- Title: Rookie Blue – Every Man
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During a turbulent night at the station the rookies are left on their own which leads a suspect gunned down in the precinct and an Internal Affairs investigation over the causes and fallout of a prisoner (George Tchortov) in booking pulling a gun on Diaz (Travis Milne), Epstein (Gregory Smith) and Peck (Charlotte Sullivan). As each of the four rookies talks to the IA Investigator (Seana McKenna) in charge of the case the events of the evening are shown through flashbacks from the various characters’ points of view.
Although none of the officers’ testimony contradicts each other, each reveals instances members of the team, each distracted by outside events, made small mistakes that didn’t strictly follow procedure. Andy’s (Missy Peregrym) account reveals the reason for Chris (Peter Mooney) not being on duty and her attempts to sober him up and get him out of the station before anyone else discovers he showed up drunk. And Diaz’s distracted state is revealed to be caused by the unexpected appearance of an old girlfriend (Brendee Green) who shows up unannounced with a baby she claims is his son.
With the Investigator looking to place blame and swiftly sweep events under the rug, and not too concerned where that blame gets placed, Peck steps forward to fall on her sword and accept the blame of the incident by acknowledging her failure to properly search the suspect for weapons before placing him in her squad car and passing him off to her fellow officers. The result of her confession is a suspension and the beginning of an investigation which could remove her from the force.
The set-up works well as each officer’s testimony fills in gaps left unseen in the other perspectives. However, I would have liked slightly more variation to the events to drive home the point of how each person perceives events differently. If the episode has a weak spot it’s the depiction of the IA Investigator. This is the second episode of the season to feature officers from Internal Affairs who come off as simplistic villains more concerned with PR and burning cops unnecessarily than getting at the truth. That said, “Every Man” delivers a strong story that leaves plenty to follow-up with in this season and beyond.