Irvin R. Irving is the husband of Connie Irving, the father of George Irving, a Los Angeles city councilman, and a former Deputy Chief with the Los Angeles Police Department. He joined the LAPD in 1955, and considers himself to be "a slow-moving, careful policeman" who does "not like shortcuts" and refuses to be spoken to with abbreviations (detesting, for instance, the use of the shorthand "FBI" in place of the Federal Bureau of Investigation). He is physically distinctive with a shaved head and protruding jaw muscles that he intentionally clenches and flexes to intimidate others. This is hard on his teeth, and he must get new molar implants every 18 months.
As a patrolman, Irving's serial number was #1906. In late October of 1961, Irving found the body of a prostitute strangled in an alleyway off of Hollywood Boulevard. In 1990 he is involved in disciplining Harry Bosch for his actions in the Dollmaker case, resulting in Bosch being reassigned from RHD to the Hollywood Division. In May of 1991, he assigned IAD detectives Pierce Lewis and Don Clarke to investigate Bosch again in connection with the murder of Billy Meadows and the break-in at WestLand National Bank. At the conclusion of that case, Irving decides to keep Bosch at Hollywood under the supervision of Lt. Harvey Pounds.
By December of 1992, he had been promoted to the position of Assistant Chief, and assigned the investigation into the Christmas night death of Narcotics detective Calexico Moore to RHD detective Frankie Sheehan and IAD detective John Chastain. He gave the "dirty work" of next-of-kin notification to Hollywood detective Harry Bosch. On December 29th, he attended Moore's funeral and spoke with Bosch about what the detective had uncovered during a trip to Calexico and Mexicali.
In November of 1993, he testified in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by Deborah Church against detective Bosch for the death of her husband in August of 1991. He later revealed to Bosch that the prostitute that Irving had found in 1961 was, in fact, Bosch's mother.
In September of 1996, Irving arranged a meeting between Bosch and federal agents when an undercover agent accused Bosch of planting evidence to frame him for a murder.
In April of 1999, Irving called Bosch to specially request his team in the investigation into the murders of housekeeper Catalina Perez and civil rights attorney Howard Elias.
In January of 2001, he interrogated private investigator Rudy Tafero along with District Attorney Alice Short, Sheriff's detective Jaye Winston, and FBI agent Don Twilley regarding the murder of Edward Gunn and the attempted murder of former FBI profiler Terry McCaleb.
When William J. Bratton was named the new Chief of Police, Irving was moved to the Office of Strategic Planning in the City Hall Annex. When Bosch returned from retirement in 2004, Irving visited Parker Center to deliver a veiled threat to the detective.
On 3 October 2011, Irving used his political power to have Bosch assigned to investigate the death of his son, George Irving, who had fallen seven stories from room #79 of the Chateau Marmont Hotel. He subsequently lost his bid for reelection to the city council.
Portrayal
Irving is played by Lance Reddick in the streaming series Bosch.
Appearances
- The Black Echo
- The Black Ice
- The Concrete Blonde
- The Last Coyote (mentioned)
- Trunk Music
- Angels Flight
- A Darkness More Than Night
- City of Bones (mentioned)
- The Narrows (mentioned)
- The Closers
- The Drop
- The Black Box (mentioned)
- Bosch