Baltimore Police Department

The fictionalized version of the Baltimore City Police Department.

Overview

The Baltimore City Police Department is led by a Police Commissioner, who is appointed by the Office of the Mayor to a six-year term. He is assisted by a Deputy Commissioners of Operations and Administration. The Police Commissioner answers directly to the Office of the Mayor and outlines departmental goals which are enforced by the Deputy Commissioners. The Deputy Ops oversees the department's nine district and investigative unit commanders. The Deputy Admin oversees the Internal Investigations Division and internal affairs. The fictionalized department uses the following ranks: Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Deputy Commissioner of Administration, Colonel, Major, Lieutenant, Sergeant, and Officer. Detectives fall into a rank that coincides with their administrative position. The Criminal Investigations Division is commanded by a Colonel and oversees the Homicide, Narcotics, and Major Cases units, which are commanded by Majors. Majors also command the nine individual districts: Central, Northern, Northeastern, Eastern, Southeastern, Southern, Southwestern, Western, and Northwestern.

Detectives use a database known as the Baltimore Police Identification (BPI) system to access information on suspects and targets in criminal investigations.

Membership

	ACTIVE
	RESIGNED
	DECEASED
	PROMOTED/TRANSFERRED

Command
Picture	Name	Seasons	Status	Overview
	Stanislaus Valchek	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Valchek is the current Police Commissioner.
	Robert Reed	1, 3, 4	Active	Reed is a major and commander of the Internal Investigations Division.
	William Rawls	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Promoted	Rawls was the former Acting Commissioner until his promotion in 2008. He served as the commander of the Homicide Unit, Criminal Investigations Division, and Deputy Commissioner of Operations.
	Cedric Daniels	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Daniels was the Police Commissioner until his retirement in 2008. He served as a shift lieutenant in the Narcotics Unit; commander of Major Crimes Unit Commander, Western District, and Criminal Investigations Division; and Deputy Commissioner of Operations.
	Ervin Burrell	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Burrell was the Commissioner of Police for Baltimore City until his forced retirement in 2008.
	Raymond Foerster	1, 3, 4	Deceased	Raymond Foerster was the commander of Criminal Investigations Division until his death in 2004. He served as the major and commander of the Narcotics Unit.
	Warren Frazier	1	Deceased	Frazier was the Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department until his death in 2002.

Major Crimes Unit

The Major Crimes Unit was established by Cedric Daniels in 2003 as part of a prior agreement with Commissioner Ervin Burrell. The unit's main responsibility is to build cases against high profile targets responsible for murder, drug distribution and money laundering in Baltimore. The unit was originally formed by a group of detectives dumped upon Daniels by shift Lieutenants to make a case against Avon Barksdale. It is currently under the command of the Criminal Investigation Division and is run by Lester Freamon even though on paper it is commanded by Lieutenant Asher.

The detail's office in 2002 located in the basement of a downtown building where the only redeeming features are working telephones and electricity. In 2003, the detail is moved into an old building located at 1911 South Clinton Street in the southeastern part of town leased by the transit police courtesy of Major Valchek.

Major Crimes Unit
Picture	Name	Seasons	Status	Overview
	James Asher	4, 5	Active	Asher is the major and commander of the Major Crimes Unit.
	Caroline Massey	3, 4	Active	Massey is a middle aged Detective with an ear for slang and a penchant for clipping coupons.
	Leander Sydnor	1, 3, 4, 5	Active	Sydnor is a young, married detective in the Baltimore major case unit with a talent for investigative work and the stomach for drawn-out cases.
	Ellis Carver	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Promoted	A detective on Daniels narcotics shift who followed him into the Barksdale and Sobotka details. He left the detail in 2003 to serve as commander of the Western District Drug Enforcement Unit.
	Kenneth Dozerman	3, 4, 5	Transferred	Dozerman is a young detective in Tactical Unit who worked with the Major Crimes Unit from 2006 to 2008.
	Shakima Greggs	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Transferred	She transferred to Homicide Unit when Lieutenant Marimow came into the unit as he was a caustic commander who was difficult to work for.
	Charles Marimow	4, 5	Transferred	Marimow is the former unit commander who was given the role to curtail their investigation into political corruption.
	Augustus Polk	1, 2, 5	Transferred	Polk is an aging alcoholic detective from the property department who is often assigned to details because he is regarded as useless.
	Michael Santangelo	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Transferred	Santangelo was partnered with James McNulty in 2002. Santangelo transferred to the Western District to serve as a police van driver.
	Lester Freamon	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Freamon was the MCU's true commanding officer from 2006 to 2008 until his forced resignation.
	Thomas Hauk	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Herc is former narcotics detective who transferred to the Mayor's security detail. He returned to the MCU as a newly promoted sergeant. Herc retired after an Internal Investigations Division hearing.
	James McNulty	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	McNulty served in the MCU from 2002 until his transfer to the Western District in 2004.
	Patrick Mahon	1	Resigned	Mahon is an elderly detective who retires after an injury in 2002.
	Roland Pryzbylewski	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Prez served in the MCU from 2002 to 2004, when he accidentally shot Derrick Waggoner, a black plainclothes officer.

Homicide Unit

The Homicide Unit of the Baltimore City Police Department is responsible for the investigation of all unexplained deaths that take place within Baltimore City. They are also responsible for investigating all police-related shootings, and, because the homicide unit is generally regarded as containing the best detectives on the police force, they are often given high-profile cases which are not necessarily homicides. A clearance rate of fifty percent or more for the year is aimed for and the Unit is amongst the most demanding in the Criminal Investigations Division. The unit  and is comprised of three squads: Landsman, Nolan, and unknown. their located on the sixth floor of the headquarters building. Sergeant Landsman's squad is typically the focus of the show, (according to David Simon's book, there are typically three homicide squads in Baltimore, on rotating shifts). The unit is currently under the C.I.D. supervision of Colonel Cedric Daniels. The unit uses a red-black system of tracking cases where red is the color for an open or not cleared case and black is the color for a closed and cleared case. Additionally similar slang such as "dunkers" (easy cases), "whodunits" (difficult cases), and "redball" (media attention gaining cases) are used to describe the various cases. A running practical joke within the unit is to cut a sleeping detective's necktie with scissors and pin them to a notice board in the unit office. Detectives often fall asleep in the office (or on stakeout) because of the overtime demands and have at times worked double and triple shifts as they have dealt with multiple murders. This was used most prominently in the third season.

Homicide Unit
Picture	Name	Seasons	Status	Overview
	Jay Landsman	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Landsman is one of three Homicide squad sergeants.
	Michael Crutchfield	3, 4, 5	Active	Crutchfield is a caustic veteran homicide detective.
	Shakima Greggs	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Greggs transferred to Homicide Unit in 2006 after the Lieutenant Marimow assumed command of MCU.
	Vernon Holley	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Holley is a burley African American homicide detective partnered with Norris.
	William Moreland	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Bunk is an alcoholic, womanizing
	Edward Norris	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Norris is a veteran homicide detective with a biting sense of humour.
	Winona	2, 3, 4	Active	Winona is an administrator in Homicide Unit.
	William Rawls	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Promoted	Rawls was major and commander of Homicide Unit until his promotion to colonel and commander of Criminal Investigations Division in 2002.
	Michael Santangelo	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Transferred	Santangelo, after failing to meet Major Rawls's clearance demands, transferred to the Western District to serve as a patrol wagon driver.
	Lester Freamon	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Freamon was removed from Homicide in the 90s. He returned in 2002 but left again in 2003 to serve in the MCU. He briefly returned to Homicide in 2006 after Marrimow was assigned command of the MCU, but became de facto commander of the MCU in late 2006.
	James McNulty	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	McNulty served in Homicide from 2000 until he was transferred to the Marine Unit in 2002. He rejoined Homicide in 2008, where he remained until his forced resignation later that year.
	Ray Cole	1, 2, 3	Deceased	Cole was a member of Sergeant Landsman's Homicide squad until his death in 2004.

Western District

The Western District of Baltimore is the city's most violent district and centered in the middle of West Baltimore at 1034 North Mount Street. This district has been examined in greater depth than any other on The Wire and was the epicenter of the major investigations in seasons one, three and four. The Western District is without a District Major as Howard Colvin was forced into retirement and Cedric Daniels was promoted to C.I.D. colonel.

Western District
Picture	Name	Seasons	Status	Overview
	Dennis Mello	3, 4, 5	Active	Lieutenant Mello is the acting commander of the Western District and a veteran lieutenant who served as deputy to both Howard Colvin and Cedric Daniels.
	Ellis Carver	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Lieutenant Carver is commander of the Western District Drug Enforcement Unit.
File:BLAH.jpg	Brian Baker	3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Baker is a rookie patrol officer.
	Robert Brown	3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Brown is a veteran patrol officer.
File:BLAH.jpg	Aaron Castor	3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Castor is a rookie patrol officer.
File:BLAH.jpg	Lloyd Garrick	3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Garrick is a Drug Enforcement Unit officer.
File:BLAH.jpg	Lambert	3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Lambert is a Drug Enforcement Unit officer.
	Michael Santangelo	3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Santangelo drives one of the Western District's prisoner transport vehicles.
	Edward Walker	4	Active	Officer Walker is a young and corrupt Western District patrol officer.
	Kenneth Dozerman	3, 4, 5	Transferred	Officer Dozerman served in the Western District DEU until he transferred to MCU in 2006.
	Howard Colvin	2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Colvin is the former major and commander of the Western District who was forced to resign in 2004.
	Anthony Colicchio	3, 4, 5	Resigned	Officer Colicchio is a former Western District Drug Enforcement Unit officer.
	Thomas Hauk	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	Officer Hauk served in the Western District Drug Enforcement Unit until he transferred to the Mayor's security detail in 2006.
	James McNulty	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	Resigned	McNulty served in the Western District from 1996 to 2000 until his transfer to Homicide Unit. He returned to the Western District in 2006 until his transfer to MCU in 2008.

Others

The following are former officers or assistant police not part of a District, Administrative, or Criminal Investigations Division.

Others
Picture	Name	Seasons	Status	Overview
	Claude Diggins	2	Active	Officer Diggins works in the Marine Unit.
	Randall Frazier	1, 2, 3	Active	Frazier is a Medical Examiner.
	Beatrice Russell	2, 3, 4, 5	Active	Officer Russell works in Port Administration.
File:BLAH.jpg	SWAT Team Leader	1, 2, 3	Active	The SWAT team leader often appears when warrants are issued for raids.
File:BLAH.jpg	Marvin Taylor	3	Active	Lieutenant Taylor was major and commander of the Eastern District until his demotion to lieutenant in 2004.