I recently began re-watching "Quincy" and am 2/3 of the way through the fourth season. One of the things I have really noticed is that of all the regulars on the show, the character of Lt. Monahan is by far the stupidest guy on the program. He ALWAYS seems to making snap judgments, ALWAYS resents when Quincy wants to thoroughly investigate ANYTHING and seems as dumb as a tomato (and a particularly dumb tomato at that). Well, in this episode he adds another milestone to his career of incompetence--he slugs a prisoner who is in custody!! Wow...this guy is something!
The show begins with a crazed PCP user smashing into a police car and attacking both the cops--while his friend runs off. Because the drug user is so out of it, he's like a human killing machine and the policemen try hard to stop him. Oddly, however, the PCP-head falls down dead after he's attacked by the senior cop (Neville Brand). Before the body even becomes cold, a local anti-police activist (William Daniels) begins screaming about police brutality. Can Quincy manage to prove the police acted responsibly....and can he bail out Monahan's butt after he decides the best way to get to the truth is to beat up the PCP-head's slimy friend?!
The show was very informative when it came to PCP--which, fortunately, is not as popular as it was back in the 1970s. However, the character of the activist was a bit one-dimensional and Monahan is, even more than usual, a complete knucklehead. Decent but about average.