David Aceveda
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David Aceveda, played by Benito Martinez, is a character on FX Networks's television crime drama The Shield. Originally, he was the Captain of "the Barn", a police precinct in fictional Farmington district in Los Angeles, California. However, in Season Three, he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council and effectively passed on power in the first episode of Season 4. Though he is no longer captain, his responsibilities as the City Council Representative of the Farmington District often keep him in the forefront of the show. According to show creator Shawn Ryan, the main influences for the Aceveda character is current Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.[citation needed]
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[edit] Personality
Aceveda is a born politician. He is both extremely intelligent and extremely ambitious. The main reason why he took the Captaincy in Farmington was to raise his profile in the community to enable him to run for a seat on City Council and eventually, Mayor. He is thus a prisoner to his ambition and often will place his morals aside to protect it. Hence, during his tenure at the Barn, he often would turn a blind eye to some of the corruption that went on provided that it brought results that would elevate his stature. Though some may have questioned his morality on this practice, it is possible that he allowed the actions by seeing the greater good.
[edit] Early career
David Aceveda grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in law. Though little of Aceveda's early police career is known, we do know that he began as a uniformed officer before eventually making his way up rankings, aided by both affirmative action and his own talent. After years on the job, Aceveda was awarded the Captain’s position of the Farmington District upon its inception.
[edit] Farmington
Aceveda arrived in Farmington with high aspirations. Though he tried to take down Vic Mackey and his corrupt Strike Team, the attempt would result in the death of an officer. As the cause became more and more difficult, Aceveda attempted to focus more on controlling the problems within the district.
Farmington's crime rate began to fall as the Strike Team, along with detectives from the Barn made progress. As a result, Aceveda began to gain more accolades and praise from city and community leaders alike. As Aceveda's status became more affluent, he announced that he would be running for Farmington's City Council seat. Though Aceveda struggled early on, he would go on to win his primary, and eventually, the election.
[edit] City Council
Upon his election to City Council, Aceveda resigned from the police department, though he remains as a reserve officer. He has volunteered for service once so far, when assisting on the search for missing officers Carl and Scooby.
However, it seems that Aceveda still desires to control what goes on at the Barn, as seen with his clashes with former Captain Monica Rawlings. Whether or not this is because of ego, power, or a desire to keep a lid on what went on at the precinct during his tenure remains a mystery. As of Season 5, He is under investigation for Bribery and Corruption charges headed by IAD.
[edit] Relationship with Vic Mackey
Aceveda has had a tempestuous relationship with Vic Mackey. During the beginning of his captaincy, he sought to take down the Strike Team for corruption in the district and assigned IAD Detective Terry Crowley to the team. When Crowley was killed while in the company of Mackey, Aceveda dedicated himself to bringing him down. However, in a bizarre twist of fate, when Assistant Chief Ben Gilroy attempted to sacrifice both Aceveda and Mackey to save his own career, Mackey and Aceveda realized it was in their best interests to work through the problem together. From that point to the end of Aceveda's captaincy, the two maintained an uneasy alliance.
The Alliance was broken when it was revealed that before Aceveda left his post, he submitted a scathing letter about Mackey to administration, effectively killing any possibility of promotion that Vic could ever hope for. Mackey was livid and the two nearly came to blows. Aceveda has since attempted to remain somewhat civil to Vic since his arrival at a scene possibly saved his life. However, it remains no secret that Aceveda wants Mackey locked up, the sooner the better.
[edit] The Incident
During a gang bust of a home, Aceveda remained behind after uniformed officers left. The public reason was to search the home more closely. The actual reason was that he was hoping to find something to incriminate Vic Mackey. However, this would cost Aceveda dearly. Two gang members, Juan and Ricky, returned to the home and overpowered Aceveda. Restraining him and taking his weapon, Juan forced Aceveda to perform oral sex on him at gun point, taking a photo using a camera phone for posterity. It appeared that Aceveda was going to be killed, but the arrival of Mackey and the Strike Team scared the two off.
Aceveda followed Ricky over a period of several months, killing him when he robbed a Korean grocery store. He recovered the picture in the process, and eventually caught Juan. After threatening his family, Aceveda put Juan in prison.
However, the incident would scar Aceveda mentally for months to come. He became estranged from his family and eventually began having an violent affair with a hooker, re-enacting rape fantasies with intensifying brutality until he eventually pulled a gun, essentially attempting to re-enact his own rape. Horrified, Aceveda cut off relations with the hooker and seemed to make peace with himself.
But Juan, wanting revenge, threatened to tell all who would listen about his "relation" with David. Fearing the damage it would do to his image, Aceveda made a deal with imprisoned drug lord Antwon Mitchell to have Juan killed in exchange for his freedom. The two did fulfill their own parts of the bargain, though Mitchell was imprisoned again after Captain Monica Rawlings sacrificed her career to keep Mitchell behind bars. It seems Aceveda has put the incident behind him.
In Season 5, Aceveda has been working with IAD Lt. John Kavanaugh to put away the Strike Team once and for all. However, after Kavanaugh witnessed several suspicious meetings between Vic and Aceveda, IAD's investigation into the Strike Team has now spread to the councilman. Kavanaugh has begun to dig into the highly coincidental meetings Aceveda had with Juan and Antwon just before Juan was killed.
