(" The Target")Īn interdepartmental struggle between the more motivated officers on the detail and their superiors spans the whole season, with interference by the higher-ups often threatening to ruin the investigation.
However, owing to the department's dysfunctionality, the investigation is intended as a façade to appease the judge. Phelan takes issue with this and complains to senior Police Department figures, embarrassing them into creating a detail dedicated to investigating Barksdale. He also tells Phelan that nobody is investigating Barksdale's criminal activity, which includes a significant portion of the city's drug trade and several unsolved homicides. McNulty tells Phelan that she has probably been intimidated by members of a drug trafficking empire run by D'Angelo's uncle, Avon Barksdale, having recognized several faces at the trial, notably Avon's second-in-command, Russell Bell. The investigation is triggered when Detective McNUlty meets privately with Judge Phelan following the acquittal of D'Angelo Barksdale for murder after a key witness changes her story.