Leander Sydnor

Infobox character | name = Leander Sydnor


portrayer = Corey Parker Robinson
creator = David Simon
species =
gender = Male
first = "The Detail" "(episode 1.02)"
last = "–30–" "(episode 5.10)"
cause = End of series
age = 20s
occupation = Detective in the Baltimore police department's major crimes unit
title = Detective
alias =
family =
spouse =
children =
relatives =
footnotes =

Leander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama "The Wire", played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective and was a member of the Barksdale detail and later worked in the Major Crimes Unit.

Biography

eason 1

Sydnor was assigned to the Barksdale detail from the Auto Theft Department after Lt. Daniels made a special request of Sydnor's commanding officer Lieutenant Cantrell to give him his best detective to balance out taking the erratic Detective Pryzbylewski. In the Barksdale detail he often worked with Detective Lester Freamon who became something of a mentor to him. He helped Freamon to dig into the Barksdale organization's paper trail. Sydnor also performed valuable undercover work alongside Detective Kima Greggs and her informant Bubbles. Bubbles helped Sydnor improve his undercover image by recommending changes like wearing out his shoes and not wearing his wedding band. His undercover work involved making hand to hands to build evidence. Sydnor was responsible for identifying Avon Barksdale at a basketball game. He later told Daniels that the investigation was the best police work he had ever done.

eason 3

Sydnor returned to working in his old district after the dissolution of the Barksdale detail. When Daniels established a permanent Major Case Unit he was allowed to choose his own detectives and encouraged Sydnor to transfer in. Sydnor took up the offer and again worked on investigating the Barksdale organization.

cite web
year = 2004
title = Org Chart - The Law
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2006-07-22
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/orgchart/law.shtml]

eason 4

In Season 4, the Major Case Unit was investigating Marlo Stanfield in addition to the Barksdale money trail. With Cedric Daniels promoted to Major, Lester Freamon was the guiding force behind the unit and had hand-picked their shift lieutenant Jimmy Asher, a retiring officer who took a non-interfering approach to the unit's investigations. The money trail led them to major political figures which worried Sydnor. Sydnor personally delivered a subpoena for financial records to State Senator Clayton "Clay" Davis despite worries about how this would impact on his career.cite web
year = 2004
title = Character profile - Detective Leander Sydnor
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2006-07-22
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/leander_sydnor.shtml]

Senator Davis angrily protested the subpoenas to Mayor Clarence Royce who then ordered Commissioner Burrell to rein in the Major Crimes Unit. Deputy Commissioner William Rawls suggested that proper supervision was all the unit needed and replaced Lieutenant Asher with Lieutenant Marimow. Marimow is a caustic commander with a reputation in the department as a "unit killer." Marimow's command style drove away Freamon and Greggs leaving only Sydnor and Massey in the unit. Sydnor decided to leave the unit at the first available opening. With the transfer of Segeant Thomas "Herc" Hauk and Officer Kenneth Dozerman into the unit Sydnor found two allies in his desire to make cases and his dislike for Marimow. The unit was unsuccessful at building a case against Stanfield under Marimow's supervision. Sydnor mentored Dozerman over the course of the season. Sydnor also cautioned Herc on the consequences of lying to Marimow but Herc nevertheless performed several questionable acts while in the unit.

The unit was eventually reconstituted under the control of Freamon after Daniels was promoted to CID colonel. Under Freamon's leadership, Asher was named Lieutenant again, and Jimmy McNulty and Kima Greggs transferred back into the unit. Dozerman remained with the unit while Herc was suspended pending an internal investigations division investigation. As the season ended, a new investigative strategy was mapped out against Marlo Stanfield.

eason 5

After more than a year of investigation into the Stanfield Organization the unit still did not have a strong enough case to file charges. Sydnor faced frustration with budget cuts in the department and eventually the unit was closed down. Sydnor was disappointed to find his work wasted and realized that simply keeping Stanfield under surveillance was effective in reducing crime. Sydnor and Lester Freamon were detailed to the State's Attorney's office to prepare the corruption case against Clay Davis.cite episode|title = More with Less|episodelink = More with Less|series = The Wire|serieslink = The Wire (TV series)|credits = Joe Chappelle|writers = David Simon (story and teleplay), Ed Burns (story)|network = HBO|station = |city = |airdate = 2008-01-06|season = 5|number = 1] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/episode/season5/episode51.shtml|title="The Wire" episode guide - episode 51 More with Less|accessdate=2008-01-22|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Sydnor and Freamon first prepared the paperwork on Davis and then assisted Rhonda Pearlman in a series of Grand Jury depositions.cite episode | title = Unconfirmed Reports | episodelink = Unconfirmed Reports | series = The Wire | serieslink = The Wire (TV series) | credits = Ernest Dickerson | writers = William F. Zorzi (story and teleplay), David Simon (story) | network = HBO | station = | city = | airdate = 2008-01-13 | season = 5 | number = 2] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/episode/season5/episode52.shtml|title="The Wire" episode guide - episode 52 Uncomfirmed Reports|accessdate=2008-01-22|publisher=HBO|year=2008] cite episode|title = Not for Attribution|episodelink = Not for Attribution|series = The Wire|serieslink = The Wire (TV series)|credits = Scott and Joy Kecken|writers = Chris Collins (story and teleplay), David Simon (story)|network = HBO|station = |city = |airdate = 2008-01-20|season = 5|number = 3] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/episode/season5/episode53.shtml|title="The Wire" episode guide - episode 53 Not for Attribution|accessdate=2008-01-22|publisher=HBO|year=2008]

Sydnor uncovers evidence of a federal crime committed by Davis when he finds that Davis borrowed money from his mother for a mortgage deposit. Freamon realizes the significance of the crime and knows that it could mean a thirty year penalty. The detectives present the evidence to State's Attorney Rupert Bond and he refuses to take the case federal as he wants to prosecute Davis himself for political reasons.cite episode | title = Transitions | episodelink = Transitions | series = The Wire | serieslink = The Wire (TV series) | credits = Dan Attias | writers = Ed Burns (story and teleplay), David Simon (story) | network = HBO | station = | city = | airdate = 2008-01-27 | season = 5 | number = 4] In the series finale, Sydnor visits Judge Daniel Phelan in his chambers to apply back-channel pressure to an investigation, implying that he will follow some of McNulty's tactics to see justice done.

References