The Wire
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The Wire

Colonel Raymond Foerster was the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). He formerly served as a major and commander of the Narcotics Unit.

Biography[]

Background[]

Foerster joined the BPD in 1967. ("Corner Boys")

Season[]

After Judge Phelan inquired about the Barksdale Organization to Deputy Commissioner Burrell, Narcotics Unit Commander Foerster and Homicide Unit Commander Rawls had to provide answers. Foerster asked shift lieutenant Cedric Daniels to draft a report. He later assigned Daniels and his team to the Barksdale detail. ("The Target")

When Daniels' investigation became drawn out and relied upon wiretaps and surveillance, Foerster took the side of Deputy Commissioner Burrell against Daniels when he tried to explain the necessity of this technique to reach the heads of the organization. Foerster's and Burrell's insistence on using buy busts led to the operation that resulted with the shooting of Detective Greggs. Foerster visited Greggs in the hospital with many other command officers and appeared anxious when trying to find a tape recorder to replay the last transmissions before she was shot.

Season 3[]

After Rawls became Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Foerster was promoted to Colonel and Commander of the Criminal Investigations Division. He was replaced as the Narcotics Major by George Smith, an associate of Major Colvin. He attended Rawls' weekly ComStat meetings and worked with Sergeant Jay Landsman in running the Homicide Unit. He was put under intense pressure to keep the murder rate down.[1]

Season 4[]

Foerster continued to command CID. He was involved with the management of the murder of a state's witness that became a politically important case. Burrell ordered Foerster to replace veteran investigator Ed Norris with Shakima Greggs, now a rookie homicide detective. Foerster realizes Burrell hopes to slow the investigation. He assumed Burrell's intent was to prevent the investigation from revealing the victim's witness status as a possible motive for the murder before the upcoming mayoral election. Foerster argues with Burrell and Rawls about the decision and discussed it with Jay Landsman. Foerster suffered from cancer during this time and was often absent from work. Repeated courses of chemotherapy failed to cure the disease. Landsman announced the Colonel's death to the homicide unit stating that he served 39 years in the department without leaving a trace of bitterness or hatred with any officers, a miraculous career by BPD standards. A police wake was held at an Irish bar in his honor. He was replaced as CID commander by Cedric Daniels at a promotion ceremony following his death.

Production[]

Appearances[]

Season 1
"The Target" "The Detail" "The Buys" "Old Cases" "The Pager"
"The Wire" "One Arrest" "Lessons" "Game Day" "The Cost"
"The Hunt" "Cleaning Up" "Sentencing"
Season 3
"Time after Time" "All Due Respect" "Dead Soldiers" "Amsterdam" "Straight and True"
"Homecoming" "Back Burners" "Moral Midgetry" "Slapstick" "Reformation"
"Middle Ground" "Mission Accomplished"
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[]

  • Actor Richard DeAngelis died of cancer after filming scenes for the fourth season.[2]

References[]

  1. Org Chart - The Law. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
  2. Actor De Angelis of 'The Wire' Dies at 73. Yahoo! News (2006). Retrieved on 2006-01-01.


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