Nick Armstrong

Nick Armstrong
Name:	Nicholas Armstrong
Gender:	Male
Nickname(s):	Nick
Affiliation:	Los Angeles Police Department
Rank/Position:	Police Detective I
Marital status:	Widowed
Spouse:	Rebecca Armstrong (deceased)
Status:	Deceased
Cause of death:	Shot by Ruben Derian's men
Appearances
Seasons:	2, 3
First episode:	"The Night General"
Appears in:	1 series, 2 seasons, 10 episodes
Played by:	Harold Perrineau
More

Detective Nicholas "Nick" Armstrong was a recurring character on The Rookie. He joined the Mid-Wilshire Division in The Night General as a "Night General", who works during the night shift to assist patrol officers with cases. He's introduced to Mid-Wilshire by Officer John Nolan, who is eager for Armstrong's advice on becoming a detective. His badge number was 2075. Armstrong was portrayed by Harold Perrineau.

Biography

Armstrong was previously assigned to the 77th Division for ten years; he took on night work after his wife died five years ago. It took him four years to reach detective grade, the only cop to have done so. Armstrong lost his wife to cancer five years before we meet him, and he regrets that he spent more time on the Rosalind Dyer case than on his wife before she died.

He was initially depicted as a friendly cop, eager to help the team. Armstrong and John Nolan even bonded on their ride along with him catching on to Nolan's attraction to his former college girlfriend, helping John with his house, and looking into his son's fiancée.

Armstrong once got abducted by Rosalind Dyer's pupil Caleb Wright. However, he is saved by the other officers.

In the last two episodes of season 2, Armstrong is revealed to be a dirty cop who is supplying a gang with Department secrets and ends killing a fellow officer to keep her quiet. After Nolan discovers Armstrong's secret, he meets with Armstrong, who tells him that he plans to frame him before Armstrong takes a shot, and Nolan shoots Armstrong in self-defense.

At the beginning of season 3, in Consequences, Armstrong lands in the hospital after Nolan shoots him, and he accuses Nolan of trying to kill him. He planted the evidence in Nolan's house to make him look like the dirty cop, and he also accused Nyla Harper of being in on it. Nolan, panicking, runs to his home to find the evidence Armstrong planted. He finds it and hides it in the water heater. When the LAPD finally gets a warrant to search his home, he immediately surrenders himself to Sergeant Wade Grey, and is later interviewed by Commander Percy West of Internal Affairs. After Nolan convinces Internal Affairs that he is not dirty and Armstrong is, Armstrong flees the hospital. Nolan discovers the location of the gang that Armstrong is with and offers to wear a wire and pretend to want to deal with the gang. Nolan later finds a still wounded Armstrong and the gang at a junkyard. Armstrong aims a gun at Nolan's head, but the gun is not loaded. Nolan makes a run for it when this happens, and the gang members open fire on Nolan, also hitting Armstrong in the crossfire. Nolan survives and arrests Ruben Derian, with Armstrong, bleeding out and dead, on the scene.

Legacy

Upon his crimes being exposed, many of Armstrong's LAPD colleagues, unaware of his true nature, presumably now regard him as a disgrace. His reputation as an LAPD Detective is also forever tarnished as a result of him becoming a mole for the Derian crime family and killing a colleague in cold blood.

Nolan still deals with Armstrong's influence, as his suspension makes his integrity questionable. This was referenced by Oscar Hutchinson, in "Heart Beat", who didn't want Nolan's damaged reputation to ruin Oscar's chance of a prison transfer. During "Three Billboards", while undergoing an adoption interview, Nolan was publicly accused via a smear campaign by apprehended prisoner Liam Glasser. He briefly mentioned Armstrong.

Relationships

Family Rebecca Armstrong † - Wife Allies Derian Gang - Accidental Killers Ruben Derian Serj Derian

Enemies Rosalind Dyer Caleb Wright † - Attempted Killer Los Angeles Police Department - Colleagues Erin Cole † - Former Ally, Victim Wade Grey - Watch Commander John Nolan - Former Friend, Attempted Killer, and Attempted Victim Lucy Chen Jackson West † Tim Bradford Angela Lopez Nyla Harper

Appearances

The Rookie: Season 2
"Impact":	"The Night General":	"The Bet":	"Warriors and Guardians":	"Tough Love":	"Fallout":	"Safety":
Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent
"Clean Cut":	"Breaking Point":	"The Dark Side":	"Day of Death":	"Now and Then":	"Follow-Up Day":	"Casualties":
Absent	Appears	Appears	Appears	Absent	Absent	Appears
"Hand-Off":	"The Overnight":	"Control":	"Under the Gun":	"The Q Word":	"The Hunt":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears	Appears	Appears

The Rookie: Season 3
"Consequences":	"In Justice":	"La Fiera":	"Sabotage":	"Lockdown":	"Revelations":	"True Crime":
Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Bad Blood":	"Amber":	"Man of Honor":	"New Blood":	"Brave Heart":	"Triple Duty":	"Threshold":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Trivia

• In "Breaking Point", Armstrong uses a Rolodex card file to look up details about his cases.
• In "The Dark Side", Armstrong mentions that his wife was an elementary school teacher.