Daniels, supports him in disagreements and frequently tries to ingratiate himself. However, in the final episode, he tells Buntz that "Daniels doesn't care one bit about people like you and I". Officer, later Sergeant Lucille "Lucy" Bates (Betty Thomas, 1981–87) For much of the series, Bates is the sole female officer given story lines. Initially depicted as overly emotional and self-conscious of her 6'1" stature, Bates is rewritten as a tough, capable officer when she is partnered with Joe Coffey. Bates and Coffey have a complicated relationship, and she is often critical of his off-duty behavior, but the two are nonetheless close and very supportive of each other. An effective officer, she occasionally encounters conflicts of conscience in her work (including one episode in season 2 where her compassion for a prostitute she was about to arrest caused her to turn her back while the girl shot up heroin and overdosed). Though she tries to be "one of the boys," she is often critical of her colleagues when they exhibit unprofessional behavior, and sometimes assumes on a "big sister" role. Her relationship with Coffey is strained after both take the Sergeant exam; Coffey claims it will be easy, does not prepare and as a result scores poorly, while the better-prepared Bates scores excellent and is promoted. After a brief stint as desk sergeant in season 4, following the death of Esterhaus, she returned to partnering with Coffey on motor patrol with the arrival of Sergeant Jablonski; she also assumed occasional desk sergeant duties during emergencies and following the reinstatement of Hunter's lieutenancy near the end of the series. Bates eventually adopts a child, Fabian, the biological son of a drug-addicted mother. Detective John D. "J.D." LaRue (Kiel Martin, 1981–87) A talented undercover officer whose great detective skills are constantly marred by his poor choices: heavy drinking, womanizing, and frequent get-rich-quick schemes (such as "Saloondromat" — a bar and laundry — and his promotion of narcoleptic comic Vic Hitler). His recurrent battles with alcoholism have put him at odds with recovering alcoholic Captain Furillo, to the extent that Furillo nearly fired LaRue for arriving to a major undercover operation inebriated. Though his alcoholism eventually remains in check, he continues to have problems with Internal Affairs: J.D. cannot resist scams and constantly wants his friends to invest in schemes of questionable legality. LaRue is an inveterate practical joker, sometimes targeting Hunter's paramilitary