List of NYPD Blue Characters - 15th Squad Commanders

15th Squad Commanders

• Insp. Aiello—Where most superiors on BLUE tended to be either wonderful (Bass) or horrible (Haverill), Aiello was kind of a centrist: he sided with a task force that pushed Bobby out of the way on a major case, but later gave the green light for Bobby to take over the interviews on it (which led to the arrest of a serial killer) and also authorized the 15th to ignore the FBI and follow up a lead on a kidnapping case.
• Captain Clifford Bass—A veteran of the patrol division who had little experience with the detective division but was an all- around good boss. Took over from Haverill and quickly established himself as his polar opposite, in that he trusted cops, listened to good advice, and viewed Lt. Fancy as a superb leader of men. Bass was tough but firm, finding a compromise when Fancy and a bigoted cop faced off and later ordering harsh actions against an out-of-control Danny. In Season 8, it was learned his wife had mental problems and was attacking herself to get attention. Bass resigned from the force to help her, but not before he first helped Fancy get promoted to Captain and later arranged for a wildly unpopular new Lt. to be transferred out of the 15th so Lt. Rodriguez could take over.
• Captain Haverill—A deeply hateful imperious leader who didn't want Lt. Fancy in charge of the 15th's detectives. It was initially thought that Haverill wanted Fancy gone to promote one of his own loyalists (whom Andy derided as part of the "Chowder Society"), but it was later discovered that Haverill was a racist who hated African American police who were too smart and talented to be pushed aside, particularly Fancy. He tried unsuccessfully to get Fancy removed only to be thwarted by Andy, whom he also hated. To weaken Fancy's team, Haverill initiated an IAB witchhunt that caused Det. Kelly enormous grief. When Kelly responded to Haverill in an insubordinate manner but the probe turned up nothing that would have ruined his career, Haverill used his power to demote Kelly to a humiliating dispatch position. Kelly then resigned from the force. During a sting into planned armored car heist, Haverill tried to use one of Fancy's old informants to hook the 15th on bogus information involving a Russian mafia boss. Fancy turned the tables on Haverill though and got his informant to record Haverill making incriminating statements (specifically one calling Fancy a "nigger") and following the successful bust played the tape for an aghast Haverill. He gave the ruined Captain two choices: retire immediately, or head to a civil trial where the tape would be Exhibit A. Haverill grudgingly accepted the retirement option and in Season 5, it was revealed he had become an FBI consultant and organized a plan that nearly cost Bobby, Andy and Fancy their jobs before they solved the case and removed that threat.
• Lt. Arthur Fancy
• Lt. Tony Rodriguez
• Sgt. Eddie Gibson—Eddie first emerged as a blustering acquaintance of Andy's who knew Andy in his days of wine and roses, and got Andy to date his niece Cynthia in spite of Andy's reluctance. Eddie was a longtime night shift detective, with all the minimal competence that suggested, but he somehow got promoted to the 15th's day tour in Season 9. He was not a good detective, mostly cruising on sexism and willingness to beat up suspects, but Andy found out Eddie had only moved up because he was suffering from prostate cancer and was afraid his family wouldn't be able to live on his night-shift benefits if he died. Andy then arranged for Eddie to get promoted and Eddie then left the 15th for a while to successfully treat his cancer. Eddie also took in a badly abused teenager who Clark Jr. wanted to help out. In Season 11, Eddie shocked Andy and everyone else when he got promoted to the leadership position in the 15th after Tony left, because he'd passed the Sergeant's exam and there weren't enough Lieutenants to fill command slots. Eddie took a hands-off approach as boss, which was fine when he let the cops work their cases but not fine when he let a dirty cop nearly ruin Andy's career. Eddie's departure was explained in Season 12 when the new Lt. said that the 15th had been designated a rogue unit in need of reform.
• Lt. Thomas Bale—Bale joined the squad at the beginning of the twelfth and final season, replacing Sgt. Eddie Gibson as the squad commander. A former internal affairs officer, his original remit was to bring the supposed rogue unit into line after years of lax commanding by his predecessors, Arthur Fancy, Tony Rodriguez and Gibson. To this end he cut down on overtime, fined officers who broke even the smallest rules, and chewed out anyone who didn't follow procedures 100%. He was looked upon by the squad itself as a 'rat' and the elder members of the squad, Andy Sipowicz and Greg Medavoy were of the opinion that he was put in the squad to ensure that they retired, and he was far too eager to encourage Andy to take the NYPD Sergeant's exam. When Medavoy was found to be moonlighting as a doorman, Bale brought disciplinary charges against him, causing Medavoy to question his position on the job. During the investigation surrounding attacks on married men who were actually gay, Sipowicz came across Bale's credit card in a suspect's apartment. When Andy returned the card to a stunned Lt. Bale and told him the case was closed, Bale's attitude changed considerably towards Andy and the rest of the squad; while he was still all-business, he trusted the detectives to run their cases and use their own judgment in the process. Towards the end of the season Bale was shot during a raid and the now Sgt. Sipowicz was put in charge of the investigation. When Bale discovered that he might not be able to return to the job, he recommended Sipowicz to be the new squad commander. In the series finale, Bale visited Andy at the 15th and told him he would have no problem doing the day-to-day job or protecting his people, and would figure out how to deal with the NYPD brass as he went along.
• Sgt. Andy Sipowicz