Character Profile
Detective David Dresden, IAB
Born on March 5th 1969 to parents Michael and Maria Dresden, David was raised in Chicago. His father was partner in the family firm, something he was extremely proud of. Michael was always busy with his work, and never really gave his son the attention that he deserved. As a result, he was mostly raised by his mother, Maria. As a young teen, he found his mother spent most of her time with her friends or in the bottom of a bottle trying to drown away her sorrows of her failing marriage. David was an only-child but he made a lot of superficial friends at high school that he subsequently lost as he got older.
His parents, especially his father, wanted him to become a lawyer and keep the law firm in the family, but David was more interested in fighting crime than defending the perpetrator in court. The fights that he had with his father always ended with him wanting the same thing- to not be like him in any way. It became his goal in life to be the complete opposite.
He went to Chicago State University to study for a B.A. in Criminal Justice. He graduated in 1990, and in defiance of his father, he went straight on to the Chicago Police Department Training Academy. Whilst he was attending university, he met a young woman named Sarah Price. They became close friends and began dating the year he graduated. By the time they married in 1992, his relationship with his father was somewhat mended and they started to become more of a family. His father constantly tried to sway his decision on his chosen career, but Sarah helped to keep his feet firmly planted in the CPD, despite having grown a close relationship with David's mother.
In 1993, David began training with the K9 unit of the Chicago Police Department. He found himself to be very passionate about working with man's best friend. He enjoyed his work, and for the first time he was happy with what he was doing. In January 1994, Sarah gave birth to their daughter, Samantha. David was overjoyed at being a father, but it put pressure on their relationship that neither of them had expected. When Sam was a few months old, David found himself having a one night stand with another woman. Instantly he regretted what he'd done, but he could never bring himself to admit his sins. Not only would admitting to the affair devastate Sarah, but it would also mean he really was like his father.
In July 1994, he was recruited for a special Vice/Narcotics tasforce. He was given a human partner, Corin Anderson, and they went undercover. David had been excited about doing this kind of work, even though it had meant no longer working with the K9 unit; he knew it would be a good thing to advance his career. But the drug bust failed when David caught his own partner working alongside the drug dealers themselves. However, before David had a chance to blow the whistle, Corin Anderson shot him, leaving him with severe injuries.
He suffered from damage to a small portion of the frontal lobe of his brain. This damage, whilst not life threatening, impacted his judgement and the way he behaved (among other things). His memory of the time before he'd been shot was in pieces at best. Although his marriage to Sarah was already been struggling, by the time Sam was one-years-old he had filed for a divorce because he'd felt it was unfair to stay with her when he couldn't even remember loving his wife at all. He just couldn't bring himself to stay with her because he resented everything that that marriage represented -- happier times.
The next time he saw Corin Anderson was when he'd attended court to hear the judge's ruling. Anderson was found guilty, and David never saw him again. But that news didn't give David the resolution that he'd been looking for.
He underwent pyschological treatment for over a year before he was allowed to go back to work. He chose to go back to the K9 unit, no longer wishing to have a partner who could betray him in the same way that Anderson had. Feeling that dogs could be more trusted, he began to hide away from people altogether, cutting social ties with everyone he knew. The only exception was his daughter, he tried to remain in her life as best he could.
In 1997, Sarah re-married. After spending a lot of time dealing with her divorce, she met a man named Rick Lerner. He helped her achieve a happiness she had been without for a long time. Sarah remained close to David's mother, but he and Sarah were never able to become anything more than two people who shared custody of their daughter. They argued about anything and everything unless she was in the room. Sarah never denied that he loved Sam, however, so in 1998 when she, Rick, Sam, and Matt (Rick's son) moved to New York, Sarah helped him to find an apartment there so that he could stay close to his daughter.
Once in New York, he joined the NYPD. He was bounced around quite a few departments before he found himself working for the Internal Affairs Department (IAD). When it looked like he was going to stay there, he decided that he was going to make the best of this situation -- he wanted to try and stop the dirty cops that were just like Corin Anderson. In his mind, it wasn't just the criminals that had to have the law enforced upon them, it was also the cops who worked the streets.
His anti-social behaviour increased, and he basically became stuck in one routine: work, bar, then home. He avoided talking to people unless it was absolutely necessary, fearing they'd stab him in the back as well. A few people tried to strike up conversations with him, but David just turned them away, often insulting them just to get them to leave him alone. He just preferred to spend time with his dog, Max, or be at a bar.
In 2007, he met Alex Eames, who just insulted him back and left it at that. But he was intrigued, and he allowed himself to make a friend. The more time he spent with her, the more he realised he missed human contact. He enjoyed having her around, missing her when she wasn't. The two of them began dating soon after. Slowly but surely he began to live a somewhat normal life. He also began trusting himself to lower his defences around her. Existing beyond his job and his dog, he slowly stopped drinking and began to enjoy things outside getting drunk every night.
When he had found out that Alex was pregnant, he struggled with the idea of being a father again. Unlike last time, this hadn't been planned and he doubted himself as a parent or a husband. They held off talks of marriage altogether, thinking things were moving too fast. In August 2008, Alex gave birth to his second child, Ellie.
Since then, David has changed his outlook on things -- he loves to spend time with Ellie, teaching her new things. He has even found that he can spend time around people without throwing out an insult to make them leave. He is happy where his life is right now. He's still a private person, and keeps his past to himself (he'll only share anything with Alex) but he no longer avoids people. He now thinks about how that would affect Ellie and Alex, as well as Sam.
--Personality -- likes/dislikes. Traits, weaknesses, quirks
He has a fondness for dogs (and animals in general) -- their loyalty and protective nature have comforted him, and it earned him the nickname of "dog cop" for quite some time. He loves children, especially his own, and enjoys spending time with them. He's somewhat of a big kid himself, and often uses that goofiness and child-like behaviour to throw others off their game. Having a baby just gave him a better excuse to act like a kid. He enjoys sight-seeing, and although he wouldn't admit it, he likes to do tourist type things. His favourite is attractions of natural beauty -- somewhere quiet and peaceful. David prefers to laugh and joke around so he'll always choose comedy shows over drama, and will try to defuse any kind of situation with a joke or two even if it's inappropriate. He likes to spend any spare time he has working on an old car. He fancies himself as a mechanic but really he's just having a bit of fun. He enjoys playing and watching sports, but mostly playing, and this has to be followed by a ritual pizza and a beer.
He only has a handful of friends but he's loyal to them till the end. He doesn't ignore his responsibilities to his children, and he does his best to make sure he's a good father. David sometimes worries that he isn't good enough as a parent and doubts himself. He tries to ignore those fears but sometimes he gets caught up in them. Despite his doubts, he is actually a good father -- he will lie awake at night worrying about where Sam is and whether or not Ellie has picked up any of his bad habits.
David is not very trusting of most of the people that he meets, and he doesn't keep that to himself: if he doesn't like a person, he'll tell them. David gets annoyed by overly emotional or bright, chipper people who do nothing but smile at him; he finds them both uncomfortable. He dislikes a lot of things, and is the kind of person who is 'stuck in their ways'. He's not a huge fan of change -- if something of his (a computer, a chair, etc) is broken he will do his best to fix it time and time again before he admits he needs to replace it. He disapproves of any cop who believes he is somehow above the law, and this is why he works for IAB. As far as he is concerned, they shouldn't be allowed to wear the badge and he has no sympathy for them whatsoever. David is very opinionated, and will stick to his opinion like glue.
Since he's spent so long without a partner, he struggles to work with people- he doesn't always know how to connect with the person he's been partnered with, and most of the time he doesn't even care to try. Although he generally has a happy-go-lucky personality, he's not perky 24/7 and often finds himself in such a sour mood that not even Alex can talk him out of it and he has to spend time by himself or he snaps. This especially happens when things don't go his way or he's spent too long thinking about his past. His father is a huge button-pusher, and David always lets him push them -- always coming away from those conversations with his father feeling like a failure even if he did nothing wrong. They do nothing but argue, and David will always deny that he cares but deep down he knows that he does.
Although he has bordered on being an alcoholic in the past, which is something he has in common with his mother, he's managed to come to a place in his life where he doesn't drink as much as he used to, and he no longer needs it to have a good time. But should anything disastrous ever happen, the chances of him finding himself crawling into a bottle are very high since that's the first coping mechanism he'll reach for.
Born on March 5th 1969 to parents Michael and Maria Dresden, David was raised in Chicago. His father was partner in the family firm, something he was extremely proud of. Michael was always busy with his work, and never really gave his son the attention that he deserved. As a result, he was mostly raised by his mother, Maria. As a young teen, he found his mother spent most of her time with her friends or in the bottom of a bottle trying to drown away her sorrows of her failing marriage. David was an only-child but he made a lot of superficial friends at high school that he subsequently lost as he got older.
His parents, especially his father, wanted him to become a lawyer and keep the law firm in the family, but David was more interested in fighting crime than defending the perpetrator in court. The fights that he had with his father always ended with him wanting the same thing- to not be like him in any way. It became his goal in life to be the complete opposite.
He went to Chicago State University to study for a B.A. in Criminal Justice. He graduated in 1990, and in defiance of his father, he went straight on to the Chicago Police Department Training Academy. Whilst he was attending university, he met a young woman named Sarah Price. They became close friends and began dating the year he graduated. By the time they married in 1992, his relationship with his father was somewhat mended and they started to become more of a family. His father constantly tried to sway his decision on his chosen career, but Sarah helped to keep his feet firmly planted in the CPD, despite having grown a close relationship with David's mother.
In 1993, David began training with the K9 unit of the Chicago Police Department. He found himself to be very passionate about working with man's best friend. He enjoyed his work, and for the first time he was happy with what he was doing. In January 1994, Sarah gave birth to their daughter, Samantha. David was overjoyed at being a father, but it put pressure on their relationship that neither of them had expected. When Sam was a few months old, David found himself having a one night stand with another woman. Instantly he regretted what he'd done, but he could never bring himself to admit his sins. Not only would admitting to the affair devastate Sarah, but it would also mean he really was like his father.
In July 1994, he was recruited for a special Vice/Narcotics tasforce. He was given a human partner, Corin Anderson, and they went undercover. David had been excited about doing this kind of work, even though it had meant no longer working with the K9 unit; he knew it would be a good thing to advance his career. But the drug bust failed when David caught his own partner working alongside the drug dealers themselves. However, before David had a chance to blow the whistle, Corin Anderson shot him, leaving him with severe injuries.
He suffered from damage to a small portion of the frontal lobe of his brain. This damage, whilst not life threatening, impacted his judgement and the way he behaved (among other things). His memory of the time before he'd been shot was in pieces at best. Although his marriage to Sarah was already been struggling, by the time Sam was one-years-old he had filed for a divorce because he'd felt it was unfair to stay with her when he couldn't even remember loving his wife at all. He just couldn't bring himself to stay with her because he resented everything that that marriage represented -- happier times.
The next time he saw Corin Anderson was when he'd attended court to hear the judge's ruling. Anderson was found guilty, and David never saw him again. But that news didn't give David the resolution that he'd been looking for.
He underwent pyschological treatment for over a year before he was allowed to go back to work. He chose to go back to the K9 unit, no longer wishing to have a partner who could betray him in the same way that Anderson had. Feeling that dogs could be more trusted, he began to hide away from people altogether, cutting social ties with everyone he knew. The only exception was his daughter, he tried to remain in her life as best he could.
In 1997, Sarah re-married. After spending a lot of time dealing with her divorce, she met a man named Rick Lerner. He helped her achieve a happiness she had been without for a long time. Sarah remained close to David's mother, but he and Sarah were never able to become anything more than two people who shared custody of their daughter. They argued about anything and everything unless she was in the room. Sarah never denied that he loved Sam, however, so in 1998 when she, Rick, Sam, and Matt (Rick's son) moved to New York, Sarah helped him to find an apartment there so that he could stay close to his daughter.
Once in New York, he joined the NYPD. He was bounced around quite a few departments before he found himself working for the Internal Affairs Department (IAD). When it looked like he was going to stay there, he decided that he was going to make the best of this situation -- he wanted to try and stop the dirty cops that were just like Corin Anderson. In his mind, it wasn't just the criminals that had to have the law enforced upon them, it was also the cops who worked the streets.
His anti-social behaviour increased, and he basically became stuck in one routine: work, bar, then home. He avoided talking to people unless it was absolutely necessary, fearing they'd stab him in the back as well. A few people tried to strike up conversations with him, but David just turned them away, often insulting them just to get them to leave him alone. He just preferred to spend time with his dog, Max, or be at a bar.
In 2007, he met Alex Eames, who just insulted him back and left it at that. But he was intrigued, and he allowed himself to make a friend. The more time he spent with her, the more he realised he missed human contact. He enjoyed having her around, missing her when she wasn't. The two of them began dating soon after. Slowly but surely he began to live a somewhat normal life. He also began trusting himself to lower his defences around her. Existing beyond his job and his dog, he slowly stopped drinking and began to enjoy things outside getting drunk every night.
When he had found out that Alex was pregnant, he struggled with the idea of being a father again. Unlike last time, this hadn't been planned and he doubted himself as a parent or a husband. They held off talks of marriage altogether, thinking things were moving too fast. In August 2008, Alex gave birth to his second child, Ellie.
Since then, David has changed his outlook on things -- he loves to spend time with Ellie, teaching her new things. He has even found that he can spend time around people without throwing out an insult to make them leave. He is happy where his life is right now. He's still a private person, and keeps his past to himself (he'll only share anything with Alex) but he no longer avoids people. He now thinks about how that would affect Ellie and Alex, as well as Sam.
--Personality -- likes/dislikes. Traits, weaknesses, quirks
He has a fondness for dogs (and animals in general) -- their loyalty and protective nature have comforted him, and it earned him the nickname of "dog cop" for quite some time. He loves children, especially his own, and enjoys spending time with them. He's somewhat of a big kid himself, and often uses that goofiness and child-like behaviour to throw others off their game. Having a baby just gave him a better excuse to act like a kid. He enjoys sight-seeing, and although he wouldn't admit it, he likes to do tourist type things. His favourite is attractions of natural beauty -- somewhere quiet and peaceful. David prefers to laugh and joke around so he'll always choose comedy shows over drama, and will try to defuse any kind of situation with a joke or two even if it's inappropriate. He likes to spend any spare time he has working on an old car. He fancies himself as a mechanic but really he's just having a bit of fun. He enjoys playing and watching sports, but mostly playing, and this has to be followed by a ritual pizza and a beer.
He only has a handful of friends but he's loyal to them till the end. He doesn't ignore his responsibilities to his children, and he does his best to make sure he's a good father. David sometimes worries that he isn't good enough as a parent and doubts himself. He tries to ignore those fears but sometimes he gets caught up in them. Despite his doubts, he is actually a good father -- he will lie awake at night worrying about where Sam is and whether or not Ellie has picked up any of his bad habits.
David is not very trusting of most of the people that he meets, and he doesn't keep that to himself: if he doesn't like a person, he'll tell them. David gets annoyed by overly emotional or bright, chipper people who do nothing but smile at him; he finds them both uncomfortable. He dislikes a lot of things, and is the kind of person who is 'stuck in their ways'. He's not a huge fan of change -- if something of his (a computer, a chair, etc) is broken he will do his best to fix it time and time again before he admits he needs to replace it. He disapproves of any cop who believes he is somehow above the law, and this is why he works for IAB. As far as he is concerned, they shouldn't be allowed to wear the badge and he has no sympathy for them whatsoever. David is very opinionated, and will stick to his opinion like glue.
Since he's spent so long without a partner, he struggles to work with people- he doesn't always know how to connect with the person he's been partnered with, and most of the time he doesn't even care to try. Although he generally has a happy-go-lucky personality, he's not perky 24/7 and often finds himself in such a sour mood that not even Alex can talk him out of it and he has to spend time by himself or he snaps. This especially happens when things don't go his way or he's spent too long thinking about his past. His father is a huge button-pusher, and David always lets him push them -- always coming away from those conversations with his father feeling like a failure even if he did nothing wrong. They do nothing but argue, and David will always deny that he cares but deep down he knows that he does.
Although he has bordered on being an alcoholic in the past, which is something he has in common with his mother, he's managed to come to a place in his life where he doesn't drink as much as he used to, and he no longer needs it to have a good time. But should anything disastrous ever happen, the chances of him finding himself crawling into a bottle are very high since that's the first coping mechanism he'll reach for.