Carlos Nieto (Third Watch Character) - Fred Yokas

Fred Yokas is a fictional character on the television series Third Watch, played by actor Chris Bauer. He was the husband of police officer Faith Yokas. He was a recurring character in the first two seasons, and a regular character after that point.

Personality

Fred deeply loved his wife and children, but was very jealous over his wife's (working) relationship with her partner, Maurice 'Bosco' Boscorelli. Fred and Bosco did not like each other that much. Fred was always worrying about Faith whilst she was at work, and frequently wanted her to either quit her job or get desk duty to minimise the risk to her safety (and get away from Bosco). Fred's "cop's spouse dilemma" as it was approached in "Third Watch" represented an advance in gender issues as portrayed in television and cinema, in that previous series and films where the syndrome appeared, it was always the wife worrying about the officer husband. "Third Watch" stood as an indicator that the gender roles could be reversed and the same bone of contention could exist.

Background

Fred met Faith at college, where he was on the wrestling team. They fell in love and got married, and later had two children: daughter Emily and son Charlie. However the Yokas family soon hit financial difficulties, partly caused by Fred's growing alcohol problems. Faith's father had been an alcoholic and she did not want her children to end up with a father like hers.

Faith joined the NYPD, and due to her hours it was Fred who was there for the kids in the afternoon. When Emily started pre-school Fred did not leave all day. As time went on Fred lost his job and his drinking problems got worse - this ultimately led him to be arrested by his wife when he drove to pick the kids up from school while drunk. After this, Faith threw Fred out, but after he agreed to go to AA meetings she let him come home. Problems continued as Fred started skipping meetings, thinking his wife didn't understand. In the end she agreed to go to Al-Anon to help him, and the two of them worked together to help Fred kick the habit.

Fred found out that Faith had had an abortion some time earlier (she had felt they could not afford to have a third child) and was both hurt and angry at his wife. After she went to stay with her parents, she and Fred got back together.

The longer Faith spent in the job, the greater Fred's resentment of Bosco (and the cops in general) grew. After Faith failed her sergeant's exams to help Bosco, Fred blamed Bosco. At the end of the third season, Fred had a heart attack whilst trapped in a lift, but he was able to get to hospital on time and recovered. He became a born-again Christian after his scare.

In 2003, Faith was shot by Maritza Cruz after she went to help Bosco. Fred blamed Bosco for everything and told him he'd kill him if he ever came near the Yokas family again. Fred was furious when Faith wanted to return to work (after being disabled) and repartner with Bosco, and soon met Caroline, who he started having an affair with. Fred served Faith with divorce papers and won custody of the kids, although Emily later opted to live with her mother instead.