Characters you admire

The "WMD, right cheah, right cheah" dude. His hustle and drive which is relied strictly on his voice is the sign of a intelligent yet crude business man.

Colvin first and foremost, dude really tried to help by doing something radical and it cost him a lot.

Lester, man was a genius

Mcnulty and Omar, both extremely flawed but respectable nonetheless

Bubbles, I wouldn't say I admired him, but definitely the guy i rooted for the most and had the most sympathy for

I agree with the majority of the above, but I'm surprised nobody said Carver. To me, the guy had his mistakes, but he was a good man who matured into a good cop and he genuinely cared. His most shameful moments were almost always when he was with Herc which I feel is no coincidence.

I always felt so bad for him, because his inability to protect Randy and his family clearly hurt him deeply.

Also nobody mentioned Miss Anna Jeffries, Randy's foster mother. In a cruel, heartless, care system that churns kids through group homes and abusive foster homes, Miss Anna was an angel trying to improve the potential futures of any kid who came through her home. She was damn strict, but it all stemmed from a loving heart.

On a side note, the actress who portrayed her was cast in an earlier season as some bar ho who takes The Bunk home for some boot knockin' and he winds up setting fire to his clothes in her bathtub to destroy DNA evidence of his infidelity.