"A Shot in the Dark" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on February 24, 1993. The teleplay was written by Jorge Zamacona based on a story by executive producer Tom Fontana, and the episode was directed by Bruce Paltrow. In the episode, Crosetti focuses his investigation into the shooting of Officer Thormann (Lee Tergesen) on one suspect, while Lewis continues to investigate. Meanwhile, Pembleton and Bayliss pursue different leads in the murder case of 11-year-old Adena Watson.
The shooting of a police officer and the murder of a young girl were both directly inspired by real-life events chronicled in David Simon's non-fiction book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, on which the series was based. "A Shot in the Dark" continued a string of guest appearances by actress Edie Falco as Eva Thormann, the wife of Officer Thormann.
"A Shot in the Dark" was seen by 8.9 million households in its original broadcast. Although an improvement over the previous episode "Son of a Gun", the rating was considered a disappointment, continuing the show's downward trend in ratings. "A Shot in the Dark" suffered in particular due to direct competition from the 35th Grammy Awards. The episode, along with the rest of the first and second seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street was released on DVD in the United States on May 27, 2003.
Plot summary
After being shot in the head during the previous episode, Officer Thormann (Lee Tergesen) has had a miraculous recovery and will live, although doctors say he will be blind all his life. Crosetti (Jon Polito) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) question prime suspect Alfred Smith (Mojo Gentry), who was identified by eyewitness Charles Flavin (Larry Hull) as the shooter. Crosetti, a close personal friend of Thormann, is convinced Smith is the shooter, but Lewis insists on further investigation. Lewis later learns Flavin bragged about shooting a cop the day Thormann was shot. Crosetti confronts Flavin, who nonchalantly admits to shooting Thormann in frustration because Flavin was suffering a migraine. Although the police celebrate finding Thormann's shooter, Lewis comforts a guilt-stricken Crosetti, who feels he took the case too personally and almost let the true shooter go free.
Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) continue their struggling investigation into the murder of 11-year-old Adena Watson. Bayliss wants to question an arabber who he maintains is the killer, but Pembleton believes that lead has already been exhausted. Pembleton instead pursues a theory posed by Felton (Daniel Baldwin) that Watson was killed one day earlier than they first believed, and rigor mortis was slowed because her body was stored in a cool place. Felton and Pembleton identify a possible suspect who lived near the murder scene, and learn his car was impounded shortly after her body was found. As they search impound lots for the car, the two detectives bicker with each other and Pembleton accuses Felton of racism. They eventually find the car, but uncover no evidence linking it to Watson.
Bayliss pursues a warrant for the arabber, believing he can get a confession by confronting the suspect with secret information about a metal pipe the killer used to molest Watson. His plan is ruined, however, when Captain Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) tells the press about the pipe. A frustrated Bayliss yells at Barnfather and calls him a "butthead", but Gee (Yaphet Kotto) later convinces Bayliss to apologize or risk losing the Watson case. Later that night, Pembleton tells Bayliss a lab report revealed smudges on Watson's dress was soot from the arabber's barn. Pembleton acknowledges Bayliss was right all along, and the two prepare to arrest the arabber.
Bolander (Ned Beatty) and Munch (Richard Belzer) investigate a double shooting in which a drug dealer was killed and another man was badly injured. During the investigation they find a high-class prostitute hiding in a nearby doghouse. After making unsuccessful advances on Bolander, she admits the drug dealer was killed by his own bodyguard, Newton Stuart (Richard Pelzman). After arresting him, Stuart says the other shooting victim used the drug dealer as a human shield. In a misguided attempt to follow his employer's orders to kill anyone who threatens him, Stuart said he shot through the drug dealer to ensure the man threatening him would also be shot.