Ellis Carver

Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit. He is a dedicated officer, unfailingly loyal to his partner Thomas "Herc" Hauk, but in the earlier seasons was prone to irresponsible and unprofessional behavior. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush of physical policing and was not above cutting ethical corners to get ahead. However, over the course of the series, he matured and became an upstanding officer, sometimes drawing the ire of his Western District colleagues.

Biography

Season 1

Carver was a narcotics detective under Major Foerster in season one; he joined the Barksdale detail along with his colleagues from narcotics, detectives Kima Greggs and Thomas "Herc" Hauk. Cedric Daniels, his shift lieutenant from narcotics, was assigned to command the detail. Carver tells Bodie Broadus in season one, episode five ('the pager'), that he was brought up on the Flag House Courts project.

Herc and Carver typically worked as a pair. They were intimidated by Greggs' ability and annoyed at her superior attitude towards them. They got into trouble early on in the investigation when they drunkenly raided a Barksdale-controlled high rise tower and nearly incited a riot. They had convinced the erratic Detective Roland......
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