Howard "Bunny" Colvin
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| Howard "Bunny" Colvin | |
|---|---|
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| First appearance | Stray Rounds (episode 1.01) |
| Statistics | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 50s |
| Occupation | Retired officer in Baltimore Police department and commander of the Western District |
| Title | Lieutenant |
| Portrayed by | Robert Wisdom |
| Created by | David Simon |
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.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Colvin was first seen as a Major and commander of the Western district in season two.[1] He attended the scene of the accidental shooting of a child during a drug turf war and was appalled at the senselessness of the killing.
[edit] Season 3
In season three Colvin was nearing retirement and decided to make a last effort to have a real impact on the community he had been policing for thirty years. Comparing the city's drug problems to the illegal public consumption of alcohol, Colvin wondered if there was a "paper bag" for drugs that would make it safe for low level users to take them without facing punishment. Colvin recognized that much of his time and resources were spent on policing addicts and low level dealers, which never seemed to improve the situation in his district. All of Baltimore's regional Majors were under extreme pressure from the mayor's office to reduce the city's violent crime rate in preparation for the mayoral primary campaign.
Colvin decided to independently set up a "free zone" in his district where addicts and dealers were allowed to conduct their business under supervision but without interference. He aimed to move the drug trade into a controlled, uninhabited area to protect the rest of the district. Colvin did not seek the permission or approval of any of his superiors before implementing his plan and ignored the concerns of his subordinates Lieutenant Dennis Mello and Sergeant Ellis Carver, who were charged by Colvin with ensuring no violence took place within the "free zones." One of these areas became known as "Hamsterdam", after Amsterdam's liberal drug laws. Because his retirement was imminent and he was guaranteed a major's pension, Colvin believed he would be free from any consequences should his plan be discovered.
Colvin was concerned when he found a single retiree still living in one of the houses in Hamsterdam. He had to plead Colonel Ray Foerster to have the old woman relocated to new housing, lying to both her and the Colonel about the reasons why. Although his project initially drew suspicion from the district's dealers, he convinced them to move their trade by brutally cracking down on any drug dealing outside of Hamsterdam.
As a commanding officer Colvin was well-liked by his men. Near the end of his career, he reconnected with Jimmy McNulty, who had started out as a beat officer under Colvin's command. Colvin referred to McNulty as "bushy-top". Colvin's last piece of detective work involved McNulty's major case unit — Stringer Bell contacted Colvin to inform against his partner Avon Barksdale and Colvin passed the information on to McNulty. In Colvin, Bell had seen a fellow reformer who felt his superiors were preventing useful work from being done.
Colvin found Carver to be a likeable officer but something of a failure as DEU sergeant. He told Carver that policing requires relationships with the people and that confidential informants are essential. While Carver was effective at making arrests, he failed to learn about the drug organizations and see patterns in the information, to Colvin's disappointment.
He was forced to retire after his experiment was discovered by his superiors. The city's politicians considered trying to spin Hamsterdam as a public health measure but eventually decided it was too dangerous. With the free zones now public knowledge, Commissioner Burrell offered Colvin to the mayor as a scapegoat, and he was demoted to lieutenant and forced out of the department early. Colvin's actions continued to have repercussions; without his major's pension, he pursued a job as a security consultant, but the department intervened and prevented him getting the post.[2]
[edit] Season 4
As season four began Bunny was supplementing his (diminished) pension by working as head of security for a downtown hotel. Colvin became disillusioned with the post when the hotel manager refused to let him arrest a wealthy client who had savagely beaten a prostitute in his hotel room. He left the job soon afterwards.
Colvin was approached with another job by his friend, The Deacon. The deacon had learned of a large grant to the University of Maryland School of Social Work to look at repeat violent offenders. Using Bunny's reputation among academics as the man who attempted to legalize drugs in Western Baltimore, he secured a job offer as a field researcher. The deacon convinced Colvin to take the job.
The study was led by Dr. David Parenti. Parenti initially planned to focus on 18-to-21-year-olds but Colvin sensed that they would have to look at a younger group to effect any change. He convinced Parenti by arranging an interview at the Western District through Sergeant Carver. He demonstrated in the interview that anti-authoritarian attitudes and violent behavior are often entrenched in by that age. Colvin convinced Parenti to look at Edward Tilghman Middle School for his target group. While at Tilghman, Colvin begins to take an interest in Namond Brice, one of disruptive students who is placed in the "special class" that he is teaching. He takes him into his home upon prompting from Carver when Carver tells him that Namond was caught on the corner selling drugs, and his mother was out of town. Colvin takes him home the next day, where he sees Namond's mother realizing the problem that existed within Namond's surroundings. He sees that Namond's mother is pushing him back on the corners to sell drugs instead of keeping him off. After seeing how Namond has progressed in school, Colvin realizes that Namond could indeed have a future if he is to be raised in a place that does not keep him in the world of selling drugs. When Namond gets into a fight with Michael and shows his vulnerable side upon losing the fight, Bunny furthermore sees that Namond is not fit for the corners anymore and will only end up being killed or in jail if he remains in his current household. Colvin then talks with Wee Bey, Namond's incarcerated father who acted as one of Avon Barksdale's top soliders, claiming that Namond can have a life outside of West Baltimore given the proper support from Bunny and his wife. After thinking it over, Bey tells Namond's mother to send him to live with Colvin as he wants him to have a future that he is capable of having. Colvin and his wife are then seeing housing Namond at the conclusion of Season 4. [3]
[edit] References
- ^ Dan Kois (2004). Everything you were afraid to ask about "The Wire". Salon.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Org Chart - The Law. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
- ^ Character profile - Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin. HBO (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
