The Avon Barksdale Investigation

Cedric Daniels
1. Daniels begins the season as the Lieutenant of Baltimore Police Department's Narcotics Unit
2. He is given command of the Barksdale detail. While he initially resisted the less obtrusive strategy of the wire tap, Daniels adapts to the nature of the investigation and leads his team accordingly.
3. The investigation results in the arrest of Avon Barksdale and Wee-Bey Brice.
4. Cedric doesn't get the promotion of Major and is instead reassigned to evidence control.
Kima Greggs
1. Kima begins season one as a narcotics detective working under Daniels.
2. She is reassigned to the Barksdale detail along with Herc and Carver.
3. Kima cultivates a relationship with her informant, Bubbles ,who proves to be invaluable throughout the Barksdale investigation.
4. During an undercover operation with Orlando, a former front man for Barksdale who is co-operating with the investigation, Kima is shot and almost dies. Her death results in different police departments rallying to show a strong and unmerciful response to a police officer being shot.
5. Kima ends the season recovering in hospital and begins the next season in a desk job by the request of her partner, Cheryl.
Thomas Hauk (Herc)
1. Herc begins the first season in the Narcotics Unit along with Carver and Kima.
2. Throughout the first season, Herc and Carver function as a double act.
3. Herc is present, along with Carver, during the incident of Pryzbylewski and the young black teenager. It is significant to note that they were both drunk and instigated the decision to go to the towers at that time of the night.
4. Herc passes the sergeant's exam but does not receive a promotion because of his history of violence.
5. Herc returns to the Narcotics Unit at the end of the season.
Roland Pryzbylewski
1. Pryzbylewski is the son-in-law of Stanislaus Valchek and it is for this reason that his previous history of incompetence did not result in his dismissal.
2. He is considered to be undisciplined as a police officer and is involved in an incident where he hit a young, black teenager with the handle of his weapon which resulted in the youth being left blind in one eye.
3. After his appalling behaviour towards the youth, Pryzbylewski is suspended from going out on the street and his weapon is removed. His time in the office is spent doing crosswords until he moves his attention to breaking the code of the wire tap, which he achieves. This action proves crucial for the continuation of the investigation.
4. Despite his unimpressive start within the detail, Pryzbylewski thrives under the guidance of Lester as he learns how to shape an investigation around a wire tap.
Ellis Carver
1. Carver is assigned to the detail from the Narcotics Unit.
2. After seizing drug money from Wee-Bey, Carver and Herc contemplate taking a portion of the money but soon decide against it. However, money goes missing and Daniels assumes that they took it. Eventually the money is found and returned but this cost both of them the trust of their superior.
3. Carver agrees to provide Ervin Burrell with information about Daniels and the detail's investigation and this results in his promotion at the cost of the last remaining trust that Daniels had for Carver.
Jimmy McNulty
1. McNulty begins the first season as a Baltimore Homicide Detective
2. After he shares his suspicions to Judge Phelan that Avon was behind the acquittal of D'Angelo Barksdale, this results in the Barksdale detail being assembled.
3. McNulty is criticised for going over Major William Rawls' head, his superior.
4. Despite clashes with Daniels, McNulty continues to insist on the necessity of a wire tap and eventually, Daniels concedes.
5. After Kima is shot, McNulty feels a tremendous amount of guilt and blames his own impulsiveness.
6. Throughout the season, McNulty's obtrusive tactics creates conflict with many of his superiors. Rawls asks McNulty which unit he doesn't want to go to which is the Marine Unit. Naturally, he is reassigned to the Marine Unit.
Lester Freamon
1. Lester was reassigned to the detail from the Pawn Shop Unit where he worked for more than a decade as punishment for insubordination during his time as a Homicide Detective.
2. Initially, the team underestimate Lester's ability to be an asset to the investigation but soon it becomes clear that he is intelligent and a natural at following the clues in order to make major breakthroughs, for example, finding the first image of Avon Barksdale in a local boxing gym.
3. The initiative and quiet resolve that Lester displays throughout the entire season is recognised by Rawls who reassigns him to the Homicide Unit.
Strengths
1. Cedric is an example of 'good police' as he is organised, morally sound and understands how to work the policing system in order to get what he wants.
2. He is loyal to those on his detail. For example, even when he wrongfully suspects Herc and Carver of stealing drug money from evidence, he does not turn them in and instead gives them one day to return the money.
3. Cedric is a good leader and despite his clashes with other agents such as Jimmy McNulty, he manages to keep the team working seamlessly.
Weaknesses
1. Cedric's rigid work ethic results in conflict with McNulty and at the beginning of the season, it does not seem as if he will be willing to adapt.
2. He has career aspirations and this limits him as to how far he can push the members of the police department in order to get what he needs to further the investigation.
"I'm trying to put them down for real, not for some short time bit" - Cedric Daniels The Wire, Season 1, Episode 12.
Strengths
1. Kima is another example of being 'good police.' She is physically and mentally strong in a career that demands resilience.
2. She is street-smart. For example she understands the necessity of having informants, such as Bubbles, that allow the team to gain information about Avon's crew.
3. Kima is not afraid of placing herself in harms way in order to further the investigation which is one of the reasons she is shot in the under cover operation.
Strengths
1. McNulty is relentless in his pursuit of Barksdale and Stringer Bell and will stop at nothing to arrest the people he believes are poisoning Baltimore. This is demonstrated in his continued persistence that a wire tap is needed despite Daniels stating their strategy would rely on obtrusive methods such as raids and drug busts.
2. He has no qualms in standing up against his superiors, even developing a catchphrase that runs along the series, "Fuck the bosses". McNulty is not concerned with advancing up the career ladder and this aids his pursuit
Weaknesses
1. McNulty spends a significant amount of his time either drunk, hitting on women or arguing with his on/off again wife Portia. Jimmy does not belong in domestic environments.
2. While his addiction to the job can be a strength in that he will not rest until he gains results, McNulty cannot seem to understand what is appropriate police behaviour. For example, he teaches his two young children, Sean and Michael, to follow an established criminal like Stringer Bell through a market and eventually loses sight of them.
3. McNulty does not seem to respect the chain of command and clashes with both Daniels and Rawls. While this disregard allows for his advancement in the case, his disregard for Daniel's authority results in conflict that are setbacks to the investigation. An example of this is when McNulty refused to go on a raid with the detail because he believed it would be a detriment to the investigation.
"If only half you motherfuckers at the district attorney's office didn't want to be judges...a guy like that would be indicted, tried and convicted... But no, everybody stays friends. Everybody gets paid. And everybody's got a fucking future" -Jimmy McNulty, The Wire, Season 1, Episode 11.
Weaknesses
1. Lester understands what it is to be demoted for not following the chain of command and therefore, this might result in his reluctance to disagree with Daniel's orders, even if this could be a detriment to the investigation
"You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you" -Lester Freamon The Wire, Season 1, Episode 9.
Strengths
1. Lester is an excellent example of how police work is not simply raids and seizing goods. He is patient and understands that in order to obtain the arrests of players such as Avon and Stringer, they must be smart in collecting substantial evidence involving the wire tap.
2. Lester proves to be crucial to the investigation with his ability to find patterns in the wire tap and to apply these codes to understanding the drug trade in a way that the police have never been able to do.
3. Lester also acts as the moral centre of the team. He attempts to warn McNulty against being insubordinate towards Daniels and teaches Pryzbylewski about intelligent police work, instead of the brute force that Pryzbylewski demonstrated in the past.
Weaknesses
1. Kima finds it difficult to separate work and home life. She could be described as a workaholic who becomes addicted to the chase. This creates division with her partner Cheryl.
Strengths
1. There are times when Herc's abrasive attitude towards police work is required. This is demonstrated in the arrest of Bodie, a member of Avon's crew, after he punched a police officer.
Weaknesses
1. Herc's reliance on violence is often unnecessary and results in undesired consequences such as the missed promotion
Strengths
1. Pryzbylewski shows real natural talent in breaking the code of the wire tap and understanding how to use the wire tap to aid the investigation.
2. The development of his attitude towards police work changes drastically from his actions in the beginning of the season. Pryzbylewski learns to understand that brute force will not be sufficient to catch criminals such as Avon and Stringer.
Weaknesses
1. Pryzbylewski's arrogance in attacking the young boy reveals an immaturity and lack of foresight into the consequences of his actions.
Strengths
1. Carver and Herc operate as a team which allowed them to complete surveillance work together that aided the investigation.
Weaknesses
1. Carver displayed a complete lack of loyalty towards Daniels despite the latter allowing him a day to return drug money that he believed they had stolen without turning them in.
2. Along with Herc, Carver displayed an inclination towards violence in comparison to the patient police work of Lester and Pryzbylewski.
"You can't even call this shit a war... Wars end." - Ellis Carver The Wire, Season 1, Episode 9
"How complex a code can it be if these knuckleheads are using it? Then again, what does it say about us if we can't break it?" - Kima Greggs The Wire, Season 1, Episode 5.
"I like word search puzzles, you know, where you gotta find the hidden words so I thought I could do the same thing with the numbers " - Roland Pryzbylewski The Wire, Season 1, Episode 5.
Leander Sydnor
1. After the Pryzbylewski incident, Daniels only agrees to keep Prez, if he could have Leander on the detail.
2. Leander is a competent detective who is respected for his natural talent for police work.
Patrick Mahon
1. Mahon is a veteran detective who is assigned to the Avon Barksdale investigation but shows very little interest in actually doing police work.
2. After being punched by Bodie in a raid, Mahon takes early retirement from the police.
Augustus Polk
1. Polk is a veteran detective from the Property Crimes Unit, along with Mahon, who is assigned to the detail. Similar to Mahon, he shows little interest in helping the team to investigate Barksdale and is only assigned menial tasks.
2. After Mahon retires, Polk considers throwing himself down the stairs to also retire.
3. Instead of doing this, Polk misses several days off work and eventually turns up inebriated from alcohol. Daniels decides to let him off on sick leave.
"Fuck the paperwork. Collect bodies, split heads." - Thomas Hauk The Wire, Season 1, Episode 1.