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.

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.

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.

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.

Bates and Coffey take over a storefront police/community relations project; a cop killer seems to be roaming the streets; Daryl Ann buys the wrong motorcycle for Renko; Joyce behaves oddly about buying a house; Leo and Ray try out an unorthodox method to get rid of the rats; and Daniels tries to short circuit Cleveland's corruption task force by exposing a network within the special Vice detail.

Furillo loses an old friend as the corruption investigation winds up; a romantic triangle transfers to the Hill and comes to a boil; and Coffey gets shot by the cop killer.

A judge intent on elevating jail conditions releases the court's overflow back into the streets; Bates has a rocky start as roll call sergeant; another professional hit covers up the murder of Whitney Barnes; after his memorial service, Furillo follows Esterhaus' last wishes to scatter his ashes on the Hill.

Goldblume and Calletano try to figure out station command as Furillo tries to resist taking a drink; LaRue and Washington dog William Mullins to protect Joyce; and Renko finds he has similar problems to Jesus Martinez.

LaRue and Washington salvage a man's severed arm; Joyce defends a frantic West Indian cabbie; Hector Ruiz takes one final hostage; and Hill alienates many of his friends with his new attitude.

Three visiting Russians bring their personal problems to the Hill; Belker goes undercover as an ambulance attendant; LaRue's brother-in-law is busted for soliciting a police officer; Joyce, the judge, and the victim try hard to keep a mentally slow young man out of jail; and Fay and Goldblume worry about how Furillo will feel about their relationship.

Goldblume is fascinated by a call girl held on murder charges whose elite clientele has newspapers bidding for her story and her fearful clients threatening her life. Also, tributes to Esterhaus continue to roll in.

A census taker disappears while working in the precinct; the Mullins brothers promise Furillo that Joyce will die if she testifies against Timothy; Daniels relieves Furillo of command; and Daryl Ann asks Renko to marry her.

Hill wins $100,000 in the lottery; Deputy Chief Mahoney tries to ride herd on Furillo's precinct; mayoral candidate Benjamin Fisk moves into a crime-ridden housing project; Goldblume tries to help Hector Ruiz control the Diablos; and Coffey and Bates bust a couple of lady mud wrestlers.

Kiki tries to persuade Eldridge to change his story; Hill's behavior gets worse and worse as he blows all his money; Fisk returns to the housing project with tragic results; Coffey sulks when Bates scores higher on the sergeant's exam; and Daniels has to make peace between Furillo and Mahoney.

A pair of sweet junkie lovers create a hostage situation; the Robson arrest blows up in Daniels' face; and Wachtel shows up at the Wonderland as Murray's lawyer.

Belker's loan sharks commandeer a prison bus and demand him in exchange for their hostages; Goldblume tries an unusual video-dating service; Renko has second thoughts as his wedding approaches while Coffey ""invests"" the wedding present money.

Garibaldi tries to save himself some money by doing some unofficial police work for a guy whose car he rearended; Belker is left exposed on his latest undercover by agents from another agency; and the mayor's gang appointee to the Youth Commission comes under fire for favoritism.

Calletano prepares for a game show appearance; Renko tries to organize his wedding attendants; Peabody goes to the loan sharks Belker has infiltrated; and Furillo has to deal with renewed gang violence and Joyce's decision to take some time alone.