The Wire Season 1 Character Sheet

The majority of The Wire’s action in season 1 is set in West Baltimore, where The Barksdale Organization
is located. Later seasons show other areas like South Baltimore and East Baltimore where other
criminals base their operations. The first season primarily focuses on two sets of characters: Members of
the Baltimore Police Department (further divided primarily into three subgroups: The Major Crimes Unit,
the Homicide Unit, and the Commanders of other units and districts) and The Barksdale Organization, a
group of drug dealers in West Baltimore. A Major Crimes Unit of detectives is formed to investigate The
Barksdale Organization, which is covered from the point of view of both the cops and the drug dealers.

Slang Terms on The Wire

The Game- The criminal underworld of Baltimore. The object of the game is to stay alive while playing
your role within it. Omar Little’s moral code requires he only target people in The Game, but many
players have their own code of ethics that is different from conventional morality.

The Bug- HIV

"re-up" or "package"- new large shipment of drugs, which is then distributed to corners

The corners- strategic spots throughout the city at various intersections where dealers (sometimes
called "slingers") will sell their supply. The corners are exceptional territory for a crime family because
they're visible to people driving by or people walking on the street.

Five-O = a slang term for police used on the streets to alert people of their presence. It originates from
the 1970 TV show Hawaii 5-0 (Hawaii being the 50th state of the USA).

The "connect"- a code/slang word for the supplier of the drugs sold on the streets

The G pack- A wholesaler's package of 100 vials of cocaine

A Yo- Police slang term for corner boy

Stash house- A heavily guarded property in which drugs are stored and cut.

Baltimore Police Department- Baltimore's Finest, the BPD is Baltimore's first

and last line of defense against the hordes of dealers and fiends who present a grave and terrible threat
to the civil society of the good, upstanding citizens of this fair city of neighborhoods. Or at least, that's
how they see themselves.

In reality, the BPD is dysfunctional and unwieldy. Decades of political obsession with producing good
statistics and the War on Drugs have resulted in a department that is more concerned with massaging
arrest figures and which has community relations which can be best described as "abysmal". Of all the
institutions critiqued in The Wire, the BPD comes in for the most extensive criticism, as it forms the
backbone of the show. Whilst various police officers and demonstrate great technical competence and
integrity, by and large the department is clunking, bureaucratic and brutal.

Major Crimes Unit- A unit created to investigate the Barksdale organization, a cautious and
intelligent drug-dealing gang in West Baltimore. The unit is only created to silence Judge William Phelan
after he criticizes the Baltimore Police’s lack of effort in doing anything about the organization.
Populated largely by cops from various units (Homicide, Narcotics etc.) who are either worthless or
perceived to be so, and commanded by the promising but career minded Lieutenant Cedric Daniels, the
MCU is intended to do the absolute minimum amount of work necessary to satisfy Phelan without
having to become too involved.

Detective Jimmy McNulty- An Irish-American Homicide Detective, alcoholic womanizer, and divorced
father of two. He’s a realistic portrayal of a cowboy cop, disrespecting the chain of command by going
against his superiors, making him very unpopular in most of the department. He’s generally moral but
also very egocentric, motivated less by wanting to make Baltimore a safer place and more by wanting to
prove that he’s smarter than the criminals he’s investigating.
Lieutenant Cedric Daniels- The Lieutenant of the Narcotics Unit for the Western District who is brought
on to lead the Major Crimes Unit. Fiercely loyal to those under his command, he tries to make his
subordinates focus on decent police work and quality arrests, but must also deal with his bureaucratic
superiors. He is career-minded and wants to find a balance between climbing the ranks and being a
good cop (the majority of high-ranking cops on The Wire got to where they were through playing
politics, not good police work).

Detective Shakima “Kima” Greggs- A narcotics detective known for her reliability and intelligence. She is
openly lesbian and has a girlfriend named Cheryl. Much of her work involves surveillance and recruiting
informants.
Detective Ellis “Carv” Carver- A narcotics detective from the Flag House Courts housing project. He’s
regularly partnered with his best friend, Thomas “Herc” Hauk, and has a tendency to prefer simple-
minded and brutish policing, but is capable of decent detective work.

Detective Thomas “Herc” Hauk- A young Narcotics detective originally from The Bronx, New York City.
He is the partner and best friend of Ellis Carver. He is simple-minded, concerned with petty street arrests
and minor drug charges, and “banging heads”. However, he is also very loyal to his friends, can
unexpectedly show great empathy for others, and has some moments of self-reflection.
Detective Roland Pryzbylewski- A Polish-American detective known for his incompetence and hot-
headed behavior. One of his most infamous incidents involved him shooting up his own squad car in a
panic and then calling in a false report. However, because of his marriage to the daughter of Major
Stanislaus “Stan” Valchek, the commander of the southeastern district, he is protected from being
discharged. Prior to the beginning of Season 1, Pryzbylewski had been working in the casualty division
under Lieutenant Cantrell.

Detective Lester Freamon- A wise, methodical detective, particularly with respect to uncovering
networks of money laundering and corruption who was in the pawn shop unit prior to the beginning of
season 1. He now has a hobby of making dollhouse furniture.
Detective Michael Santangelo- An Italian-American Homicide Detective. Santangelo is a well-
intentioned but bumbling detective who’s very bad at solving cases, having one of the lowest clearance
rates in the department.

Detective Leandor Sydnor- A young, married Baltimore Police Detective. Sydnor is relatively quiet and
low-key, but is also a very competent detective, particularly in regards to undercover work. He’s more
interested in good investigative work than making rank
Detective Augustus Polk- An aging Irish-American detective from the property unit and alcoholic who
hasn’t made a single case in property crime in the last ten years and the partner of Patrick Mahon. He
seems intent on doing as little police work as possible until he retires.

Detective Patrick Mahon- An aging Irish-American detective from the property unit and alcoholic who
hasn’t made a single case in property crime in the last ten years and the partner of Augustus Polk. He
seems intent on doing as little police work as possible until he retires and shows even less dedication to
the job than Polk.
Homicide Unit

Major William A. “Bill” Rawls- A major and commanding officer of the homicide unit. A careerist, he is
only concerned with maintaining the case clearance record of his unit, not police work that actually
makes Baltimore safer, and is extremely demanding of his detectives. He strongly dislikes Jimmy
McNulty due to his disrespect for the chain-of-command.

Sergeant Jay Landsman- The sergeant in homicide who spends much of his time looking at magazine
pornography and eating food. His role as a supervisory detective sergeant means he rarely has to
participate in investigative work. He wishes to strike a balance between loyalty to subordinates and
superiors, often favoring the latter and smartly understands the politics of Baltimore’s chain of
command.
Detective William “Bunk” Moreland- Arguably the most competent detective in Homicide and
McNulty’s partner and good friend. He’s best known for his dry sense of humor, wearing pinstripe suits,
and penchant for cigars. Bunk attended Edmondson High School in West Baltimore. He lives in
Randallstown, a predominantly African-American suburb, with wife Nadine and three children. Bunk
worked as a patrolman in Baltimore's Southwestern District before becoming a homicide detective. Like
McNulty, he suffers from drinking problems, but to a lesser extent and is considerably more mindful of
the department’s chain of command.

Detective Ed Norris- A long-time homicide detective, he has a tendency to make pointed barbs and to
bemoan the sorry state of Baltimore in general and the BPD in particular. He is portrayed by former
Baltimore Police Commissioner Edward Norris.
Detective Vernon Holley- A seasoned, physically imposing, and short tempered homicide detective

Detective Ray Cole- A veteran homicide detective of middling quality, he is often seen plugging away on
various cases, albeit usually pursuing bad hunches.
Detective Frank Barlow- A homicide detective who was the primary detective in D’Angelo Barksdale’s
murder case prior to the beginning of the series.
Police Commanders

Commissioner Warren Frazier- The Baltimore Police commissioner and an out-of-touch idiot removed
from anything resembling real police work.

Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell- Frazier’s right-hand man and a career-minded officer more skilled
at playing politics than actual police administration. Like Rawls, he’s a statistical bureaucrat who cares
more about reducing crime on paper than building strong cases.
Major Stanislaus “Stan” Valcheck- The Polish-American commander of the Southeastern district, home
to more predominately white neighborhoods in Baltimore. He is the father-in-law of Roland
Pryzbylewski and uses his connections to get him out of trouble. He’s more a politician than a
policeman, but is very politically savvy.

Major Raymond Foerster- A veteran Major in command of the Baltimore narcotics division, making him
Daniels’ immediate superior at the beginning of the series. He’s one of the more competent and decent
commanders, and (for better or for worse) is relatively apolitical and uninvolved in the schemes of the
police brass.
Major Bobby Reed- Reed is a Major in the Baltimore Police Department and commands the Internal
Investigations Division (IID). He is very loyal to Ervin Burrell's command often more emphasized in
protecting Burrell's command status than rigorously investigating individual officers.

Lieutenant Cantrell- A police lieutenant who commands Roland “Prez” Pryzbylewski and Leander Sydnor
in the casualty division and auto theft squad respectively, who’s far more comfortable with the former
leaving to work in the Major Crimes Unit than the latter.
Other

Dr. Randall Frazier- The affable Baltimore City Medical Examiner. No relation to Commissioner Frazier.

Courthouse

Judge Daniel Phelan- A Baltimore City Judge who demands an investigation into The Barksdale
Organization.
Steven Demper- Maryland State’s Attorney, serving the district that includes Baltimore. He is the boss of
Assistant State's Attorneys Rhonda Pearlman and Ilene Nathan. Demper is widely regarded as being
more interested in preserving his elected position than pursuing justice.

Rhonda Pearlan- The Assistant State’s Attorney heading the Narcotics Cases.
Ilene Nathan- Nathan is a colleague of Rhonda Pearlman. She is the head of the violent crimes unit,
tasked with prosecuting homicides in the city.
Politicians

Senator Clay Davis- a corrupt Democratic Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing
bribes. Davis is known for his idiosyncratic profanity, often when confronted with bad news, comically
elongating the word shit as sheeeeeeeee-it.

Damien Lavelle “Day-Day” Price- Senator Clay Davis’ aide.

Homeless People and Addicts

Bubbles- A homeless heroin addict. He mentors Johnny Weeks, teaching him the skills of scheming and
scrounging that are necessary to support a life on the streets. Despite his flaws largely related to his
drug addiction, he’s very empathetic and good-hearted.

Johnny Weeks- A homeless addict taken under the wing of Bubbles. He’s considerably more reckless
and lacks Bubbles’ compassion, and is strongly opposed to “snitching”

Hucklebuck- A very sporadic friend of Bubbles and Johnny and fellow addict.
Walon- A recovering drug addict and drug rehabilitation counselor.

The Barksdale Organization- A sophisticated and intelligent African-American

gang in West Baltimore founded by Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell. The gang’s criminal activities
include heroin and cocaine dealing, homicides, and money laundering. Prior to the events of season 1,
the Barksdale Organization started a turf war for the city's largest public housing project. When they
won the war and got the prized Franklin Terrace Towers, they had the best drug territory in the city, and
dominated the illicit heroin trade in West Baltimore. The Barksdales have a crew at each tower that sells
heroin and cocaine 24 hours a day. The Barksdales also controls other smaller territory like a nearby
low-rise housing project referred to as "the Pit" (or the courtyard).

Each crew is headed by a lieutenant who is responsible for trade in a certain area, with some receiving a
percentage of the revenue of the narcotics they sold. The lieutenants would contact their superiors to
refill inventory and to kick up the proceeds from the drug sales. Lieutenants did none of the legwork in
the drug transaction. They had to monitor their crew and make sure everything ran smoothly, only
periodically collecting the proceeds from the drug sales and making sure everything adds up at the end
of the day. Beneath the lieutenants there is several drug dealers usually referred to as "hoppers."
Typically there is a second-in-command who would handle the money, "touts" were responsible for
attracting customers; "runners" would hand over drugs to the customer; "look-outs" were responsible
for watching for police or stick-up gangs approaching, while others would watch over the main drug
stash. Each dealer would receive a weekly cash payment for their work from the lieutenant above them
based on hours worked.

Every member of the organization is subject to strict rules designed to thwart police investigations. The
dealers are not allowed to carry cell phones or use drugs. They are aware of how to deal with police
interrogation and knew that the organization would protect them if they did not say anything to the
police. Lieutenants and enforcers carry pagers so that they could be contacted. They are subject to the
same rules as the dealers, but also know not to talk business in cars, public places or with anyone
outside of the organization. Such discussions are limited to property and territory owned by the
Barksdale organization.

A strict telephone usage policy is applied rigidly throughout the organization. The pager messages are
encoded to prevent easy tracing of the telephones used, all of which were public telephones. When
pages are returned with a phone call no names are supposed to be used, and if a name is used, the
speaker gets rebuked. A separate code is used for resupply signals, which involved turning the pager
display upside down.

Avon receives his narcotics supply through a connection to a Dominican organization in New York and
had several other options for suppliers in surrounding cities. The main supply of narcotics is separated
from the rest of the organization and held in a house in Pimlico where it can be cut and divided into
smaller "stashes" for distribution among the Barksdale territory. Once inside the towers, these smaller
packages are moved from room to room on a regular basis, to avoid the scrutiny of police and stick-up
men.

Avon's main office is one of his front organizations, a strip club named Orlando's. It is here, behind a
locked and heavily guarded door, that the drug money is counted and secured before being sent on to
its ultimate destination. Avon usually conducts his business in this office, rarely venturing onto the
street. The club's legal owner, Orlando Blocker, is kept away from the drugs in order to maintain the
front's appearance of legitimacy for the city.

The organization launders its profits through various fronts, including a funeral parlor, Orlando's, and a
property developing company named B&B.

Leadership

Avon Barksdale- The head of the Barksdale Organization. Avon grew up in the Franklin Terrace public
housing project and is arguably the most powerful drug kingpin in Baltimore. He’s managed to succeed
by keeping an extremely low profile, eschewing overt displays of wealth so as not to attract attention,
avoiding being photographed, not having a driver's license, and owning nothing in his own name. In
spite of this, he also takes his street reputation very seriously. While often times ruthless and not
hesitant to order a killing, he does show great genuine care for his family, particularly his nephew,
D’Angelo and sister, Brianna, as well as showing great loyalty to his right-hand man and best friend,
Stringer Bell.
Russell “Stringer” Bell- Second in command to Avon Barksdale, the two have been friends since they
were boys. Stringer sees himself as analytical, precise, and intelligent, and takes economics and business
classes in hope of legitimizing the Barksdale Organization's profits through investments such as real
estate. While Avon views himself as a gangster, Stringer views himself as a businessman.

Soldiers

Roland “Wee-Bey” Brice- The Barksdale Organization's most trusted soldier. It's hinted that he has been
soldiering for Avon since he was a teenager, and like Avon he has grown up in the Game and knows it
inside and out. As the head of the Barksdale muscle, he is tasked with forcibly acquiring territory from
other drug dealers/organizations and hunting down enemies of the Barksdale Organization such as
Omar.
Anton “Stinkum” Artis- A lieutenant and enforcer in the Barksdale crew, responsible for making re-
supplies from the crew's base at the Franklin Towers to their territory in the low-rise projects, known as
"The Pit".

Savino Bratton- Savino is one of the prominent enforcers of the Barksdale Organization. He is shown as
a cocky, but loyal soldier to his crew.

Wintell “Little Man” Royce- A heavyset soldier in the Barksdale crew, responsible for enforcing their
regime at the Franklin Towers, mainly Tower 221.
Marquis “Bird” Hilton- a foul-mouthed and vicious soldier in the Barksdale crew

Legal Representation

Maurice Levy- The often immoral but highly competent lawyer for the Barksdale Organization.

Dealers

D’Angelo Barksdale- Nephew of Avon Barksdale. D’Angelo was a lieutenant who is demoted and put in
charge of the low rise projects (the pit), where he works with several other dealers including Boadie,
Poot, and Wallace. He also struggles with his conscience while trying to commit to the often brutal drug
game.

Preston “Bodie” Broadus- A low-ranking drug dealer in the low rises who fully buys into the mystique
and glamor of gangsta lifestyle, believing that as a loyal, competent, ambitious soldier, he can eventually
rise up through the ranks of his world and become a kingpin like Stringer and Avon. Generally Book-
dumb, but very street-smart.

Malik “Poot” Carr- A low-ranking drug dealer who’s relatively unambitious and more concerned with his
very active sex life.
Wallace- A 16-year-old drug dealer. Generally a good-hearted kid trying to survive a tough situation, he
takes responsibility for numerous younger kids in the projects, housing them in a squatter's apartment,
packing their lunches, seeing them off to school and helping them with their homework.

Ronnie Mo- Formerly the head of the low rise projects, before D’Angelo took over and he was
promoted.

Kevin Johnston- A young drug dealer with a disrespect for authority figures
Sterling- A drug dealer in the pit under D’Angelo Barksdale who’s in charge of the crew’s stash of
narcotics, giving vials of drugs to the runners when needed.

Marvin Browning- A mid-level and loyal drug dealer

Herbert De'Rodd "Puddin'" Johnson- A loyal subordinate who works with Boadie
Front Workers

Wendell “Orlando” Blocker- The owner of Orlando’s, a strip club that acts as a front for the Barksdale
Organization. Avon and Stringer keep Orlando (despite his drug-dealing ambitions) out of any direct
involvement with drug trafficking, in order to keep their front legitimate and away from police attention.

Shardene Innes- A stripper at Orlando’s.

Family

Donette- D’Angelo Barksdale’s girlfriend and the mother of his son, Donette is generally far more
simple-minded and less thoughtful than her boyfriend.

Brianna Barksdale- The mother of D’Angelo Barksdale and sister of Avon Barksdale. She is something of
a quiet partner in the organization, occasionally acting as an advisor to Avon and has no qualms with her
son living a life of criminality, feeling that “The Game” is all they have. Takes family very seriously.

Mrs. Broadus- Bodie’s unnamed grandmother, who is saddened over her grandson’s criminal lifestyle.
Omar’s Crew

Omar Little- A stick-up artist who robs drug dealers for a living. While he is willing to use violence in
certain situations, he has a very strict moral code that includes never hurting or robbing anybody not
involved in “The Game”.
Brandon Wright- Omar’s closest companion and fellow thief.

John Bailey- Another member of Omar’s crew who is more tolerated than liked.

East Baltimore

Joseph “Proposition Joe” Stewart- A drug kingpin from East Baltimore with connections to European
gangsters. Proposition Joe has a mellow temperament, greatly disliking violence and tries to only use it
as a last resort.
Family of Cops

Elena McNulty- Jimmy McNulty’s ex-wife

Michael McNulty- Jimmy’s younger son

Sean McNulty- Jimmy’s older son

Marla Daniels- Cedric Daniels’ wife who aspires to run for city council.

Cheryl- Kima Greggs’ girlfriend.

FBI

Agent Terrance “Fitz” Fitzhugh- An FBI agent and friend of Jimmy McNulty who occasionally acts as an
ally.

Amanda Reese- an FBI supervisor working from the Baltimore field office and superior of Fitz.
Other Civilians

William Gant- A maintenance man and father of two who has agreed to testify against the Barksdale
Organization after witnessing one of their members kill somebody.