Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
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| Prez | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | The Detail (episode 1.02) |
| Statistics | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 30s [citation needed] |
| Occupation | Public School Teacher |
| Portrayed by | Jim True-Frost |
| Created by | David Simon |
Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Jim True-Frost.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Season one
Prez first appeared completely incompetent, having once shot up his own patrol car and radioed for help, thinking he was under attack. Because he was Major Valchek's son-in-law, he remained on the force instead of being immediately fired. When he joined the Barksdale detail, he introduced himself to the other officers by accidentally shooting a wall. Prez had been working in the casualty division under Lt. Cantrell before joining the detail.
Later, he, Herc, and Carver drunkenly incited a near-riot in the Barksdale towers; in the process, he blinded a teenager in one eye. His commanding officer Lt. Daniels stood up for his detective and protected him from serious repercussions, but Prez was suspended from street duty. Stuck in the office, he grew bored and began playing with the pager codes the Barksdale crew used, eventually breaking them and making a major contribution to the case. Under Freamon's mentorship, he discovered a facility for wiretap work and for chasing the paper trail, eventually becoming a valuable member of the team.
[edit] Season two
Prez worked in the Sobotka detail, first under Lt. Grayson and then when it was reformed under Lt. Daniels. Prez was influential in Valchek's insistence on Daniels replacing Grayson. He told his step-father that the detail was making little progress and constantly sang the praises of Daniels. Prez confessed to his father-in-law that his earlier problems had largely been due to dissatisfaction with his traffic police work. He told him that detailed case work had become his passion and that he wanted to continue to work major cases.
When the focus of Daniels investigation shifted away from Sobotka, Valchek angrily confronted the detail. Prez stood up for their work and punched Valchek. He got into further trouble over his actions, but Daniels stood up for him a second time, and negotiated conditions for him to return to work for him following a written apology to Valchek.[1]
[edit] Season three
Prez joined Daniels' Major Case Unit. Prez was brought up on administrative charges and suspended after shooting another officer in a case of night-time mistaken identity when responding to a distress call. The officer was in plain clothes and was African American and the charges were brought because the shooting was believed to be racially motivated, a charge that Prez vehemently denies. His supervising officer Cedric Daniels who was African American backed him up on this believing Prez to be free of racial prejudices confirmed by fellow officers Caroline Massey and Lester Freamon who spent a lot of time working with Prez. [2][3]
[edit] Season four
Prez starts a new career as a public school teacher.[4]
[edit] Origins
The character's code breaking facility, and the pager code itself from season one, are based on the Melvin "Chin" Farmer case investigated by Harry Edgerton and Ed Burns.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Dan Kois (2004). Everything you were afraid to ask about "The Wire". Salon.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Org Chart - The Law. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
- ^ Character profile - Detective Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
- ^ David Zurawik (2006). Local figures, riveting drama put The Wire in a class by itself. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
- ^ Alvarez, Rafael (2004). The Wire: Truth Be Told. New York: Pocket Books.
