Assigned to Newton Division, the poorest all-black division in the department, Fehler, like Plebesly, is also paired with a veteran officer nearing retirement, but the two experiences seemingly could not be more different. Whitey Duncan is an alcoholic, and as Fehler soon discovers, and drinks on the job from bottles concealed inside police callboxes. He exhibits an unpretentious street wisdom, though, that Fehler, in his conceit and scorn for Whitey, misses entirely. Roy, who has considered himself reasonable and thoughtful in all respects that his peers are not, develops a negative attitude toward the department's bureaucratic indifference that rivals that of any 20-year veteran.