Richard Lee

"*Hooligans killing the Chinese, gangsters killing hooligans and police in the middle unable to do a damn thing about any of it. We're not meant to succeed, Bill. We're just bagging flies for politicians while they count their votes.*"
—Lee to Bill[src]
**Richard Henry Lee** is a Savannah, Georgia native and new officer at the San Francisco Police Department. After fleeing his hometown for having killed his cousins, Lee joined the San Francisco Police Department's Chinatown squad along with Bill O'Hara. However, he was disliked by his Irish colleagues due to his family having fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Despite being from the south, Lee is far more racially tolerant than his comrades, especially towards the growing Chinese community.

After the riot in Chinatown between the working Irishmen and the Chinese, in which the department founds themselves trapped helplessly in the middle, Lee quit the force.

## Biography

### Early life

Lee was born in Savannah, Georgia. After the American Civil War, a family of freed slaves came to live with Lee and his family and manage their farm. He essentially grew up with them and became close with their daughter, Nora. As they got older, Lee and Nora developed a romantic relationship and started meeting secretly in the farm. After one of their hookups, Nora left the barn first and was attacked by his two cousins. They had been drunk and aware of Lee and Nora's relationship for some time. Nora struggled, but they had a sickle and killed her. In retaliation, Lee grabbed his rifle and killed both his cousins. Lee then buried Nora and fled town.

### Joining the Chinatown Squad

Lee catches a couple drunken Irishmen attacking two defenseless Chinese men and commands them to stop. When they turn their anger on him, Lee disarms both men and places them under arrest. When they're arraigned, Lee announces that he's prepared to take the stand.

Lee surprisingly volunteers to join the Chinatown Squad, having come to San Francisco from Savanna, Georgia after the war fractured his family and his two older brothers died at Gettysburg. Stone accuses Lee of being a confederate and refuses to work alongside him. When Lee accuses Stone of being drunk, a fight ensues between the two until Bill and the other officers intervene.

Lee and Bill head down to The Banshee after getting word of a double homicide, and as it turns out, the victims are the same two men Lee arrested for beating up on coolies. Lee examines the bodies and further determines that it was more likely a single attacker, more specifically an expert swordsman.

Lee and Bill arrive at another scene to find several dead Long Zii hatchet men. Lee looks to take notes of the crime scene and the brutal killing, but Bill writes it off as another gang killing just as Li Yong arrives to take the bodies. Bill informs Lee that when it comes to the Chinese, they're not cops, they're janitors. Their job is to simply clean up the mess.

Lee finds himself involved in a scuffle between Paul and Seamus O'Shea, and Ah Sahm, who is defending Penelope Blake. However, all Bill sees is a Chinese man attacking citizens, and he hits Ah Sahm over the head with his baton and arrests him. Not long after, Lee confronts Bill after learning that Chief Flannagan has already announced that they caught the Banshee murderer, despite having no evidence to support that Ah Sahm is the swordsman.

Lee enters the holding cell area and confronts Bill after having previously seen him with Leary, under the impression that Bill and Leary attempted to have Ah Sahm beaten and killed before trial. The following morning, when Paul and Seamus neglect to show up in court, the trial is dismissed and Lee escorts Ah Sahm out.

Lee shows up at Bill's home after he neglected to come in for work. Lucy explains that he was beaten half to death by coolies and notes that the head of the squad shouldn't have to work the night shift. Lee lies and backs up Bill's claim to have been working the night shift. He then helps Bill put his socks and boots, as he is too injured to do so himself.

Lee confronts Bill, not for lying to his wife, but for collecting money from Ah Toy as they raid her place. Bill explains that taking a little money isn't the problem. The entire bust is the issue. They're all just pawns in someone else's game. Lee asks about right and wrong, which Bill has long stopped caring about, but since Lee is so concerned with Bill's business, Bill asks Lee why he came all the way out to San Francisco to simply be a cop. When Lee doesn't reply, Bill makes him a deal to stay out of his business so long as Lee repays the favor. After thinking this over, Lee arrives at the Banshee and finds Bill to apologize for questioning his authority earlier. Bill remarks that Lee's a good kid and that he'll be a fine cop. Eventually, they'll be reassigned out of Chinatown and hopefully go off to do some real police work. Until then, Bill advises Lee to keep his head down and simply survive.

### The explosion in Chinatown

Lee has been doing a bit of detective work in hopes of getting to the bottom of the explosion in Chinatown. He suspects that the Long Zii are looking for their piece of the opium business, which the Hop Wei won't give up without a fight. However, he also suspects that the Fung Hai, who are said to be the most savage of the tongs, actually did the bombing. While Bill isn't interested in doing any real investigative work, he agrees to give Lee's theory some thought, but in the meantime, he arms Lee with a shotgun and tells him to sit outside his house tonight.

As asked of him, Lee spends the night guarding Bill's home. Lucy brings him something to eat and asks why he's on her porch with a shotgun. Lee claims it's simply a precaution, as they have been investigating the tong wars. However, Lee is a terrible liar and she sees through his lie. And when Bill finally returns, Lee doesn't even bother asking what happened, as he knows Bill wouldn't tell him the truth, though Bill does thank him.

### Lee's past sins

Lee receives an unexpected visit from Bill, who confronts him for being an outlaw. Lee reveals that after the war, a family of freed slaves came to live with his family. They helped managed the farm, and Lee practically grew to with them. From a young age, Lee and their daughter Nora, were close friends, until they developed a romantic relationship, which they kept quiet, as they knew they would have to get out of the south if they ever wanted a shot at something real. Nora would always leave the barn first, and he would follow a little while later, but the last time she left, he heard Nora cry out. Lee exited the barn to find two of his cousins holding on to her. One of his cousins had a sickle and killed Nora right in front of Lee. So in turn, Lee killed them, shooting one cousin and killing the other with the sickle. Lee buried Nora and left town that night. Gresham, a bounty hunter, then enters after hearing Lee's story, accompanied by Stone, Harrison, and McLeod. Lee grabs a knife to defend himself, as he's clearly been set up, but in reality, Bill and the squad have come to help Lee. They disarm Gresham and warn him never to return.

Lee and Bill arrive in Chinatown to the aftermath of the battle between the Long Zii and the Hop Wei. Lee notices the Fung Hai watching from afar and suspects that this is more than a typical gang feud. So, he shows Chao his sketches of the Fung Hai and asks if they look familiar, but Chao isn't interested in answering his questions. Lee's simply trying to understand the war, but Chao tells him that he's too young, too white, and too stupid. Chao advises Lee to stop trying to understand if he wishes to survive.

The following morning, Lee, Bill, and Chief Flannagan report to the shore after a call about a body being fished in from the sea. They've identified him as Victor Timmons, real estate tycoon. He was reported missing with his business associate Lance McCormick two days ago. They were called in as it appears Timmons was killed by a sword, which Lee confirms.

### Ambushed by the Fung Hai

Lee and Bill walk the empty streets of Chinatown, wondering where everyone is at. Eventually, they get their answer and find their way into a crowd surrounding the ring, scheduled for a one vs one duel between the Hop Wei and Long Zii. They join the crowd and watch as the fight is underway, that is until Li Yong attempts to snap Ah Sahm's neck and Bill intervenes by firing a single round in the sky, causing the crowd to disperse.

The following day, they go to Chao for help with their swordsman case, but Chao doesn't sell swords, as they're worthless and old-fashioned. Bill pleads with Chao for some kind of information, if only a simple clue. If they don't catch someone soon, things are going to get ugly in Chinatown. And so, Chao offers to look around.

In retaliation for Bill refusing to pay his debt, the Fung Hai target Lee. They ambush him on his way home and beat him in the streets of Chinatown. Lee charges after Zing, but he's an experienced fighter and takes Lee down with little difficulty, beating him to the point of unconsciousness.

Lee is taken to the hospital, where he is in a coma from his injuries and Bill watches over him. He tells Lee that he's a good cop and good man. He's guilt ridden for having put Lee in harms way and promises to make the Fung Hai pay. When Lee finally awakens, he doesn't remember what happened, and Bill reveals he was jumped in Chinatown. Despite this, Lee returns for his first shift back since his attack and patrols Chinatown along with Bill.

### Investigating the swordsman

Lee, Bill, and Chief Flannagan track the swordsman to the Teddy Boys' hideout, where their bodies have been discovered. Judging by the crime scene, Lee suspects that this time around, there was more than one person. Lee then explodes on Flannagan, having already been through so much, Lee has been taking medication, laudanum, for his headaches, but it's not helping much and it's been two months since his attack. Bill advises him to take some time off, but Lee insists that he's fine and wants to go talk to Chao to see what he knows. Feeling the pressure, they raid his place of business as an incentive to give up some information about the swordsman.

In order to find their swordsman, Lee has been looking into the victimology. All those killed by the swordsman had a history of targeting the Chinese, leading Lee to suspect this is a vengeance scenario. However, Timmons and McCormick are the only victims not known to have expressed any type of anti-Chinese sentiment, leading Lee to go through Timmons finances for clues. The last deal Timmons made was selling a piece of property in Spring Valley to Leonard Patterson for $5,000, which Bill agrees to help him investigate. Patterson claims to know nothing, And while Bill is convinced he's lying about something, he doesn't think Patterson is their killer.

Lee's headache is keeping him awake at night, so he heads out for a drink at a bar. He's served by a young black woman that looks surprisingly a lot like his old girlfriend, Nora. She pours him a shot of whiskey mixed with laudanum, before asking for his name and warning him that he doesn't want to be walking around alone when his drink kicks in. Abigail invites him into the back, where they kiss until Lee's drink starts to take effect. However, it would seem that she added more than just laudanum and Lee passes out, resulting in a couple of the guys from inside the bar robbing him. And When Lee wakes up the following morning, he's stripped clean of everything.

Lee returns to the bar where he was robbed and brutally attacks the men who stole from him. He shoots one man in the leg and stands over him with his gun cocked, but before he can pull the trigger, Abigail returns his money and tells him that he's made his point. Lee takes his money, and then heads down to the station, where he goes through most of the weapons used by the tongs, but none of them can cut through bone, whereas an experienced swordsman would have better technique, leading Lee to suspect that the swordsman isn't from one of the tongs.

Lee has dinner with Bill and his family, who consider him to be family by now. After Lee leaves, the Fung Hai attack. They hold a knife to Ethan's throat, and just as they're about to kill him, Lee returns guns blazing, shooting Ethan's would-be killer in the head before going after the other two inside. A fight ensues, with Lee and Bill defending the house from the two remaining Fung Hai warriors.

Lee stands guard outside of Bill's house until Stone arrives with a carriage to see Lucy and the kids off to safety. Once they're gone, Lee asks Bill why the Fung Hai came after him. Bill reluctantly reveals he was working as muscle for the Fung Hai for a couple of months. Lee then realizes that he was attacked because they were sending Bill a message. For this, Lee punches Bill and stumbles away.

Hoping to ease his pain, Lee seeks out Ah Toy, who leads him into the back to relieve his chronic pain in her opium den.

### Raiding the Fung Hai den

After Bill informs the guys at the station that his home was attacked, Lee questions if he told the men why the Fung Hai attacked, which Bill didn't, as it won't make a single difference. Lee blames Bill for what happened to him as well as his own family, but Bill doesn't exactly accept responsibility for his actions, more so directing his anger into seeking revenge. He warns Lee that he better be sober when the time comes for them to move in on the Fung Hai. However, when the time comes, he's not. And yet, he still participates in the raid on the Fung Hai headquarters, killing several hatchet men in the process. Lee and Bill head upstairs, where they find Zing with a sword in hand and shoot him in the shoulder. Along with the sword, Bill claims to have found Timmons' watch in Zing's room as well. Lee is suspicious of this find, as well as the sword itself, pointing out that it all seems a bit too convenient, but Bill pushes him to simply accepts the win.

Lee returns Victor Timmons' watch to his widow. She can't believe that his killer was in her home, which she also told Bill last week. Lee is surprised by this revelation, as he was unaware that Bill had ever spoken to Mrs. Timmons. She claims that he came to her with a possible break in the case and asked if he could look around.

Following his discussion with Mrs. Timmons, Lee confronts Bill for planting the watch. Lee at least know where to draw the line between good and bad, to which Bill asks, "What side of the line does killing your own kin fall on?" In a fit of rage, Lee punches Bill and slams him to the ground until Harrison and Stone intervene.

### The riot in Chinatown

Lee, Bill, and the San Francisco police department catch Jacob trying to leave town after he killed Mayor Blake. They got a tip from Buckley. Lee is worried that Buckley has another agenda, which Bill admits might be true, but at least they have the right guy. And so, they personally follow the paddy wagon escorting Jacob to jail. However, the road is blocked off by the workingmen. Rather than allowing the officers to pass, the workingmen seek to enact street justice and attack the officers before breaking into the carriage and pulling Jacob out. Tully ties a rope around Jacob's neck and hangs him just outside the Banshee.

Rather than waiting for reinforcements, Lee follows the mob to Chinatown, where a riot is underway. Lee intervenes when he catches one of the workingmen drowning an innocent Chinese woman. He pulls the woman to safety and fends off her attackers until he himself is attacked by Tully, who punches Lee and asks who side is he on. Lee manages to gain the upper hand and shoot Tully multiple times, killing him.

### Quitting the force

Lee turns in his badge and gun, prepared to resign. He's starting to feel helpless, as if they're simply trapped in an endless circle of violence. Bill has been telling him this since his arrival, but he continues to do it because there's still a chance every day to do some good and keep the peace. Bill pleads with Lee to stay, as he needs him, but Lee no longer believes that he's cut out to be a cop, to which Bill replies "You can teach a pig to hunt, but that don't make him a dog," meaning that Lee's a cop no matter what.

Lee returns back to the bar where he was robbed, and Abigail tells him that her establishment is no place for a cop, to which he replies that he's no longer a cop. He explains that the cops of San Francisco are actually just broken men in blue suits. She asks if he's broken. Admittedly, Lee has killed men, to which Abigail replies that some men need to be killed. And if he had to do it again, Lee admits that he wouldn't do it any different. After a bit of flirting at the bar, she brings Lee home and they have sex.

### Joining the Secret Service

Two bounty hunters enter the bar in search of Lee. Abigail shoots and kills the first man, at which point, Lee enters and attacks the second man. Whilst he and Lee wrestled on the ground, Abigail jumps in his back, allowing Lee the opportunity to stab him in the neck with a broken glass bottle. With both bounty hunters dead, Abigail goes searching for Happy Jack to help dispose of the bodies, during which point, he expresses to Lee how much he dislikes him. After discussing the possibility of leaving town with Abigail, which they ultimately decide against, Lee is approached by Agent Mosely of the Secret Service with a proposition; should he agree to help Mosely navigate the terrain to find the counterfeit money operation, he can clean up Lee's mess in Georgia.

Lee pays Chao a visit to ask him a few questions about a counterfeit operation, as a witness from the original counterfeit crew claims that a Chinese man sold guns to his partners at the dock shortly before they were robbed. Lee explains that he works for the government now and that he can do things differently, but Chao isn't convinced and points Lee towards the exit.

## Significant kills

* Two unnamed cousins — Lee killed two of his cousins with a rifle and a sickle after they murdered his girlfriend, Nora.
* Fung Hai hatchet men — Lee killed members from the Fung Hai after they attacked Bill and his family in their home for failing to pay his casino debt. He killed several more members while raiding the Fung Hai base.
* Tully — Lee killed Tully with a single shot during the Chinatown riot after he staged an attack on the department and killed Jacob.

## Skills and abilities

Having been raised on a farm where they would often slaughter cattle, Lee developed a certain skill that proved useful when dealing with dead bodies in the field, allowing him to not only identify a possible murder weapon while searching for their swordsman but to also differentiate one blade from the next. Lee is a skilled fighter using his nightstick and capable with his fists, however he is a lethal marksman, killing a number of Fung Hai without a wasted shot.

## Appearances

* There's No China in the Bible
* John Chinaman
* The White Mountain
* The Blood and the Sh\*t (credit only)
* Chewed Up, Spit Out, and Stepped On
* The Tiger and the Fox
* They Don't Pay Us Enough to Think
* Chinese Boxing
* If You're Going to Bow, Bow Low
* The Chinese Connection
* Not How We Do Business
* If You Don't See Blood, You Didn't Come to Play
* Not for a Drink, a F\*ck, or a G\*\*damn Prayer
* To a Man with a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail (credit only)
* If You Wait by the River Long Enough
* All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic
* Enter the Dragon
* Man on the Wall

### Season 3

* Exactly the Wrong Time to Get Proud
* Anything Short of a Blow to the Head
* No Time for F\*cking Chemistry

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Season 1, episode 7: ***The Tiger and the Fox***
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Season 1, episode 1: ***The Itchy Onion***
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Season 2, episode 10: ***Man on the Wall***
4. ↑ Season 1, episode 2: ***There's No China in the Bible***
5. ↑ Season 1, episode 3: ***John Chinaman***
6. ↑ Season 1, episode 4: ***The White Mountain***
7. ↑ Season 1, episode 6: ***Chewed Up, Spit Out, and Stepped On***
8. ↑ Season 1, episode 8: ***They Don't Pay Us Enough to Think***
9. ↑ Season 1, episode 9: ***Chinese Boxing***
10. ↑ Season 1, episode 10: ***If You're Going to Bow, Bow Low***
11. ↑ Season 2, episode 1: ***Learn to Endure, or Hire a Bodyguard***
12. ↑ Season 2, episode 2: ***The Chinese Connection***
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Season 2, episode 3: ***Not How We Do Business***
14. ↑ Season 2, episode 4: ***If You Don't See Blood, You Didn't Come to Play***
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Season 2, episode 5: ***Not for a Drink, a F\*ck, or a G\*\*damn Prayer***
16. ↑ Season 2, episode 7: ***If You Wait by the River Long Enough***
17. ↑ Season 2, episode 8: ***All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic***
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Season 2, episode 9: ***Enter the Dragon***
19. ↑ Season 3, episode 2: ***Anything Short of a Blow to the Head***
20. ↑ Season 3, episode 3: ***No Time for F\*cking Chemistry***