In the final scenes, Chief Gillespie and Det. Tibbs have a minor disagreement when Gillespie suggests he not put up a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. Tibbs counters by pointing out there is a painting of Robert E. Lee already in the office. In Mississippi and some other Southern U.S. states, the third Monday in January is officially celebrated as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert E. Lee Day, as both men had birthdays on the same day (January 19th).
Det. Tibbs' unmarked police car is a 1975 or 1976 Ford LTD, while the marked patrol cars are much newer mid-80's model Crown Victorias.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday is January 15th not January 19th.
This episode, and the previous one, Pilot: Part 1 (1988), originally aired as a TV movie. The producers of the series later edited the film into episodes of the show.
Because of a post-production error, in the syndicated version of the two-part pilot, four credits appear in the opening credits of part one but not part two. They are for composer Dick DeBenedictis, cinematographer Brianne Murphy, production designer William Hiney (as Bill Hiney) and editor Jack Harnish.