When The First 48 viewers learned about the death of Detective John Brown, it sent shockwaves through the fan base, with good reason. It was hard to imagine what the community of Tulsa would do without him. It was also certain that the A&E show needed to acknowledge his passing. So when The First 48 Season 28 resumed on Sept. 4 with the episode “Deadly Connection,” it was fitting that it was a John Brown episode.

“Deadly Connection” saw Det. Brown investigating the murder of Anthony Welch, and audiences likely picked up quickly that this was one of the First 48 episodes held back for legal or production reasons—the investigation stretched over months (causing the show to even omit its “in the first 48” mid-show recap), certain aspects were blurred out, and there were big questions left unresolved. But the delay that is often a source of frustration for viewers turned out to be a blessing.

This episode featured several familiar faces from The First 48 past—retired Detectives Michael Zenoni and Ronnie Leatherman had significant parts to play, with the “techno-scary” Zenoni even making one of the major breaks in the case. Corporal Joe Campbell popped up to deliver forensic results. There was a blink and you missed it glimpse of now-Lieutenant Chase Calhoun in the background. Crime analyst Margot Heyne-Bell, who is still with Tulsa PD and never gets spoken about enough, also made an appearance. This was, in a way, an opportunity to be reminded of how many people Det. Brown worked with and how many lives he touched.

It’s not known if the powers that be at A&E picked this episode on purpose; it seems unlikely, given that the erratic scheduling this summer has included weeks of The First 48 Presents Critical Minutes and preemptions for Homicide Squad: New Orleans. But whether they did or didn’t, they gave fans an incredible gift. Det. John Brown wasn’t just present in “Deadly Connection.” This was an episode where he was in charge, and his talents as well as his camaraderie with his teammates got a chance to shine.

Knowing now what he was dealing with health-wise made the episode even more poignant. The First 48 rarely nails down when an episode takes place, for exactly this reason—because no one knows at the time when that episode will make it to air. But regardless of when this investigation happened, to see Det. Brown working it in his usual affable manner, to watch how he never let frustration slow him down, was a reminder of how much of a great person he was. He was someone that all of us could learn from, in the way that he simply worked hard and cared about his colleagues and cared about the victims of his cases, without needing any fanfare.

The only way this could have been better is if A&E had used the First 48 reruns it shows before every new episode as a Det. John Brown marathon—reairing some of his past investigations. Or even doing a Brown-centric memorial installment, the way that Mobile fan-favorite Jermaine Rogers got his own episode a few seasons ago. But one surmises that Det. Brown wouldn’t have wanted that much attention. He was so grounded and so approachable, and “Deadly Connection” reflected that, too.

The First 48 ended with a card in memory of Det. John Brown, but that was just the icing on the cake. He deserved more than a post-credits card; his heart was so much bigger than that. The real tribute was getting to see him in action one last time, and being able to reflect on everything he brought to the Tulsa Homicide unit, as well as the community of Tulsa and to the millions of fans who never met him, but were better for having known him.

The First 48 airs Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on A&E. Photo Credit: Screenshot/Courtesy of A&E.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.