A young black mother is locked away for killing a police officer, but did she pull the trigger?
A PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION TURNS VIOLENT
When a female police officer decked out in riot gear is shot while on duty during a street protest protecting black rights, activist Porscha Williams is quickly snatched up and locked away for her murder. However, the 9mm gun was never found on her, neither was her cell phone she claimed to be carrying, and there isn’t any social media proof, aka photos, that she ever fired a weapon. Hayes’ team jumps on the case to prove that someone else must have done it!
(ABC/Sven Frenzel)
REASONS TO CONVICT
First, they need to disprove the evidence levied against her, which includes gunshot residue on her hand and multiple eyewitness accounts.
Although two of the four eyewitnesses they speak to are white, and in the case of this investigation therefore prejudiced, two are not and are seen as more objective.
It doesn’t take long for their key eyewitness to recant his statement (and get charged with perjury), but the other eyewitnesses appear to be unbiased and telling the truth, or at least, their versions of the truth.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
One of the eyewitnesses happens to be a talented photographer who snapped a shot of Porscha during the rally, but lucky for the team, it leads them to discover a lookalike woman in the crowd who just happened to be carrying a 9mm. Did the police arrest the wrong woman?
Although this ended up being a goose chase, it does push the team to think of other likely scenarios of how a woman was shot with multiple people around but no evidence of a gun.
(ABC/Sven Frenzel)
M.E. TO THE RESCUE
For the second time this season, the medical examiner ends up being the one with all the answers! After reviewing the old records he realizes his mistake in the direction of the bullet. This crack in the case leads to a new suspect — one of the eyewitnesses!
THE RACE CARD
This episode is chock-full of racial and cultural prejudices, which is so topical for this week following the nationwide protests against Donald Trump being elected as the next United States President. Maxine, especially, deals with this hot topic issue in a special way as she struggles with her multi-faceted identity as a woman, a black person, a mother, a recovering addict, and a former cop.
It’s because of her deep understanding of all of these complex issues that makes her the only one on the team uniquely qualified to approach their new suspect and calmly talk him down from another catastrophic mistake.
Spoiler alert ahead….
Maxine is able to talk him out of shooting at herself and her coworker, but she isn’t able to talk him down completely. He sadly turns the gun on himself.
BACK AT THE OFFICE
Hayes celebrates another successfully open and shut case with some expensive alcohol, but when she visits her good pal Wallace to continue the celebration, she walks in on him making out with their old colleague.
