Commander Sharon Raydor is the Commanding Officer of the LAPD's Major Crimes Division during Major Crimes until “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4” of Season 6.
During The Closer, Sharon was the Commanding Officer of the Force Investigation Division (FID). She was promoted from Captain to Commander at the end of “Shockwave, Part 2” by Asst. Chief Leo Mason.
Character Information[]
A devout but non-judgmental Catholic, born Sharon O'Dwyer, it is revealed in “Risk Assessment” that she initially planned to go to law school and become a lawyer. However, she took a job as a police officer to pay her husband's way through law school first and he was supposed to return the favor. After having two children and Jack leaving, her dreams of going to law school ended. By then, however, Sharon knew she liked the law a lot more than she liked lawyers. She also liked the idea of saving people from bad things more than the idea of practicing law, as well.
The Closer[]
In her first appearance in “Red Tape”, she works at the Force Investigation Division (FID), a division of the LAPD's Professional Standards Bureau which scrutinizes LAPD officer-involved shootings and other uses of force. She investigates Sgt. Gabriel after he is involved in a shooting with a homicide suspect. Gabriel is later cleared and it's discovered that the young man he shot was the lookout and accomplice while the person shooting at Gabriel had been standing behind the young man when he fired so Gabriel hit his partner instead of the shooter.
In “Strike Three”, Sharon clashes with Major Crimes over the investigation of the murder of two cops who killed Kevin Weber in self-defense. Sharon's use-of-force investigation into the two dead officers enrages the other detectives and even Assistant Chief Will Pope as she treats Kevin as a potential victim despite the brutal nature of the officers murders. To complicate matters further, Sharon and FID steal the evidence from the crime scene until Pope forces her to personally give it all back though Sharon is able to identify the make of the car used in the shooting for Major Crimes. After the car is located and Eddie Kretchner and Jesse Langhoffer are arrested, Sharon draws even more ire when Eddie's injuries from his arrest trigger yet another use-of-force investigation from her which requires Sharon to interview the men first, though Sharon admits that she doesn't actually want to do it. Sharon later watches as the detectives trick the two men into leading them to the murder weapons and confessing before prompting them to stop Eddie from killing Jesse.
Before the funeral for the two fallen officers, Sharon reassures Brenda that she has completely exonerated both men for Kevin's death. However, Brenda feels that because of Sharon's investigations, officers will hesitate to shoot back in the future and more good officers will get killed as a result. Sharon brings up the effects of renegade policing on cases and the community and states that until there's a better way, they have her.
In “In Custody”, Sharon accompanies Brenda on an investigation. At the end of the episode, she suggests to Brenda that she would be a good candidate for the new Chief of Police and should apply for the job.
In “Old Money”, after being ambushed and seriously wounded by Bob Harris after an AA meeting, Lieutenant Andy Flynn calls Sharon as he had to shoot Harris in self-defense. Andy ultimately passes out while giving his statement to Sharon, but she visits him later in the hospital, having found Harris' body. However, Sharon surprisingly advises Andy about how the case will remain Major Crimes if he doesn't positively identify Harris, which causes him to claim to not be sure. Sharon's unusually friendly attitude draws the suspicion of the squad given her usual attitude when they work together. Brenda later learns of rumors that she will be offered Pope's job as Assistant Chief and realizes that it's why Sharon has been so nice to her. Sharon later suggests they talk about how to better combine their cases over a working lunch.
Andy and Brenda eventually learn that Rick Zuman, their prime suspect in Andy's attempted murder, has accused Andy of forcefully intimidating the prime witness in the case into falsely testifying against him, accusations that Sharon has been investigating without informing the division of them. Sharon insists that she didn't know the two cases were connected until that day and she couldn't tell them about it before explaining the procedure for investigating such a claim and revealing that Andy has had many such accusations against him, particularly compared to other officers. Sharon assures Brenda that if they can prove Zuman tried to have Andy killed, her witness tampering investigation will be over as well and she provides Brenda with Floria Stenzel's basic information to help solve the case. Sharon isn't satisfied however with the discovery of the money used to bribe Floria.
After Brenda's sting operation causes Jeff Darby to lead the LAPD to Zuman's storage locker, Sharon personally leads his arrest and tells Tao that finding the money under those circumstances is enough to tie Darby to murder, attempted murder and witness intimidation with Fritz Howard adding that it also reopens the investigation into the disappearance of an FBI informant. With Fritz confirming that the money is the marked bills the FBI gave their missing and likely dead informant, Sharon is satisfied that she can close her investigation into Andy for witness tampering and later informs Brenda that Andy has been completely cleared.
In “Living Proof (Part 1)”, Sharon gets involved after a man is killed by a police car after assaulting another man and getting pushed into the street. Its eventually revealed that the assault victim was Zoran Antunovich, a war criminal whom the dead man was trying to exact revenge upon for his crimes.
In “Dead Man's Hand”, Sharon brings a case of apparent abuse of one of her detectives, Detective Allie Moore, to the squad to investigate discreetly. Tensions flare between Brenda and Sharon over the investigation due to the abuse and Sharon feeling that Brenda isn't doing everything she can to help. Eventually, the husband is shot by a patrol officer in apparent self-defense and things get worse as Sharon blames Brenda for not taking the problem seriously, leading to the shooting. Commander Taylor eventually has the two women interview Moore together, but her story starts to fall apart, causing Brenda and Sharon to put aside their differences to get to the truth, both recognizing that something is seriously wrong with the situation. In the end, Brenda and Sharon work together to confront Moore over her actions and get her to confess. Sharon was particularly angry as a major part of Moore's plan involved manipulating Sharon. Both women later awkwardly admit to their mistakes in working with each other, but also acknowledge that they just really don't like each other which will make it hard for them to work together.
During a case involving an attempted hit on DDA Hobbs in “Death Warrant”, Sharon takes down one would-be killer with a shot from a beanbag gun right between the eyes to the amazement of all who witness it. Sharon simply comments on the recoil on the beanbag gun making it a lucky shot before walking away.
During the seventh season, Sharon is closely involved in many of the events due to the Turrell Baylor lawsuit, working to uncover Peter Goldman's leak and advising Brenda to get her own attorney instead of relying on the City Attorney. It is Sharon who helps Brenda understand the seriousness of the lawsuit she is facing by showing her Turrell Baylor's murder scene and reenacting the murder itself. After the lawsuit, Sharon helps run interference for Brenda alongside Commander Russell Taylor as Brenda faces issues doing her job. In one particular instance, Sharon convinces Assistant Chief Will Pope to hold off on filing a complaint against Brenda, though he later admits that the complaint was an attempt at giving Brenda a wake-up call about her behavior.
Major Crimes[]
Season 1[]
In “Reloaded”, Sharon was transferred from the Force Investigation Division to the Major Crimes Division after the retirement of Deputy Chief Johnson, making her the division's new commanding officer, much to the chagrin of Lt. Provenza who had been acting as the Major Crimes Division's Commanding Officer with hopes of retaining his command in the future. When Sharon arrived on the scene of a botched grocery store robbery where three suspects were killed, two in the commission of the crime by SIS detectives and one later when he was shot in a police car waiting for FID to remove him from the scene, Lt. Provenza was less than pleased when Sharon wanted to be brought up to speed on the investigation, stating that he doesn't owe her a briefing.
At this point, Assistant Chief Russell Taylor informed Provenza that Sharon was transferred from FID to Major Crimes, therefore making her Provenza's boss. After the reveal, she demanded a briefing from Provenza, which he was now required to give her, and Provenza told her that she was late and even though she is his ranking officer, he was still the incident commander and that he would not be halting the search for heavily armed suspects just so she, or anyone else, could "catch up". After this, Provenza left the scene with most of MCD personnel, and Sharon told Chief Taylor that they should've waited to tell him about the transfer.
When she returned to LAPD headquarters, Sharon called in Det. Amy Sykes, the lead SIS detective who was following the suspects, and was going over her report on the incident as she needed to "catch up" and the rest of Major Crimes was focused on finding the robbers. She commended Sykes for following protocol, because Sykes felt that it was important to remain at the scene for FID even though it angered Lt. Provenza. Sykes congratulated her on the transfer to Major Crimes and regarded it as a well deserved transfer. This showed Amy's completely different attitude towards Sharon than what she originally let Provenza understand (Sykes told Provenza that she thought Raydor's FID regulations were "crazy".)
When the division came back from collecting evidence from the suspects' apartments, Sharon wanted to know if the suspects had anything else in common than their military service. None of the MCD members wanted to answer her question in a silent protest over the way Lt. Provenza was replaced by an "outsider". Chief Taylor encouraged the division to work with Raydor so they could catch the heavily armed robbers, to which Provenza noted that Taylor most likely waited for exactly this moment to replace him, just so he could give his speech on "pulling together for the good of the city". Afterwards, Provenza noted that they were going to "pull together", not because of Taylor or Raydor, but because it is their duty. After Provenza's little outburst, the rest of MCD started to open up and they started going through the suspects' stuff to find a connection between them.
Later at the morgue, Lt. Andy Flynn had an angry outburst toward Sharon because she hasn't bothered to learn the victims' names, and also because every problem MCD has had during the investigation, especially regarding the identities of the robbers, was because of Sharon and the policies she had created at FID that forced Larry Martin to remain on the scene of the crime, which cost him his life. This outburst gave Sharon the idea that the robbers had knowledge of LAPD procedures, as the LAPD is the only police department in the U.S. which would have held Larry Martin at the crime scene. After sharing her thoughts with Andy, they remembered that the original investigating officer, Detective Miller, mentioned he had a son who had served in the military and that every time they were staking out a store in case the robbers showed up, they were somewhere else. Andy combed through the firing range's user logs where all of the other victims had been visiting and found Greg Miller's name, the son of Det. Miller, who lives at home.
When the case was closed, Sharon arranged the transfer of Det. Amy Sykes from SIS to Major Crimes, as she wanted someone in the division who actually liked her, much to the annoyment of Lt. Provenza who refers to Sykes as the biggest two-faced ass kisser he had ever met.
At the start of “Before and After”, Cynthia from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was doing a home inspection as Sharon's apartment to determine if it would be a good home for Rusty Beck. This inspection made her unable to respond to a homicide where MCD was called to, prompting a call from Lt. Provenza who asked her if she would grace them with her presence at the crime scene, after which Sharon asked Provenza if he's suddenly over his head without his supervising officer. Later, Lt. Provenza asked Det. Sykes to gather up a background report on their victim so they would know what they are up against and Sykes found out that the victim has been accused of a sexual assault and proceeds to tell that to Sharon while she is in the middle of an interview with the victim's wife, upsetting her greatly. This also angered Provenza, as he was the one who asked for the report and therefore Sykes should have reported to him, not Raydor. Lt. Flynn also commented that Sykes was "smart and dumb at the same time" to which Provenza noted that she wasn't dumb but rather she was choosing sides.
After this conversation, Sharon met with Asst. Chief Taylor in his office and told him about Sykes' ill timed announcement but also of Lt. Provenza's anger toward Sykes because she reported directly to Sharon. Taylor noted that they would just have to wait out Provenza until he realizes that he would have never gotten command of MCD permanently. Sharon noted that one issue that might be confusing Provenza is their rank, as Captain is only one step higher than Lieutenant, and Taylor and Chief Pope had promised her a promotion to Commander when she transferred to Major Crimes. Taylor told Sharon that there is a freeze on all promotions for budget reasons and she should be happy with the transfer but Sharon points out that the promotion freeze doesn't seem to affect Assistant Chiefs (referring to Taylor's recent promotion). Taylor also noted that the transfer was the promotion because of her background in internal affairs and because she has already qualified for retirement. This left Sharon feeling a bit dissapointed and betrayed, but now she could relate with Lt. Provenza a bit better as now neither of them had gotten everything they wanted.
Later, when Sharon and DDA Hobbs were discussing the deal they would offer the killer, Provenza was furious that they would offer them a deal of involuntary manslaughter with only probation and no jail time. Provenza went to get Chief Taylor to show him what Sharon was up to but he was slightly pacified when Sharon and Hobbs "destroyed" the killer's defense and pumped up the charge to first degree murder. When DDA Hobbs and the killer's defense finally agreed on a deal, the charge was manslaughter with an 11-year sentence. When Provenza asked Chief Taylor if this is how it would be in the future, Taylor noted that MCD just closed a case in 48-hours after finding the body and with no physical evidence. Taylor also commented that he doesn't know if it's always going to be like this but he seriously hopes so, because he just saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in trial expenses which he can use for overtime and DNA tests. After Taylor left, Provenza commented to himself that he would quit.
Back at the Major Crimes' murder room, Provenza was packing up his desk and noted that his whole career could fit in one cardboard box. Flynn told Provenza that dirt bags get deals everyday and asked him why he was so upset about the concept. Provenza noted that he wasn't upset about the deal but rather because of Capt. Raydor. Provenza told the division that after four wives, five divorces, six Chiefs, three partners, and two parakeets who lived a lot longer than he expected, he doesn't want to get forced into yet another unhappy relationship.
At this point, Sharon returned and told Provenza that she agreed with him fully, after which the rest of MCD "left for coffee" so Sharon and Provenza could talk in private. When they were alone, Sharon asked Provenza if she should say how much she appreciated his service and experience or should she remind him that both of them are probably dealing with misconceptions about the orher. She also asked if they could improve their work relationship with a dinner and a drink, to which Provenza aswered "God, no". Provenza did admit to Sharon that it wasn't just about her but also because of everything he had given to the LAPD, anyone else beside him as the MCD's Commanding Officer is an insult and it's not fair. After this, Sharon noted that Provenza has been a homicide detective for a long time and yet he still expects life to be fair. Provenza told Sharon that if he were to stay, he would only complain and point out Sharon's mistakes. Sharon asked Provenza if he is not experienced enough to speak his mind with her and still remember her rank, to which Provenza answered that of course he is, he just doesn't want to. Afterwards, they both agreed that the situation just sucks and that Provenza would stay at Major Crimes until he found somewhere else to work.
In “Medical Causes”, it appears that the rift between Sharon and Provenza has started to heal following their conversation at the end of “Before and After”. This can be seen by the fact that Provenza was no longer overtly hostile towards Sharon and he even offered her support when she was arranging the return of Sharon Beck, Rusty's biological mother, to Los Angeles. At the crime scene, when Flynn wanted to open the suspect's purse, which was closed, by claiming it had opened during the car crash. Provenza told him that they needed a truce with Sharon and they needed to follow protocol and get a search warrant beforehand so the investigation would not be jeopardized for the sake of the multiple victims. When Flynn finally managed to get a search warrant for the purse, he opened it with Det. Sanchez and the two searched it's contents at the hospital the suspect was being treated in, during which Sharon arrived and asked Flynn if he had a search warrant. Flynn showed Sharon the warrant and asked her if she though Andy was "new at this", even though he previously wanted to just open the purse without permission.
Later, MCD located Sharon Beck, and everyone contributed money so she could come to Los Angeles by bus. Lt. Flynn promised to take her and Rusty to dinner but Provenza asked Sharon if she would have wanted to go herself, which she didn't, stating that she would want the dinner to be as easy as possible for Rusty and her presence might make things awkward. When Flynn and Rusty were waiting for Sharon Beck at the bus station, Flynn found out that she had gotten of the bus at Bakersfield. This caused Rusty to run away after which Flynn broadcasted a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) out for Rusty in hopes of finding him. Provenza promised Sharon that he and Flynn would stay at work until Rusty was found and further comforted her by saying that Rusty would turn up and to not worry. When Sharon returned home, she found Rusty there waiting for her, giving her great relief, followed by a call to Provenza so they could call of the search for Rusty and go home themselves.
Sharon as the MCD's Commanding Officer is very different from Brenda Leigh Johnson. Whereas Brenda was a very hands-on leader and investigator due to her background in the state department and the CIA, Sharon is more administrative in nature, trusting that her detectives can handle standard day-to-day operations without constant oversight. This can be seen in the fact that while Brenda responded to every crime the MCD was called to, Sharon only responds to crimes that are particularly gruesome or higher profile than usual. The change in leadership style allowed Sharon and Provenza to reach something of an understanding, which meant that when the division is deployed on the field without Sharon, Provenza can be seen in a supervisory role and being in command of the division, something that he always wanted. Even when Sharon is present at a crime scene, she still defers to Provenza's expertise much of the time, causing them to develop a good working relationship.
In “The Ecstasy and the Agony”, Sharon responded to a crime MCD was called to as it was near the route she would have used to take Rusty to school. At the crime scene, she found a Israeli born naturalized U.S. citizen who was supposed to give a testimony in federal court over illegal drug trafficking committed by his cousin but because the victim had not yet testified, he was not under federal protection. This caused the involvement of FBI Special Agents Fritz Howard and Morris (Fritz as the FBI–LAPD Liaison and Morris as the lead investigator on the FBI's part). The FBI's involvement caused some problems for the LAPD because the victim's wife felt that they had been betrayed by the FBI and therefore didn't want to cooperate. After Sharon promised the wife that Morris would be kept clear, she started cooperating.
Later, when Sharon found out that the FBI had searched a house owned by the victim's cousin and that they found the same type of weapon that was used to kill the victim, Sharon was furious with the FBI over the fact that they did not tell her that. Morris and Howard told Sharon that if they told her that, they could have jeopardized their two-year investigation into a international drug ring, a risk they could not take. Sharon promised the FBI that she would not jeopardize their investigation and hatched a plan to get the cousin out of the house so Detectives Sanchez and Sykes could search it and recover the weapon. The plan was a partial success as they got the cousin out of the house without alerting him of the FBI's investigation but they did not find the weapon. However, when the cousin met a "intuitive life strategist" who had been having an affair with the victim's wife along with his, both the cousin and the victim's wife started cursing each other out, inadvertently giving more evidence to support both the LAPD and the FBI in their cases.
In “Out of Bounds”, during the investigation into a possible gang-murder, Sharon and Chief Taylor were less than pleased with each other because of drastically different ideas as to the way the case should be handled. After hearing about the murder, Taylor personally had ordered MCD to investigate it but still ordered a hold on all notifications to family members, stating that the neighborhood is a hotbed of gang activity.
Taylor orders MCD to bring in the victim's brother to the PAB so they can notify him of his brother's death in a controlled environment and that MCD should hold off on contacting the victim's football coach until morning. Sharon states that these restrictions could put MCD very far behind in their investigation but Taylor doesn't budge. Taylor states that it is still the best way to ensure nobody else gets murdered. Nearing the end of the investigation, Sharon released the victim's brother against Taylor's wishes, which made Taylor less than pleased. He stated that it is an hour before school ends for the day and they are tossing a lit match at the powder keg, fearing a shoot-out between gang members at the high school.
The situation at the school quickly escalates, ending in the victim's brother brutally assaulting Det. Sykes. Thankfully, Sykes' injuries, while serious, were not fatal. Sykes suffered a concussion, some cuts and bruises, and a dislocated jaw. When Sharon asked Provenza what she missed because she thought the situation was well covered, Provenza noted that they are never "covered", and that while you can have back-up in multiple different forms, there is never a defense against bad luck. During this exchange, Provenza even called her "Sharon" rather than the usual "Captain", showing his relationship with her is improving although they still have their differences. There was also a moment earlier in the investigation where Provenza defended Sharon to Chief Taylor after Taylor got visibly annoyed by her way of handling the investigation.
In “The Shame Game”, Sharon was less than pleased with Chief Taylor when he allowed a politician, more specifically a State Senator's Chief of Staff, to monitor the MCD's investigation into the murder of a political activist. Raydor noted to Lt. Provenza and Det. Sanchez that she hates being monitored. Also, she blurted out a very uncharacteristic "damn it" which caused Lt. Flynn to comment "wow, such language", and Lt. Provenza added: "shocking, I know. It seems that the Captain has suddenly become very frustrated with the system." To make matters worse, it was eventually discovered that the Chief of Staff is the killer they were looking for but because Chief Taylor had allowed him to observe the investigation, he knows they have no physical evidence tying him to the crime. Raydor and Provenza devised a plan that allowed the squad to trick the suspect into panicking and attempting to flee (unsuccessfully). DDA Hobbs offered the suspect a deal: murder two with a minumum of thirty years but with the possibility of parole, which he accepted, in lieu of a public trial and the possibility of the death penalty.
During this same time, Sharon was trying to convince Rusty Beck to meet his biological father. Rusty struggled with the fact that he didn't know anything about his father and was definitely not sure if he wanted to meet him, fearing that his father was like his mother. Rusty also claimed that Sharon wanted to get rid of him which left Sharon on the verge of tears. Lt. Provenza came to Sharon's defense, telling him even though he is not friends with Sharon even he recognizes she is doing everything she can to make him feel like he has a normal life, and that if Sharon wanted to get rid of him, she would have dropped him off in a group home a long time ago insted of taking care of him herself. Rusty apologized to Sharon later in the day, explaining that he feels like he doesn't belong there (with Sharon) sometimes, even though she has been nothing but good to him.
Season 2[]
In “Final Cut”, Sharon clashes with DDA Emma Rios, the new DDA -- who is given to interrupting others while they are speaking when she disagrees -- who is taking over the prosecution of Phillip Stroh. Rios is unhappy about the fact that Sharon has taken Rusty in and is acting as his guardian. Sharon also allows Rusty to use her second car, which is reserved for her kids when they visit and is paying for him to go to a summer school. According to Rios, all of these "gifts" could be construed as bribery and could seriously damage the prosecution. Emma interviewed Rusty, with Sharon and Lt. Provenza in attendance, in order to go through Rusty's version of the events and to prepare him for Stroh's defense attorney's questions. In order to prepare Rusty, Emma asked personal and somewhat inappropriate questions about his hustling days, as those were the kind of questions Stroh's defense would ask and in doing so, she angered Rusty, Sharon, and Provenza. Because of her attitude, Sharon dismisses Rios' which leads to her going to Assistant Chief Taylor, who orders Sharon to talk some sense into Rusty and to order him to finish the interview because if Rusty stops cooperating with the DA's Office, Taylor will personally see to it that Rusty is removed from Sharon's care and placed somewhere else by DCFS. Rusty later agrees to talk with Emma on the condition that Sharon nor Provenza would be there to listen as he needs them to be his friend and the things he'd say would make them "not like him." Rusty also asks Provenza to be the person who asks Sharon to not be at the interview but in a way that it would seem like the idea was Provenza's, as Rusty doesn't want Sharon to know. At the end of the episode, Rios had her second interview with Rusty, without Sharon or Provenza, as Provenza had managed to talk to Sharon about it and had stated that parents can't always stick up for their kids and at some point they are going to have to do that themselves.
At the same time, the Major Crimes Division is trying to wrap-up a murder investigation involving a big-time Hollywood director, a case that also falls to DDA Rios. Rios is eager to take the case to trial as she's confident she could win it, to which both Raydor and Taylor object to. Rios states to Taylor that she's never had detectives who oppose filing charges, though Taylor tells her that it's because she's not used to dealing with high-profile homicides and that current LAPD policy is helping the DA's Office make deals in order for the criminals to be sent straight to jail without expensive trials, and if Rios likes, he could call the District Attorney and ask if she is representing a new change in policy.
Season 4[]
During the time between “Hindsight, Part 1” and “Hindsight, Part 5”, Sharon is stated to be up for a new job as Chief of Security for the NFL. Sharon keeps having to put the interview off due to the investigation and presumably chooses not to take the job or not to take the interview as she retains her job in the Major Crimes Division afterwards.
Season 5[]
In “White Lies, Part 1”, serial killer Dwight Darnell opens fire in a courtroom, killing several people, including Assistant Chief Taylor. During the incident, Sharon shoots Darnell who later dies of his wounds. Sharon is left disturbed by the shooting as she feels no remorse for taking his life. This also leaves her without a boss, something she has not experienced and has not prepared for. Although Fritz Howard is assigned as the Acting Assistant Chief of Operations, the void above her does not go un-noticed as new people are lining up to fill that spot.
While Sharon repeatedly expresses no desire to take the job, both Deputy Chief Winnie Davis and Commander Leo Mason see her as a contender for the role. Davis causes problems for Sharon as a result, expressing vocal dislike for her and dissent for how Sharon runs Major Crimes and how much of the LAPD's resources it uses, while Mason expresses a desire for Sharon to take the position.
In “Intersection”, Sharon has begun actively seeking the job, telling Provenza that it is due to the threat of Winnie Davis getting promoted that she is seeking to become Assistant Chief.
Commanders stars given to Sharon
In “Shockwave, Part 2”, after the arrest of Cristian Ortiz, it is revealed that Leo Mason was promoted to Assistant Chief and he promotes Sharon to the rank of Commander, the promotion she had been promised and long-denied when she was made head of Major Crimes. Mason and the now-Commander Raydor sit down to discuss how to change Major Crimes "into something better". Mason also noted that this promotion was because he does not want to give officers more responsibility without the authority to go with it, as whatever he has planned for the MCD's future, it may make Sharon's work a little bit more difficult.
Season 6[]
In “Sanctuary City, Part 1”, Sharon is still recovering from a nasty case of the flu alongside Tao and Wes Nolan. While investigating the disappearance of the "St. Joseph's Three," Sharon is shown to retain command of Major Crimes at the rank of Commander, but have access to a broader set of resources than she had in the past. For example, Sharon is able to call in "a lot of dogs" for the search and have Assistant Chief Mason pass through a request for wiretapping warrants through the Narcotics Division to speed the process along. Sharon's new rank sees her working closely with Mason who monitors the investigation and gives her help, but lets Sharon lead. With Julio on bereavement leave following the death of his mother, Sharon has Buzz take an active role in the investigation and runs Buzz's equipment herself when Buzz conducts an interrogation for her. After one of the boys is found dead outside of St. Joseph of Nazareth's, a school that Ricky, Emily and Rusty all attended, Sharon gets visibly and audibly emotional.
During the investigation, Sharon learns of a fifth death connected to the past of Phillip Stroh. With the mounting evidence of Stroh's return, protection is ordered for Rusty, Emma Rios and Brenda Leigh Johnson with Sharon considering adding Linda Rothman to the list. Sharon is forced to inform Rusty of Stroh's possible return and he tells Sharon that he wants to become "more proficient" in protecting himself, but Sharon is interrupted by Andy before Rusty can explain his meaning to her. In “Sanctuary City, Part 2”, Rusty, with the help of Andy, convinces Sharon to help him get a concealed weapon's permit so that Rusty can carry a gun to defend himself if Stroh comes after him. Seeing the sense in Rusty's argument, Sharon agrees and begins training Rusty in using a gun. She is later able to get Rusty to agree to a protection detail as well using her medical condition.
At the end of “Sanctuary City, Part 3”, while Sharon was angrily shouting at the FBI to leave the Major Crimes squad room after they withheld crucial information from them, she collapsed and subsequently hit her head. The division speculated that maybe she was just dehydrated and would return shortly but that turned out to not be the case (“Sanctuary City, Part 4”).
Lt. Provenza was placed in temporary command of MCD while Sharon was undergoing tests at the hospital, which revealed that she has cardiomyopathy, a virus that is attacking the lining of her heart. While it could clear up on its own, it could also develop to something more serious which would require surgery and possibly a heart transplant. As a result of her diagnosis, Sharon expresses doubts about marrying Andy in case something happens to her. However, Andy is insistent on still getting married and standing by Sharon no matter what.
In “Sanctuary City, Part 5”, Sharon has to deal with the stress of her children visiting while trying to close the case of the St. Joseph's Three. Following the arrest of Doctor Alan Redmond, Sharon finally marries Andy at St. Joseph of Nazareth's. She is walked down the aisle by her son Ricky.
In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 3”, Sharon's cardiomyopathy is determined to be worse than feared and she is outfitted with a defibrillator-pacemaker and faces a possible heart transplant. At the end of the episode, Sharon collapses, though in “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4” she is confirmed to have survived due to the device implanted within her. Sharon faces the choice between a new device or a heart transplant, but chooses to forgo further treatment and live her life to the fullest after realizing that her own survival could ruin someone else's chances. To this end, Sharon privately records a couple of videos she leaves with Buzz and has her priest perform Last Rites.
Near the end of the episode, while getting a suspect to confess, Sharon gets extremely angry and yells, resulting in her heart seizing. Julio performs CPR and she is rushed to the hospital where she dies despite the doctors best efforts. Her doctor informs the grief-stricken Major Crimes team, Rusty, Andrea Hobbs, Leo Mason and Gus of her passing twenty minutes after her heart stopped for the last time and couldn't be restarted.
In “By Any Means, Part 1”, Sharon receives a full LAPD funeral at St. Joseph's of Nazareth. Her eulogy is given by Provenza who, along with everyone else, is left incredibly emotional by her death. Due to the threat of Stroh's return, Buzz provides Sharon's family with the videos she made early despite Sharon's instructions to wait until a week after her funeral. Sharon's family views her emotional goodbyes together with Ricky and Emily affirming that Rusty is still their brother even with Sharon gone. In a private message to Rusty, Sharon urges him to seek help with dealing with Stroh and not go after him on his own. Based off of her own experiences, Sharon urges Rusty to see Stroh as a person and not a monster which will leave Rusty more vulnerable to Stroh.
While comforting Andy, Rusty states that according to the doctor, in the end, Sharon's heart didn't seize or skip a beat, it just stopped and Sharon's final interrogation had nothing to do with her death. After learning of Sharon's death, Stroh's accomplice asks if Stroh had anything to do with Sharon dying. Stroh admits that he didn't, but he enjoys the news. Its revealed that Sharon had collected a great deal of things related to her children's lives that she kept in a storage unit that they retrieve and go through after her death. She also left her condo to Andy who has lifetime residency of it. Sharon's children make it clear to Rusty that even with Sharon gone, he is still their brother and they want to be a part of his life.
Following her death, Sharon is mentioned often throughout “By Any Means, Part 1”, “By Any Means, Part 2”, “By Any Means, Part 3” and “By Any Means, Part 4”, particularly in relation to the Stroh case. Keeping in mind Sharon's message to him to relate to Stroh as a person and often quoting her words, Rusty is able to help make several major breakthroughs in the case, including determining where Stroh has actually gone to flee the country.
At the end of the series, after Stroh's death at Rusty's hands, he chooses to become a prosecutor following a deal with Provenza. After hearing the news, Hobbs states that Sharon would be very proud of Rusty and he stares into Sharon's former office where a vase of flowers sits on her desk, wondering if that would indeed be true. At the end of the series, the Major Crimes team looks into Sharon's office at the flowers in an apparent act of remembrance for their missing leader.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Jack and Sharon Raydor
Sharon is estranged from her husband Jack, an attorney who moved to Las Vegas to gamble.
They have a son, named Richard, and a daughter Emily. She is the legal guardian of Rusty Beck, a homicide witness in the Phillip Stroh case, one of Chief Johnson's last cases in Major Crimes. In “Down the Drain”, Sharon was officially divorced and officially adopted Rusty. In the eyes of the Catholic Church however, she and Jack were still married and she could not get remarried within the church as a result. However, in “Bad Blood”, after hearing of Sharon's engagement to Andy Flynn, Ricky and Emily are able to secure an annulment for her and force Jack to agree to it.
In “By Any Means, Part 1”, there is no sign of Jack at Sharon's funeral. However, her kids mention visiting with him while they are in town following Sharon's death. Nothing is mentioned about how Jack reacted to the news.
Andy Flynn[]
Sharon has developed a relationship with Lieutenant Andy Flynn over the course of Major Crimes, going with him as his date to his daughter's wedding and the Nutcracker among other things. When confronted by Flynn's daughter Nicole, both adamantly claim they are not dating though when Rusty points out how often they go out together into date-like environments, both are shown to be shocked by the revelation. Sharon asks Rusty about it afterwards and he tells her that she and Flynn are "not dating" several times a month.
In “Snitch”, Flynn decides to ask her on an actual date and Sharon accepts. In “Hostage to Fortune”, the two inform Assistant Chief Taylor of the change in their relationship, telling him they are "old school" dating. After Andy sold his house in Season 5, he has since moved in with Sharon and Rusty while they are looking for a bigger place in which to live.
In “Dead Drop”, Andy proposes to Sharon which she accepts (“Bad Blood”). Thanks to the efforts of her three children, Sharon and Andy are both able to get annulments from their first marriages, enabling them to marry within the Catholic Church.
When Sharon collapsed at the end of “Sanctuary City, Part 3”, Andy accompanied her to the hospital, where he was subsequently asked to leave the treatment room (along with Provenza and Rusty) when the doctor came to give Sharon her diagnosis. Later at the apartment, Sharon and Andy had a "heart-to-heart", where they discussed Sharon's diagnosis. While Sharon wanted to postpone their wedding claiming it wasn't fair for Andy, he did not share her thoughts stating that if they are not going to let Andy's heart get in the way of the marriage, they aren't going to let Sharon's heart do it either. The only concession Andy was willing to make was to skip the honeymoon, until they understand exactly what it is they're up against.
In “Sanctuary City, Part 5”, Sharon marries Andy in a wedding at St. Joseph of Nazareth's walked down the aisle by her son Ricky. Sharon states that she has never been happier in her life. Though she dies shortly afterwards, Andy keeps up her wishes of protecting Rusty as he promised Sharon that he would do before her death. In a final message to Andy recorded with Buzz's camera shortly before she died, Sharon expresses her deep love for Andy and her regrets that they didn't have more time together.
Officer-involved shootings[]
- Hector Medina (beanbag gun shot) (“Death Warrant”)
- Wade Weller (slightly injured) (“Return to Sender”)
- Dwight Darnell (“White Lies, Part 1”)
Career information[]
Capt. Raydor in uniform
- When in uniform, Sharon wears four service stripes on her uniform. Each stripe represents five years of service in the LAPD, meaning she has served for 20–24 years. (“Repeat Offender”) At the time of her death in “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”, Sharon had most likely served with the LAPD for 26–30 years.
Captain Raydor's badge
- Sharon's badge number as a Captain was 951753. As a Commander, her badge number is replaced by her rank insignia, one star. Interestingly, during her tenure as Commander, Sharon was never actually seen wearing her badge, it was only visible on a hospital table with the rest of her personal belongings after her second heart failure. (“Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”)
Commander Raydor's badge
- During Sharon's tenure as a Captain (in both Force Investigation and Major Crimes), her exact Captain rank was never stated (Captain I–III). It's presumed, based on her responsibilities, that Sharon's rank is Captain III, the highest Captain rank available which is normally given to Captains in the most complex and difficult assignments.
- NOTE: In the real LAPD, the Commanding Officer of the Force Investigation Division has historically always been at least a Captain III, sometimes even a Commander. The real Major Crimes Division has also always been headed by a Captain III but, as the Major Crimes Division featured in the Major Crimes Universe is fictional, it can not be directly compared to its real world counterpart. That said, the show's Major Crimes Division has been described as one of the most elite divisions of the LAPD and as Raydor's transfer to the division was regarded as a promotion, it's highly unlikely that her rank would have been dropped down from Captain III to Captain II when she transferred to the Major Crimes Division. As the Major Crimes Division has taken over numerous duties from the Robbery-Homicide Division, which has historically always been headed by a Captain III, it would also support the hypothesis that Sharon's rank is Captain III.
- For Season 6 of Major Crimes, Sharon was promoted to Commander by new Assistant Chief Leo Mason, a promotion she had been denied when she originally took command of the Major Crimes Division.
Medals and service awards worn by Captain Raydor[]
The medals and service awards as seen worn by Raydor in “Repeat Offender”:
| Ribbon | Award name and description |
|---|---|
 |
Police Meritorious Unit Citation
The Police Meritorious Unit Citation may be awarded to an organizational unit of the department for bravery or outstanding service by its members functioning as a team, but to a lesser degree than required for the Police Commission Unit Citation. |
 |
Police Medal
The Police Medal is an award for bravery, usually awarded to officers for individual acts of heroism in the line of duty, though not above and beyond the call of duty, as is required for the Medal of Valor.
|
 |
Human Relations Medal
The Human Relations Medal is awarded to officers who have in their day‑to‑day activities shown great compassion and have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their response to fellow human beings. |
 |
Lifesaving Medal
The Lifesaving Medal is an award for bravery, usually awarded to officers for taking action in order to rescue or attempt the rescue of either a fellow officer or any person from imminent danger. |
 |
Police Meritorious Service Medal
The Police Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to employees who distinguish themselves by performing exceptional service in a duty of great responsibility or of critical importance to law enforcement, but to a lesser degree than required for the Police Distinguished Service Medal. |
Trivia[]
- Her address is 4411 Los Feliz Blvd. Los Angeles, CA.
- Her phone number is 323-555-0112.
- In “Dead Man's Hand”, Sharon is humorously depicted on the murder board by Andy Flynn as the Wicked Witch of the West. Starting as a simple stick figure, the drawing grows to include a broomstick added by Provenza and a house over her head.
- Maiden name is O'Dwyer as revealed in “Down the Drain”.
- She seems to occasionally get insights into a case when talking to Rusty as shown in “Cheaters Never Prosper” and “Turn Down”.
- After the shooting in “White Lies, Part 1”, Sharon tells Flynn that she not only wrote the questions she will get asked by FID, but the answers too.
- Before Sharon killed Dwight Darnell in “White Lies, Part 1”, she had never taken a life before, as stated in “White Lies, Part 2”.
- Sharon shares a first name with her adopted son Rusty Beck's biological mother, Sharon Beck.
- Andy Flynn notes in “White Lies, Part 3” that despite spending most of her career in Internal Affairs and her adherence to the rules, Sharon can in fact be very sneaky with how she does things.
- In “White Lies, Part 3”, Sharon states that she has no interest in being Russell Taylor's replacement which was suggested to her by Lt. Provenza. Despite her repeated assertions to this fact, both Deputy Chief Winnie Davis and Commander Leo Mason see her as a contender for the position, causing friction with Davis.
- Despite the fact that she and Leo Mason are rivals for the position of Assistant Chief, he and Sharon are shown to have a friendly relationship as opposed to her fractious one with Winnie Davis. This relationship goes so far as the two sharing jokes about the process and Mason even giving Sharon tips on how to avoid his own mistakes. After his promotion to Assistant Chief, Mason goes so far as to promote Sharon as well and to show an obvious interest in working closely with her.
- In “Shockwave, Part 1”, Sharon states that commanding the Major Crimes Division is the happiest she's ever been in her professional life. In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”, she states that she spent some of the best years of her life commanding Major Crimes.
Surprise promotion of Commander William Adama on Battlestar Galactica
- Sharon's surprise promotion by Leo Mason to Commander in “Shockwave, Part 2” closely mirrors the surprise promotion of Commander Bill Adama to Rear Admiral by President Laura Roslin in the sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica. Mary McDonnell portrays both Sharon and President Roslin, who in that case, was giving the surprise promotion rather than receiving it.
- Following Sharon's death, Mary McDonnell is still credited in the opening credits of “By Any Means, Part 1” where Sharon appears in the form of her video messages. However, Mary is removed from the credits starting in “By Any Means, Part 2” where Sharon doesn't appear in any form.
Gallery[]
| Characters — The Closer |
|---|
| Brenda Leigh Johnson • Fritz Howard • Will Pope • Louie Provenza • Andy Flynn • Michael Tao • David Gabriel • Julio Sanchez • Irene Daniels • Buzz Watson • Russell Taylor • Sharon Raydor • Dr. Fernando Morales |
| Characters — Major Crimes |
|---|
| Sharon Raydor • Louie Provenza • Andy Flynn • Michael Tao • Julio Sanchez • Amy Sykes • Wes Nolan • Camila Paige • Buzz Watson • Rusty Beck • Russell Taylor • Leo Mason • Fritz Howard • Dr. Fernando Morales • Andrea Hobbs • Kendall |