Character summary Mackey's surname is of
Irish or
Scottish origin, and he is occasionally seen in a
shamrock T-shirt. He also mentions that his father was a
bricklayer. In the show's fifth season, he tells Lt.
Jon Kavanaugh that he has been a police officer for fourteen years. In a DVD commentary for season four, Chiklis mentions that the strike team members are from the same areas as the actors who portray them, implying that Mackey is a native of the
Boston, Massachusetts area. Mackey works for the
Los Angeles Police Department in the fictional Farmington district of Los Angeles, an area plagued with gang-related violence, drugs, and prostitution. He leads the 'Strike Team,' an experimental anti-gang unit.
The Shield and the Strike Team were inspired by the
Rampart Division Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit within the Los Angeles Police Department. The team initially consists of four members, Shane Vendrell, Curtis Lemansky, and Ronnie Gardocki, led by Vic. They are all close friends, although this friendship is tested multiple times throughout the series. Mackey and the Strike Team use criminal methods to coerce information and stage arrests and take a share of various drug busts.
Wired highlight the loyalty of the Strike Team to Vic, "no matter how far he crosses the line." At the start of the series, Vic is happily married to his wife, Corrine, and they have three children, Matthew, Megan and Cassidy. Both Matthew and Megan are diagnosed with
autism. The high costs incurred as a result of their tuition fees often form the justification for some of Vic's corruption. Vic struggles at times to keep his work and family separate, ultimately leading to the collapse of his marriage at the end of the first season. Though he had cheated on his wife, he was devastated when she left him. Vic's attempts to stay one step ahead of not only his superior, David Aceveda (who is fully aware of Vic's criminality), but of
IAD, various drug lords, gangsters and other criminals, all while trying to be a caring father and family man, are prominent plot devices throughout the series.
Murdering Terry Crowley In the pilot episode, Vic murders the fifth and newest member of his team, Detective Terry Crowley. Crowley had been sent by Captain David Aceveda and the
Justice Department to build a Federal case against the Strike Team for colluding with drug lord Rondell Robinson. Vic is secretly warned of this by his friend, Assistant Chief Ben Gilroy. Vic and Shane both agree to murder Crowley for his betrayal and to ensure their freedom. During a
raid on the house of drug dealer "Two Time," Vic kills Two Time, but then picks up Two Time's gun and shoots Crowley in the face. Vic and Shane then rig the crime scene evidence, claiming that Two Time stepped out of the bathroom, shot Terry, and was slain by their return fire. This sets in motion events that loom over the Strike Team throughout the series. Shane expresses remorse and guilt in the aftermath of the murder, but Vic remains stoic, though he would later express his own feelings of regret about it. Aceveda is convinced of Mackey's guilt in the murder, but is unable to prove it.
Robbing the Armenian Mob At the conclusion of the second season, Mackey and the Strike Team rob the 'Armenian money train' - a train transporting the bi-yearly illegal profits of the
Armenian mob out of Los Angeles. Mackey justifies this crime by stating the money is better off in the Strike Team's pockets, to be spent on their families, than in the hands of the Armenians. Lemansky is the only member of the team to show reluctance at partaking in the robbery, but does so anyway. Like the Crowley murder, the fallout from the money train robbery lingers over the team throughout the series. During season three, the Armenian mob send a feared hitman, Margos Dezerian, to Los Angeles to retrieve the money train cash. Margos' search begins to point towards Vic and the Strike Team, despite the team framing a low-level hoodlum (who is murdered by Margos) to draw away suspicion. To protect himself and the team, Vic lures Margos to a house and murders him, rigging the crime scene to make it look like self-defence.
Disbandment and reformation of the Strike Team At the end of season three, with Aceveda and the Armenian mob seemingly closing in on them, Lemansky burns the money train cash to ensure their freedom. This causes deep resentment between Lemansky and the rest of the team, particularly Shane. Lem offers to transfer off the Strike Team, but with news that the team will be disbanded if that happens, Vic makes attempts to reconcile with Lem. Shane, however, proves intransigent, and is unable to make peace, leading to the disbandment of the Strike Team. Season four begins with Vic working solely with Gardocki, both now relegated largely to desk work since the team's disbandment. Shane has moved on to
vice, whereas Lem now handles
juvenile crime. Their friendships with both Vic and each other have become estranged. Shane becomes deeply involved with a drug lord named Antwon Mitchell, becoming too deep when Mitchell attempts to frame Shane for murder. Shane pleads to Vic for help and Vic comes to the aid of his former best friend, joined by Ronnie, and eventually by Lemansky too. After taking down Mitchell, the camaraderie shown during the ordeal sees their strong friendship rekindle and the Strike Team is reformed.
Internal affairs investigation and Lemansky's death In season five, Lieutenant
Jon Kavanaugh of
internal affairs attempts to send Vic to prison for Terry's murder. Vic and Shane, however, calmly stick to their original story and Kavanaugh's crusade ultimately changes into a personal vendetta which destroys his career. Nonetheless, throughout the course of these events Curtis Lemansky is arrested by Kavanagh on charges relating to some stolen heroin found in Lemansky's car, which Lemansky failed to report as evidence. A sinister plot between Kavanagh and Acevada has Shane wrongly fearing that Lemansky will betray the team to cut a better deal. Shane kills Lemansky to protect his own freedom. This sets in motion the downfall of the Strike Team and its members. Around the same time, Vic learns he is being forced into
early retirement after he reaches his 15 year milestone, a short time away.
Downfall Seasons six and seven portrays the downfall of Mackey and the Strike Team. Vic learns of Shane's murder of Lemansky (though not before torturing and murdering the primary suspect, Guardo Lima) and cannot forgive him for it. He subsequently becomes a lot closer to Gardocki, now his sole friend. With no chance of repairing their friendship, Vic, Ronnie and Shane each orchestrate assassination attempts against one another. The attempts fail, though Shane's assassination attempt on Ronnie is exposed, setting off a series of events ultimately leading to Shane's suicide. During the chaos, Vic's appeal against his forced retirement fails, and, with ten days remaining on the job, chooses to resign, knowing Captain Wyms will restrict him to desk work if he remains. The Strike Team, which Ronnie has been the
de jure leader of since the news of Vic's impending retirement, is disbanded once again. In the meantime, Vic's ex-wife Corrine has since become fearful of him. She was especially disturbed by news from Mara, Shane's wife, that Vic tried to kill her and Shane, despite Mara's pregnancy. Corrine wants Vic out of her and her children's lives. She has since been working with the police to put Vic in jail. The police begin to suspect Vic is becoming wise to Corrine's cooperation with them, so to maintain her cover, Corrine is mock-arrested in front of Vic. Vic now believes Corrine is in serious trouble with the law, and resolves to help her, unaware of her betrayal of him. In exchange for helping
ICE develop a Federal case against Beltran, a drug lord, Vic arranges for full immunity for himself and for Corrine. He is unable to secure the same deal for Ronnie and decides to leave him out. The immunity agreement also provides Mackey three years' employment with ICE, which he assumes will involve work as a
field agent. Mackey admits to all the crimes he has committed including the slayings of Terry Crowley, Margos Dezerian, Guardo Lima, and many others, and receives full immunity from prosecution for all of them. After he details all of his crimes, a horrified ICE Agent Olivia Murray tells Vic that he has "implicated Gardocki in enough shit to put him away for the rest of his life." Vic responds that he needs Ronnie's help to bust Beltran and that he would, "string him along," until then. In the aftermath of Beltran's arrest, Captain Wyms summons Vic and Ronnie back to their former precinct. She then brings Vic into the interrogation room and reads Shane's suicide letter aloud, while showing him photographs of his body. Although Vic and Shane's relationship was shattered by this point, Vic is nonetheless devastated. He restrains himself from reacting emotionally when he notices the surveillance camera that Wyms is watching him on. He then tears the camera off the wall and smashes it on the floor. Vic then watches in horror as Ronnie Gardocki, his last remaining friend, is placed under arrest. Gardocki is informed that Vic took the deal with ICE and confessed to everything the Strike Team did as part of his immunity deal, leaving Ronnie to take the fall for all of it and be sent to prison. Enraged and devastated that Vic lied to him and sold him out, Ronnie screams profanity at Vic as the former is handcuffed and led away. Vic explains that he thought Corrine was in trouble and did not think he had a choice. As his former colleagues eye him with frigid loathing, Wyms dismisses Vic. Vic leaves the precinct for the last time in disgrace.
Epilogue Frightened by what actions Vic may take for her attempts to send him to prison, Vic's ex-wife Corinne pleads with Wyms for protection from him. In response, they approach ICE Agent Olivia Murray and advise her that taking Vic's children away was the best means of hurting him. Corinne and the children disappear into the
Witness Protection Program. In the aftermath, Vic begs for the opportunity to say goodbye to his children. Unmoved, Agent Murray responds, "You said goodbye to them the moment you shot another cop in the face." Realizing that the deal includes no stipulations about the capacity in which ICE must employ Vic, Murray vows to make his three years at the agency as unpleasant as possible by severely curtailing his duties. Vic is assigned to a desk job, forbidden to carry a weapon while on duty, and required to write a 10-page duty report every day and submit to weekly drug testing. She makes it clear to Vic that even the smallest violation of these condition will result in his immunity being revoked and certain prison time. Sitting in a
cubicle and isolated from his family and former colleagues, Vic decorates his desk with pictures of his children, and a photo of himself drinking beer with Lemansky. He does not add any pictures of Shane, Ronnie, or Corinne. Hearing police sirens one night while doing paperwork, Mackey looks out the office window. Returning to his desk, Vic's eyes fill with tears as he stares at the photographs of his children. He becomes visibly angry, retrieves his weapon, holsters it under his shirt, and walks off into the night.
Relationships Relationship with Shane Mackey's relationship with Detective
Shane Vendrell has been described as the "centrepiece of
The Shield". Shane was Vic's best friend since before the creation of the Strike Team. The season two prequel episode 'Co-Pilot' shows that they were partners before the events of season one. The strength of their friendship is evident in season one, in how Vic initially only keeps Shane informed of some of his darker schemes, leaving Lem and Ronnie out. However, their relationship eventually becomes strained when Shane enters into a serious relationship with Mara, who is very demanding of his time. After Lemansky burns the money train cash, Vic is unable to resolve the subsequent animosity between Lemansky and Shane. Indeed, he finds himself embroiled in it when Shane accuses Vic of taking other people's side against him when they are supposed to be best friends. Vic calls Mara a bitch who has got Shane so twisted that he cannot think straight anymore. The two fall out, and the strike team is disbanded. During season 4 Shane and Vic reconcile after Shane gets involved with the drug lord and gang leader
Antwon Mitchell, who kills a young girl using Shane's gun. Blackmailing Shane, he offers to hand her body over to him in return for the body of Vic Mackey. Shane contacts Vic to meet him alone. After convincing Vic of his innocence in the girl's murder, the two men work together again, along with Ronnie and Lem, to save Shane's career and put Antwon behind bars. Following this, the Strike Team is reformed. When Vic learns the truth about Shane's murder of Lem, Vic confronts Shane, and tells him that if he ever sees him again, he would kill him. Shane drives off, calling Vic a
hypocrite. Vic and Ronnie ultimately decide that the time had come for Shane to pay with his life for murdering Lem. They arrange for him to be assassinated by a Mexican
drug cartel. At the last second, Vic tries to call off the hit on Shane, but was unable to reach Shane on his cell phone. Through
sheer luck, Shane survives. Vic later expresses regret over this incident. In a conversation with Ronnie, Vic reminds himself that he and Shane go back a very long time and that Shane used to be different. He surmises that Shane's change for the worse is a result of Vic's own influence on him, and resolves to help Shane instead of killing him. Shane, unaware of Vic's feelings, decides to retaliate by
blackmailing a small-time
pimp into murdering Ronnie in his apartment, while preparing to murder Vic at Vic's apartment himself. The attempt on Ronnie's life is botched, as well as Vic's when Ronnie alerts him about what happened. The pimp is later apprehended, and reveals the truth, forcing Shane to flee and go on the run with his pregnant wife and son. Shane tries to force Vic to provide him with enough money to escape and information to keep the LAPD away until that can happen, but a series of mistakes by Shane leads to his decision to turn Vic in and accept his likely life sentence in prison, as long as he can get immunity for Mara on the way. When Vic intercepts a confession letter that Shane sent to the precinct that outlined all of his crimes, he uses it to get an immunity deal of his own with ICE, that will cover both him and Ronnie. Vic later goes for and gets the deal for himself when he believes he has to betray Ronnie in order to save his wife from being arrested and sent to jail (not realizing that his wife was part of a setup to try and get Vic arrested and jailed without Shane's input). Ultimately, Shane is horrified to learn of Vic's immunity deal during a
cell phone conversation, where Shane's sneering comments about how Vic's wife betrayed him lead Vic to coldly outline how he'll always be there to tell Shane's kids his dirty stories while he and Mara serve life sentences, and then hang up on Shane for the last time. As a result of Vic's taunts, Shane murders his pregnant wife, Mara, and his son Jackson by poison. As his fellow officers kick down the door, Shane shoots himself in the head. In the series finale, Vic places a picture of himself and Lem on his new desk at ICE headquarters. Though originally, the picture was of all four members of the Strike Team, Vic seems to have cropped Shane and Ronnie out of the frame, unable to reconcile himself with Shane's betrayal of Lem and subsequent suicide.
Relationship with Ronnie Digital Spy write that
Ronnie Gardocki "showed his loyalty to Vic [...] more than any of the others". The
Los Angeles Times also describe Gardocki as "unreasonably loyal" to Vic. When the Strike Team is temporarily disbanded at the end of season three, Ronnie is the only one to stay by Vic's side when Shane and Lem went their separate ways. Gardocki's loyalty is exhibited best when Shane reveals his and Vic's murder of Terry Crowley years earlier, in order to drive a wedge between the remaining two members of the Strike Team. Ronnie reveals to Vic that he had long suspected the latter's involvement and that he understands why Vic did what he did. Furthermore, Ronnie adds that he could have provided Mackey with emotional support after the murder, citing that he would have "looked out for [Mackey] better" than Vendrell did. Ronnie panics at the thought of Shane, now a fugitive, being arrested and confessing to the many crimes committed by the Strike Team and even considers running to
Mexico. However, Vic dissuades him and tries to arrange
ICE jobs for the both of them. When ICE offers Vic immunity but not Ronnie, Vic refuses to accept unless Ronnie receives a similar deal too. However, after witnessing the staged arrest of his ex-wife, Corinne, Vic takes the deal and confesses to everything. After Beltran's arrest, Vic and Ronnie are summoned back to The Barn. Believing that they are both safe forever, Ronnie is shocked when he is handcuffed. Enraged and devastated by Vic's betrayal, Ronnie shouts profanity at his former mentor. Vic is noticeably crushed by seeing his last remaining friend arrested. In the series finale, Vic is seen placing a picture of himself and Lem on his new desk at ICE headquarters. Though originally the picture was of all four members of the Strike Team at a celebration, Vic cropped Shane and Ronnie out of the frame, unable to reconcile himself with his own betrayal of Ronnie.
Relationship with Lemansky Lem is described as "loyal to Mackey, and goes along with the [...] team's schemes even when it gives him a guilty conscience." Lem was reluctant to participate in the robbing of the Armenian mob, and his subsequent burning of the money train cash to elude capture ignites antagonism between him and Shane Vendrell, which ultimately brings the entire team's existence to an end. When the Strike Team eventually returns, Vic had Lem get collateral from a drug dealer to ensure a tip regarding the whereabouts of a body that could implicate Shane. Lemansky takes a brick of
heroin from the dealer. The heroin is later seized by IAD from Lemansky's car and Lemansky then becomes a means with which Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh can take down the entire Strike Team. Lem's loyalty is tested when he found out Vic killed Terry, but he remains loyal to the team. After hearing false reports that Lemansky is considering testifying against the team for a lighter sentence, Shane kills Lem with a grenade. A running theme in the last few seasons of the series was Vic's regret towards what happened to Lem. In the aftermath, Vic undertook several actions to avenge Lem's death, including torturing and killing suspect Guardo Lima and trying to murder real killer Shane Vendrell on multiple occasions after he learns of Shane's role in Lem's death. Lem, the only one Vic still had an untainted friendship with, remained the one Strike Team member in the Strike Team photo in Vic's cubicle at ICE.
Relationship with Aceveda Personality clashes play a major part in the premise of
The Shield, and the clash between Mackey and
David Aceveda has been described as the most prominent.
The Guardian also notes the internal conflict between Mackey and Aceveda as being one of the highlights of the programme. The tension between Mackey and Aceveda evolves in different ways over the course of
The Shield. Although Aceveda privately detests Mackey, he was not above breaking the law himself. He also frequently blurs the lines between investigating Mackey and protecting him.
Wired suggests Aceveda is only "interested in leveraging what [he knows] (or, at least, suspects) about the Strike Team to climb further up the ladder." In the first season, Aceveda is heavily bent on proving Mackey's guilt, putting all his effort into taking him down. While Mackey detests Aceveda's political ambitions, Aceveda continued to label Mackey as "
Al Capone with a badge." At the start of the second season, Aceveda, not wanting a scandal in the midst of his political career, agrees to watch Mackey's back if he could make the Strike Team appear to clean up their act and exhibit professionalism at all times. This creates a very subtle, bumpy friendship between the two. This friendship, however, ends when Aceveda left for his
City Council position, but not before writing a scathing letter that makes Mackey out to be an ineffective detective and accusing him of Terry Crowley's murder, irreparably damaging his career. After Vic arranges an immunity deal with ICE, Aceveda is enraged that Vic can never be prosecuted for any of his crimes. The two collaborate one last time, however, in order to arrange the arrest of drug lord Guillermo Beltran. While speaking over the phone, Aceveda expresses satisfaction that ICE had realized that, "they have a reptile working for them." Uninterested in Aceveda's views on his character, Vic coldly reminded Aceveda about "respecting each others' endgames", marking the final communication between the two men.
Other relationships Mackey's training officer and first partner was
Joe Clark, who taught him how to deal with violent street criminals and how to bend the laws to his advantage. Clark was eventually dismissed from the force for beating a suspect. Clark's legacy to Vic was the justification that they always "did more good than bad". In season 6, Mackey re-encounters Clark, who has become a for-hire enforcer who uses his intimidation skills from his days as a cop to earn an income. Mackey participates in one raid, and realizes this type of occupation is both dangerous and unnecessarily cruel. Mackey also has a close friendship with a prostitute,
Connie Reisler, whom in an unseen story he found "lying in a bathroom in a pool of bloody crystals", trying to end her
pregnancy with
drain cleaner and a
plunger. He told her if she ever needed any help she could call him, and they developed a deep bond. However, Connie is killed in season two. For many years, Vic has an on-off sexual relationship with Sergeant
Danny Sofer and fathered her
illegitimate son Lee. Vic is later angered by Danny's attempts to have Vic sign documents legally abandoning his claim to being Lee's father. In season 6, Vic's daughter Cassidy angrily confronts Mackey after listening to her mother discussing the baby's paternity over the telephone. In season one, Mackey is nearly taken down when rookie Officer
Julien Lowe catches Vic and the Strike Team stealing cocaine from a crime scene. Although Julien approaches Captain Aceveda and promises to testify against Vic and the Team, Mackey swiftly obtains leverage against Julien. Vic discovers Julien is involved in a homosexual relationship with a wanted fugitive. Holding the upper hand, Vic threatens to denounce Julien's homosexuality to the entire precinct unless Julien recants his allegations. Julien, afraid of being outed, acquiesces to Vic's demands. In season six, Julien is promoted to the strike team by Captain Wyms. Despite their past differences, Julien and Mackey work well on cases together and show each other respect. Vic also has a notable relationship with Detective
Dutch Wagenbach. Vic perceives Dutch as arrogant, making him the target of Vic's practical jokes early in the series. The nature of their relationship often changes, however. After Dutch almost single-handedly apprehends a serial killer, Vic learns to respect him, and the practical jokes cease. They often cooperate on cases during this period and develop a minor friendship. This changes however when Dutch begins to correctly suspect that Mackey was behind the Armenian money train robbery. When Mackey learns that Dutch has been pointing the finger at him to Aceveda, Mackey's respect for Dutch evaporates and the practical jokes resume. During this time, Dutch begins a relationship with Vic's ex-wife Corrine, which he admits he started, at least initially, to get back at Vic. During a fight between Dutch and his new partner, Billings, Vic mocks Dutch during the brawl. When Vic attempts to split the fight up, Dutch punches Vic out of anger over the latter's bullying of him. Vic doesn't strike back, instead he lays off Dutch and the practical jokes cease once again. Dutch later helps Corrine try and have Vic arrested and later helps her enter Witness Protection. Vic initially has a neutral relationship with Detective
Claudette Wyms, the two initially share no friendship or antagonism, and even successfully collaborate in series one. Series two however sees Wyms unravel some of Vic and the Strike Team's corruption, and their relationship is permanently tainted. When Wyms is promoted to Captain in series six, this hostility remains. Similar to Aceveda before her, she tries unsuccessfully to have Vic brought to justice. ==Reception==