This article lists characters who have appeared on the Canadian drama-action television series Flashpoint.
SRU The Strategic Response Unit, modelled after the Toronto Police Service's Emergency Task Force unit,Amy Jo Johnson in the Flashpoint. Retrieved on August 18, 2008. is responsible for high-risk situations that cannot be resolved by regular police officers, such as activities involving armed criminals or explosives, or requiring hostage rescues or counter-terrorism measures. The SRU is also responsible for providing support to other police officers when requested. There are several teams within the SRU, Team One being the primary unit featured in the show.
Main characters Character Portrayed by Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 Sgt. Gregory "Greg" Parker Enrico Colantoni colspan="5" Cst. Edward "Ed" Lane Hugh Dillon colspan="5" Cst. Julianna "Jules" Callaghan Amy Jo Johnson colspan="5" Cst. Samuel "Sam" Braddock David Paetkau colspan="5" Cst. Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti Sergio Di Zio colspan="5" Cst./Det. Kevin "Wordy" James Wordsworth Michael Cram colspan="4" Cst. Lewis "Lou" Young Mark Taylor colspan="2" colspan="3" Dr. Amanda Luria Ruth Marshall colspan="4" Cst. Winnie Camden Tattiawna Jones colspan="4" Cst. Leah Kerns Oluniké Adeliyi colspan="2" colspan="1" Cst. Rafik "Raf" Rousseau Clé Bennett colspan="3"
Greg Parker
Sergeant Gregory "Greg" Parker is Team One's Sergeant and team leader, functioning as their main crisis negotiator. As such, he prefers that situations be resolved through negotiations instead of lethal force, keeping that as a last resort. He learned the art of negotiation when he was able to survive a hard life under his strict father.CTV's official bio of Gregory Greg Parker. Retrieved on August 18, 2008.
Prior to joining the SRU Parker served as a homicide detective, the stresses of which caused him to develop an alcohol addiction which resulted in his divorce and estrangement from his wife and son Dean. His ex-wife gained full custody of Dean and they moved to Dallas, Texas.
Greg's own troubled personal history is frequently used by himself as a way to connect to both incident subjects and innocents alike, but can also be a weakness that sees him struggle to always follow the rules of the job. This caring nature puts him under increased scrutiny during season 4 when he knowingly allows Sam and Jules' relationship to develop beyond the professional, which almost sees him lose his position within the SRU. He himself during this time also develops a romantic relationship with a woman named Marina, which he himself is shown to be torn over due to having met after she was the victim in an incident the team responded to.
Greg's attempts to reconnect with Dean form the main series arc for himself, with early attempts to reconnect both via mail and a personal visit being rebuffed, though beginning in season 3 Dean slowly begins to reconnect with his father and eventually moves back to Toronto. Dean's subsequent announcement he intends to follow his father by joining the police causes subsequent friction, though Greg eventually accepts his son's decision.
In the two-part series finale, "Keep the Peace", Greg is shot in the leg while disarming a bomb, forcing his retirement from the SRU. A year later he subsequently takes up a teaching position at the police academy, and is at ease in his relationship with Marina.
Ed Lane
Constable (later Sergeant) Edward "Ed" Lane is a veteran of the Strategic Response Unit; he serves as the team's tactical leader in the field. Though he has been trained to use lethal force and keeps up a cool façade in front of his team, Ed remains troubled with the fact that he sometimes needs to use it to save the lives of others.CTV's official bio of Ed Lane. Retrieved on August 18, 2008.Hugh do you think you are?. Retrieved on August 18, 2008.
During earlier seasons Ed's inability to open up about the trauma he suffers as a result of the job as well as its unpredictable hours slowly begins to impact his relationship with his wife, Sophie, and teenage son, Clark, leading to a temporary estrangement from Sophie in particular during season 3 after she falls pregnant. The couple are able to work through their problems following Ed being shot in the finale of season 3 and following the birth of their daughter Isabelle, with Ed working on rebalancing his personal life commitments with his professional ones.
His relationship with Clark however remains under tension throughout the show's run. While always loving, Ed is shown to frequently struggle to connect with his son due to their differing personalities as well as what Ed sees in the job seeing him wanting to protect Clark from falling into such situations. In season 5 this is thrown into further strain when Clark, along with Greg's son Dean, shows an interest in joining the police like his father and uncle.
Ed is not the only member of his family in uniform, with his brother Roy a detective within the Guns and Gangs Task Force. Despite both being cops his relationship with his brother is strained due to Roy's resentment of Ed's success while Ed views his brother as a loose cannon who is incapable of following procedure. During season 3 this friction sees Roy accidentally cause his partner's death during an attempted bust of a gun dealer, with Roy almost dying in a subsequent "off the books" personal investigation to atone for his mistake. This event, which successfully causes the arrest of a major gun smuggler, sees the pair finally reconcile.
In the opening episode of season five, "Broken Peace", Ed is forced to fatally shoot a young woman to stop her from killing her abusive father while he holds her mother at gunpoint. While the team are cleared as they were following protocol, Ed is left guilt-ridden from the incident and eventually seeks counselling as he struggles with doubts regarding his fitness to lead the team though eventually comes to terms with the imperfections of the job.
After the events of "Keep the Peace", Ed is promoted to Sergeant of Team One following Greg's forced retirement due to his injuries.
Jules Callaghan
Constable Julianna "Jules" Callaghan begins the series serving as the team's secondary sniper to Ed as well as a secondary negotiator to Greg. Before joining the SRU, Jules served as an officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceCTV's official bio of Julianna Jules Callaghan. Retrieved on August 18, 2008. having followed her father into the police service (despite his reservations). Initially Jules is shown to be the only woman currently serving on an SRU team (leading the changing rooms to be labelled 'Men' and 'Jules' at the series outset). While used to working in male-dominated environments, growing up as the only girl in a family of five children, she is shown to feel the pressure placed on her keenly through the series' run with fears that she is under more scrutiny as a result.
The relationship between Jules and Sam Braddock serves as the pairs' main arc throughout the show's run. In season one both allow their relationship to stray from professional to romantic, despite knowing the possible professional ramifications (with Jules suspecting they'd land on her more than Sam). Jules is shot by a sniper during the events of the finale of the first season, the resulting period of recuperation seeing her end their relationship (by then an open secret amongst the team) due to her belief it could cause problems for and within the 'family' (SRU Team One). During this time her status as the only woman on an SRU team comes to an end after Donna Sabine (Jessica Steen) succeeds in stepping in to her spot on the team, who after Jules' recovery moves to Team Three.
Despite the initial ending of their romantic relationship the pair remain close, eventually rekindling it during season four. Though they attempt to keep it a secret, Greg soon becomes aware of the relationship but agrees to cover for them. The relationship leaks out however following a stray comment on an incident audio transcript, with the team placed under investigation as a result while Greg is temporarily suspended. The situation is resolved following an incident in the season four finale where the pair are shown to be capable of maintaining professional standards despite their romantic relationship, where Sam follows "Priority of Life" in extracting a seriously wounded hostage ahead of Jules despite the decision possibly leading to Jules' death, with both allowed to remain serving on Team One. During season five Jules' is revealed to be pregnant, and the pair marry in the opening of "Keep the Peace". Following the finale's year jump the pair are shown to have a daughter, Sadie.
Sam Braddock
Constable Samuel "Sam" Braddock joins Team One during the events of the pilot episode to replace the newly promoted Roland 'Rolie' Cray. Prior to joining the SRU, Sam had spent time within the police before serving in the Canadian Army' as a special forces sniper with Joint Task Force 2 in Afghanistan.CTV's official bio of Sam Braddock. Retrieved on August 18, 2008. At the beginning of the series his sudden desire to transfer to the police is left unexplained, only later being revealed that he had left under a cloud following a mission that resulted in him killing his best friend following a miscommunication of orders.
Due to his regimented upbringing and experiences in the military, Sam is shown to initially struggle with connecting with incident subjects when it comes to negotiation (at one point during a simulated exercise heatedly calling a 'drug dealer' a "jackass") but is routinely relied upon when dealing with subjects from a military background. Sam's views on the use of force when dealing with subjects also evolves over the course of the series, going from initially viewing it as a more reliable solution to a more nuanced approach. He is however frequently relied upon for situations that may require lethal force due to his background.
As already mentioned, much of Sam's series arc relates to his relationship with Jules. Despite an initial image of being a ladies man within the team given his background, he is shown to be more emotionally vulnerable romantically with him being the one opposed to and affected by the initial ending of their relationship at the start of season two. He is also shown to be more than a little bit conflicted when Jules briefly dates a paramedic, Steve Morgan, whom she knew from school during season three.
Little of his home life is shown other than he had grown up in a high-ranking military family (his father mentioned to hold the rank of General), though had suffered tragedy after witnessing a younger sister being fatally struck by a car. He is also shown to be somewhat jealous of his other sister, Natalie, due to her carefree nature and the few expectations placed on her in comparison to those that were placed on him by his father.
At the conclusion of the series he is shown to have recently been promoted to leader of Team Three.
Michelangelo Scarlatti
Constable Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti is the team's technical analyst and demolitions expert who usually provides communications support and surveillance from the command post.CTV's official bio on Mike 'Spike' Scarlatti. Retrieved on August 18, 2008. During his free time he is sometimes seen trying to perfect various gadgets or trying out his anti-explosives robot, nicknamed "Babycakes". He was nicknamed 'Spike' by his former training officer because of his usually 'spikey' hair.