Chicago PD Review: Was Chicago Justice Enough to Save Burgess?

The Chicago franchise has flourished because of one very important quality. Even though the circumstances and characters are fictional, the stories are all too real. It would take a powerful team to help Chicago P.D.‘s Burgess out of the predicament she finds herself in during the episode aptly titled “Justice”. It’s so important, that Intelligence alone cannot help. They need Chicago Justice.

A night out on patrol turns into a bloodbath when Roman and Burgess are attacked in their squad car. Roman is shot, and Burgess shoots the assailant; or who she thinks was the assailant. The boy, Michael Vance Ellis, claims that he was not the one who shot Roman. What’s worse is that by the time Intelligence arrives, no weapon can be found. Voight knows things are going to start moving very quickly now, so they have to be diligent. He has Burgess recount every single moment of the night over in her head again and again while investigating the shooting himself. He also gets an unwelcome visit from Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Stone (Philip Winchester) regarding the shooting, and Stone just so happens to be the man who put Voight in prison. Desperate times indeed.

The only thing anyone can find about Ellis is that he is a model citizen. Not even the State’s Attorney’s investigators can find anything that says otherwise. For now the Chicago Police Department has no choice but to suspend Burgess. Cue Carl Weathers, who takes on the role of State’s Attorney Mark Jefferies. Jefferies warns Stone that if he is going to pursue a case with this type of kindling, he only has one shot to set the match the right way.

Everyone in the Chicago franchise mobilizes. The State’s Attorney’s investigators find someone who says Ellis has actually been ranting about cops, which starts the dominoes falling. Suddenly camera footage is found of the shooting and Chicago Fire‘s Squad finds the gun when they drag the river. That’s not to say the defense doesn’t get in a good whack at Burgess by revealing her relationship with Roman in open court (and in front of her ex-fiancee Ruzek). Ellis is guilty, but in the public’s eyes Burgess is already convicted since she shot a black kid in the back. Both Ellis’ attorney and Jefferies are right. Facts don’t hold as much weight as they used to. In order to truly save Burgess, people need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt how and why Ellis did what he did. It’s not just Burgess’ career on the line, it’s Jefferies’, as well as every other black man who dares to stand for the truth instead of what they believe happened.

Intelligence has to stay away from the case as much as possible so that the defense can’t twist the case their way. They at least point Stone in the right direction. What really happened was that Ellis was caught in a storm of grief after his girlfriend broke up with him for not being tough enough, the day after his uncle killed himself in prison because of a rejected appeal from an encounter with a white cop. Was his anger understandable? Absolutely, but his actions weren’t justifiable. In a perfect world, Ellis would be convicted of the crimes he committed. As we’ve established, the people don’t remember the facts as much as the conjecture. Ellis’ lawyer proposes a deal for juvenile detention, and he wouldn’t even have to apologize to Roman. It’s a raw deal, but the city could erupt in flames very quickly with one wrong move. For the good of the city, Sean folds.

This was a supercharged, compelling episode which demonstrated the strengths, flaws, and realities of the legal system. Winchester was a driven force of nature as Stone fought for the truth, even when he knew it would not be enough, while Weathers laid out the harsh truth of the battles the justice system faces everyday. It’s just this writer’s opinion, but Dick Wolf’s list of compelling dramas just keep stacking up. I’ll be waiting for that series order with baited breath.

What was your verdict on the backdoor pilot to Chicago Justice?