Ben Gilroy

Ben Gilroy
Name:	Benjamin Wescott Gilroy
Affiliation:	Los Angeles Police Department
Profession:	Assistant Chief of Police
Marital status:	Married
Spouse(s):	Nancy Gilroy (separated)
Significant other(s):	Sedona Tellez (mistress)
Children:	2
Status:	Deceased
Played by:	John Diehl
Season(s):	1 - 2 - 4
Died:	"Grave" Asphyxiated in his own vomit
First episode:	"Our Gang"
Last episode:	"Grave"

Benjamin Wescott Gilroy was the Assistant Chief for the Los Angeles Police Department. He was also a friend and supporter of Vic Mackey. He was later forced out of his job due to corruption charges but fled to Mexico with the help of Mackey. About a year later, he was found dead in Mexico. He was succeeded by Roy Phillips as Assistant Chief of Police.

Ben had been married twice, the second time to Nancy Gilroy with whom he had two daughters.

Before Season 1

Gilroy and Aceveda on the first day at the Barn.

Ben helped create the Farmington Precinct ("the Barn") as an experimental police station. Using his influence, he managed to choose people he could trust for key positions, except the position of Captain, which was given to David Aceveda.

Gilroy vouched for Detective Vic Mackey as leader of the experimental Strike Team, but was unable to convince the Chief of Police because of Mackey's reputation as well as several run-ins with Plotkin. However, when Mackey pleaded to him, Ben used one last favor the Chief owed him to get Mackey the job. Because of this, Gilroy warned Mackey that he expected quick results from the Team or he would replace him.

Gilroy talks to Vic about results.

The first day of operations at the Barn, Gilroy gave a speech to the employees telling them how everyone in the force thought the experiment wouldn't succeed. He then pleaded to everyone to prove them wrong. During that day, he oversaw closely the operations and let Captain Aceveda know that he would authorize any personnel change.

At some point, Ben started a relationship with Sedona Tellez, an accounting employee for the LAPD. Together, they devised a scheme to make money through an elaborate real estate scam. Ben established a policy to divert police manpower away from The Grove, with the intention of rising crime in the area and thus decreasing land value. Sedona then bought property in the area with the intention of selling it afterwards at higher prices.

Ben had also been stopped for driving drunk four times.

Season 1

When Detective Terry Crowley made a deal with the Department of Justice through Moses Hernandez, someone from the Department informed Gilroy of the deal. Knowing that the deal was a threat to Vic Mackey and the Strike Team, he informed Mackey of the deal so he could take measures to work against it, not knowing that Mackey would end up killing Crowley during a raid.

Gilroy looks as Captain David Aceveda notifies of the death of Terry Crowley.

Gilroy was at the hospital when Crowley was declared dead. He later dismissed Detectives Dutch Wagenbach and Claudette Wyms from the case, putting Internal Affairs in charge of it. He later argued with Captain David Aceveda that he shouldn't have his own detectives investigating themselves suggesting him to let IAD do his job. Gilroy also suggested Aceveda to make a eulogy at Terry Crowley's funeral, and was present during the ceremony.

Aceveda argues with Gilroy.

When Aceveda attempted to start an investigation on Vic Mackey and the Strike Team, Gilroy blasted him for doing so. As he walked out, he asked Mackey about Crowley's death, knowing that he had given him the information about Crowley's deal with the Department of Justice. Mackey assured him that it was Two-Time who killed Crowley and that the raid had gone wrong.

Frances Housely brings Aceveda and Gilroy her preliminary report.

When a war between T-Bonz and Kern Little several days later, resulted in various casualties, Gilroy asked Mackey what he was doing to stop the bloodshed. Mackey assured him they were dealing with it, but Gilroy reminded him that the Chief of Police was expecting results with the Strike Team and that he should be bringing them. Some days later, a white man started killing Latinos in the Northwest precinct. Due to the graveness of the case, Gilroy managed to put Vic and Shane on the case, along with Northwest detective Carlos Zamora.

Gilroy was later at the Barn to oversee the progress of the Strike Team with the case. When Latino activist Raoul Jimenez arrived to see how they had worked the case, Gilroy again reminded Vic how important it was to have it solved. Later, when Vic suspected that Latinos had taken revenge against the white killer, Jimenez offered to witness the interviews to ensure they weren't mistreated. However, Gilroy refused him to do so.

When Gilroy found out that Aceveda had put IAD to investigate the Strike Team again, he attempted to reprimand him. Aceveda then gave him the file regarding the cocaine theft. Gilroy then met with Aceveda and IAD investigator Frances Housely and they agreed that the accusations were serious. All of them promised to secure the leaks in each of their departments. After getting out, Gilroy met with Mackey and blasted him for letting things get out of control. He then told Mackey that they will have to surrender Shane since he was the one who lost the car with the drugs in the first place.

When the IAD investigation was leaked to the press, Gilroy suspected of Aceveda and went to the Barn. There, he blasted him for doing so. Although Aceveda denied it, Gilroy knew it was him. Aceveda then assured him it was important to clean the streets of dirty cops and that he should stop vouching for them. Gilroy then recommended him to pair the Strike Team with the other detectives until the dust settled. When he learned that Officer Julien Lowe had recanted his testimony, he congratulated Vic but then told him he was tired of covering his back. He then told him it was over between them and left.

Some time later, Gilroy was drunk and driving through The Grove with his mistress, Sedona Tellez, and accidentally hit a drug dealer called Tony Nunez, dragging him 75 feet and killing him. Even though Tony's partner saw him, Gilroy still fled the scene. The next day, he went to the Barn to talk to Vic Mackey and asked for his help. He told him that he had ran the kid, but told him that his partner had shot him and that's why he ran away. He also didn't mention that Sedona was with him. Vic agreed to help him and told Lem to drive Ben to his home. However, after he found information on Nunez' partner, he brought him back and Gilroy identified Jesus Rosales as the one that witnessed the accident. Vic then asked him about his passenger in the car, and Ben confessed him his relationship with Sedona, telling him that he loved her. Vic then told him to make sure that she left the neighborhood before Dutch Wagenbach found her.

After Vic brought Jesus Rosales to a safe house, he and Ben convinced him to keep silent about what he had seen. However, as Vic was about to give him his number, Ben took out his gun and shot Jesus killing him. This enraged Vic who couldn't believe what Ben had done, but he told him that Jesus would be a liability eventually. When Vic refused to continue, Ben brought up how he had helped him with the Terry Crowley murder, forcing Vic to help him. Vic and Ben then took Jesus' body and dumped him into Los Mags territory to make it appear as if it was a gang hit.

Ben returned to the Barn that night to listen to deal with the murders of Tanya Kramer and Violet Roosevelt at The Grove. After listening to the 911 tapes with Claudette Wyms, David Aceveda, and Karen Mitchell, Ben justified the absence of police officers during the incident to Karen alleging that a new policy had more officers assigned to other crime-saturated areas. He then laid the blame on Aceveda for not having sufficient back-up to respond. When Aceveda asked him about the policy, Ben told him that it had been working for six months and that it was his mess now. As he walked away, he greeted Vic who was watching the whole argument.

The next day, when reporters gathered at The Grove to talk about the incidents, Vic approached Ben and told him he was aware of his real estate scam with Sedona. Ben justified that the place was already losing value, and Vic argued that two women were dead because of his policy. Ben then told him that he'll get a portion of the earnings very soon and left. However, Vic kept looking for Sedona and Ben found out. Late that night, Ben went to Vic's house while he was still at the Barn, under the pretext that Vic had invited him to have dinner with the family. When Corrine called Vic and told him that Ben was there and they were waiting for him, Ben took the phone and threatened Vic for not giving up the case. As Vic told him not to mess with his family, Ben hung up on him. While he was there, Ben hid the gun he used to kill Jesus on Cassidy's room, and then left.

The next day, Gilroy appeared at the Barn taking control of everything, and ordered Dutch and Claudette to lead the investigation. When Aceveda told him he was handling it personally, Ben told him that he had to take control of it after the riot and the shootings. Ben then took over Aceveda's office and ordered Officer Pete to bring him the case file and a cup of coffee. As he is walking away, Vic came in the office and Ben told Pete to stand by outside in case he needed him. Vic told him that after threatening his family, he'll have to do something. However, Ben told him that he should've stopped looking into Sedona and that he already has something on him as insurance. Ben then told him to do what he did best and look for the cop killers.

After awhile, Gilroy walked downstairs and approached Aceveda. Knowing that Aceveda wanted to capture Vic for a long time, he offered him the chance to do it, alleging that he didn't trust him now. At this moment, a drive-by shooter attacked the Barn. After Aceveda went out and captured him, Gilroy brought up the subject again to him. Aceveda then told him he was indeed interested. Gilroy then prepares a search warrant for Vic's house and gives it to Aceveda, assuring him that he will find the gun that Vic used to kill Jesus Rosales.

Late that night, Gilroy congratulated Aceveda after he brought the other shooter arrested. They went up to Aceveda's office, and Gilroy asked him if he was planning to serve the search warrant for Vic's home. However, Aceveda decided to confront him with everything he found out about the corruption, the real estate scam, and the murder of Jesus. Gilroy tried to shift the blame to Vic, but then warned Aceveda to stay out of everything. Aceveda asked him to leave his office and Gilroy assured him he would find someone to serve the warrant. He then told Aceveda that he was fired.

Vic Mackey threatens to kill Gilroy.

Mackey brings Gilroy arrested.

As he walked out, he headed to Sedona's apartment and told her to pack her things. However, he only found Vic and Shane there. Surprised, Ben told Vic that he expected him to be at his home. But Vic showed him he already found the gun he had planted. Enraged, Vic told him how he dared to leave a loaded gun in his daughter's room. Gilroy assured him that she wouldn't have found it, but Vic told him he did find it. He then pointed the gun and threatened to kill him. However, he was unable to. Shane started encouraging him while Gilroy teased him telling him he is no different. Shane even offered himself to shoot Gilroy, knowing that Vic and Ben had some history. However, after a huge internal struggle, Vic only hit him in the head with the gun. He then handcuffed him and took him to the Barn arrested. As they walked in, all the officers looked at them surprised. Gilroy then noticed Sedona at one of the desks, and realized she had betrayed him. Vic then put him into the cage as they looked at each other.

Season 2

Gilroy spent four months in jail while waiting for his sentence. After posting bail, he was sentenced to house arrest with an ankle transmitter. During this time, Lanie Kellis and the District attorney planned to use him to get Detective Vic Mackey. To achieve this, they sent him to meet with Vic to ask for his help to get out of the country.

Vic drags Ben away from his house.

Ben called Vic's house and told Corrine that he was going there. Corrine got scared and warned Vic. When Vic arrived at the house, Ben was already there banging at the door and asking her to forgive him. Vic pulled him away and asked him what he was doing. Ben told him that he had cut his ankle transmitter and was planning on leaving the country. Ben threatened Vic with telling the D.A. about all the things he did, if he didn't help him. Ben told Vic that his lawyer had promised to get him only an 8-year sentence, but he was sure he wouldn't hold that long because of his alcoholism. Vic then took Ben to his apartment.

After Shane Vendrell got him some fresh clothes, Ben asked Vic for fake ID's, passport and money. When Vic asked him about the money he took from his real estate scams, Ben assured him that Sedona had taken most of it. He told Vic he only had $75,000 left in a safe deposit box at Tellmare Savings in Vermont. He then gave them the key to the box so they could get the money.

After Vic and Shane left to get the money, Ben drank two beers Vic had in the apartment and left. After that, he met with a surveillance team that Lanie had planted outside Vic's apartment. They put a tape recorder on his thigh and sent him off. Ben then went to a local bar and continued to drink. While there, he started disturbing the clients and the bartender called the police. When Vic and Shane arrived, they took him away. When they arrived at the apartment, Quazi was already waiting there for them to start preparing Ben's fake documents. Although Ben was drunk, Vic told Quazi to start working with the pictures while they left.

Ben lies drunk on Vic's couch.

Because of Ben's drunkness, Quazi was having a hard time taking his pictures. When Vic and Shane returned, they told him to take the pictures anyway and he left for the other room to start preparing the ID's. Ben then sat on the couch and told Vic that the D.A. had been asking questions about Terry Crowley's murder but he hadn't told them anything. As he continued to talk about it, Vic drew his gun on him and signaled him to keep silent. They forced him to stand up and Shane checked him again for wires, finding the tape recorder on his thigh. After taking it out, Shane drew a gun on him and forced him to talk. Ben then confessed that there was a surveillance van outside watching them. Ben then started sobbing and telling them he didn't want to do it. Ben also told them that he didn't have plans to leave the country. As they argued about it, Vic convinced Ben to really leave. He told him to lose whoever was following him after he and Shane left and meet in a place that night. They then recorded a faked conversation to leave in the tape.

Shane puts Ben inside the coyote van.

After Vic and Shane left, Ben walked out of the apartment and managed to lose whoever was following him. He went to the subway like Vic told him and paid a man $10,000. Vic had told him this was the coyote that would take him out of the country. After paying him the money, the man gave Ben a sealed envelope. After that, Ben took a cab and met with Vic and Shane at a parking lot. When Vic introduced Ben to Coyote Jack, Ben asked him who was the man he had paid the $10,000. Vic then told him he was the hitman they would send after him if he ever returned or talked about their involvement. Once again, Ben pleaded Vic for his help and told him that he wouldn't be able to kill him. Vic told him that was right, but then gave the envelope with the hitman's number to Shane, assuring Ben that Shane would be able to do it. They then put Ben inside the coyote van and saw him leave.

Season 4

Ben's corpse

Gilroy's body was returned by the Mexican authorities, where Vic Mackey identified it for the Medical Examiner. Ben had died in Mexico, homeless and destitute, suffering cirrhosis of the liver. He had asphyxiated on his own vomit. His funeral was poorly attended; Shane, who never got along particularly well with Gilroy, decided not to attend.

Appearances

Season 4

The Cure · Grave* · Bang · Doghouse · Tar Baby · Insurgents · Hurt · Cut Throat · String Theory · Back in the Hole · A Thousand Deaths · Judas Priest · Ain't That a Shame ·

* appears as a corpse