A rookie cop with a "know-it-all" presents problems for the officers on the force, including Officer Wells, Malloy and Reed. Barrett bungles the arrest of a kooky but ultimately harmless elderly man suspected of holding up a bank. Later, a bomber has planted an explosive device inside a cereal box at a local grocery store, with the bomb set to go off within the hour.

Reed is suffering from a wrist injury which puts him on desk duty, while Malloy has to break in a new rookie partner. Reed's day is far from routine as he has to handle a bomb threat that results in the evacuation of the station, Officer Brinkman accidentally discharges his shotgun twice, a young man wants to report misconduct by a police officer, an elderly man brings a shotgun into the station to drop off, Malloy brings in a group of children abandoned by their mother, and Malloy and his partner pursue a car into the police parking lot, where the suspects are arrested.

Malloy's brand new car gets dinged up when he has to bail out to chase down a purse snatcher, but Sgt. MacDonald promises him his kid brother in Beverly Hills can fix it on the cheap. Out on patrol, he and Reed search for a drunk man accused of randomly shooting arrows, respond to a robbery at a deli that results in tragedy and search for a drug store robbery suspect who gets away after being shot.

An 'officer needs help' call comes in with no callsign or location. The dispatcher starts a division wide radio "roll-call" in order to account for every officer on patrol. While the roll-call is going on, calls for service from the public still needs to be handled. When a motorcycle officer fails to check in when prompted, a division wide search is instituted to look for him, which Malloy & Reed are assigned to assist in.