apartment was a month ago, but is surprised to hear about the filthy conditions. He asks about a fourth child, an infant, who he says must be with Joyce. When asked to produce her file, he claims it is at his home. At the 15th, Ortiz asks Irvin if he'll help her set up a surprise for Clark. Meanwhile, the investigating cops find two ounces of cocaine in a bag in Denise's car. Sipowicz and Clark question Denise about the cocaine in her bag, who insists she was given the bag by her boss, Greg Knapp. Rodriguez is called out to a DOA, which turns out to be his ex-wife. She's been found in a car, OD'd on speedballs. The Lieu takes the news that Angela was using heroin poorly. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Greg Knapp, who confirms Denise works for the record company. When he finds out that coke was found in the bag, Knapp claims he knows nothing about it. He points them to her brother, Shawn, who recently got out of jail. Medavoy gets a call about a witness to the carjacking, who claims Denise and the shooter spoke for about twenty seconds after the shooting. Irvin informs Clark that he's been called to an In-Service training at an off-site location, a hotel. McDowell and Ortiz bring in Joyce, who they found at a methadone clinic. Joyce claims her infant daughter is with her cousin in Queens. Joyce claims to know nothing about her boyfriend, Shane, the DOA, committing carjackings. The cousin confirms she has the child, and McDowell and Ortiz keep Joyce on child endangerment. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Shawn, who admits to defending his sister in the carjacking, but swears he knows nothing about any cocaine. When they threaten him with sending him and his sister up, he insists they put the whole rap on him, and that his sister would never have anything to do with cocaine. McDowell and Ortiz stop by Maureen's, Joyce's cousin, to see the baby. McDowell notices the baby at Maureen's is too old to be Joyce's, and Maureen admits the child is hers, and that Joyce asked her a week ago to say she had the baby if anyone asked. Andrew Taylor, Angela's second husband, comes in and says he never knew she was doing heroin. Rodriguez tells him he's going to look into all of the details, not yet wanting to admit she died of a drug overdose. McDowell and Ortiz come at Joyce with the information the baby was not with her cousin. Joyce says her case worker has not visited her for at least a year, and that her baby is fine — and on the roof of her building. Sipowicz asks Denise why she didn't admit her brother was the shooter, and she says it's because he's on parole. Denise admits that the artist, Delray, asked her to pick up the package from a friend, but that she didn't know what was in it. She also admits that she and Delray are in love, and that he'll admit he sent her to make the pickup. Sipowicz tells her the only way she beats this rap is if Delray cops to a drug charge. On the roof, McDowell and Ortiz are about to give up when Ortiz finds the baby, dead in a pipe. Horrified, they return to talk to Joyce. They confront her with the news that the baby has been dead for at least a week. Joyce finally admits that she's unbalanced, and when giving her baby a bath, she accidentally boiled her baby. Sipowicz and Clark tell Haywood they don't want to send Denise up for murder, and that they believe her and her brother; Haywood tells them that they have to get Delray to admit he sent her, or she goes up for the two ounces alone. McDowell and Ortiz then ask Haywood if they can get Keneely for child endangerment, too; Haywood tells them there's not much she can do. Keneely comes in with his casework, and Medavoy and Jones let him know they are coming after him for forging his files and not doing his job. Sipowicz and Clark bring in Delray, who plays dumb on having Denise moving the drugs for him. He says she is lying outright about his involvement. Sipowicz lets him know that he will get even with him. They then go down and cuff Denise, and bring her, crying, to central booking.

Julian Pisano, the half-helpful, half-worthless snitch from Season 9, is shot and wounded during what he claims was a carjacking, though Andy and Clark Jr. don't really buy his story. Connie and Rita catch a case where a woman was scammed for $100 in the street; the woman gets increasingly annoyed and complains to a high level of the NYPD when she feels her case is being neglected. Both cases are thrown into a new light when Clark Jr. goes to check on his father and finds he has committed suicide; Andy quickly finds Clark Sr.'s gun cleaning kit and tells the arriving ME that Clark Sr. died "cleaning his gun".

Indecency fine

• In January 2008, the FCC announced that they would seek a $1.4 million fine against ABC for the opening sequence, in which Theo Sipowicz walks in on a nude Connie in the bathroom preparing to take a shower. The scene featured full rear nudity and partial frontal nudity on the part of actress Charlotte Ross. The complaint alleged that the nude shot of Ross was held onscreen longer than it should have been, and that Ross' character didn't react fast enough to cover herself. The fine was the largest against a network in recent history. ABC said they would appeal the fine on the grounds that it came over five years after the episode was originally broadcast. If they failed, each of 52 affiliates would pay $27,500 for broadcasting the episode. On January 4, 2011, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the fine, citing FCC rules as 'unconstitutionally vague and chilling'. [ABC, Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, No. 08-0841-ag(L) (2nd Cir.)]

A meek and mousy young woman is found beaten to death on the floor of her apartment. Her brother- in-law is very upset but not about her death—he was paying her money to use her apartment for an extramarital affair. Her boyfriend also isn't upset, and his gambling record piques the cops' interest. Andy and Connie have a chat with a very confident loan shark who tells them that the gambler's dad paid off a $10,000 debt earlier in that day; he adds that this guy is in debt for so much money that it's just a matter of time before a less-forgiving bookie has him killed. The guy's father goes in jail because he went to the DOA's place to ask her for the money and his son does not care. They know he killed her but can't prove it, so they release him, but Clark sharply tells him that he either confesses to the murder or faces his fate on the streets and seems unconcerned when the guy leaves to eventually get killed. Clark's relationship with Dr. Jen Devlin heats up for a time, irritating ex Rita Ortiz. In the big story, Andy reaches out to Diane Russell for help after his and Connie's attorney lets them know how bad their case for custody is. Diane works at SVU in Brooklyn now and agrees to go talk to Adrian Colahan. Diane quickly susses out that Adrian is an on-the-edge alcoholic and moves her enough that while Adrian does ask her to leave, she accepts Diane's business card. Adrian later visits Diane under the pretext of seeking to go to a meeting, but Diane knows the story and lays down the law: Adrian knows what her father did to her, and if he runs and hides she is as guilty for what will happen to Michelle as he will be. That night, Diane brings Adrian to the court hearing and Adrian confronts her father about sexually abusing her, thus ending the Colahans' bid for custody forever.

• Note - Kim Delaney returns in a one off appearance as Diane Russell