Tutuola was raised in the Harlem area of New York City and was six during the 1968 riots following the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination , making his birth year 1961 or 1962 . When he was a child , he witnessed his mother being murdered by a business rival of his father , a petty criminal ; 30 years later , while investigating an unrelated case , he inadvertently discovered that his mother 's killer was himself murdered . According to the Season 11 episode " Disabled , " Tutuola , while still in the police academy , was forced by circumstances to place his maternal grandfather , whom he credits for raising him , in a nursing home . His grandfather later died as a result of abuse from the staff . Tutuola later describes this action as " the worst decision he ever made " , and says that in his grief , rage , and guilt , he repeatedly started fights with fellow officers " for the hell of it " and was almost kicked off the force until an academy instructor intervened and helped him salvage his career . Tutuola was previously a US Army Ranger and served on two tours . His military background remains sketchy as he rarely speaks of it or only makes vague and indirect references to it ; however , in season 10 , he explicitly mentions serving on Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia in order to connect with a military rape victim
Martin Luther King Jr. assassination
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Fin Tutuola