Detective Chris Skelton is the rookie of the 125th Precinct. As such he frequently must play mascot while others do the "real" detective work. Sam appreciates his open-mindedness and eagerness to learn. Since he's just staring out, he learns much of the police methods of those days from Lt. Gene Hunt and Det. Ray Carling. However, when Det. Sam Tyler arrives from Hyde, he begins to discover the investigation methods used by cops in the future. Towards the end of the series, in one episode, he is shot and wounded while on the job, but survives and continues working with the 125th Precinct.