Adam-12

Patrol starts with a call to a robbery at a bar and a car chase but the thieves escape. A call to a dry cleaners concerns the owner being extorted for protection money along with other shop owners who are Jewish survivors of the Holecaust. The dry cleaner wants to press charges but others are fearful of retribution. Two men are captured but two escape. Some searching turns up the car used in the robbery and a lead on the second car they used to escape. This is followed by a return call to the dry cleaners where the owner's panel truck is burning. During patrol they spot the second car used in the escape and a chase ensues resulting in their capture after Malloy comes close to taking a shotgun blast. They close out with another call to the dry cleaners where the owner has been attacked. With a tip from a nearby store owner they track down the two men responsible for the beating and destruction in the store.

While on break Malloy and Reed learn that an old "friend" Jennings Thornton is back. He likes to play cop - a cop Buff. First call is to a store where a young inexperienced clerk had an expensive ring swapped for a cheap one. This is followed by their "friend" Thorton calling in a drunk driver he encountered. A call about a robbery at a store results in a shootout in the parking lot but the shooter has a flak jacket. Thorton runs down the shooter with his car to end it but putting Reed in danger . The officers take a call at a parking lot where a minor accident has occurred. The woman has no ID and appears to be the woman who stole the ring. They arrest her but the clerk cannot identify her. They receive another call where Thorton used a gun to arrest two young men for stealing mag wheels. However, they were the legal owners of the wheels and the roles are reversed with Thorton under arrest. Mac arrives to say they found the ring on the woman at Central Booking making for a very good day.

A drug addict robs a store run by elderly women selling small items they make by sewing things such as pot holders and doilies. They spot a convertible with three men just after they are reported on the radio to have held up a store. A pursuit takes place and, together with Mac, arrest the three men. Later a nearby antique shop is held up by someone with a similar description to the first robber. He asked for a limited amount of money and a later call back to the first shop indicates he returned the money stolen earlier. A car is spotted making a rolling stop at a stop sign but the driver is a priest looking for the police to arrest a man from whom he bought marijuana. They accompany him back to the dealer's apartment and make the arrest. The final call is back to the first store where the same addict is in the midst of another robbery. They capture him followed by Malloy secretly buying some doilies after having teased Reed for buying pot holders the previous day from the "grandmothers".

On patrol they encounter a squad car that is deserted and they have not heard any officer announce stopping there. When they check it out, they find that a lone officer saw a hitchhiker and had chased him down with a bag of stolen items. During roll call the officers are told to be on the lookout for the radical Robin Saydo who has ties to bombings. The department wants him trailed but not picked up. Malloy receives a call from retired security officer Fred Tibbles who works on the docks and is being forced to overlook thefts. They come upon a truck driver who was knocked out and his load of pantyhose stolen. Tibbles calls with a tip about a heist to take place that afternoon and one earlier. Malloy realizes the trucks being hijacked are being taken for the trucks and not their loads. In a stakeout and pursuit with a police chopper, they become involved in a shootout but break the ring. Reed spots the radical on the streets. They trail him to a building where the DA decides to arrest him and make a search for weapons, etc.

The officers receive their car back after routine maintenance. They find, however, that the radio has problems and they have to repeat calls. The pair is called to a robbery in progress. Reed captures one suspect while Malloy goes in pursuit of the second through a city park on a winding street at night. However only some of his radio calls are being received, including his position. Malloy loses control of the car and goes off the road, rolling the car. His position is hidden from the road and he is severely injured with internal injuries and a broken leg. He comes to and splints his leg with a shotgun. He hears the search on the radio but they miss him, the search is moved to a new location but Reed resists moving out of the park. A man hiding from from the police for a murder he committed watches Malloy and finally comes to him but instead of helping steals the shotgun, his pistol, and rips the microphone off the cord leaving the wires exposed. Malloy then uses the exposed wires to signal for help which Reed picks up as he is still in the park.

The first call is to catch a man nicknamed the "Ferret" who is damaging a manufacturing company. He out runs Reed, and the newspaper reporter on the scene delights in the story. When they respond to an intruder call they find a man going house to house who flags them down for help. His wife is comatose and about to have a baby. They take the couple to the hospital where the doctor asks them to check for mud the woman has been eating. They find the mud and follow up with a visit to a voodoo priest who had ordered the mud for the couple. He puts a mojo hex on Reed which is followed by Mac showing them the paper with Reed on the front page. They pull an elderly lady over for erratic driving and she takes them for gas station attendants. When they go to the manufacturing company to check recently fired employees for the ferret, he shows up at the office and this time Reed is able to catch him.

Two boys break into a garage. Truants have become a big problem in terms of crime and Reed has a plan he wants approved to pick up truants on the street. While patrolling, they come upon a stalled car they help off the street. Malloy receives a message to hold the car and occupants under arrest. They are smuggling heroin in the gas tank and some leaked stalling the car. They spot a stolen car which leads them to the thieves who stripped the car to build a dune buggy. Reed's plan is approved but initially the other officers are unhappy playing babysitter. A pair of truants are spotted and picked up as a call comes in about a nearby theft. The lady identifies the two truants as the thieves and they are caught with the goods. The results show massive reduction in crime and happier officers. However, as Reed envisions stopping juvenile crime, one of the boys from the first call whose mother did not see her son as a problem is brought into the station again.

The pair are sent to transport a prisoner from the Sheriff's office in Malibu back to LA due to traffic warrants. Unknown to everyone he is a witness to a gangland murder and a hit has been ordered on him. Their patrol car has a tire shot out in an ambush and they find themselves isolated in the hills of the area and no radio contact. Reed goes for help but is captured by the hit men. Malloy and their passenger steal the hit man's car and make it to a phone. A helicopter search ensues for the two hit men and Reed. However, Reed is able to overpower them.

Reed has agreed to buy an anniversary present for Mac but funds are limited. The first call is to bar where an ex-wrestler paralyzed by polio and confined to wheelchair is breaking up the bar. Next stop is a liquor store where they decide to buy a bottle of champagne for Mac and the owner offers a discount on a large bottle but the pair go for a smaller bottle they can afford. The pair notice a car tailing them in an manner that causes them to pull him over as they are afraid of an ambush. However, it is a man who has received several tickets in 24 hours. A call comes about a disturbance at a used car dealership. The owner is trying to take advantage of a Mexican man who is not very fluent in English and signed a sales contract without understanding it. This is followed by a call back to the liquor store where the owner has been robbed and shot. A nearby shop owner thinks he shot the robber. The owner reminds the men to take the champagne he wrapped for Mac. Last call is about a man down in a park who has been shot dead. He is the gunman who shot the liquor store owner.

Reed and Malloy deal with various disturbances during their shift such as a gas station owner who has a lot of robberies, a drunk who continually causes problems, and a hitchhiker who steals money from the people who pick her up.

On a prowler report at a non-existent address someone fires multiple rounds at the officers. Next day on a run to a heliport to pick up a blood donor, they are again fired upon. Evidence points to the same shooter both times and reveals that Adam-12 is being targeted by a man known to pass bad checks. Reed's wife receives a call indicating that Reed is the target. A man tries to kill himself with gasoline at a gas station but Malloy stops him using a fire extinguisher. Another nighttime prowler call turns up a wino that Reed comes close to shooting. Malloy drops Reed off at his house when a man walks by, known to Reed, and tells him that his car has broken down. Reed offers to let him use his phone. Malloy notices there is a car like the one the suspect is supposed to be driving down the street as he leaves.

Officer Art McCall returns to the force after eight years on disability. He rides with Malloy and Reed learning changes since he left the force. They start with a young woman whose ex-husband has returned from prison and she feels threatened. McCall wants to resort to old techniques that are no longer allowed. After a juvenile robbery bust, they are forced to release the boy captured by Art who did not read the boy his rights. He fumbles the arrest of the ex-husband carrying a gun. After being released, the ex-husband plants a bomb in the woman's car. Malloy is forced to have a frank discussion with Art about his inability to adjust to the changes in law enforcement policy.

Malloy and Reed are at a crime scene in the hills where another girl has been found raped and dumped but this time she is alive. Her account includes the fact that a red sports car was involved. Later, they see a red Porshe pick up a young girl and the car tries to escape when they signal it to stop. The car stops and dumps the girl. Malloy continues the chase alone but loses the car. He finds a red Porshe but the girl says the owner is not the man. A call to a robbery at a lumber yard has unexpected aid from police scouts who collar one of the two men. Reed captures the second man in a shootout. The mother of the young girl calls the officers when she finds drugs in her daughter's laundry. She is selling drugs and the man they had her identify is her supplier.

Woman reports a pickup truck bumped her car. When she stopped, they stole her purse. On patrol they spot a stopped car with the hood up. Driver says his engine over heated but a stakeout shows him meeting with a counterfeiter. A call about loud noise results in a citizen chewing out the officers. A scuffle at a food drive-in results in the arrest of a man for outstanding warrants. A cruise by the house with noise turns up the pickup and two men who robbed the woman.

A call to a night club finds a singer, Kathy, strung out on drugs causing a disturbance. She finds security with Reed who rides with her to the hospital. She tells him someone is trying to kill her and giving her drugs. Narcotics believes she can provide a lead to new drugs and ask Reed to go undercover with Kathy as a soldier AWOL with a big cache of heroin to sell. He agrees and although he makes a deal, the girl burns him under pressure. The narcotics squad lose Reed but Malloy arrives as the dealers are trying to kill Reed and Kathy.

They are on a stake out for an armored truck robbery but the thieves make a clean escape. A call to the bus station about a potential rattlesnake in a suitcase turns out to be an electric toothbrush. They make contact with their source T.J. about the robberies and he a provides a few extra details as to where he overheard the threat. A call to the same bar puts them onto a man they suspect might be involved but with no proof. Malloy develops a theory on how the robberies are committed involving the sewer system. They plan a stakeout based on Malloy's theory which they execute with success.

Malloy is given a tip that a young man he coaches is using heroin again. Malloy and the boy's parole officer work together to track down what is going on. Reed and Malloy respond to a hit and run where a small boy is hit and hurt severely. The boy thinks Reed is his father who was killed in Vietnam. A man blows a stop sign resulting in a traffic stop. He is given a ticket but his passenger is taken in for selling drugs. In reality he is an undercover officer trying to make a buy from the driver. Malloy is called by the parole officer to help take in the young man for using again. They learn he had bought some heroin but did not use it. However, they find his younger brother had.

A maid for a wealthy couple tells Reed and Malloy that the family had a baby, and now it is missing. They find the baby was put up for adoption. Also, a case involving a trashed football locker room, a burglar and high speed chase.

Adam-12 arrives at a scene in Chinatown where a young man was beaten. He is an undercover officer working on Chinese gang problems. A young lady briefly appears but runs off before talking. A report is taken at a department store where a woman's purse was stolen while she was in a bathroom stall. They accompany her to her house where they catch the thief, a man. Reed is asked to report to the hospital where they believe the young woman has reappeared but her uncle refuses to let her talk. The next day they are asked to help bust counterfeiters where the same burglar from the day before had stolen counterfeit money and then caught passing it. They spot a man driving erratically thinking he is drunk. However, A lit joint in his pocket gives him away when it burns him. Reed receives a call from the young woman reporting an attack by the gang on the older Chinese organization. They and the gang squads arrive as the shooting starts.

The officers are on loan to LAX airport. The first case is a man taking a stewardess hostage because he wants a job with a specific film director in LA. They convince the man that the director is on the phone to distract him. The police are given a tip by another police department that a shipment of drugs is arriving in a suitcase. They tail the suitcase and arrest a group of men making separate drug pickups at the airport leading to a huge bust. Final call is a woman who is picked up by man posing as a limo driver. He pistol whips, robs and dumps her but she tears his shirt. They find the car and a tip leads them to the suspect in the airport.

Malloy and Reed are called to provide backup to of all people Mac, who happened upon a B&E in progress. Mac requests Malloy to be the accompanying officer in transporting the perpetrator, Victor Lamson, back to the station, while Reed secures the crime scene. Both Mac and Malloy's friendly attitude change as they, while driving to the station, hit an elderly pedestrian. Both Mac and Malloy know that the pedestrian came out from between two parked cars into traffic, whereas the three independent witnesses on the street all state that the pedestrian was in the pedestrian crosswalk, thus had the right of way, and that Mac was speeding. Lamson, who knows that Mac and Malloy are telling the truth, will not corroborate their story unless they let him go, which they both refuse. Internal Affairs does an investigation. Mac comes to the realization that he could be in real trouble and lose his job, and that Malloy will also have a rough ride if Mac is found guilty. They have to do some digging to see if the victim, who eventually dies from her injuries, and/or the witnesses have ulterior motives in lying about what they saw. Malloy also believes there may be another witness out there that can and will tell the truth. Meanwhile, Lamson ends up being a victim himself when friends of his realize that because he is in jail, his apartment filled with stolen goods is just ripe for the picking.

The officers are working to move drag racing off the streets onto a regulated drag strip. Working with various racing organizations they finally meet the requirements for insurance, etc. provided by the drag strip owner. He also requires that the drivers keep the noise down in the streets surrounding the strip. However, the day before they are to start racing the timing and audio equipment at the drag strip are stolen. When he announces he has replacement equipment on the way, the street organizer of the races who stands to lose money puts on a race in front of the drag strip owner's own home. Malloy, however, finds evidence that indicates the street organizer stole the equipment trying to stop the legal racing.

The pair have been helping with a search for a first grade boy missing after school. They return to patrol handling a loud dog complaint. Malloy realizes the dog is a seeing eye dog that has been stolen. A neighbor reports seeing a man and boy covered with blood getting into a taxi. They then spot the car suspected in the case of the missing boy. His father had picked up the boy and not told his mother. Family dispute call revolves around a wife upset with her husband unending football viewing smashing his TV. They trace the witness sighting of the bloody boy and a man, to someone who took his son to the hospital for a scalp injury. Next call is to close a report on a stolen car. Students had disassembled their professor's Beetle and reassembled it in his home. They close with a foot chase and shootout through a railroad park for men who killed a person in a robbery. They are aided by a police helicopter.

Albert Porter, Reed's friend in the reserves is on his first day of patrol partnered with Officer Wells. Wells is not impressed with his geeky partner. First call is to a park where they advise a young group where they can legally camp. Second call is a bank robbery where they are the backup to Wells and Porter. The robbery seems to fit a pattern of other crimes where the robber is always different, wears a backpack, and is young. Reed suspects a car they pull over for a broken brake light. Malloy believes the young man to be okay but Reed spots a problem in their story leading to their arrest. Reed and Malloy see Wells and Porter with a traffic stop and stop to check out the situation. Porter accidentally backs the stopped car into their patrol car. Malloy and Reed are called to another bank robbery where they corner the suspect and learn that he is wearing a bomb and is being forced to holdup the bank. The man behind the robberies forces the suspect to flee with him in a car chase. At a dead end the man tosses the backpack to Wells trying to hold him hostage. Porter suspects a fake bomb and yanks it away from Wells.