Chief Graham

Delbert "Del" Graham is a supporting character in the Free Spirits series. He appears in Peri's Bliss, Bridget's Calling, Laurie's Liberation, Adara's Apostasy, Tessa's Vision, Sophie's Widsom and Elsa's Revelations, and is mentioned in Hannah's Healing, Zoe's Quest and Moira's Covenant.
Born and raised in Nashville, Graham went to college in Baltimore (where he met and befriended Lateshia Williams) and joined the Baltimore Police Department on graduation. After gaining many commendations and rising to the rank of Sergeant, he joined the New York Police Department, where he once again received several commendations and awards (including the Medal of Honor, Combat Cross and Medal for Valor) and rose to the rank of Captain, all while earning a Masters in Criminal Justice from John Jay College. He then moved to the smaller Bellefleur-Calais Police Department, rising to Deputy Chief, yet becoming entangled in politics when he exposed corruption in that department's anti-drug unit. This commitment to integrity and reform led Stallbrook's Mayor Allan Phillips to appoint him as that city's fifty-second Chief of Police, where he quickly engaged in rooting out corrupt cops and instituting numerous far-reaching reforms. His policies regarding sex work attracted criticism from conservatives and radical feminists, leading incoming Mayor Jack Oskanian to begin an investigation; the results showed that his policies were highly effective, and won support of the Stallbrook City Council by a two-thirds majority. During the 2023 municipal elections, the Committee for a Better Stallbrook runs ads critical of Graham, but these are countered by ads from another group; allegations of misconduct by a woman from New York City are investigated by Elsa Wahrheit, who exonerates him and uncovers the scheme behind this attempt at slander.
Graham is a forward-thinking leader who works to bring about "real justice, for everyone"; to that end, he is committed to community policing methods, a preference for negotiation over force, zero tolerance for corruption in his department, and support for harm-reduction approaches (e.g., the safe-injection facility at Stallbrook General Hospital). His nephew Tony later takes a job in Stallbrook, and starts a romantic relationship with Laurie Franklin; after Laurie's abusive ex-partner Abbie is arrested, the Chief has a private discussion with her about her change of identity, and his support for her actions reveals his willingness to put justice above strict enforcement of written laws.
Category:Characters
Category:Law Enforcement
Category:Stallbrook officials