Rawls (portrayed by John Doman) is a tough-as-nails Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations, also called Deputy Ops known for chewing out command staff who failed to produce numbers the department wanted to see.He's married, but has been seen frequenting gay bars, leading those few who have seen him there, to believe he may partake in such activity.A longtime associate of Commissioner Burrell, Rawls made a play to be the next commissioner, but was shot down by politics because of being a white deputy under a white mayor in a black-majority city.He's known as a good cop, but one who plays favorites. He knows the scoop long before the politicians do, but doesn't always tell them what's going on.