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Detective Julio Sanchez is assigned to the LAPD's Major Crimes Division during The Closer and Major Crimes.

Before being assigned to the Major Crimes Division, Sanchez has worked at the LAPD's Gang Intelligence Unit and as such he is the unit's go-to guy for information about local gangs. He is also an expert on weapons and is seen to be the division's designated marksman.

In the Major Crimes series finale, “By Any Means, Part 4”​​, Sanchez accepts a promotion to Lieutenant and transferred to the Criminal Intelligence Division.

Character Information[]

As of the start of The Closer, he had been a widower for two years, but had never taken off his wedding band.(“Double Blind”)​​

Although known for his compassion, he had a tendency (until he went through anger management therapy) to interrogate suspects with physical force and anger, which helped the unit extract some crime-related info more often than not. Despite this, Sanchez is well-liked by his colleagues and is shown to be an extremely competent homicide detective.

The Closer[]

Season 2[]

In “Overkill”, when mob boss Marty DeLuca shoots up the murder room and takes Provenza hostage, Julio manages to sneak around behind DeLuca and saves Provenza, shooting DeLuca three times in the chest. After the wounded DeLuca still managed to take aim at Sanchez, the latter shot him twice more, finally killing him.

Season 4[]

In “Sudden Death”, Sanchez's youngest sibling, his brother Oscar, was killed as collateral damage in a gang conflict. Sanchez goes rogue to solve the murder which turns out to have been done by a fourteen-year old boy who mistook Oscar as a rival gang member when Oscar wouldn't take off his hat. Sanchez broke down in Provenza's arms at the end of the episode, having given Oscar the hat and thus blaming himself for his brother's death.

In “Time Bomb”, while trying to stop a bombing plot by a group of deranged young Columbine-style domestic terrorists, Sanchez is shot several times protecting Provenza. Although he survived, his wounds were serious and it took him a while to recover although he returned to work sooner than expected.

Major Crimes[]

Season 1[]

In “Reloaded”​, Sanchez was the first person to realize that the group of robbers they were chasing had military backgrounds. His suspicions first arose when he realized that the robbers only shot at unoccupied vehicles, even though they had fully automatic weapons and were cornered by the LAPD. When Major Crimes received info that the suspects' fingerprints were classified because of the weapons they were using, Sanchez stated that the weapons were most likely stolen from a military base and the robbers were veterans. He further emphasized his point by referencing the level of coordination and skill the robbers had, as well as one of them returning to the scene of the crime to shoot a captured robber in the head from over a block away with a .40 caliber handgun.

In “Citizen's Arrest”, when Major Crimes Division's murder investigation evolves into a kidnapping investigation, Sanchez was tasked with going over the victim's family's bank records. He found that the victim's father had cashed in about a million dollars worth of stocks held jointly with his wife and he also emptied all of his bank accounts. One of the father's credit cards was also used to purchase two black 55-gallon drums as well as a case of prepaid cellphones. Sanchez thought the father, a divorce attorney, was planning on leaving his wife and knows that he can't hide money from her and could be using the ransom drops as a way to launder or hide it. Sanchez also regarded the father as a control freak who was very adamant that the police should not get involved and actively tried to hinder the LAPD when contacted. Eventually, however, it was learned the father had not had anything to do with the kidnapping.

When the division managed to lure one of the kidnappers to a gun store he frequented, Sanchez and Det. Amy Sykes were there to arrest him, along with DDA Hobbs. Hobbs offered the kidnapper a reduced sentence on the spot, as long as he would immediately tell where the kidnapping victim was being held. The kidnapper refused, after which Hobbs directed Sanchez to try to "persuade" the kidnapper to take the deal. (Sanchez was the highest ranking officer on-site at that time.) He "persuaded" the kidnapper by tearing his own shirt, claiming the kidnapper attacked him and threatened to have to kill him in self defence. The kidnapper, obviously confused, said he had done no such thing, after which Sanchez grabbed him and threw him against the door and countertop before drawing his sidearm and threatening to kill him if he didn't give up the victim's location. During this whole ordeal, Sykes tried to calm Sanchez down but conceded shortly afterwards that she was unable to do so. The look on Sykes's face indicated she had no idea how to handle the situation and that she did not share Sanchez's style. It should be noted that Sanchez had the safety engaged on his weapon during the entire situation, meaning he couldn't have actually shot the kidnapper unless he had really wanted to do so. The kidnapper eventually gave up the location of the victim, and Sanchez and Sykes were the first detectives to arrive at the site as the rest of the division was following behind in a surveillance van. After a short firefight with the second kidnapper, the division rescued the victim.

In “Out of Bounds”, Sanchez is able to convince Provenza that the murder they were investigating was not gang-related. He laid out all the evidence in a way that it became very apparent that it was not gang-related, as the vehicle used by their murdered was a Kia mini-van, not something gangbangers use and none were reported stolen, and, according to the victim's football coach, the victim was not affiliated with gangs. Also, gangsters don't bump each others' cars to make them pull over and reach for insurance information, they just shoot. Later, he goes alone to the crime lab to analyze some paint chips with the Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer, after which Lt. Tao jokingly asked him "without me?" Sanchez replied that he had been in a hurry.

In “The Shame Game”, Sanchez conducted the interview of a under-aged prostitute who only spoke Spanish. Buzz was in the electronics room giving live translations to the rest of the squad.

Season 2[]

It appears that Sanchez received a promotion to Detective III for the start of Season 2 as his badge number changed from 39089 to 34150 and he was seen with Det. III rank insignia in “By Any Means, Part 1” of Major Crimes, Season 6. As Sanchez's promotion is never mentioned, the exact date of promotion can't be determined, but this is the only visible change that has happened between the times he has been seen in uniform (last time was in “Repeat Offender” of The Closer, Season 7).

  • It should be noted that Detectives in the real LAPD do not receive new badges when they are promoted within the Detective ranks. They only receive new badges if they are promoted or reclassified as Sergeants, or if they are promoted to Lieutenant.

In “Final Cut”​​​​, with the introduction of DDA Emma Rios, Sanchez is shown to have a crush on her. He is often seen checking her out and tries very hard to impress her. In “False Pretenses”, Sanchez gave Rios his coffee, which Provenza had given him, falsely claiming he got it for her. Later, when Rios couldn't find her keys, Sanchez helped her look for them, much to the annoyance of Lt. Tao as Sanchez was brushing off work he needed to be doing. ​​​​This crush is shown to be decidedly one-sided, and in one event, Rios doesn't even remember Sanchez's last name correctly, referring to him as "Detective Lopez." (“I, Witness”)

In “Risk Assessment”​​​​, Rusty Beck asks him why he became a cop along with the rest of the squad. Sanchez explains that, when he was a kid his cat was murdered and he wanted to catch the guys who did it and send them to jail. He did eventually catch the guys for attempted murder and rape charges and as they were on their third strike, they went to prison for life. Sanchez is shown to be greatly pleased with this.

Season 3[]

In “Flight Risk”​​​​, Lt Provenza gave Sanchez the task of leading and coordinating the search for the two missing children. Unfortunately they are unable to find them in time to save them. This greatly affected Sanchez, causing him to nearly assault the person responsible for their deaths. When the suspect was being interrogated by Lt. Flynn and Det. Sykes, Sanchez and Tao located the vehicle used to kill the children in the LAPD's parking garage, prompting Sanchez to rush back upstairs and barge into the interrogation room, flipping the interrogation room table and forcing the suspect to back into a corner. By this point, Capt. Raydor and Lt. Tao entered the room and they were able to calm him down enough to escort him out of the room. Later, Chief Taylor was heard talking with Sanchez about how they are professionals and need to be able to control their emotions but Sanchez did not receive an official reprimand.

In “Personal Day”​​​​, a man named Dante Gomez whom Sanchez had sent to prison for 20 years is paroled after 17 years. Dante approaches Sanchez after being paroled and shows no hard feelings, actually being thankful for his actions instead. To Sanchez's surprise, Dante, who had originally confessed to the murder, now insists he was innocent and asks for Sanchez's help in catching the real killer, providing him with a new alibi (having committing an armed robbery 26 miles away at the time of the murder). Sanchez reluctantly informs Captain Raydor due to the rules and is unenthusiastic about re-investigating. Dante is later murdered and Sanchez is left horrified when it turns out Dante was telling the truth about the robbery. He had taken a deal to protect his best friend and accomplice in the robbery who would have gone to jail for life (as a three-timer) had he confessed to the robbery instead of the murder. The squad is able to identify the witness in the first murder as the killer of both and Sanchez informs Dante's grandmother of her grandson's innocence as Dante's reason for coming forward with the truth was his grandmother was dying and he didn't want her to die thinking he was a murderer. Feeling remorse for putting an innocent man away for 17 years and not helping him when he was asked to, Sanchez re-opens, on his own time, a new investigation into the murders of Dante's father and uncle to try to bring Dante's grandmother closure in those cases as well.

During “Internal Affairs”​​, Sanchez is framed for the murder of his mother's negligent home care aide who had been stealing from her. While he was ultimately cleared of all charges, he was forced to go to anger management courses due to his overly aggressive interrogation tactics being discovered by FID. He moved back in with his mother so she would have the support she needed. It was also noted in this episode that Sanchez had an older brother named Alonso, who is in prison for selling drugs, and a sister who was unnamed but noted to be very close to Julio and their mother.

Season 4[]

It was revealed during “A Rose Is a Rose”​​​ that during the the summer break between Season 3 and Season 4, Sanchez had been suspended for five months without pay for his beating of Markos Christakis. After his return, Flynn is distant from him at first but Sanchez is shown to have better control of his temper. In “Snitch”​​​, Sanchez apparently loses his temper with a suspect and explodes at him, but then nods at the camera, showing it was all an act, much to the pleasure of the rest of the squad.

At the end of “Sorry I Missed You”​​​, after sympathizing with a suspect who murdered a doctor he blamed for his daughter's suicide, Sanchez explains to the squad the source of his anger problems: years before he was married to a woman who had a seizure disorder. The doctors said it was safe for her to go off her medication and she got pregnant with their first child, a girl, and while driving to the grocery store, she had a seizure and a car accident. It took her four days to die in the hospital, and he lost both his wife and unborn child. Sanchez's comments to the suspect indicated he may have tried to sue the doctor for malpractice but was told that "these things just happen." The deaths of his wife and daughter due to what he believes to be doctor incompetence left him with a great anger that he can't get over and let go. His revelation elects great sympathy from the squad and he's fully accepted back. He had been considering leaving the division due to the distance of his co-workers, particularly Flynn who makes an overt gesture of acceptance after his story and they give him warm welcomes after which he shows no intention of wanting to leave anymore.

In “Four of a Kind”​​​ and “Reality Check”​​​​, Sanchez is haunted by the memory of his wife's death after visiting the hospital where she died and encountering a murder case where the victim died in a similar manner to his wife. After explaining to the victim's husband how she died, Sanchez appears to realize that he has survivor's guilt that leaves him wondering what he could've done to save his wife, Maria. He expresses the hope that the realization will help him to move on.

In “Hindsight, Part 4”​​​​, after discussing with Stephanie Dunn the idea of holding someone responsible for their respective spouses' deaths, Sanchez visited Michael Foster, the doctor he blamed for his wife's death to finally get answers. During the visit, a shocked Sanchez learns that Maria took herself off of the medication against Foster's recommendation. Dr. Foster is able to provide proof of his story, leaving Sanchez distraught that Maria lied to him rather than admitting what she had actually done.

Following his visit with Dr. Foster, Sanchez gained closure in his wife's death which appeared to finally give him a sense of peace. Subsequently, he is seen attempting to date and has a much calmer personality.

Season 5[]

After learning about the failures of the foster care system in “Present Tense”​​​​, Sanchez began seeking to become a foster parent to help children in need.

During the investigation into a gruesome murder during “Cashed Out”​​​​, Sanchez's application to become a foster parent is jeopardized after the suspect, who was running from him and Lt. Provenza, took a hostage in a public park and Sanchez, holstering his own weapon, decided to confront him unarmed. This eventually resulted in the suspect's peaceful apprehension and police commission inquiry whether Sanchez's actions in the situation qualified him to receive the LAPD's Medal for Valor. This incident also prompts the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to start an inquiry whether Sanchez would be a suitable foster parent due to his temper and the fact that he had been shot three times, raising concerns that he had a death wish. Sanchez had also fired his weapon more than anyone else in his division.

In “Family Law”​​​​, Sanchez is given an emergency placement of an 8-year-old Mark Jarvis by DCFS to give them time to locate his mother. This made Sanchez's application to become a foster parent go to approval to the county and it made him part of the program, making him eligible for long-term placement. Mark's mother is later revealed to have been murdered by the Zyklon Brotherhood. While Mark had previously demonstrated bigoted behavior towards Hispanics (including calling immigration to try to report his foster father and Sanchez's mother as well as making very racist statements), Sanchez reported that Mark began changing after his mother, actually an informant against the people from whom Mark had learned his racist attitudes, was proven to have been killed by them. Mark became a long-term placement, and Sanchez tried to get home to read to him at bedtime, something they had both grown to enjoy. In “White Lies, Part 3”​​​, Mark and Sanchez are shown to have deeply bonded but DCFS located Mark's grandparents which means Mark will be removed from Sanchez's custody. Both are devastated by the news and Mark, after apologizing for his previous racism, leaves Sanchez his favorite book to remember him by while he takes a bike helmet Sanchez had bought him to do the same.

In “Quid Pro Quo”​​​​, Mark returned to Sanchez after his grandfather suffered a stroke and his grandmother stayed with him in the hospital. Sanchez is forced to call DCFS after Mark told him he had been alone for days and was running out of food. In “Dead Drop”​​​​, Sanchez still has custody of Mark. Mark's grandmother, recognizing her inability to take care of him, transferred guardianship of Mark to Sanchez permanently. He was granted temporary guardianship until a judge confirmed the guardianship a week later, in “Bad Blood”​​​. After celebrating by taking Mark to play mini-golf, Mark asks if he can call Julio "dad" now. As Mark is his legal ward, not his son, Julio instead has them adopt the nicknames pato and patito, "duck" and "duckling" in Spanish (despite the extremely negative connotations these words have in universal Spanish language slang).

Season 6[]

In “Sanctuary City, Part 1”​​​​, it is revealed that Sanchez's mother has died and he is on bereavement leave. As a result, Raydor has Buzz, now a Reserve Detective, fill in for Sanchez during an investigation.

In “Sanctuary City, Part 3”​​​​, Sanchez returns from bereavement leave five days early, stating he was bothered watching the case on the news with Mark asking him if any other boys have been getting kidnapped from St. Joseph's, telling Sanchez he was scared to go back to school. When Sanchez returned to the office, Buzz Watson was seen removing his reserve detective gear and going back to his normal role, looking noticeably disappointed. Immediately after resuming work, Sanchez joined the rest of MCD in conducting a federal compliance check with the FBI to the home of Marvin Garret and was also involved in the raid on Garret's "white-pride clubhouse".

In “Sanctuary City, Part 4”​​​​, afterCommander Raydor collapsed due to her health issues, Sanchez could be seen watching over her when she regained consciousness. After Lt. Provenza was placed in temporary command of MCD, he ordered the FBI to leave the Major Crimes squad room, with Sanchez telling them "you don't know me, but believe this, if the Lieutenant wants you lying sons of bitches out of here, that's what will happen." Despite having previously gained a calmer demeanor, Sanchez is now more aggressive and closer to the "Scary Sanchez" of the past than he had been in a long time. However, Sanchez doesn't take it too far and calms down immediately once reprimanded suggesting that the stress of the situation brought out some bad habits.

In “Sanctuary City, Part 5”​​​​, Sanchez takes part in the wedding of Sharon Raydor and Andy Flynn while Mark Jarvis acts as a ring bearer alongside Rusty. During the ceremony, Sanchez was seen sharing a smile with Mark.

In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 3”​​​​, Sanchez reaches out to Detective Linda Chavez, a "friend" of his in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's (LVMPD) Sex Crimes Unit, to find out more information of a possible rape victim in Las Vegas. The two obviously have shared intimate moments at some point as she called Sanchez a "dirty dog", stating that even though "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", Sanchez shouldn't have left without waking her up. It is unclear when this occurred but it seems Sanchez has resumed dating despite his earlier unsuccessful efforts. The victim, Makisha Selby, was revealed to have been arrested by LVMPD for felony drug possession and at first, they did not want to hand her over to the LAPD. After Chief Mason informed her that LAPD would pay for the transport, Detective Chavez personally escorted her to LA and to the PAB, over the silent objections from Sanchez, suggesting he would not want to see her. LVMPD eventually agreed to drop the drug charges in Nevada in order to get Makisha to cooperate in the rape investigation, but Chavez told Sanchez that he would owe her a dinner date because of it. He reacted to this with mixed emotions.

In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 4”​​​​, Sanchez tells Sharon that he has something to discuss with her before she leaves for her leave of absence but he never gets the chance as she suffered a fatal heart failure at the end of the episode. Sanchez performed CPR and waited with the rest of MCD at the hospital to hear how she is doing and, like all the members of the division, is grief-stricken to learn of her death.

In “By Any Means, Part 3”​​​​, Sanchez helps in identifying Stroh's latest (and last) accomplice, Dylan Baxter. During the episode he mentions seeking a new home closer to Mark's school while Leo Mason discusses an offer with Sanchez. At the end of the episode, while speaking with Provenza, Tao reveals to him that Mason has offered Sanchez a promotion to the rank of Lieutenant with an assignment in the Criminal Intelligence Division. Tao explains that working homicides is hard on Sanchez as a single father and the promotion would give him the chance to assume a less dangerous and more administrative job.

In “By Any Means, Part 4”, after Stroh is killed, Sanchez decides to take the promotion and with Mark at his side, expresses his thanks for his time with Major Crimes and how much he will miss it. Appearing to realize that Rusty Beck, not Provenza, killed Stroh, Sanchez tells Rusty to keep up his therapy sessions with "Dr. Joe".

LtBarsGivenToSanchez

Lt.'s bars given to Sanchez

Officer-involved shootings[]

Personality[]

Julio is shown to care greatly about children, with cases involving children especially getting to Julio. During “Flight Risk”​​​​, a case with two murdered young children drove Julio both to extreme anger over the deaths and tears as well. Julio's emotional state clearly stemmed from the fact that it was young children who were harmed and it affected him very deeply.

For his tenure on The Closer and the first three seasons of Major Crimes, a major facet of Julio's personality was his volatile temper. Julio was known to explode at suspects and sometimes get physically violent. This got him into trouble multiple times, particularly in “Internal Affairs”​​​ when a Force Investigation Division investigator learned of Julio's anger issues while investigating Julio in the death of his mother's negligent home care aide in an apparent fit of rage. Although later cleared, he was still ordered to attend anger management classes for the issues the investigator discovered looking through Julio's past cases. Julio's brutal attack on Markos Christakis in “Special Master Part Two”​​​​ got him suspended for five months without pay and forced into therapy. In one case, Provenza jokingly called this side of Julio "Scary Sanchez".

Following his return from suspension, Julio had better control over his temper. In one case, he appeared to lose his temper at a suspect, but the way he winked at the camera monitoring the interrogation made it clear he was simply faking his loss of temper. In “Sorry I Missed You”​​​, Julio explained his anger problems stemmed from the death of his wife and unborn child in a car accident and his inability to get over the unfairness of it all and the fact that he blamed his wife's doctor for his loss. Julio stated at that point that he just didn't know how to get over his anger even after all those years.

After getting answers in “Hindsight, Part 4”​​ to the death of his wife, Julio finally appeared to gain a sense of peace and began moving on with his life. Julio tried dating again, albeit without success and worked at becoming a father through the foster care system. In “Cashed Out”​​​​, during a dangerous situation where in the past Julio would've reacted violently, Julio instead used calm logic to successfully defuse the situation without anyone getting harmed, including the suspect. A detailed DCFS investigation into Julio due to his past behaviors occurring at the same time as the crisis in “Cashed Out”​​​ also found him fit to be a foster parent.

When Julio gained Mark Jarvis as his foster son, he quickly came to care for the boy despite Mark's racist behavior, much of which was directed at the Latino Julio. Julio was extremely annoyed with Mark's antics and grew impatient to the point of threatening to handcuff Mark to a chair when he demanded a lawyer. However, after learning that Mark's mother had been murdered, Julio softened his stance towards the boy. During the investigation into the murder of Mark's mother and the Zyklon Brotherhood, Julio prioritized protecting Mark, asking to keep Mark out of finding Henry Colson's home and warning Mark not to tell anyone about knowing Jordan Graff. Julio's bond with the boy quickly grew to that of a father-son relationship, resulting in both being devastated when Mark was taken to his grandparents. Following this, Julio kept a picture of Mark on his desk at work. When Mark returned, their bond continued to grow with Mark expressing a desire to call Julio "dad", which Julio declined as Mark was then legally his ward not his son. But, in “By Any Means, Part 4”​​​​, Julio did call Mark his son during the promotion ceremony while talking about all that Major Crimes had given him.

Despite having a calmer demeanor after getting closure, Julio sometimes channels "Scary Sanchez" as Provenza once called the angrier version of his personality. However, at these times, Julio has much better control of his temper and its usually indicated that he's actually putting on a show for the suspect and is not as angry as he appears. In one such instance, Provenza notes that "Scary Sanchez" can be useful sometimes if they don't actually intend to arrest the suspect. The one major exception to this is in “Sanctuary City, Part 4”​​​​ when Julio acts in a very aggressive manner throughout the case following Sharon's collapse. However, Julio doesn't take it as far as he would have done in the past and calms down upon reprimand, suggesting that the stress of the situation and Sharon's collapse brought out bad habits in Julio. Subsequently in “Sanctuary City, Part 5”​​​​, Julio has resumed his calmer demeanor. In “Conspiracy Theory, Part 2”​​​​, Sharon had Buzz order Julio to "turn up the heat" on a suspect and Julio was able to purposefully act like his old self, but was clearly in full control of himself the entire time and the act was solely for the benefit of the suspect.

Career information[]

Badges[]

Julio has been seen wearing two different badges:

  • during The Closer and Major Crimes, Season 1, his badge number was 39089; and
  • from Major Crimes, Season 2 onward, his badge number has been 34150.

Service Years[]

D3-Sanchez-Uniform-MC610

Det. Sanchez in his uniform.​​​​

When in uniform, Julio wears four service stripes on his uniform. Each stripe represents five years of service in the LAPD, meaning he has served for 20–24 years. (“By Any Means, Part 1”)​​​​ Based on Julio's service awards, he most likely joined the LAPD in late 1993 as he has served during the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

When Julio was seen in uniform in both “Strike Three” and “Repeat Offender”, he wore three stripes, meaning 15–19 years of service. This means that during The Closer, Julio was always the senior officer to Det. David Gabriel even though the show treated them the other way around. Although Gabriel was originally a Sergeant I, he still did not outrank Julio at any time, as they were always comparable in rank. (Sergeant I is comparable to Julio's Detective II.)

Injuries[]

Julio has been injured twice in the line of duty:

  • He was shot three times and seriously injured in “Time Bomb” of The Closer. He required five surgeries and shoulder reconstruction but was able to return to duty in “Good Faith”; and
  • In “Two Options” of Major Crimes, Julio was shot in the side during a struggle with Jared Temple. Julio's wound was determined to be superficial and he was more worried about his new suit being ruined and his mother driving him crazy.

Ranks[]

  • In “Personal Day”​​​​, it was noted that Julio was a homicide detective in 1997; this would mean Julio was promoted to detective after (approximately) three years as a patrol officer.
  • When Julio was seen in uniform in “Strike Three” and “Repeat Offender”, we see that his rank is Detective II; Detective II is the first supervisory detective rank, comparable to Sergeant I. We don't know when he was promoted to this rank.
  • When Julio was seen in uniform in “By Any Means, Part 1”​​​​, his rank was Detective III; Detective III is a supervisory detective rank and the highest detective rank available, comparable to Sergeant II. It's presumed this promotion happened between Seasons 1 and 2 of Major Crimes as that is when his badge number changed.
  • In “By Any Means, Part 4”​​​​, Julio is officially promoted to Lieutenant. While Julio's exact rank as Lieutenant is never stated (i.e.Lieutenant I or II), based on his assignment as the Officer-in-Charge of one of the sections of the Criminal Intelligence Division, he is a Lieutenant II.

Medals and service awards worn by Det. Sanchez[]

The medals and service awards as seen worn by Sanchez in “By Any Means, Part 1”:

Julio Sanchez, Ribbon rack
Ribbon Award name and description
LAPD-Medal-of-Valor Medal of Valor

The Medal of Valor is the highest law enforcement medal awarded to officers and it is awarded for individual acts of extraordinary bravery or heroism performed in the line of duty at extreme and life-threatening personal risk.

LAPD-Purple-Heart-Ribbon Purple Heart

Awarded to officers who sustain a traumatic physical injury as a result of a suspect's actions during an on-duty tactical situation.

LAPD-Police-Meritorious-Service-Medal 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.

LAPD-Police-Meritorious-Unit-Citation 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.

LAPD-Lifesaving-Medal 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.

  • Goof: Ribbon was the wrong way round, red stripe on the left and blue stripe on the right.
LAPD-Police-Commission-Distinguished-Service-Medal Police Commission Distinguished Service Medal

The Police Commission Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to officers who distinguish themselves by performing exceptional service to the LAPD or by performing in a stressful emergency situation with good judgement and bravery.

LAPD-Detective-Service-Ribbon Detective Service Ribbon

5 years of service in investigative units as a detective and/or lieutenant.

  • Goof (see below)
LAPD-Shotgun-Slug-Ammunition-Ribbon Shotgun Slug Ammunition Cadre Ribbon

Given to any LAPD officer who is qualified to use slug ammunition in LAPD issued shotguns.

LAPD-Urban-Police-Rifle-Ribbon Urban Police Rifle Cadre Ribbon

Given to any LAPD officer who is qualified to use a Urban Police Rifle (usually a AR-15 variant chambered in .223)

LAPD-1994-Earthquake-Ribbon 1994 Earthquake Ribbon

Given to any LAPD officer who saw service during the 1994 Northridge earthquake from January 17 to January 18, 1994.

LAPD-2000-Democratic-National-Convention-Ribbon 2000 Democratic National Convention Ribbon

Given to any LAPD officer who saw service during the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

LAPD-Expert-Marksmanship-Badge Expert Marksmanship Badge

Officers must score 380 out of a possible 400 points in the voluntary bonus qualification shoots (held every month). Officers who have qualified as Experts receive $32 in compensation in their bi-weekly paychecks.

Medals and service awards goofs[]

Det. Sanchez could be seen wearing the standard Detective Service Ribbon on his uniform. As Sanchez was a homicide detective in 1997 as revealed in “Personal Day”​​​​, he would already have the Gold Star.

Ribbon Award name and description
LAPD-Detective-Service-Ribbon-1 Detective Service Ribbon (with Bronze Oak Leaf cluster)

10 years of service in investigative units as a detective and/or lieutenant.

LAPD-Detective-Service-Ribbon-2 Detective Service Ribbon (with Silver Star)

15 years of service in investigative units as a detective and/or lieutenant.

LAPD-Detective-Service-Ribbon-3 Detective Service Ribbon (with Gold Star)

20 years of service in investigative units as a detective and/or lieutenant.

In “Repeat Offender”, Sanchez could be seen wearing the following awards which he no longer had in “By Any Means, Part 1”. While this is technically a goof, it should be noted that The Closer was never very accurate in its portrayal of LAPD award ribbons and who they were given to.

Ribbon Award name and description
LAPD-Human-Relations-Medal 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.

Trivia[]

  • In “Cleared History”​​​​, Julio is shown to keep a picture of his former foster son Mark Jarvis on his desk. He later managed to get permanent custody of the boy.
  • In “Sanctuary City, Part 3”​​​​, Julio states that he is third generation American.
  • In “By Any Means, Part 4”​​​​, Julio is implied to know that Rusty Beck killed Phillip Stroh, not Provenza. A deleted scene for the episode furthers this, showing Julio as suspicious of Provenza's story, particularly why he had Rusty's gun and how many times Stroh was shot.
    • Part of his reasoning was that Stroh was shot five times and Julio points out that its strange that a cop shot a man five times. Ironically, Julio himself shot Marty DeLuca five times in “Overkill” after he shot up the murder room, albeit with two of the shots being after Marty raised his weapon against Julio even after being shot.

Gallery[]

Characters — The Closer
Brenda Leigh JohnsonFritz HowardWill PopeLouie ProvenzaAndy FlynnMichael TaoDavid GabrielJulio SanchezIrene DanielsBuzz WatsonRussell TaylorSharon RaydorDr. Fernando Morales
Characters — Major Crimes
Sharon RaydorLouie ProvenzaAndy FlynnMichael TaoJulio SanchezAmy SykesWes NolanCamila PaigeBuzz WatsonRusty BeckRussell TaylorLeo MasonFritz HowardDr. Fernando MoralesAndrea HobbsKendall
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