A Shot in the Dark
When Peter’s couch is stolen from his front lawn, the guys form a neighborhood watch group. While on duty, Peter sees someone trying to climb into Cleveland’s house and he shoots him. Peter is then arrested and charged with a hate crime. Meanwhile, Cleveland is touched when Peter finally admits to the accident, so he takes the fall for the crime and Peter is exonerated.
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Peter has the couch outside of the house and he and the guys take advantage of it to do their drinking, but when it is taken, they decide to form a community watch. Despite Joe's explanation that they can't get guns, Peter manages to get his hands on several. When Peter spots a shadowy figure getting into Cleveland's house, he accidentally shoots Cleveland Jr..
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At the hospital, Peter meets the Browns and finds Cleveland and Donna upset, considering him a racist as Jr. explains that he didn't hear Peter approach due to his listening to music on a headset. As Joe tries to explain that the police have considered it an accident, Cleveland refuses to have anything further to do with Peter, going on television to force the city of Quahog to consider it a hate crime. The Griffins become pariahs and Peter decides to prove that he isn't racist. He tries to take Cleveland a drink and cigars but is rebuffed, and his clumsiness results in Cleveland's house catching on fire. As a crowd gathers, Peter's screams for the family to get out of the burning house are misconstrued as threats and Joe is forced to arrest Peter on orders of his supervisors to pacify the black community.
In jail, Carter arrives and offers his help in bailing him out, as well as providing a distraction for the community. In court, Jr.'s testimony reduces the room to tears but Carter's lawyer attacks Jr.'s music choice, hinting that he is a thug. Peter objects to the character assassination as the lawyer even tricks Jr. into taking a knife, and making it appear that he is a threat. Cleveland confronts Peter outside the courtroom and insists that their friendship is over. As the mob turns on Cleveland and his family outside of their home, Peter intercedes and admits to shooting Jr.. Cleveland is touched by this action and claims to have shot Jr. himself, causing the crowd to flee in disinterest in black-on-black crime. He admits that he realized that Peter only shot Jr. due to his stupidity, not due to being racist. Peter apologizes to Jr. and it is accepted until Cleveland leaves, then he threatens Peter, laughs it off and then leaves him wondering if he is joking or not.