What is a heart attack letter in ‘Mayor of Kingstown?’

The Paramount Plus series Mayor of Kingstown follows the McLusky family and their attempt to restructure Kingstown, Michigan. Throughout the show, the McLusky family will have to deal with various hard-hitting issues preventing the city from progressing, including inequality, systematic racism, and corruption, to name a few.

The critically-acclaimed series, stars Jeremy Renner, Emma Laird, Nichole Galicia, Hugh Dillon, Kyle Chandler, Taylor Handley, Dianne Wiest, Aidan Gillen, Hamish Allan-Headley, and many others. The series made headlines following the premiere of two consecutive episodes, including “In Left with the Nose” and “Drones,” which both took place during season two.

In the episode, “Left with the Nose,” police Sergeant Robert Sawyer (Headley) revealed that he was given a “heart attack letter,” with which the district attorney advised him to lawyer up. This all took place while in a crisis meeting with Mike (Renner), Detective Kyle McLusky (Handley), and Detective Ian Ferguson (Dillon).

This article will address what a “heart attack letter” is, why Robert and his SWAT team received it, how this could jeopardize his team’s future, and how Mike saved the day.

Spoilers ahead!

The heart attack letter, explained

According to Fiction Horizon, a “heart attack letter” is a document sent out to an individual or a team when Kingston PD internal affairs plan to investigate them. In this case, Robert received the letter because the government looked into the numerous inmates’ deaths when a prison riot ensued.

This riot was incited while detectives Ferguson and (Ian) McLusky tried transferring a criminal, Milo Sunter, to the DA’s office.

Why are Robert Sawyer and his SWAT team involved in the heart attack letter?

In the early stages of the prison riot, Ian and Kyle were knocked unconscious by the individuals who instigated the rampage. After waking up, the detectives found themselves trapped in the middle of a riot and attempted to hide in the prison’s vent. While in the vent, Kyle informed Sgt. Sawyer about their location and the event that had transpired.

Sawyer and his SWAT team immediately rushed to rescue Ian and Kyle, but it came at a price. To get the men, Sawyer and his team had to make the tough decision to shoot and kill inmates, and because this incident occurred outside the force’s jurisdiction, it caused a lot of conflict up the chain of command.

During the episode, Sawyer assumed he received the heart attack letter because an inmate shared information about what happened with the district attorney. But it was later revealed that one of Robert’s men was actually behind this. What makes matters even worse is that this individual and the SWAT team have also participated in other illegal shootings against criminals to prevent them from using the justice system in their favor.

Robert ultimately discovers the identity of the person who betrayed him in the next episode, “Drones.” The individual was known as “Ben”. The episode revealed that Ben negotiated a deal with the district attorney to testify against his colleagues. This revelation would upset others, including Ian and Kyle because they claimed that Ben shot about 20 inmates at least.

How does Mike help Robert and his SWAT team?

As things came to a head, Mike advised Robert to make sure that everyone’s story regarding the situation was similar so that they combat Ben’s testimony.

In addition to suggesting the indistinguishable story, Mike also shared with Robert and the team that they should refrain from communicating with Ben due to his alliance with the district attorney. Mike brings up that he is the only person who can directly speak to Ben because he isn’t connected to the investigation. With his ties to the assistant district attorney, Mike can also get details regarding the case that can help Robert and the team.

However, Ben is soon let’s say… “Out of the picture”, and things regarding the letter and the ensuing court case are in some serious jeopardy. In the meantime, Mike is indeed evermore focused on the Aryan Brotherhood, the town’s true menaces as the second season draws to a close.

All episodes of Mayor of Kingstown are currently streaming on Paramount Plus.