Ervin Burrell is a fictional officer in the Baltimore Police Department played by Frankie Faison on the HBO drama The Wire. Burrell is a careerist and has ascended from Deputy Commissioner of Operations to Commissioner over the course of the show. Image File history File links The_Wire_Burrell. ... The Target is the first (pilot) episode of the first season of the HBO original series, The Wire. ... Frankie Faison, often credited as Frankie R. Faison is one of those actors which many people may recognise, but not know his name. ... David Simon is the author of Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets which described his life traveling with members of the Baltimore, Maryland Police Department. ... Frankie Faison, often credited as Frankie R. Faison is one of those actors which many people may recognise, but not know his name. ... HBO (Home Box Office) is an American premium cable television network. ... This article is about the television series. ...

Biography

Burrell is a careerist who believes in the Chain Of Command in the department and has knowledge of corrupt activities of its officers and commanders. By his age and rank, it can be assumed he joined the BPD in the 1960s or 1970s.

As commissioner of a struggling department in a violent city, Burrell is a statistical bureaucrat who cares more about reducing crime on paper in a statistical manner than through a strategical investigative manner. Additionally, Burrell is conscientious of the media coverage of his department and is very sensitive to the newspaper headlines concerning its progress. This is exemplified most by his relationship with fellow officer Cedric Daniels and the City's mayoral administration. Throughout the series, he struggles to direct the department to make an adequate impact on crime reduction and is constantly engaged in conflict with the city's politicians, most of whom blame him directly for the department's problems. Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ...

Because of his knowledge of corruption, Burrell has often used blackmail as a means of maintaining a powerful position in the department. He blackmailed Daniels earlier in the series and with the help of Clay Davis intends to blackmail him again. Amongst other commanders, he blackmailed Bunny Colvin into retiring at a lower rank from the department. He also blackmailed Mayor Royce during the "Hamsterdam" fallout and Mayor Carcetti whom he stated could only force him to leave the department by firing him in effect creating a headline that would make Carcetti look bad. Clarence Royce is the fictional mayor of Baltimore played by Glynn Turman on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Tommy Carcetti is a fictional Baltimore politician played by Aidan Gillen on the HBO drama The Wire. ...

Policing Method

Burrell believes in making buy-busts of drug dealers that result in good headlines and media coverage of the department. Burrell is shown as a weak strategist throughout the series but this does not stop Burrell from being elevated to the position of commissioner. Burrell cares more about the political aspects of being a ranking officer than the investigative aspects of being a commanding officer and is seen showing little interest in quality felony arrests throughout the series. When he is under criticism of both his statistical based approach to policing and the department's lack of quality felony investigations, he is considered for termination as commissioner but his political survival techniques keep him at his rank and file within the department.

Season 1

Burrell was Deputy Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department in season one. His main aim as Deputy Commissioner was to ascend to Police Commissioner. He consistently showed more interest in making good headlines rather than good cases.

Burrel hastily assembled a task force under Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' command in order to placate Judge Phelan, who was furious that Avon Barksdale's men had been able to beat a murder charge in his courtroom by buying off a witness. From the beginning, Burrell was unsupportive of the unit, hoping to make a few quick arrests to satisfy the judge and then bury the case. He ordered premature seizure raids that tipped the Barksdale organization to the detail's efforts and prompted them to change their operating structure to hinder further investigation. To ensure nothing more than quick arrests, Burrell also gave the detail lieutenant Cedric Daniels "humps", the worst officers in the Baltimore Police Department who were nothing more than dead weight in their respective units. Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ... The following is a listing of fictional characters from the HBO series, The Wire. ... Avon Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Wood Harris. ... Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ... The Baltimore Police Department, or BPD, provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16 1845. ...

When Daniels' team began investigating donations from Barksdale's organization to local politicians, Burrell realised the political implications. He grew increasingly hostile towards them, threatening to expose Daniels' shady past if he didn't close down the investigation. When the task force seized Barksdale money being carried by a state senator's driver, Burrell ordered Daniels to return it in order to avoid embarrassing the senator. Burrell was responsible for ordering a failed sting operation which resulted in the shooting of Detective Kima Greggs. Burrell was deputy to commissioner Warren Frazier throughout the first season. Burrell usually acted independently maintaining Frazier's orders throughout the department. When Detective Kima Greggs was shot, Frazier became more involved. Frazier and Burrell's main concern was sending a message to the community that the police department remained strong by seizing a large amount of narcotics. In retaliation for the shooting, Burrell insisted that Daniels' detail raid the Barksdales' main stash house, an act which caused Avon's people to stop using pay phones altogether - effectively nullifying the detail's wiretaps. Burrell also bribed Detective Ellis Carver with a sergeant promotion to feed him information from inside the detail. To force Daniels to meet his demands, Burrell threatened to revisit previous allegations towards Daniels which showed him in possession of an excessive income from his days in the Eastern District's D.E.U.. Daniels then stated that he would continue the case until the court ordered wire taps were down and was ready to take charges from previous investigations to make a bad headline as a threat to Burrell. When the Barksdale case ended, Burrell reassigned Daniels to evidence control as punishment for defying and threatening him. Detective Shakima Kima Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actress Sonja Sohn. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... Detective Shakima Kima Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actress Sonja Sohn. ... Sergeant Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Seth Gilliam. ...

Season 2

With Commissioner Frazier's retirement, Burrell was the department's most qualified candidate to be named the BPD's Acting Commissioner. With support of the mayor and most all the city's African American political figures, Burrell's appointment to commissioner was almost guaranteed with the only conflict coming from the first district council members. Major Stan Valchek, the Southeastern District commander who was on good terms with all of the first district's key figures offered Burrell support from the first district in exchange for an investigative detail set up against Frank Sobotka, an IBS union leader whom Valchek suspected of thievery at the docks.^[1] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Stanislaus Stan Valchek is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Frank Sobotka is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Chris Bauer. ...

Burrell gave Valchek a squad of detectives via C.I.D. Colonel Bill Rawls would pick a squad of six for six weeks to conduct a case against Sobotka and his union. Burrell however pulled the same stunt that he had with Cedric Daniels on the Barksdale investigation though influencing the shift commanders to give Valchek "Humps" or dead-weight detectives to conduct an investigation as the case was unwanted by the department. When Valchek saw the in-effective detectives at work and heard through his son-in-law Detective Pryzbylewski that Burrell had interfered with the Barksdale investigation, Valchek angrily demanded better officers to lead the investigation threatening to derail Burrell's quest for commissioner for noncompliance. Valchek specifically ordered Cedric Daniels to lead the investigation who was considering retirement from the department due to his duties in evidence control, the unit Burrell had sent him to due to his defiance in the Barksdale investigation. To save his appointment, Burrell then convinced Daniels to stay in the department even though Daniels realized he was doing so at Valchek's request. Daniels demanded a promotion, a specialized unit, and a selection of his own detectives to conduct the case and Burrell agreed in order to appease Valchek. William Rawls is a fictional police officer in the Baltimore Police Department played by John Doman on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ...

Season 3

In season three Burrell promoted William Rawls to his old position of Deputy Commissioner of Operations. Burrell is called by Mayor Clarence Royce and his Chief of Staff Coleman Parker to discuss problems relating to councilman Tommy Carcetti whom Royce suspects will make a run for mayor in the following election. Parker points out that crime is Royce's worst attribute and Burrell is then told to keep murders below 275 and cause a drop of 5% citywide to counter any political opponents' exploition of Royce's crime figures. Burrell and Rawls presided over harrowing weekly comstat meetings where they pressured their district commanders to return the favorable crime rate figures the mayor was hoping for. As deputy, Rawls is the more verbose commander in criticizing the district and operational commanders while Burrell gave them their final warning or relief from their command post. Burrell first relieved Major Marvin Taylor as the Eastern District Commander and then threatened Western District Commander Major Howard Colvin when felonies rose 2% in his district. Burrell was also short to Lieutenant Daniels in his promotion to major due to city hall conflicts. Daniels' wife had conflict with the Mayor making a run for the 11th district council seat where one of Royce's loyalists Eunetta Perkins was serving. This supposedly prevented Burrell from enacting Daniels' promotion to major. William Rawls is a fictional Police officer in the Baltimore Police Department played by John Doman on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Clarence Royce is the fictional mayor of Baltimore played by Glynn Turman on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Coleman Parker played by Cleo Reginald Pizana Played by: Cleo Reginald Pizana Appears in: Season three: Time After Time; Dead Soldiers; Straight and True; Homecoming; Back Burners; Reformation; Middle Ground and Mission Accomplished. Season four: Boys of Summer; Soft Eyes; Home Rooms; Refugees; Alliances; Unto Others; Final Grades. ... Tommy Carcetti is a fictional Baltimore politician played by Aidan Gillen on the HBO drama The Wire. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... Howard Bunny Colvin, played by Robert Wisdom, is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, and was a Major for the Baltimore Police Department before his retirement. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ...

During the season Burrell worked with councilman Tommy Carcetti in order to prevent the department from looking worse at the public safety subcommittee meetings. Carcetti offered as a favor more resources for the police department as Mayor Royce provided little support to Burrell expecting him to take all the blame for the department's problems. Burrell's requests were met courtesy of Carcetti who with city hall worked around Royce. Carcetti however continued to criticize the department which under Royce's administration did not effectively set up witness protection programs to effectively fight the war on crime. While Carcetti was critical of the department, Burrell began to see him as an effective and slick politican who could prove a useful ally in hard times for the department. Tommy Carcetti is a fictional Baltimore politician played by Aidan Gillen on the HBO drama The Wire. ...

When Major Colvin reduced the crime in his district by ignoring the drug traffic, the felony dropped much to the suspicion of Burrell, Rawls, and Major Reed. Upon learning the truth of his strategy, Burrell forced him to take his vacation time immediately. He then informed the Mayor of the drug sanctioned zones and the Mayor looked to blame Burrell directly. With the help of Carcetti, Burrell claimed he would go public stating the reduction was all due to pressure given to his force from the Mayor's office that encouraged the drug sanctioned areas. This put fear into Royce who was seeking re-election. Burrell then prevented negative publicity and secured his term as Commissioner by bargaining with Mayor Clarence Royce over the handling of Major Colvin's Hamsterdam zone. He offered Colvin as a scapegoat and with Reed and Rawls was ruthless in forcing him out of the department. Colvin complied as refusal to "bend over backwards" for the department would result in unnecessary harshness towards the rest of his men in his district whom he fought hard on behalf of. Burrell then had Hamsterdam shut down and Colvin dismissed at the demotion to a Lieutenant where he received a lower pension grade and lost the retirement job he had been promised courtesy of Burrell. Following the arrest of Avon Barksdale, Burrell delivered his promise to promote Cedric Daniels to major giving him the immediate opening as Western District commander that Colvin left vacant. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... Clarence Royce is the fictional mayor of Baltimore played by Glynn Turman on the HBO drama The Wire. ... Howard Bunny Colvin, played by Robert Wisdom, is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, and was a Major for the Baltimore Police Department before his retirement. ... Avon Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Wood Harris. ... Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ...

Season 4

Burrell continued as police Commissioner and remained a key member of Royce's inner circle. When the major crimes unit served subpoenas against key political figures^[2] Mayor Royce became angered. After berating Burrell, Ervin promised to prevent any more surprises from his department. Burrell then asked Deputy Rawls if Jimmy McNulty was responsible for this given his previous acts of insubordination, but Rawls suggested Lester Freamon was behind the subpoenas. Rawls recommended controlling the subpoenas by "proper supervision" of the unit which involved removing the lenient Lieutenant Jimmy Asher and replacing him with a hostile and caustic commander named Lieutenant Charles Marimow. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... Officer James Jimmy McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. ... Detective Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Clarke Peters. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ...

When Burrell failed to bring a murdered witness to the Mayor's attention before it became a campaign issue Royce ordered Burrell to downplay the story to the press and take the political fallout on himself. Royce also asked Burrell to slow the investigation down to suppress information about the motive for the murder until after the election to prevent it being proved that the killing was carried out because of the victim's witness status. Burrell ordered Colonel Raymond Foerster to reassign the vetern primary investigator, Ed Norris, and replace him with Greggs, now a rookie homicide detective. This proved to be a serious mistake as the change of investigators was leaked to the press. Mayor Royce then summoned Burrell and Deputy Commissioner Rawls criticizing Ervin for the department's problems that led up to the press leaking. Royce angrily dismissed Burrell only to keep Deputy Rawls after the discussion. Royce admired Rawls' loyal subordinance to the chain of command and claimed that he would "not forget" Rawls clearing these incidents up. From this it was seen that Burrell would lose his commissioner's post following the election. Royce however lost to Carcetti in the primary election and Burrell managed to keep his commissioner's post.

Once Tommy Carcetti was elected he wanted Burrell to resign as commissioner, as they talked over lunch, Burrell said that Carcetti will have to fire him and that if he retires, he will not go quietly. Carcetti at the same time could not fire Burrell without having ready an African American replacement due to political reasons. Making a replacement harder for Carcetti, there were few ranking African American officers in the department besides Burrell. There was only one African American assistant Deputy Commissioner named Hawthorne who was 70 years old and no African American officers over the rank of Colonel. The next highest ranking African Americans in the department were Majors and Shift Lieutenants most of whom such as Major Bobby Reed were loyal to Burrell and his method of policing. Carcetti decided to strip Burrell of his power as commissioner and give all decision making up to Deputy Commissioner Rawls while leaving Burrell as a puppet for the press and ministers. Burrell was in the meantime more angered at Cedric Daniels backdoor promotion to Colonel. Burrell viewed Daniels as being nothing more than Mayor Carcetti's "Boy," his African American servant. With Daniels' short promotion from Major to Colonel, Burrell's future in the department appeared to be less and less certain.^[3][4] An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Law enforcement characters of The Wire. ... Cedric Daniels is a fictional Police Lieutenant for the Baltimore Police Department played by Lance Reddick on the HBO drama The Wire. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ...

Burrell however proved himself as a political aide to the Mayor in the handling of Officer Thomas "Herc" Hauk who had been accused of racial profiling and police brutality against an African American minister. Burrell recommended the I.I.D. look deep into Herc's file as "in Narcotics, there are no virgins" according to his past experiences with BPD detectives. Burrell with the aide of State Senator Clay Davis also intends to prevent Daniels from advancing in the department as Burrell is well aware of FBI information proving Daniels to have collected dirty money when conducting a drug task force in his days in the Eastern District. As the season closed, Burrell warned Rawls to never cross him again and remained close to Clay Davis who wished to see Daniels move up no further than C.I.D. colonel, his current position in the department. Sergeant Thomas Herc Hauk is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Domenick Lombardozzi. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Senator R. Clayton Clay Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. ... Senator R. Clayton Clay Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. ...

Trivia

According to a conversation between Burrell and Judge Phelan in episode #1.08, Burrell is married to a woman named Arlene with at least two children.

In his spare time, Burrell is often seen playing Golf.

References

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 162 days remaining. ...