Mike Kellerman

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Detective Michael Scott Kellerman is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Reed Diamond. He is a main character from seasons 4-6, 1995-1998.

Kellerman was born in Baltimore to working class parents, the youngest of three sons. His father works at a distillery. He also has a sister who, by the time of the series, lived in St. Louis. He always wanted to be a cop and was a "good kid", quite different from his brothers Drew and Greg, who were always getting into trouble. Drew and Greg ended up drifting through much of the U.S., occasionally turning up to ask for money. They appeared in the fifth season episode "Wu's On First?" on the run from two bookies, owing a gambling debt to one and having stolen a Babe Ruth uniform from the other. They were estranged from their father, who referred to them as "hoodlums".

Kellerman worked his way up through the Baltimore Police Department, eventually landing the Arson unit. When a pair of teenagers were killed in a series of warehouse fires, Kellerman had to work alongside the Homicide unit. With Detectives Felton and Bolander on suspension, Lieutenant Al Giardello got Kellerman transferred to his unit. Kellerman was partnered with Meldrick Lewis, with whom he would work during most of his time with the squad.

Early in the fifth season, a federal grand jury was gathered to investigate corrupt cops in the arson unit, including Kellerman. He was put on desk duty, which greatly angered him because he felt that it gave him the image of being guilty. He had, in fact, been the only one of four officers investigated who had not taken money from a pair of arsonists (Matthew Rolen and his son). Kellerman refused to inform on his fellow cops, but the grand jury eventually did not indict. He could not put it behind him, however, as he was convinced no one would ever be completely sure that he wasn't corrupt. Intensely depressed, Kellerman slid into alcoholism and almost committed suicide, but Lewis managed to stop him from shooting himself.

While on desk duty, Kellerman met the new M.E., Julianna Cox, who had just lost her father. They consoled each other with a one night stand, then a rough, "not really together" kind of relationship until Julliana eventually left Baltimore at the end of season 6.

Kellerman and Lewis were put in charge of string of murders linked with drug kingpin and crime lord Luther Mahoney. Innocents and gangbangers alike fell because of Luther, but there was never enough evidence to link him to any of the crimes.

Eventually, a drug mule who had been transporting heroin from overseas was discovered dead in his motel room after one of the heroin-laden condoms in his stomach burst. Luther's shipment was switched with a fake, leading to a huge upset in his industry. Luther was monitored going to a meeting with one of his lieutenants — a meeting where he executed the lieutenant and inadvertently shot a bystander before speeding off.

Lewis pursued, and Kellerman and Detective Teri Stivers hopped in a vehicle moments later. They sped back to Luther's compound and stormed in, finding Luther with Lewis' own gun drawn on him. Kellerman gave one warning, and when Mahoney lowered his weapon, Kellerman shot him. They wrote up the incident as if Mahoney had had the gun raised, and the shooting was eventually ruled clean.

While Kellerman convinced himself that what he did was justified, Stivers was not so convinced, and Lewis eventually came to doubt it as well. Luther's empire was salvaged by his sister, Georgia Rae Mahoney, who was convinced that Kellerman had murdered her brother and sought revenge, eventually suing the city. Her son, Junior Bunk, was brought in for questioning after numerous high-ranking members of the Mahoney drug organization were found murdered. While in police custody, he seized a weapon from a desk drawer and started a firefight in the police station. Although he was ultimately shot dead by several detectives (including both Kellerman and Lewis, as well as Lt. Giardello), detectives Gharty and Ballard were injured, and three uniformed officers were killed. The police went out in force, and Bayliss subsequently took a bullet to the ribcage while shielding Pembleton from a shooter. Georgia Rae was eventually found dead, killed by her own people. Gee had Detectives Frank Pembleton and Falsone confront Kellerman, who admitted that Mahoney had the gun lowered.

Rather than have himself, Lewis, and Stivers all discharged, Kellerman resigned the force. He became a private investigator, but had lost the respect of most of the squad.

[edit] Trivia

In the episode "Something Sacred Pt.2" Kellerman can be heard singing the song "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" by The Pogues as he drunkenly stumbles out of a bar.