Police "buff" Jennings Thornton, a thorn in the side for Malloy and Reed, intervenes in a drunk driving case, runs down a shooter after a robbery (and nearly getting Reed killed), and is finally arrested himself for falsely arresting two teenage boys for stealing mag wheels that were actually legally bought. Another case involves a woman who stole an expensive ring from a store, leaving a cheap one in return; the suspect is later arrested during a parking lot dispute and the ring is found on her during a search

A man named "The Ferret" is vandalizing a manufacturing plant due to their poor record on ecology, and escapes Reed easily on foot pursuit. A reporter catches Reed in an unflattering light after the escape and plasters him over the front page. Reed is redeemed when he catches the Ferret when he returns later to the same plant and dumps a bucket of waste in the lobby. Other calls include a man whose pregnant wife fell into a coma after eating mud given to her by a voodoo priest, resulting in her baby boy being stillborn (when the officers confront the priest, he puts a mojo hex on Reed), and an elderly lady pulled over for a traffic violation who thinks the policemen are gas station attendants.

Sgt. MacDonald's anniversary is coming up and the officers have limited funds to spend on a gift, which is a bottle of champagne, but when the officers pick it up, the owner of the liquor store was shot in an attempted robbery. Malloy and Reed later find the robber dead in a park from a gunshot wound inflicted by the owner. Other incidents include a paralyzed ex-wrestler tearing up a bar, a man driving suspiciously turns out to be the proud owner of several traffic tickets in a 24 hour period, a used car dealer trying to take advantage of a Mexican customer who speaks little English, and two camper thieves pushing a truck with a camper that is too small for the truck bed.