This episode appears to be based on the Chad MacDonald case.
During this episode Briscoe reveals that McCoy's father was a cop in Chicago, not New York.
Sara Teasdale, the name of the female shooting victim in this episode, is also the name of a well-known 20th century American poet.
John Jellison has played three different roles over the course of the series:
- Episode 9.3 Bait (1998) - Mr. Teasdale.
- Episode 11.10 Whose Monkey Is It Anyway? (2001) - Paul Marra.
- Episode 14.19 Nowhere Man (2004) - Mike O'Dwyer.