The opening scene shows a traffic stop of two suspected armed robbers gone tragically wrong; pull back to see that it is actually a training exercise at the police academy. Later, one of the rookie officers who was at the demonstration - Officer George Barrett - bungles the arrest of an elderly man suspected of robbing the bank. Malloy and Wells are upset with Barrett for his reluctance to go through the proper procedures in arresting the man, even though he appeared harmless (the suspect did not display a weapon and merely presented a note requesting $1 million). Later, Mac, Malloy and Reed talk about what happened, with Mac noting that this is another in a growing series of Barrett's serious mistakes and that he seems unwilling to learn or take good advice. Later, the officers are called to a grocery store, where a madman has planted an explosive device inside a cereal box, and the bomb will detonate within the hour. The officers corner the suspect, who holds another man at gunpoint.Reed orders Barrett to arrest the hostage, but Barrett hesitates to do so. Malloy completes the arrest before the "hostage" can do anything. In the closing tag, Mac informs Reed and Malloy that "Barrett's through".

A new dispatcher with a sexy voice has Pete's interest. A hit and run accident has a little girl seriously injured, however, her brother caught the license of the car that hit her. A synagogue reports a typewriter with a Hebrew typeface and money stolen. The third call is a drunk woman sitting on a lawn. They take her to her daughter's nearby house but the daughter refuses to deal with her. During a stop for a meal at TJ's lunch wagon, he tells them he heard a man make threats about being fired as a painter at a studio. When they arrive at the studio, gunshots are heard and they find two painters have been shot. They work with SWAT to rescue one painter and capture the sniper. At the end of the shift they meet the dispatcher but to Pete's dismay, she is married to the SWAT lieutenant.