his speech with Spanish words and phrases, occasionally to the latter's mild irritation. Though generally suspicious of poor immigrants (sometimes calling them "third-world brown types"), he is very compassionate toward victims, whatever their background. In later episodes of the series, Hunter often expresses admiration and respect for ancient tribal practices and artifacts and is less patronizing. Hunter is a very capable officer, skilled in unarmed combat (e.g., taekwondo) and an expert in weaponry; nevertheless, his handling of many an inanimate object (e.g., a paper towel dispenser) often results in comic situations. His attempts to acquire sophisticated weaponry (such as the PANDA "urban tank") often fail spectacularly and only serve to hinder his career ambitions (one such incident directly resulted in him being placed dead last on the captaincy list). Despite these mishaps, however, Hunter is held in high regard by almost everyone at Hill Street. He initially butts heads with Henry Goldblume, a person on the opposite side of the spectrum politically and personality-wise. He sometimes has conflicts with Captain Furillo, believing that militaristic action is often the best solution to a situation, though he is bound by his loyalty to his superior, and Furillo respects his abilities. In later seasons he mellows somewhat, and prefers to resolve situations with as little violence as possible. Often he has tried to find female companionship, but he has never been able to keep a steady significant other; the longest relationship he has had was with nurse Linda Wulfawitz in season 3. In season 4, he also had lunch dates with both Lucy Bates and Fay Furillo that proved major disasters. He joined the police department directly following his service in Vietnam, wearing badge 1146 in the Midtown Precinct; while there, he was compelled to serve as a bagman for dishonest officers, and the later revelation in season 4 of that activity embarrassed Hunter to the point of attempting suicide (an act circumvented by J.D. LaRue). Initially a Sergeant, he is promoted to (or perhaps merely re-written as) Lieutenant early in season 1 without mention. In season 7, Hunter is involved in a controversial off-duty shooting and is demoted to sergeant; with the retirement of Jablonski he becomes the new desk sergeant, known for ending his Roll Call with a succinct "dismissed", before eventually being restored to Lieutenant and commander of the EAT. Throughout most of the series, he expresses admiration for Chief