The District

An aggressive U.S. attorney general pressures Noland to solve Mannion's disappearance after the chief is shot on his boat and falls overboard into the Potomac River. Little does everyone realize is that Mannion is in hiding to find out who's behind the shooting.

Still presumed dead, Mannion heads to Paris to follow the Government official he suspects is responsible for the attempt on his life. Meanwhile, back in D.C., Temple is pulled over for speeding and an officer finds cocaine in his car, but Temple swears the drugs are evidence he collected at a crime scene and forgot to turn in.

Mannion fights for legislation against child pornography when an eleven year old girl whose picture was on a porn site is found dead. He also butts heads with a civil rights attorney on a case where a cop is charged with using excessive force.

Mannion investigates a series of robberies where pharmaceuticals, most of them for AIDS, are stolen. In other events, Temple worries about taking a random drug test since he failed to report using cocaine while undercover and Debreno is won by a mayoral candidate in a charity bachelor auction.

Debreno's priest brother is shot by a sniper while performing a funeral service and the investigation leads to a lawsuit against another priest charged with sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, Nancy becomes obsessed with learning the identity of a young woman whose body she discovered.

Mannion gets another chance to capture a contract killer who eluded him 25 years ago when the chief learns the hitman is in D.C. In other events, Nancy gets hurt while pursuing a purse snatcher and receives more bad news in the hospital, Kendall has to apologize for allowing her picture to be taken with a mayoral candidate who's critical of the police department and Ella begins to question whether she should get married.

Noland shoots a college student he thought was going to rob a convenience store, but the investigation fails to turn up a weapon. To make things worse, Internal Affairs demands that Noland be suspended and the student's wealthy parents threaten to press charges.

A reporter accuses Mannion of committing a war crime in Vietnam 32 years ago by ordering 18 innocent civilians to be killed, and one of the chief's fellow soldiers confirms the story. Also, Temple and Debreno search for a 15-year-old boy they suspect is planning a murder for his gang initiation.

Former heavyweight champion and native son Atticus King returns to Washington, D.C., for a title bout. His wife is found murdered in their hotel penthouse. The first officer on the scene, Temple, comes under suspicion because of a past relationship with the victim, whom her husband habitually abused. Also, a custodial worker at the police department is discovered to have a false identity.

On Christmas Eve: Temple and Debreno hunt for three dwarfs disguised as elves who robbed a Salvation Army truck and were responsible for other thefts in the area. A billy goat who was part of a real-life nativity scene goes missing. Mannion is determined to fulfill "Santa's" promise to an 8-year-old boy to get his mom out of jail. Parras becomes attached to an abandoned newborn. Ella has a gift-giving mix-up.

Mannion tells Jenny McLure how Temple and Debreno arrested her brother while she was waiting for her final day. Jenny is dying from AIDS, and Mannion makes sure her last days pass with company and happiness. The cocaine found at Lester's apartment is missing, and Parras becomes the target of the investigation into who switched the coke with sugar. They can't put Lester away without the evidence, but his pistol matches numerous murder scenes. Finally, Chief Mannion finds the mole who swapped the coke for the sugar and sends Lester to jail. Unfortunately, Jenny doesn't live to see the following day: she passes away before Mannion's rally to raise people's awareness of the danger and prevention of AIDS and honor her legacy.

One of Vanessa Cavanaugh's students, Bill Wallace, commits what she taught to be a perfect murder. No evidence, no witnesses. After the murderer confesses his crime to Page and Debreno, he recants and starts to play with Mannion, who can't charge him since the confession wasn't recorded. Mannion is out to get him for the murder of the father of three children. Page and Debreno find evidence linking the suspect to the murder scene. Meanwhile, Parras works on a Jane Doe case and discovers the victim's estranged mother; and Kendall finds it difficult to end her relationship with a married man.

A doctor reporting a crime sees Brander bring in a foreign criminal with a very suspicious disease, which she thinks might be Ebola. Instantly Police headquarters is put in quarantine. Without being able to get out, Mannion has to count on Ella, who was at home preparing for her wedding, to keep the order while he breaks through Brander's isolation bubble to save his life. Meanwhile, Debreno drives in the snow to find a delirious Temple, who was exposed to the bacteria and might be contaminated with what was later discovered to be a harmless African flu. The next day they all attend Ella's wedding, where Ricky calls her "mom" for the first time.

While in L.A., Mannion unexpectedly meets up with Vanessa Cavanaugh and offers her a ride. Unfortunately, the pair find themselves stranded in a deserted part of town after their rental gets carjacked. Back in Washington, Deputy Mayor Lockhart asks Debreno to help her find a blackmailer who has a scandalous videotape that could destroy her career; Kendall is threatened by her ex-boyfriend; and the mayor offers Ella a job.

Debreno is assigned to protect a country singer, scheduled to sing at the Kennedy Center Honors, who's receiving death threats. Elsewhere, to lead by example, Mannion hits the streets as a uniformed cop to make quality-of-life arrests on charges such as disorderly conduct, gambling, and prostitution. But one of his arrests sparks a chain of events that leads to the reopening of a cold-case murder.

Mannion's uncle, a retired New York City cop, visits and immediately gets involved in a murder case/jewelry heist and pushes his nephew to pursue all possible leads. Meanwhile, Debreno and Nancy transport a woman who witnessed a fatal shooting to Chicago, where she will testify and go into witness protection. But, she persuades her escorts to let her first visit her estranged daughter.

After a shrinking budget forces Mannion to lay off officers, he takes on a powerful city commissioner in charge of city streets he believes is partly responsible for the cutbacks. But the move upsets the mayor, who then looks for an excuse to fire the chief. Also, a congressional witness in a corporate fraud trial claims key case documents were stolen from his hotel room, and Nancy and Brander are injured in an accident while pursuing a suspect.

After a black prostitute is murdered with the inscription "Respect the Order" attached to her body, Mannion and his team start a deep investigation that leads to a racial criminal who started serial killing African-Americans involved with white people. Meanwhile, Parras sees her father arrested for requesting the services of a prostitute and has to face her own family problems. Temple helps a friend detox from heroin, and Ella investigates a suspicious fire that could promote a heroic police officer but ends up being the reason for his arrest.
 

The mayor is more determined to remove Mannion from office after a man is arrested and dies while in custody, apparently due to an officer's failure to follow proper procedures. Police brutality is suspected. Things get even more intense between the two rivals when the mayor's mentally disturbed son goes missing after being taken to a hospital by two cops.

After a video of Brander arresting a drug addict is made public and turned into an abuse of power issue, the Mayor demands Mannion fire Brander, which he refuses to do since the man was found innocent. Instantly, a major riot breaks out in D.C., with the citizens protesting and attacking the police, demanding that Brander be fired for alleged police brutality. Several police cars are bombed and set on fire, and Nancy rescues an officer from an angry riot. He's badly injured and asks her out when he comes by to pick up his dog. Meanwhile, Temple witnesses his friend Reese die while trying to find the man who shot him. Mannion tries to save Brander, but he turns in his badge when he can no longer live with his guilt. Unfortunately, the mayor taped Mannion's conversation with Brander over the phone and fired him for obstruction of justice. Clive calls Mannion late at night, saying that Ella died unexpectedly.

After beloved Ella Farmer dies unexpectedly, all the members of the police department pay tribute to her, remembering all the hard work and effort she put into her job. They pray together and miss her, knowing she'll be forever in their hearts and no one can ever replace her as Mannion's right arm. Clive allows the donation of Ella's heart to a young man in need. Mannion attends Ella's funeral, where he decides to leave the capital for good. Temple and Debreno hunt for an elusive killer.

Without a job and his best friend Ella, Jack takes off for Arizona to play some golf, but even without his badge, he can't stop solving crimes. He gets involved in a scheme of dirty cops with Mexican dealers and crosses the border to catch the dealer, which he does. Meanwhile, back in D.C., Cavanaugh and Sherry team up to trace Jack, and Cavanaugh discovers something that might save Jack's job. Nancy investigates on her own and finds that the guy that died on Brander's watch was injured before their encounter, which could clear Brander. Temple and Debreno set up a scheme with Cashmere Brown to bust Lester Richards, who is shot to death by Temple.