T.J. Hooker

Sergeant Thomas Jefferson (T.J.) Hooker is a 15-year veteran of the LCPD. He was a detective in the department but asked to be put back in uniform after the death of his partner. Reluctantly accepting the position of Training Officer for the LCPD's new fast-track training program, Hooker nevertheless works to instill old-fashioned police know-how in the new recruits. As he says in the pilot: "I've seen the past, gentlemen... and it works." He strives to ensure that every trainee is prepared for the streets, even to the point of washing some out of the academy.

Hooker is recently divorced from his wife Fran, a nurse, although he still goes to the marital home on a fairly regular basis to look after his children - at least until they move out of state later on in the series. His children are a bit confusing, as in the pilot he has a girl, Chrissie, and a boy, Tommy, but in a later episode he has an older daughter named Cathy - and in yet another episode, he tells a little girl in hospital that he has two little girls of his own. The only constant character in this respect is Chrissie.

Mentor to his brash, young partner Vince Romano, the pair nevertheless become solid friends, spending time together both on- and off-duty. Hooker enjoys revealing bits of his wilder youth to the younger man, and seems to revel in his ability to attract beautiful women even Romano couldn't hope to date.

Although constantly butting heads with other members of the department (including but not limited to Captain Sheridan), Hooker is usually correct in his methodology and police work, giving him a greater success rate at closing cases than his colleagues and causing not a little bit of departmental jealousy. Undeniable is the fact that Hooker is a great cop, and therefore an inspiration to the department.