See Also: 'Night, Mother' Episode Guide

Mac Taylor faces an ethical conundrum in the tenth episode of CSI: New York's first season when a key piece of evidence ends up lodged inside a beloved NYPD horse.

In the episode, entitled "Officer Blue", a mounted policeman, Officer Alcomo, is shot when he tries to adjudicate in a stoush between a British tourist and a local sidewalk salesman, according to CSI Files sources. The bullet which killed him is deflected into his trusty horse, nicknamed Officer Blue. The horse survives the attack because the casing is lodged in a specific part of its neck where the bullet does not kill the horse, but merely slows it down. Extracting the bullet from Officer Blue would mean almost certain death for the beloved animal.

Mac doesn't want to do that just yet, preferring to work with other evidence the CSIs can gather up in the meantime. It appears Officer Alcomo was shot from a neighbouring building, and the sidewalk fight was likely a set-up to distract the police officer. The team find a fingerprint belonging to Richard Smock, an animal activist who has been vocal in his discontent about the NYPD's use of horses, on the sixteenth floor of the building -- a perfect vantage point for a hit. Smock denies he had any part in the shooting, and it seems he's telling the truth. Mac notices that he suffers from Graves' Disease, which causes hand tremors that would have made him a poor marksman.

The next suspect on the list is Willie Chaney, the street salesman who was arguing with the tourist. Their altercation was caught on camera, and the footage clearly shows that Willie deliberately provoked the tourist into a fist fight. However, Willie couldn't have shot the police officer as all his actions were recorded on tape -- he must have had an accomplice. The bullet lodged in Officer Blue could provide a vital lead, but is Mac prepared to order the horse to undergo an operation that could kill it?

In the B-story, Aiden Burn investigates a flaming hot crime at a pizza parlour. The victim, Lenny Starks, was found stabbed to death on the street, with curious burn marks on the side of his face. The blazing trail leads back to the local pizzeria, where Aiden finds the owners are not too willing to help her investigation.

Please note that this plot information has not been confirmed by CBS or Bruckheimer TV and until such time you should treat it as you would any other rumour from an unofficial source. The details are based on an early draft of the script and aspects of the episode may change before it goes to air.

"Officer Blue" will likely air in late 2003 or early 2004.

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