 Most of Sipowicz's hostility toward Fancy was caused by Sipowicz's troubled past with African Americans stemming from his childhood and early days on the force infiltrating the Black Panther Party.Fancy at the same time had dealt with bigoted white police officers since his days at the police academy and was not easily intimidated by Sipowicz's racist attitudes.Fancy and Sipowicz clashed many times throughout the early years, most notably over a racially charged police shooting and Sipowicz's exchange of racist words with a black community activist, but eventually they grew to admire each other's talents.