Ben Schroeder

Ben Schroeder
Affiliation	Metro-Dade Detective Sergeant, Internal Affairs Division
Born	1940
Episode(s)	"One Eyed Jack"
Played By	Dan Hedaya

Detective Sergeant Ben Schroeder (born 1940) was an officer with the Metro-Dade Police Department, assigned to Internal Affairs Division. When Vincent DeMarco attempted to frame Crockett for corruption, Schroeder ruthlessly investigated the case.

Biography

When Crockett began applying pressure to Vincent DeMarco over his treatment of Jerry and Barbara Carrow, who were indebted to the loan shark, DeMarco and his boss devised a plan to frame Crockett for corruption. To this end, they contacted Metro-Dade IAD and accused Crockett of taking bribes; Schroeder was assigned to the case, and DeMarco subsequently arranged for the IAD detective to witness Crockett receiving an $8,000 "pay-off" (in fact a reimbursement for tools seized from Jerry Carrow by DeMarco's people) in return for immunity from prosecution. Schroeder immediately arrested Crockett, calling him a "One Eyed Jack".

As part of his investigation, Schroeder gained access to all of Crockett's arrest files, gleefully antagonizing the Vice cop as he searched through them for any signs of misconduct. However, Schroeder overstepped the line when he burst into Castillo's office and began berating Crockett in front of his superior for missing a hearing regarding his case -- having looked through Crockett's files himself and learned of the detective's exemplary arrest record himself, Castillo pointed out that Schroeder had almost certainly been "had" by DeMarco. Schroeder left OCB humiliated, and Tubbs was subsequently able to obtain a confession from DeMarco proving that the allegations against Crockett had been false, thereby exonerating him.