Detective Vic Mackey is the leader of an elite Strike Team unit, a group of cops effective at eliminating crime but also operating under Vic's own set of rules. But his rules sometimes cross the fine line between legal and illegal. Now the precinct has a new captain who doesn't like Vic's tactics and wants to bust him off the force - even as the captain finds himself going to Vic for help whenever the going gets rough.
A politically ambitious LAPD captain comes up against a streetwise detective who isn't above bending the rules in his effort to fight crime as he enriches himself and his men.
After the death of a member of the Strike Team on a high-risk raid, Aceveda begins to investigate the real circumstances behind the raid. Officers Lowe and Sofer find a dying man being mugged, eventually linked to a Mexican gang.
In a routine sweep to nab every outstanding suspect, the detectives divvy up the warrants. But when they cast their nets, they bring up far bigger fish than expected. Danny and Julien uncover a gun-smuggling operation; and Mackey and his team encounter a pro-basketball star who's in town to play the Lakers, when they bust in on drug dealers. Meanwhile, Claudette and Dutch try to catch a man who has been raping women in an attempt to procreate.
A dispute over an up-and-coming singer's success erupts in a gang war that threatens to bring Vic down, too; a case that could help Aceveda's political future sends Dutch and Claudette searching for a missing day laborer.
David insists that Vic take uniformed cops in with them to bust an Armenian gang's drug delivery. After the bust, Julien sees the Team take a portion of the drugs for themselves. But in the end Shane ends up having the drugs and the vehicle they're in stolen from them. While the search for the drugs and the truck goes on, Mackey learns that his son is autistic.
As Dutch's theory about a serial killer preying on prostitutes proves true, he convinces Aceveda to launch an all out effort to find him before he strikes again; Julien decides to bring down Vic for stealing drugs.
The murder of seven gang members has Vic be teamed with a Latino detective assigned to crack the case.
As the Strike Team is reassigned pending the investigation in the theft of evidence, Vic teams with Claudette in order to keep some deadly drugs off the street.
Lemonhead sets out to make things right following his shooting of an unarmed man.
As Dutch uncovers a lead to the serial killer, a reporter questions force Aceveda to explain problems he thought were buried far in the past.
A confrontation between a local drug dealer and Black Muslims places Vic in danger of being exposed.
As a deployment policy leads to a double homicide that places Aceveda in the hot seat with potential voters, Vic is forced to help Gilroy avoid being implicated in a hit and run.
As cop killings strike Farmington, Aceveda is caught between two corrupt cops looking to save their own skins.
As Captain Aceveda tries to fend off a city council investigation, Vic looks to stop a pair of brutal drug lords from moving into Farmington.
An arson attack on a local drug dealer threatens to expose Vic's protection racket.
An amputated arm sends Dutch in search of a sadomasochistic killer; Vic sets out to help his old mentor on the force get revenge against the thug whose complaint forced him into retirement.
Vic sets out to stop stolen military weapons from fueling a gang war, unaware that it threatens to expose him as the mastermind behind the theft of the Armenian mob's laundered money.
Vic promises a gang lieutenant the top job if he agrees to set up his boss; Dutch and Claudette's investigation into a gang shooting points to an unexpected triggerman.
A hooker wants Vic to punish her former pimp, Dutch arrests a sex offender in an elderly woman's rape.
A new commander arrives just in time to help with the investigation into the murder of an immigrant family.
Vic agrees to quietly bring in a teenaged drug user before learning of his role in a deadly armed robbery.
When her official arrival at the Barn is greeted by the outbreak of a deadly gang war, Monica assigns Vic the task of ending it.
As the department launches a secret investigation aimed at putting him behind bars, Vic learns that a Latino gang in prison has ordered the retaliatory murders of two black victims on the outside.
As Lem is asked to wear a wire in the IAD investigation, Vic and the Strike Team go head-to-head with a brutal Salvadoran extortionist.
As Vic looks to head off an IAD investigation, a brutal rape uncovers a child sex slave ring.
Vic's searches to find his friend's killer. Claudette has trouble adjusting to her new role as Captain. Ronnie and Vic worry about Shane's unusual behavior.
Vic uses extreme measures to find his best friend's killer. Claudette is under the political microscope, while Danny gets some good news.
Vic gets bad news about his career as he comes close to catching Lem's killer. Shane's secret eats away at him. Ronnie works with Dutch and Billings on a case.
Vic challenges Shane and deals with threats to his family. A federal agent arrives in Farmington to investigate a recent wave of violence.
As a local gang war heats up, Vic positions himself as a valuable commodity to the warring parties. Corrine and Cassidy confront Vic.
Vic works an angle to make himself valuable to the Armenian mob. Corrine finds herself in a surprising legal jam. Tina targets a producer of adult entertainment.
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A murder investigation leads Vic to a massive money-laundering scheme.
Elementary school drug dealing prompts Vic to redouble his efforts to bring down a ruthless new supplier.
The Barn mobilizes to investigate a murderous rampage at a battered women's shelter.
As a new murder investigation exposes Dutch's crisis of confidence, Vic sets out to stop the abuse of a neighbor by her violent boyfriend.
Vic and the Strike team set their sights on taking Armadillo off the streets for good.
In a look back at the Barn's early days, Vic struggles to secure his hold on the Strike Team command, while Dutch is faced with choosing between a veteran detective and Claudette.
The leak of the auditor's report jeopardizes the futures of everyone at the Farm.
Vic mobilizes the Strike Team to help Aceveda's election campaign; Dutch and Claudette suspect a teenaged girl is lying about the rape accusation she's made against her employer.
As his own life starts crumbling around him, Vic pitches in to help Dutch in the search for a deadly pedophile.
As he struggles to keep his job, Vic pushes ahead with a new plan to hijack a mob money shipment.
The rivalry between the Strike Team and the Decoy Squad heats up as they compete to find a murder suspect.
As Dutch and Claudette continue to pursue a rapist who is targeting elderly women, the arrest of a local gang member threatens to expose the Strike Team's involvement in the money train heist.
Officer Tommy Hisk becomes a prime suspect in the murder of his ex-wife and son.
As missing persons investigation uncovers a graveyard for illegal immigrants working in an illicit drug lab.
Vic is enlisted to help save his rivals on the Decoy team from having their undercover operation exposed.
A lynching threatens to ignite a race war between Farmington's black and Latino gangs.
Captain Aceveda turns up the heat in his search for the gangster who sexually assaulted him.
As Dutch tries to understand "The Cuddler" rapist, Vic enlists Danny for an important undercover assignment.
The pursuit of a gang hitman pits the tight-lipped Korean community against the police.
As Vic tries to sidetrack the money train investigation, Claudette goes undercover to crack a child porn ring.
As the Strike Team is threatened with exposure in the money train heist, Claudette goes it alone in order to find evidence of a public defender's drug addiction.
As Vic goes after Margos, Claudette risks her career to see that an innocent man is freed from prison.
As Vic pursues an escaped rapist, A.D.A Insardi sends Dutch and Claudette after a low level drug dealer.
As Monica is forced to defend her crime-fighting tactics, Vic's pursuit of a killer creates problems for Antwon, while Dutch's secret deal with the D.A.'s office gets him and Claudette assigned to a murder investigation.
A raid on a church being used as a drug drop places Monica in hot water with the community and her own cops.
As Aceveda uses a cleverly-edited videotape to force her to sideline Vic, Monica goes toe-to-toe with a social worker whose negligence led to the hospitalization of a seven-year-old foster child.
With Shane under orders to deliver Vic's body to Antwon, Monica looks for the leak that has led to the murder of some neighborhood informants.
As Shane enlists Vic and his men in the search for the body of a teenaged informant, the disappearance of two cops on patrol begins to look like payback for Monica's tough new policies.
As Vic decides to tell Monica the truth about Shane, Dutch and Claudette suspect an alleged serial killer of murder.
Vic pits Antwon's henchmen against each other in an effort to find the cop killers; Dutch and Claudette suspect Detective Billings of failing to stop a deadly carjacking.
Vic and Monica work to link Antwon to the cop killings, only to have Aceveda sell them out in an effort to keep the truth about his sexual assault from being made public.
Monica asks Vic to find a way to hold Antwon Mitchell responsible for the murder of two Farmington cops.
As the Barn mobilizes to find the baby that was cut out of a pregnant murder victim's body, Vic enlists a lawyer to help him fight the IAD investigation.
As Kavanaugh uses an investigation into the sale of stolen pharmaceuticals to ambush Vic and his team, an illegal immigrant helps lead Dutch to the body of a murder victim.
As Kavanaugh pressures Corrine, and the Strike Team suspects a white drug dealer of being involved in a gang turf war, Claudette and Dutch get a break in their pursuit of a serial killer.
As Kavanaugh traces a trail of stolen Armenian mob cash back to Vic, Claudette fights her illness in order to break the case against serial killer Kleavon Gardner.
As he and Vic cooperate to head off a gang turf war, Kavanaugh investigates the rape of his estranged wife.
Vic offers to help a drug dealer recover some stolen cash as a way to raise the money to post Lemonhead's bail.
As his efforts to protect Lem behind bars draw Vic into a trap set by gang kingpin Antwon Mitchell, the search for the assailant who is targeting gay men is undercut by Claudette and Dutch's growing mistrust in each other.
As Vic looks to get Lemonhead to safety, Kavanaugh goes all out to make his case against the Strike Team.
Claudette gives Vic a chance to save his job. An unsolved rape case resurfaces. Aceveda meets someone that can help him with his political career.
Vic learns he may have killed the wrong person in trying to avenge Lem's murder. Shane tells Mara about what he did in an attempt to save his marriage. Dutch makes progress in the serial rapist case.
As Vic tries to save his career, he finally learns who really killed Lem. Cassidy confronts her father.
A boy is shot at a festival, and Mexican government official is missing, and the newest informant for the Strike Team is a minx.
A woman is stabbed in the ghetto and Aceveda considers advancing his political career.
Members of the San Marcos murder crew are picked up due to snitches intel, and Homeland security gets involved with Armenian shipments.
The Armenians are looking for hit men to kill some cops, and the Strike Team looks to be a target. Plus, a young kid is busted right before he was to kill a Latino man as an initiation ritual into a gang.
The assassination of a city official undermines Vic's plan to fuel a war that will bring down both the Mexican and Armenian gangs.
As Vic and Aceveda work to conceal their complicity in the murder of the City Controller, a serial killer's trial threatens to expose the truth about Claudette's failing health.
After buying some time to continue his pursuit of Pezuela, Vic hatches a deadly plan to eliminate the Armenian mob and finally avenge Lem's murder.
As Shane looks to end the threat after realizing that he was marked for death by Vic, Dutch questions a greedy ex-cop about a series of burglaries in Claudette's neighborhood.
As Shane and his family are forced to run following his failed attempt to kill his former partners, Vic looks to parlay his connection to Pezuela into a job with a federal task force that is investigating the drug cartels.
As Shane and Mara stay one step ahead of Vic and the police, Aceveda cooperates with Pezuela to help the feds, while Dutch manipulates Rita Denton in his investigation of her teenage son, Lloyd.
As he puts a price on Shane's head, Vic is asked to prove his loyalty to Beltran by killing Pezuela.
As Claudette and Dutch work to get Mara and Corrine's cooperation, and Vic offers to negotiate a drug deal between Beltran and city's gangs, Shane threatens to expose the Strike Team's criminal past.
As Mara kills in order to keep her and Shane on the run, the confession Vic makes in exchange for immunity and to salvage his career stuns his federal handlers.
As Vic hopes his immunity deal will help keep his family together, and Shane takes extreme measures to keep his pregnant wife from being charged with murder, Dutch finds he's a suspect in the disappearance of a teenage serial killer's mother.