Vic distracts Russian mobster Alex Kozodav and his henchmen while Ronnie retrieves a surveillance disk from Kozodav's car. The disk reveals that Kozodav is planning an insurance scam involving burning down an apartment building with over fifty occupants. Just when Monica and Vic feel they have enough evidence to bring Kozodav in, the case is handed over to the Organized Crime Unit. The Assistant Chief defends the decision by showing Monica a videotape, given to him by David Aceveda, that captures Vic and the church bust in an unflattering light. The video is sure to be a PR nightmare for the department, and Assistant Chief Philips doesn't want the Kozodav case to suffer as a result.
The Shield breaks the conventional formula of the cop genre. It plays out in a tough, morally ambiguous world in which the line between good and bad is crossed ever day. The series focuses on the tension between a group of corrupt but effective cops and a captain torn between bringing them down and advancing his own political ambitions.
The Shield stars rogue cop "Det. Vic Mackey", leader of the elite Strike Team unit, who is effective at eliminating crime but who operates under his own set of rules. "Captain David Aceveda", the young precinct head who doesn't like Mackey's tactics and wants to bust him off the force. And "Det. Claudette Wyms", a veteran detective who understands Mackey and knows how to play both sides of the fence.