Lester Freamon

Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. He is a slow and methodical detective who makes major contributions to the series investigations.

Character background and plot relations

Detective Lester Freamon is a veteran of the force who established a reputation as what Bunk Moreland called "natural police" for his instincts, tenacity and intelligence. Before joining the force he served in the military. It is revealed in season 2 that he had fought in the Vietnam War. His first major unit was Homicide, but in 1989, acting against the orders of the Deputy Commissioner, he charged a politically-connected fence to coerce his testimony in a homicide case. Though the case was successfully closed, the Deputy still had Freamon transferred to the Pawnshop unit as a punishment – after being told by Freamon that that was the one place he did not want to go. Freamon eventually spent thirteen years (and four months) in the assignment, until he had been completely forgotten by management. Deskbound for more than a decade, Freamon began making dollhouse furniture, a hobby which provides him with a substantial supplemental income, but also contributes to his eccentric reputation among fellow police. At the end of the series it was revealed that Freamon had joined the department in 1974 or 1975, having worked 32½ years at his retirement....
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