In New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
Life in New York's infamous South Bronx from the perspective of a police officer. In the center is "Fort Apache", as the officers call their police station, which to them feels like an outpost in enemy territory. The story follows officer Murphy, who gives the impression of a tough cynic, but in truth he's a moralist with a sense of justice.—Anonymous
At the 41st Police Precinct in the South Bronx 18-year veteran Murphy (Paul Newman) is pretty much on auto pilot, looking to be a good cop, but also determined to do it with as little aggravation as possible by combining good police work with a social conscience. But new Precinct Captain Connolly (Ed Asner) arrives, having volunteered for the assignment, and intends to get the cop killer who has been shooting police officers.
The neighborhood begins to rebel by rioting against the police force and Fort Apache, the nickname for the 41st Precinct because of the salvation role it plays in the borough. Connely mandates arrests to be made regardless of severity of infractions in order to find the killer responsible for the police murders, but when Murphy sees fellow officer Morgan (Danny Aiello) murder an innocent man, he must address his conscience to decide whether to confront his fellow cop.
Given that his girl/pal Dominican nurse Isabella (Rachel Ticotin) is also shooting up drugs only adds to the internal conflict Murphy goes through in having to balance his sense of right with community solidarity. After a shoot out in the hospital where many casualties touch him personally, Murphy decides what's best for the community and his conscience.
