<P> The third season saw a number of changes to the show . The character of Joanne St. John was eliminated to make room for councilwoman Harriet Delong . Althea grappled with the effects and aftermath of rape, after she was attacked and raped by the music teacher at Sparta High School . We learned that Parker was a Vietnam veteran . Dee Shaw joined the cast as officer Dee Sheppard . </P> <P> In plot lines, Parker almost crosses the line between police ethics and love when he falls for Kate Morell and her daughter J.C.; a former boxer that used to run for the mob tries to blackmail them . The chief tries unsuccessfully to save him, telling Althea, "The FBI wants to buy what King Baylor knows before the mob kills him and the mob wants him dead before the FBI can buy him . It's that simple". Althea's reply is "Chief, I believe that is the coldest thing I have ever heard you say". There is a murder at a nursing home, and a race riot almost erupts when a white cab driver who got a black girl pregnant in The Bottoms is found dead with $1,500 missing . Gillespie and Tibbs take opposite sides in the case, creating some tense drama . Althea's girlfriend from high school visits from Philadelphia and quickly takes an interest in Officer Sweet, but things end tragically . The chief must save a young girl from being tried as an adult after she is charged with killing her parents and hiding their bodies . </P> <P> In "First Girl", Gillespie hires Christine Rankin, Sparta PD's first female black officer . Her life is tragically cut short, making room for her replacement, Luanne Corbin, played by Crystal R. Fox . Luanne would remain a prominent character throughout the rest of the series, although Crystal Fox was listed in the ending credits as a guest star until season seven where she finally appeared in the opening credits . </P> <P> In the two - part episode, "Citizen Trundel", written by O'Connor, Cynthia Deming, and William J. Royce, Harriet DeLong's sister Natalie is murdered by her secret lover, multimillionaire V.J Trundel . The situation causes Harriet a tremendous amount of grief, not only because of Natalie's murder, but because Gillespie and Tibbs are not able to implicate Trundel in the crime, much less charge him for it . In Part Two, it is shown that Norman Luft and Jessica Franks, two of Trundel's most trusted employees, facilitated not only Natalie's murder but the murder of the man they hired to kill her . Jessica is arrested, and Luft is apprehended attempting to leave Sparta by private plane with Trundel . Gillespie confronts Trundel with the knowledge that even though he has escaped a murder charge, he will still have to live with the burden of having his lover and the mother of his son, Eric Delong, murdered and having to live with the risk that Eric would one day confront him over it . Unable to bear the weight of his guilt, Trundel commits suicide by crashing the plane only minutes after taking off . This episode was of special significance to series costar Denise Nicholas . Ten years before, her real - life sister had been murdered and the culprit had never been caught . When Carroll O'Connor approached Denise about the story line, she had to write him a note explaining the situation . He offered to have her not appear in the episode but she chose to do so to bring closure for her and her family . Only Carroll O'Connor and director Leo Penn knew the truth during filming . This is the first episode in which we see Bill and Harriet's relationship begin to gel . </P>

Black police woman on in the heat of the night
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