The District

Jack Mannion is greeted with hostility as soon as he's hired as the new chief of police in Washington D.C.

Mannion issues a mandate to get illegal guns off the streets and uncovers the surprising motive behind the murder of a well-connected young man.

As Mannion vows to clean up the most crime-ridden block in the city, community tensions rise when Temple is accused of intentionally pushing a police suspect into oncoming traffic.

Mannion decides to take every missing case as a homicide case after a rich woman is reported missing, which causes some problems among the African-American community. Debreno is introduced as Temple's new partner, who is still recovering from his fiancée and his ex-partner's death. Ella is back at work, still recovering from breast cancer. Nancy considers going back to the streets as she recovers from Danny's death. Mannion investigates the main suspect on Danny's murder, and finds the suspect's apartment full of pictures of him, Sherry and his children. Sherry leaves and an anonymous call leads Jack to discover the suspect's body tied on his boat's anchor.

Mannion has to handle an international crisis after the son of the Colombian ambassador is discovered to be the main dealer of the heaviest type of heroine yet. Threatened not to do anything about it, Mannion studies the international code for diplomatic immunity and plays around until he gets Eduardo kicked out of school and arrested. Meanwhile, Temple helps a heroin addicted woman; Ella has problems with Ricky after he returns from summer camp; Jack Jr. goes to court for his drug problem and Nancy finds Jack a new assistant.

Temple and Debreno are working on a carjacking followed by murder case. Parras is suspicious when the victim's fiancé cries but no tears come from her eyes. The case is only solved with the help of a schizophrenic homeless man with multiple identities, who saw the suspect with another man just before the shooting. Temple and Debreno are not getting along, and Mannion has to interfere before Temple (who's much more religious since his fiancee's death, which annoys Debreno) tries to quit. Ella has to handle a strike/budget crisis. Parras is back on the streets and her partner takes it hard when another black man insults him. A snake is left loose around the office.

The third-season opener picks up where the sophomore year ended, with Mannion struggling for his life after being shot on his boat and falling overboard into the Potomac River. As he tries to pull himself ashore, his would-be assassin, the daughter of a Russian mobster, flees the scene and is hit by a car. While the accident brings to light the fact that Mannion is missing, the chief keeps his survival a secret so he can figure out who's behind the shooting. Deputy chief Noland is immediately pressured to solve the case by an aggressive U.S. attorney general, while a new press secretary tries to keep matters from spinning out of control.

Mannion, who is presumed to be dead, pops up in Paris to follow the Government official he believes is behind the attempt on his life. Back in Washington, D.C., Temple is stopped for speeding and an officer finds cocaine in the car, but Temple claims the drugs are evidence he obtained at a crime scene and forgot to turn in.

Mannion goes head-to-head with the U.S. Attorney General and a tough civil-rights lawyer (Jaclyn Smith) in an emotionally charged episode. The investigation into the murder of an 11-year-old girl turns up the child's photo on a porn site, prompting Mannion to seek help from Attorney General Hatcher to toughen legislation against Internet child pornography. But Hatcher has an agenda of his own. In other cases, the chief is asked by a congressman to look into a case involving the alleged accidental death of his son, and a high-profile lawyer (Smith) accuses an officer of using excessive force.

Back from his Arizona vacation and determined to get his job back, Jack starts campaigning for being Chief of police, even though it's not an elected position. He chooses not to use the illegal taping card that might get him back in the office in no time for a future use and moves into a poor neighborhood. Meanwhile, Brander decides to go back to the force and teams up with Nancy to investigate Lester Richard's death, for which Temple got arrested. They discover that Maria "Cashmere Brown" Rodriguez was lying, which frees Temple, but doesn't exactly prove he didn't kill Lester vindictively.

After Chief Strickland causes the death of an innocent old lady due to having inaccurate information on the whereabouts of a dangerous drug lord, Mannion decides to catch the guy himself. He uses the help of his best men, who put their jobs at steak and work parallel to Strickland's orders. Mannion's house is burnt down after he keeps stopping kids from selling drugs. When Mannion finally catches the guy, Mayor Douglas won't give his job back, so Jack is forced to reveal that he knows the phone wire was illegal, which ultimately forces Douglas to give him his job back. Meanwhile, Temple investigates two cops whom he thinks are abusing their authority and beating the people they arrest, while Debreno sleeps with Maria Rodriguez, which causes some conflict on his friendship with Temple.

Mannion is determined to have the best people possible working for him and asks his ex-wife, Sherry, to become his Superintendent of Detectives. Meanwhile, when an ex-con is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend who was also a parolee, Mannion tries to put into action a parolee-rehabilitation program Ella had begun before she died.