Plot[]
Jay Lawson, a 13-year-old boy, brags to his friends about having stolen his school records from the principal's office, and having scared the principal with his toy snake and injuring him with a mousetrap. His friends admire and applaud him for his actions.
Just then, a police officer, (Eliot) shows up, and takes Jay to the squad car, where his father, Officer Lawson, is waiting for him. He reprimands his son for his misbehavior, and Principal Danvers then arrives with Jay's mother. They had planned all this to teach Jay a lesson. Jay's friends admire him for being arrested, thinking it is cool. Officer Lawson and his partner, Officer Jarome, decide to bring him on patrol and scare him straight. They meet up in an alley with a former convict, Randy, whom they know well, and hand him a script. Randy is ordered to warn Jay about the dangers of bad decisions, and reluctantly agreed, on the condition that he receives a cheeseburger and fries in return.
Randy tells his life story to Jay and the consequences of his bad decisions.
However, the whole plan goes bust, when Randy ends up becoming a buddy to Jay. The two officers take him out of the car and reprimand him, and refuse to give him the meal, but Randy unintentionally leaves the script in the backseat. Jay finds it, and realizes that it was all planned. Frustrated with the lack of success, Officer Lawson and Officer Jarome, (Eliot) plan a change of strategy, before they receive an order from dispatch to respond to an incident at Dharla's, a local fast food restaurant. Being the only unit in the area, they respond to the scene. Upon arriving, they hear gunshots and encounter two armed men, Teddy, and Billy, who have taken several employees and patrons hostage, and threaten to open fire on the police.
Officer Lawson immediately calls for backup. Jay, thinking that this is another prank, decides to walk into the restaurant through the backdoor, which happens to be unlocked, and encounters the two gunmen. Teddy orders Billy to lock the backdoor, before ordering Jay to lie down next to the other hostages. Believing this is all staged, Jay blatantly refuses. However, Teddy proceeds to fire another shot into the air, and Jay quickly realizes that his life is in grave danger. Another hostage, a chef, warns Jay to comply with the demands of their captors.
Jay encounters Billy and Teddy in the restaurant.
Officer Lawson calls out, asking if there are any injured hostages. Billy responds, telling them about a child that had wandered into the store and was causing trouble. Having heard all the noise, Lawson panics and realizes that his son might have entered the restaurant, and orders Jarome to check the squad car's backseat. Meanwhile, several more officers have arrived, heavily armed. The gunmen prepare to make plans for an escape, and steal Jay's backpack. Upon opening it, however, they find a toy snake, causing them to drop their guns in fright. Jay calls out to his father, telling them that the gunmen have dropped their weapons.
Police storming the restaurant and arresting Billy and Teddy.
The police immediately storm the restaurant and arrest the gunmen. Officer Lawson is relieved that his son is safe, but reprimands him for having entered the restaurant. Teddy and Billy are taken to the police station and locked in jail. While visiting their cell, Lawson explains to his son that both will be facing a trial followed by a long prison sentence, and Billy asks for a second chance. Officer Lawson tells Billy that it's not him who decides if he should get a second chance, but a judge. Jay expresses his remorse for his earlier misbehavior and realizes the importance of making good decisions. His father is proud of him for his bravery, but tells his son he is still in trouble for his misbehavior at school.
Mrs. Lawson then calls her husband, and reprimands him for having allowed their son to end up in a hostage situation. Officer Lawson hangs up and realizes that both of them are now in trouble with her instead of the law.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Jay - Shaun Dixon
- Officer Lawson - Melvin Ward
- Regina Lawson - Shaunte Massard
- Jarome (credited as Police Officer 1) - Eliot
- Billy - Charles Laughlin
- Teddy - Kyle Colton
- Randy - Asger Folman
Supporting/Minor Cast[]
- Tiffany - Lauren Gravitt
- Student 1 - Jake McDermott
- Student 2 - Azuri Hardy-Jones
- Student 3 (Skylar) - Samantha Desman
- Student 5 - Polina Semenova
- Student 6 - Christian Ware
- Student 7 - Andrew Rodriguez
- Parent 1 - Remy O'Brien
- Parent 2 - Socorro Jones
- Principal Danvers - Sean Harris
- Bystander 1 - Kalond Irlanda
- Bystander 2 - Eric Gustavo
- Dispatch - Jean Vavra
- Customer 1 - Aliya Turdalinova
- Customer 2 - Seth Forkish
- Customer 3 - Bri Calliandra
- Employee 1 - Tyler Jacob Chambers
- Employee 2 - Mishelle Fuentes
- Employee 3 - Mico Saad
- Customer 4 - Brother Slate
- Customer 6 - Jeffrey Santos
- Customer 7 - Ryan Vania
- Customer 8 - Lisa Hunt
- Cook - Vince DonVito
- Waitress 1 - Alejandra López
- Police Officer 2 - Zack Dean
- Police Officer 3 - Mariana Flores
Trivia[]
- Regina divorced her husband after the events of this episode, and Jay also matured afterwards.
- This is the last appearance of Officer Lawson.
Allusions[]
- Teddy’s line: “Hush little Billy, don’t you cry!” References the line from Hush little Baby: “Hush little Baby, don’t you cry.”
Errors[]
- Principal Danvers is played by Sean Harris instead of Rebecca Ritz, although it's most likely because her husband is substituting.
- The title is misleading because when the video starts they were outside of the school instead of inside.