Frank Pembleton

Frank Pembleton is the main protagonist of the first six seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street. Pembleton is an intelligent, highly competent BPD detective, who is nevertheless disliked by most of his colleagues for his abrasive, egotistical demeanor and his eccentricities.
He is portrayed by the late , who also played Raymond Holt in Brooklyn 99.
==Biography==
Pembleton was born in New York City to a Roman Catholic family. Growing up, Oembelton went to a Catholic elementary school and a Jesuit high school. As a result, Pembleton is well-versed in Greek, Latin, and Catholic theology, something he frequently demonstrates. Pembleton joined the police academy, and at some point met his future wife Mary in Central Park; the two fell in love and eventually married. 
Pembleton served as a patrolman in the NYPD for several years. However, feeling there was no room for advancement, Pembleton and Mary moved to Baltimore, where Pembleton joined the BPD. In 1989, Pembleton was promoted to detective and joined a homicide unit run by Lieutenant Al Giardello.
Pembleton quickly established a reputation for himself as being extremely competent, capturing almost any murderers he was assigned to pursue. However, he grew to be disliked on a personal level by much of his colleagues for his abrasive and egotistical personality. Pembleton in particular formed a mutual hatred with his co-worker Beau Felton, and the two were near-constantly at each other's throats. Although Pembleton spent much of his early career working alone, he was eventually assigned a partner, rookie detective Tim Bayliss. The two formed a mutual dislike, Pembleton resenting having been partnered with a rookie and Bayliss frustrated with Pembleton's attitude.
The two were soon assigned to investigate the rape and murder of Adena Watson, an 11-year-old girl. Pembleton and Bayliss argued over how to handle the investigation and which suspect to pursue. Pembleton suspected a man with a prior criminal record, while Bayliss believed local arabber Risley Tucker was responsible. After discovering evidence proving his theory was incorrect, Bayliss and Pembleton brought Tucker in for a 12-hour interrogation. The two were unable to get a confession, and Bayliss was left wondering whether Tucker had actually killed Watson. Pembleton, meanwhile, believed him to be guilty. The two men subsequently formed a close friendship, and their partnership greatly improved.
During the investigation of a police shooting of drug dealer Charles Courtland "C.C." Cox, Pembleton came to suspect fellow officer Lieutenant Jimmy Tyron of the shooting. In spite of backlash from his colleagues including Giardello, Pembleton pursued Tyron as a suspect. When forced to interrogate Cox's friend Lane Staley by Giardello, who pushed Pembleton to prove his guilt, Pembleton berated Cox until he signed the confession. Pembleton subsequently used the instance to get Giardello to back down, and allow him it investigate Tyrom. Giardello complied, and Pembleton and Bayliss arrested Tyron.
Pembleton's faith was greatly tested during the pursuit of the White Gloves Killer, a fundamentalist serial killer who primarily targeted Catholic women. Upon capturing the killer, a woman named Annabella Wilgis, Pembleton discovered she was a fundamentalist who had murdered the women out of a misogynistic belief that their "refusal" to stay as housewives was an offense against God. Disgusted with her and uncertain of his faith, Pembleton renounced Catholicism. 
During the investigation of Congressman Jeremy Wade's charges of kidnapping against an aide, Pembleton discovered he was attempting to cover up his affair with the aide. Pembleton was persuaded by Wade and Deputy Commissioner Al Harris to cover up the incident with promises of a future promotion. However, the story broke out and became a major news story. Pembleton was enraged and considered quitting the police, but eventually realized it had been his own fault and remained on the force. 
Pembleton eventually suffers a stroke and is left severely impaired. While he is assigned to desk duty for a long period of time and results in him alienating Bayliss and Mary, he is eventually able to recover and repair his relationships with them. 
After Bayliss is shot by a suspect when Pembleton is unable to shoot him and his colleague Mike Kellerman's confession to the murder of a suspect is covered up by Giardello, Pembleton quits the force out of both disgust and guilt. He subsequently becomes a professor at a Jesuit college, only to return after Giardello is shot. Pembleton and Bayliss reunite and track down the suspect, only for Bayliss to subsequently confess to having murdered serial killer Luke Ryland in cold blood. Bayliss demands Pembleton turn him in, and threatens to commit suicide should he not do so; Pembleton's choice is left ambiguous.
==Personality==
Pembleton is highly egotistical. He has an extremely high opinion of himself and has a bad tendency of assuming that he is far more competent than those around him. He frequently condescends his colleagues and lashes out when his ego is even slightly bruised. He is similarly highly abrasive, often picking fights with his colleagues with little reason. Pembleton is similarly extremely judgmental, often berating or harassing his colleagues over minor slights which he feels are indicative of larger character flaws.
However, Pembleton shows a softer side buried beneath the surface. He cares deeply for his wife Mary, who is one of the few people he shows open affection to. He similarly cares deeply for his partner Bayliss; although the two frequently argue, Pembleton truly considers Bayliss a friend and often comforts him in moments of emotional distress. As the series goes on, he increasingly expresses his care for Bayliss and attempts to help him cope with his trauma from an abusive childhood.
Pembleton is deeply ambitious and seeks to rise through the ranks of the BPD, which occasionally motivates him to unethical actions. However, he eventually gives up on his aspirations upon realizing that he would have to give up on his morals to rise through the ranks. Pembleton in fact has a deep-rooted moral code; by his own admission, he believes that any murder he investigates must be treated with the same level of care because every life matters. Pembleton's moral code is uncompromising, and he often has difficulties seeing shades of grey. He often tends to view the culprits he pursues as deserving of punishment regardless of the extenuating circumstances. This is a double-edged sword; while it means Pembleton refuses to allow politics to sway him from seeing justice done, it also makes him often uncompromisingly harsh and disoriented when a crime challenges his moral views.
Pembleton has a deep-rooted hatred of racism, and is easily provoked to rage when subject to it. He develops a mutual hatred with fellow detective Roger Gaffney after Gaffney calls him a racial slur, and his most personal pursuits of criminals come when they express bigoted views or have expressly committed hate crimes. Pembleton is often uncomfortable with changes to his life or routine; he is upset by when Mary becomes pregnant due to the impending changes to his life, and he becomes extremely angry when the homicide unit is forced to move to a bank vault temporarily while the precinct is under repairs. Pembleton begins the series as a devout Roman Catholic; however, after a case involving a fundamentalist serial killer, he loses his faith and becomes a devout atheist to the point of refusing to enter a church again.
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