Ron Harris (detective)

Ron Harris
Harris, second from the left
Information
Occupation	Police detective^[1]

Sgt. Ron Harris (Ronald Nathan Harris) is a fictional police detective from the television show Barney Miller.^[2] He was played by actor Ron Glass. Harris' first appearance was in the pilot episode of the series, "Ramon", where he was the first detective seen in the 12th Precinct Squad Room. Harris, who was handling a woman's report of a "peeping tom", identified himself to the caller as a "Detective, First Grade", which, in the N.Y.P.D. Detective ranking structure is just below the rank of Sergeant, and higher than a Detective, Third Grade, thus establishing Harris as having been a detective with more experience.

At the beginning of the series, Harris was more of a supporting character, with the attention given over to squad room veterans Phillip Fish (Abe Vigoda), Chano Amangual (Gregory Sierra), and Nick Yemana (Jack Soo). By season three, Harris started to get more face time, establishing himself with a very wry sense of humor in the episode "Hash", where most of the squad wound up "stoned" after ingesting hashish-laced brownies that were baked by the new girlfriend of Det. Stan Wojciehowicz (Max Gail). While Capt. Miller observed Sgt. Yemana bursting forth in song, Harris was in top form in a "truer" guise, streetwise urban detective, who could "identify" the contents of the brownies by eating more of them, much to the chagrin of Miller. "I can tell it's hash, by the way I feel," noted Harris, for a very concerned Miller. In seasons four and five, Harris grew closer to Yemana, Wojciehowicz, and squad room newcomer Officer Carl Levitt (Ron Carey), whom Harris would eventually refer to affectionately as "little Levitt" because of his short size.

Harris, far left, at his desk

In later seasons of the show, it was clear that Harris' character grew more in importance and stature, reacting well with the rest of the squad room, even with the arrival of his polar opposite, the pun-spinning Det. Arthur Dietrich (Steve Landesberg). True, Harris grew ever more glib and cynical to fit in with his growth and world-weary experience as a Detective within the 12th Precinct. By the time Harris made Sergeant, the character was also made to be much more dapper. Some thought that he was losing interest in the police force, as he grew in his desire to be a book writer (this beginning in the eleventh episode of the first season in the episode "Escape Artist" which featured actor Roscoe Lee Browne as a prisoner who liked to break out of prisons, and who was apprehended by the men of the 12th Precinct). However, Harris had many of the same, true irritations of other cops. When the detectives were required to wear uniforms, as was the case once a year, it was revealed that Harris didn't even have his any more. Once a uniformed officer made plainclothes grade, they saw the return to uniform...in a lot of cases...as a demotion. Harris avoided wearing a uniform, until Miller ordered him to have one on by the end of the shift. Harris had to buy one off the rack...but he complied with the department regulation, commenting to Miller as to the fact that he did, indeed, look good in the uniform. There were several other episodes with Harris in uniform, the last one taking place in season eight "Examination Day".

Harris did strike book writing gold with his book called Blood On The Badge, a somewhat lurid account of the experiences of a New York police officer. Of course, Harris used many of his co-workers in the squad room in this work, and had to have signed releases from them...including Miller. Dietrich gave Harris the most verbal frustration in signing the consent release, but one of the "Precinct regulars"--Arnold Ripner (Alex Hentelhoff)--an "ambulance-chasing" attorney who came in and out of the Precinct representing those held for various crimes, did not appreciate how the book depicted him, and successfully sued Harris for defamation. Harris lost an appeal of the lawsuit, which cost Harris some $350,000, in effect bankrupted Harris, costing him his expensive lifestyle, one which included fine clothes, an apartment in Manhattan with hardwood floors, several bottles of expensive wine and various works of art. After the Blood On The Badge lawsuit fiasco, Harris suffered an extended bout of writers' block which lasted for a few years. As the series was winding down in season eight, he was able to sell a second (unnamed) book to a publisher for an advance of $10,000...which Ripner heard about, and threatened to re-open the old lawsuit. Harris punched out Ripner in the squad room "Altercation" over the threats. However, the two patched things up thanks to Miller, and the fact that Harris apologized to Ripner. Ripner confided to Harris that the first lawsuit left much of the settlement with his attorney, as he had to hire a 'real' lawyer. Harris laughed when Ripner told him that he "...took it in the shorts..." in the first lawsuit, only winding up keeping a few "knick-knacks", including Harris' art collection.

Harris had other standout episodes in the series. Once, a rookie cop thought Harris was a suspect, and fired a shot at him, bringing up the issue of racial profiling by police "The Harris Incident".^[3] In another episode, it was revealed that Harris was a writer for the departmental internal newsletter. When one of his female co-workers, Det. Wentworth (played by Linda Lavin) was going to be cheated out of an important arrest by Lt. Ben Scanlon (George Murdock) of Manhattan South, Harris threatened to put forth the true account of the collar for the departmental newspaper. Scanlon relented, and gave her credit for the arrest. However, Scanlon eventually was transferred to Internal Affairs, and never forgot what Harris had done to him with this incident. When Capt. Miller was held in contempt of court by a judge and was ordered to jail "Contempt 1 and 2" in season seven, Harris, being the senior detective of the squad, took over as Miller's temporary replacement and squad commander. Harris also memorably participated in a NYPD-funded plan to make a pornographic film, designed as a sting operation to ferret out porn distributors. Harris wrote and directed the film (which went tens of thousands of dollars over budget), and even gave himself a brief cameo as "Black Stallion". Ultimately, the film was not used by the N.Y.P.D.

In the final episode, when the precinct was disbanded, and the detectives were being transferred, Harris announced his intention to leave the force and become a full-time writer -- no doubt discouraged by the fact he was being transferred to the Flushing Meadows Precinct in Queens. However, this announcement was made in anger. Harris revealed his respect for Barney and the other detectives, impressed by Wojo's own heartfelt speech, taking an implied partial credit for Wojo's growth: "God, he is so much improved."

References

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