| "Chasing Demons" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 19.14 | → |
| Production number: 19014 First aired: 28 February 2018 | ||
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| Written By Richard Sweren & Allison Intrieri Directed By Fred Berner | ||
Summary
A doctor arrested for sexually abusing his patients is set free after Cassidy's testimony causes a mistrial.
Plot
ADA Stone and the SVU are in the process of a trial, in which a doctor, Markus West, is accused of performing oral sex and molesting little boys. The trial is going well until Brian Cassidy testifies. West's lawyer brings up Cassidy's past, including the case of Carissa Gibson and when he was accused of rape by Heather Riggs, an accusation Brian says he was cleared of. The lawyer then accuses Cassidy of police brutality and being a racist, and Cassidy loses it, saying that he would love to see West in a body bag. The lawyer immediately asks for a mistrial, which the judge grants, despite Stone's objection.
The detectives visit the families of the three boys who testified. All three boys are unsettled, depressed, and tense after the mistrial, with most of the parents infuriated at Cassidy. Despite the detectives' efforts, all boys and their parents are reluctant to testify again due to the trauma. Benson visits a bar after Cassidy gets into a drunken fight with a man who criticized him about the incident in court. She tries to talk to Cassidy, but Cassidy yells at her and tells her to go away. That night, Benson is in her bedroom asleep when there is loud, constant banging on her door. Afraid, she gets her gun and checks her door's peephole, where she finds Cassidy covered in blood.
Rollins and Carisi turn up at West's house the following morning and discover his dead body with circled bruises in his chest. They are, however, told to leave by Detective Devin Holiday. Benson interrogates Cassidy in her apartment, and Cassidy denies murdering West, claiming that he was knocked out when he was visiting West and eventually woke up next to his dead body.
Meanwhile, Rollins takes Noah out for breakfast and notices Noah is distractedly drawing on a piece of paper. Rollins realizes he is drawing a pair of boots, to which Noah says big black boots were at Benson's apartment, leading Rollins to believe Benson is secretly in a romantic relationship. She confronts Benson about it, and Benson confirms they were Cassidy's and tells Rollins about him. Rollins and Benson get into a heated argument, with Rollins believing Cassidy is guilty of murder and telling her to bring him in, but Benson says to give her some time to investigate.
Rollins goes to Benson's apartment to confront Cassidy, where the two get into a huge fight, insulting each other about their sexual pasts. Eventually, Cassidy dares Rollins to handcuff him; Rollins says she wouldn't go behind Benson's back and furiously leaves. Eventually, Stone finds out about Cassidy and confronts Benson. However, before the two could get into an argument, Cassidy turns up with his bloody clothes, to which Stone tells Fin to call Holiday to interrogate him. Cassidy denies the murder allegations, but Benson comes in saying Cassidy asked for a lawyer. Holiday accuses Benson of standing up for Cassidy because of their past relationship, but Benson denies this.
Eventually, Kaylie Price, whose son Sammy was one of West's victims, becomes a suspect, but they are then led to her boyfriend Glanville, who is missing his fishing knife. Glanville is arrested, but Benson notices Sammy's older brother Reggie playing with a fidget spinner that has one of the metal pieces missing. She asks to look at it, and Reggie willingly passes it over to her. Benson discovers that the piece of metal used to brand West was from the fidget spinner. Reggie claims he murdered West because he was also one of the doctor's victims, and blames himself for not mentioning this to his mother before Sammy was also victimized.
Cassidy goes to meet Stone at a restaurant, where Stone angrily berates Cassidy for ruining the case. Cassidy accepts responsibility for his outburst in court, but begs Stone to go easy on Reggie who will surely be chasing demons for the rest of his life. Cassidy also reveals that long ago, he himself was a victim of abuse (by his Little League coach). Due to the circumstances and the molestation accusations against West, Reggie is given a light sentence and Cassidy is cleared. Cassidy and Benson have one last meeting, where he tells her that he didn't know she was being accused of child abuse when he was talking to the investigator of Benson's case, and that he never meant to upset her. Benson and Cassidy reminisce about their romantic past, before hugging. Cassidy then watches Benson go into the restaurant. Benson pauses and looks out the window to look at Cassidy, but he is gone.
Cast
Main cast
- Mariska Hargitay as Lieutenant Olivia Benson
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Peter Scanavino as Detective Dominick Carisi, Jr.
- Philip Winchester as A.D.A. Peter Stone
Recurring cast
- Kathryn Kates as Judge Marlene Simons
- Dean Winters as DA Investigator Brian Cassidy
- Ryan Buggle as Noah Porter-Benson
- Dov Tiefenbach as M.E. Fitz
Guest cast
- Kylie Bunbury as Detective Devin Holiday
- Pernell Walker as Kayla Price
- Dominic Colón as Felix Ramos
- Karina Arroyave as Sylvia Ramos
- Daryl Edwards as Dr. West's Attorney
- Stephen Hill as Glanville
- Brett Gray as Reggie Price
- Molly Jobe as Natalie Roberts
- Anthony Grasso as Lorenzo
- Barrett Shuler as Sergeant Ryan Klypla
- Jeff Panzarella as Detective Frankie Turano
- Jonathon Ruckman as Sully
- Lorenzo Scott as Dr. Markus West
- Asher Talty as Sammy Price
- Camrin Delvalle as Hector Ramos
References
references
Quotes
- Olivia: (to Detective Holiday after Cassidy asks for a lawyer during his interrogation) Hey. He asked for his lawyer.
- Detective Devin Holiday: Defending your ex. That's touching.
- Olivia: I wouldn't need to if I thought he was getting a fair shake in here.
- Detective Holiday: You have something that points to another suspect? (Olivia doesn't answer) I didn't think so.
- Olivia: So you do what you need to do, Detective, but the next time you have a problem with me, at least have the balls to talk to me face-to-face, huh? Cop to cop.
- Carisi: (to Detective Holiday) It's a little early in the morning for stick up your ass.
Background Information and Notes
- Philip Winchester is now a main cast member.
- The Chicago Cubs are mentioned several times in this episode. Peter Stone used to play for the Cubs (before being sidelined by injury), and the character Glanville was apparently named after Doug Glanville, who once played for the Cubs as well.
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Supreme Court |
Ramos Household |
McCaffree's Pub |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Forde's Diner |
Apartment of |
LA Diagonal |
| Previous episode: "The Undiscovered Country" |
"Chasing Demons" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 19 |
Next episode: "In Loco Parentis" |