Lt. Thomas Bale (Played by Currie Graham) was a lieutenant who commanded the 15 squad. Bale replaced Gibson as squad commander at the beginning of Season 12. A former internal affairs officer, his original orders were to bring the supposed rogue unit into line. To this end, he cut down on overtime, fined officers who broke even the smallest rules, and chewed out anyone who didn't follow procedures 100 percent. The senior members of the squad, Sipowicz and Medavoy, believed he intended to ensure their retirement. He was eager to encourage Andy to take the sergeant's exam; passing would mean a uniformed assignment, removing him from the detective squad. When Medavoy was found to be moonlighting as a bar bouncer, Bale brought disciplinary charges against him, causing Medavoy to question his desire to remain a detective. During the investigation surrounding attacks on married men who were secretly gay, Sipowicz came across Bale's credit card in a suspect's apartment. When Andy returned it to a stunned Bale and told him the case was closed, and that he had no intention of looking into the circumstances or using the information against Bale, Bale's attitude changed. He remained an all-business supervisor, but trusted the detectives to run their cases and use their own judgment. Towards the end of the season Bale was shot during a raid and Sipowicz, now a uniformed sergeant, was ordered back to the detective squad temporarily to run the investigation. When Bale discovered he might not be able to return, he recommended Sipowicz to be the new squad commander. In the series finale, Bale visited Andy during his first day as the new boss and encouraged him by saying he would have no problem doing the day-to-day job or protecting his people, and would figure out how to deal with the NYPD brass as he went along.