The Wire
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The Wire

Charles Marimow is a shift lieutenant in the Baltimore Police Department. He briefly served as the commander of the Major Crimes Unit in 2006 to curtail their investigation into political corruption.

Biography[]

Season 4[]

In 2006, he was installed as the commander of the Major Crimes Unit by William Rawls based on his hostile reputation to properly supervise the unit's detectives and prevent them upsetting politicians. Marimow renews the unit's focus on more obviously violent drug dealers and closed down their wiretaps on Marlo Stanfield. His caustic command style drove away Lester Freamon and Shakima Greggs, the unit's best two detectives, leaving him with only Leander Sydnor and Caroline Massey. His unit's staffing problems are solved when Sergeant Hauk transfers back, bringing Officer Dozerman with him. Marimow and Herc develop an immediate mutual dislike which worsened over their tenure.

Marimow is one of the most unanimously disliked commanders of the Baltimore PD as he has a reputation for being a "Trojan Horse", "Virus", and a "Unit Killer." It is stated by Sergeant Landsman that "Marimow does not cast off talent lightly. He heaves it away with great force." Marimow is also unafraid to threaten his subordinate's careers as a means of punishing them for insubordination or similar defiances. He prides himself on being a streetwise commander and having worked his way up through the ranks. While Marimow has worked hard to earn his rank, his hostile command style has established his negative reputation throughout the department.

He believes it would be easy to topple Marlo Stanfield, but his first series of raids failed spectacularly because he underestimates his targets. Marimow orders his men to take Stanfield down, leading Herc to break several rules by hiring a lip reader to spy on Stanfield, and using a video camera without a court order or Marimow's approval. Marimow accurately suspects Herc of lying to him about the source of his information. Herc also has Internal Investigations Division (IID) complaints sent to the office for attempted arrests based on misinformation. Marimow vows to Herc that he would be happy to attend his "execution" at an IID trial if he could prove he was lying. Marimow leaves the Unit when Cedric Daniels becomes the Criminal Investigations Division colonel and reinstalls Lester Freamon and Lieutenant Asher. Off camera, however, it can be inferred that Marimow reported Herc's misdeeds to the IID as Herc is eventually suspended from the department pending a hearing.

Production[]

Appearances[]

Season 4
"Boys of Summer" "Soft Eyes" "Home Rooms" "Refugees" "Alliances"
"Margin of Error" "Unto Others" "Corner Boys" "Know Your Place" "Misgivings"
"A New Day" "That's Got His Own" "Final Grades"

Notes[]

  • The name 'Marimow' is taken from a former editor at the Baltimore Sun, a figure strongly disliked by former Sun reporter and creator of The Wire, David Simon.
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