Sergeant Esterhaus dies unexpectedly and the whole station house tries to deal with their grief as they eulogize the man. Meanwhile, Leo finds out his wife is cheating on him; Bates may get a unique promotion; Mrs. Furillo is mistakenly arrested for soliciting by a rookie; Sandy is raped.

Furillo throws away the rule book when two young men rape and murder a nun during a church robbery; Belker befriends gay prostitute Eddie Gregg; Calletano faces a tax audit; and Joyce feels helpless as public opinion works to destroy her client.

Sid and Furillo work to find out who is setting up Buntz while Daniels publicly vilifies him; LaRue decides to beat a TV crew doing a live broadcast from a gangster's cellar to the punch; Bates agrees to go out with Sal the plumber; rumors are flying about what will happen to the station house after a three-alarm fire guts it.

LaRue and Washington open Maizel's safety deposit box and find evidence of his corruption; Bates and Coffey try to help an abused child with her baby; Belker ends his insurance scam investigation with a visit to Hill's doctor; and Daniels pressures Furillo to keep quiet about Maizel.

Bates poses as a bus driver; LaRue continues to groom Vic Hitler for his debut; Daniels is ready to sacrifice Coffey to quiet public opinion; and Furillo and Davenport take a major step in their lives.

The courts settle Daniels' crime operation; a jealous Furillo questions Joyce about her interview at the Justice Department; LaRue imports a surplus tank; Fay gets herself arrested so she can confront Judge Grogan about the paternity of her expected child; and Goldblume outthinks some gang members threatening a stand up young man who turned in their friends.

Belker and LaRue learn that Washington was set up by someone in the station house; the long overdue cash payroll is hijacked; Joyce meets a really nice purse snatcher; and Furillo finds Jesus Martinez behind bars.

Commander Ozzie Cleveland enters the mayoral race; Officer Perez accidentally shoots a little boy; Daniels begins ""Operation Tenderloin"" out of a sexual cafeteria; and Mahoney tries to make political capitol for Daniels out of a shooting.

Bates and Coffey clean up ""Buck Naked"" for a court appearance; a busted bookie turns over several tapes incriminating cops on the take, including a rookie Hunter; Belker pursues a paraplegic who spray painted his car; and Hill boxes for the precinct.

Belker has a final run in with his bald headed pickpocket with many names; Joyce defends a man whose brother plans to threaten the prosecution witness into silence; and Operation Stop 'N Cop begins.

Belker goes to the dogs working undercover at the pound; Furillo chases down the reason he's been denied mortgage insurance; LaRue and Washington bust a former baseball star for drunken driving; and Buntz is held hostage by a vicious parolee.

Belker forgets his mother's birthday; Hill and Renko look into urban cattle rustling; LaRue and Washington apply for jobs in the Bahamas; and Furillo sits on a board of rights for a fellow captain accused of neglecting his duties.

Gennaro accompanies Belker on a drug buy; LaRue and Washington set up two patrolmen accused by Hogan of stealing from burglary victims; Renko's birthday is less than happy; and Furillo uses his favor to Detweiler to save Goldblume's job when Hogan's accusations prove partially correct.

Joyce humiliates an unprepared Bates on the witness stand; Renko pushes an assault victim to press charges; Furillo's son is missing; and Calletano expresses his true feelings at a luncheon honoring him as the Hispanic Officer of the Year.

Belker goes undercover to investigate a scam using bums to collect injury insurance benefits; Coffey tries to relate to a Vietnam vet suffering from traumatic stress; and Daniels orders Furillo to cut off Fuchs from the Maizel homicide investigation.

LaRue makes a fool of himself with some high school girls; Belker endangers his relationship with Robin by trying to protect her; a talkative comic is brought in on numerous parking tickets; Goldblume and Calletano clash over seniority and rank; Coffey is forced to deal roughly with a man tripping on PCP.

The brutal Benedetto comes to the Hill on a loan sharking assignment; Furillo and Goldblume question a murder suspect who may have multiple personalities.

The only witness to a massacre in a gay bar is an off duty cop; the Cisco Kid ties up traffic; and Goldblume offers to be Fay's natural childbirth coach.

On election day, Goldblume tries to keep a last minute candidate clear of the polling places; Mahoney turns on Daniels; Wachtel reports gangsters threatening to torch Murray's Wonderland; and Furillo tries to help Perez' family.

The rats return; Esterhaus is hospitalized for tests; Bates, Coffey and Joyce try to protect a woman and her children from her abusive husband; the latest cop killing looks to be a hired gun copying the random killer; and the corruption investigation strikes close to Hill Street; Hill Street gets word of the murder of Marty Nichols.

The Hill reaches a crisis point of outraged citizenry and stampeding press coverage when Hill and Renko rescue an escaped mass murderer captured by a vigilante mob, and Belker can't stop being a cop even as he coaches Robin through labor.

Washington's guilt over shooting a bystander resurfaces; Hill's vagabond father pays a visit; Belker goes undercover as Santa Claus; and Bates spends the holiday in the hospital.

Furillo clashes with Daniels over a new crime sweep; Renko rescues people from a burning building; Goldblume feels helpless to help the sad young woman threatened by her boyfriend; Hill puts Benedetto in his place; and Joyce has an interview with the Justice Department.

Washington goes undercover on Benedetto's loan shark scheme; Hill and Renko, desperate for cash since the payroll talks are stalled, find a bag full of temptation; and LaRue tries to clean up in the body parts pool for the missing Buddy Genett.

Hill has one last fight; Coffey and Bates take on Honky, the guard goose; Belker gets some unexpected help when he goes undercover in a wheelchair; bookie Ben Seltzer gives up a pay off drop point for a judge on the take; and Hunter refuses to admit he attempted suicide or needs any help.