| Dewey Dudek | |
|---|---|
| Basic Facts | |
| Occupation | LAPD Police Officer |
| Rank | Police Officer III |
| Division | Hollywood Division |
| Relationships | |
| Background | |
| Portrayed By | |
| C. Thomas Howell | |
Dewey Dudek, played by special guest star C. Thomas Howell, is a patrol officer in the Hollywood Division. He was initially partnered with Chickie Brown. He is an abrasive personality and suffers with substance abuse problems.
Biography[]
Dewey is a veteran officer of the Los Angeles Police Department who has served in the same precinct as John Cooper for roughly the same length of time (approx. 20 years). At the beginning of the series, Dewey is retiring after a long tenure with the department. Shortly thereafter, he's forced to return to active duty when his wife divorces him and takes half of his pension. He has been partnered with Chickie Brown for an unknown amount of time, both before his retirement and after returning to duty. His obnoxious personality grates on Chickie and the attitude is exacerbated by Dewey's alcoholism. Having a tendency to make ethically questionable decisions, including giving preferential treatment to Timmy Davis, a famous Hollywood actor, after he and Chickie take Davis into custody on his movie set. Davis uses his status to manipulate Dewey into chauffering him around LA, paying for his coffee, and eventually letting him go free without ever processing him.
Later, Dewey has passed out drunk while on duty with Chickie, who's resolved after being convinced by Cooper to turn Dewey into the watch commander for drinking on the job. Chickie arranged for the watch commander to meet them under an overpass near the LA river, but Dewey woke up before they arrived. Chickie, waiting outside the car while Dewey was passed out in the driver's seat, sat down for a moment in the back seat. When Chickie confessed that she turned him in, he commandeered their patrol vehicle causing the back door to close, locking Chickie in the backseat. Dewey proceeded to drive the vehicle at high speed erratically through the LA river until the vehicle flipped upside-down. He and Chickie were both injured, though Chickie was able to return to duty immediately. Following a suspension, Dewey voluntarily entered into a rehabilitation clinic for alcoholism.
After a few months in rehab, Dewey embarked on his recovery, substituting coffee for alcohol and drinking several cups per day. He then again returned to service and partnered with Chickie again. Still obnoxious, but without the alcohol, and attempted to proceed through the twelve step program. Eventually, Chickie pursued an opportunity to join LAPD SWAT, and Dewey was reassigned to work as a Field Training Officer.
In the following months and years, he routinely crossed paths with officers John Cooper and his partners, as well as officers Ben Sherman and Sammy Bryant, and Detectives Lydia Adams and her partners, all due to working in the same precinct.
While training a new recruit, Dewey thought it would be good to respond to a call outside of their area to Watts. This resulted in a foot pursuit of a suspect named "Roadrunner". While chasing the suspect, Dewey's trainee was clotheslined by a steel-braided laundry line, resulting in a deep laceration across the width of her forehead.
In another incident, a riot broke out at the location of a memorial for an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by police. While working with riot police to quell the riot, Dewey was struck in the temple by a glass bottle thrown in the midst of the fray. Despite the heavy bleeding, Dewey was well enough to stay on the job and asked for a quick patch up by the EMTs.
Some time later, John Cooper and his partner Hank Lucero arrived on scene to assist Dewey in pursuit of a suspect. Lucero pursued in a vehicle while Cooper was behind Dewey on foot. When Cooper caught up to Dewey, he found him lying unconscious on a pedestrian overpass having suffered a heart attack. Cooper was able to render assistance and request an RA to take Dewey to the hospital. He survived, asking Cooper how much he owes him for having saved him so many times over the years.
Once Dewey returned to duty, he was on the scene of an infant mortality when Detectives Lydia Adams and Ruben Robinson arrived to investigate, briefing them on the situation. Deweys subdued demeanor suggested he was thoroughly disturbed and shaken by the death of the baby. Later he commiserated with Cooper in the locker room after their shift ended, both having responded to devastating calls (Cooper crawled under a tour bus to try and keep a young woman pinned underneath conscious until the fire department arrived to extricate her). Both men felt especially melancholy over the days events, and proceeded to cope in different ways.
Kill Count[]
- Unnamed Woman (“Sideways”)
Appearances[]
| Season four appearances | |||
| Wednesday | Underwater | Community | Identity |
| Legacy | Integrity Check | Fallout | Episode 8 |
| Episode 9 | Episode 10 | ||