Carlton Jebediah Lassiter (b. April 11, 1968), also known as "Lassie", "Booker", "Binky" and sometimes "Detective Dipstick", was head detective of the Santa Barbara Police Department, but was demoted to a regular officer in "No Trout About It". However, he is a detective again as of "Cog Blocked" and is currently the Chief of Police. He is the husband of Marlowe Lassiter, the father of Lilly Lassiter, and the older brother of Lauren "Lulu" Lassiter. He is portrayed by Timothy Omundson.
Biography
Head Detective Carlton Lassiter is (as of the Pilot) a 10-year veteran of the Santa Barbara Police Department who prides himself on his ability to solve any case. He very much dislikes the department's "psychic" consultant, Shawn Spencer, who continually 'steals' his high profile cases and solves them using only a hunch. Despite this, he has shown that he cares for Shawn as a friend. Carlton would rather do old-fashioned police work that gets the job done than let Spencer tag along with his unconventional methods and annoying sense of humor. He believes that hard work is the answer to solving a crime, not psychics and voodoo dolls. Lassiter has many hobbies.
He apparently had an absentee father, and a mother working long hours and possibly more than one job. He there spent a lot of time at Old Sonora, a recreation Western boom town, and formed a close bond with Sheriff Hank Mendel.
In "No Trout About It", Lassiter was demoted from head detective to a normal officer by interim police chief Harris Trout.
In "S.E.I.Z.E. the Day Marlowe revealed that she is pregnant and Lassiter is going to be a father. This scared Lassiter for the entire episode, however at the end he realized being a father should only make him sharper, and he apprehended the criminal. After apprehending the criminal he was given the side job of Harris Trout's personal driver.
In "1967: A Psych Odyssey" Lassiter became the Chief of the SBPD.
Personality
"Imagine Robert Goulet, dressed like Mr. Bean, playing the Scarecrow in a summer stock production of 'The Wizard of Oz' dedicated to Tony Randall" - Stewart Gimbley's succinct assessment of Lassiter's appearance
Carlton is hard on everyone, including himself. His no-nonsense and sour approach to a harsh life is used to protect himself from getting hurt, and his attitude with which he battles his low self-esteem. Fortunately, those few friends are loyal, and know how to see and bring out the best sides hiding in Lassie, behind all the pompous put-downs and sour expressions. Behind the grumpy and ruff exterior is a sensitive and sweet soul, often very caring and insecure. He is occasionally doing good deeds, but very subtle ones. Examples of this are that he'd take a bullet for his partner, or arrange the paperwork to get Shawn's impounded motorcycle returned. He's also quirky and has understated humor – as is often demonstrated in his various hobbies and side activities. Lassiter can be rather arrogant and believes he is viewed with far greater respect than he truly is. In "Extradition: British Columbia", he joins in the hunt for Despereaux, a thief he has spent over six years hunting down. When Shawn traps the man, Lassiter gloats over finally getting his prey, only to have Despereaux declare he has no idea who Lassiter is.
Carlton often dreams he's Clint Eastwood, mostly from Heartbreak Ridge. He was nearly arrested flying into Canada, as he assumed he could take a gun on the plane as an officer. He states he has at least a dozen guns hidden around his home and doesn't see the harm in threatening a suspect. He believes there's little to no room for interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and he has an unusually high threshold for pain, but has a quick temper and has been shown to not care for other people's feelings in multiple episodes. He also has a very high regard for the government, even going so far as to include federal terms and offices in his vows to Marlowe.
Relationships
Victoria Parker
Victoria Parker is Carlton's ex-wife. When the series started it was said they had been separated for 5 months. However, Lassiter reveals to Shawn in a drunken state at the beginning of the episode "From the Earth to the Starbucks" that they had in fact been separated for 2 years precisely at that point. In "Tuesday the 17th", Carlton meets Victoria for what he thinks could be a second chance, but is in fact divorce papers she wants him to sign. They are then officially divorced.
With Lucinda Barry
Carlton and Lucinda Barry were dating secretly in the pilot. Lucinda did not want anyone to think that she is not being promoted for her hard work, but rather for sleeping with the head detective. However, Shawn observed that they were together and Lucinda was transferred to another police department. Carlton later remarked that he really liked her after he discovered that Shawn and Juliet were together.
With Marlowe Viccellio
Marlowe Viccellio is a pretty blonde that Lassiter meets in a bar in "This Episode Sucks". She leaves to freshen up, saying she'll be right back, but escapes through a window instead. He has McNab try and find her; when he does find her, she says she was scared because her feelings for him were very strong. Later, she's arrested for murder and Lassiter tells her they're done. He then realizes that she isn't the killer; the real killer is her brother, whom she was helping. She did not know that her brother Adrian was killing people; she was only helping him steal blood from blood banks to fix his disorder. Lassiter writes a note to Marlowe, then visits the jail and shows her the note, which says he'll wait for her while she is in prison (6-18 months). When her time is almost up, Lassiter buys a condo for them to live in. He also refers to her as his 'Lady love'. He proposed to her in "Cirque du Soul" to get back at a formal parole officer. They are currently living together. They were married in "Deez Nups" by a criminal that Lassiter was trying to protect from a mob boss. During the wedding they were shot at by the mob, but they fought them off and arrested them. Marlowe and Lassiter were then married. In S.E.I.Z.E. the Day Marlowe revealed that she is pregnant.
With Juliet O'Hara
Carlton and the SBPD's Junior Detective Juliet O'Hara share a close friendship, since, as partners, they put their lives in each other's hands. Lassiter can often be seen looking out for her and trying to protect her. In the episode "Shawn Rescues Darth Vader", Lassiter tells Shawn that he would shoot him repeatedly if he ever hurt Juliet, but also has helped Shawn because he knew that Juliet loved him. He has stated that she was the best partner he could have asked for. He has also helped Shawn avenge the shooting of Henry simply because he knew that he had to protect Shawn, knowing that Juliet loved him. In the first two seasons, and early in the fifth season, he sometimes treats her like a dumb teenager and has no respect for her. Juliet invites him over for Christmas dinner where Lassiter shows up her nephews but assumes they like his company better than their aunt's. Later on, he verbally acknowledges several times that he is often impressed, and even proud, of her skills. He's always looking out for her and can be more than a little over-protective. Season four ends with her breaking down in tears in his arms. He sometimes refers to her as his "only real friend" and cares for her more than he'll ever admit. The feeling was shown to be mutual when Juliet allowed Carlton's girlfriend Marlowe to stay with them when her parole officer would not allow her to live with Carlton.
With Shawn Spencer
Carlton often shows his disgust for Shawn and the superstitious in general. He often refers to it as nonsense, and is upset when Shawn's methods outrank his own and allow Shawn to solve a case when Lassiter cannot. Because Shawn enjoys Carlton's disgust for him, he often calls him "Lassie," as his last name is Lassiter. Despite their attempts to do better than the other, Shawn has shown that he cares for Lassiter when he helped him solve a case and ended up giving Lassiter all the credit when the head detective was depressed by his separation from his wife. Carlton also has helped Shawn on occasion, although that may be attributed to the fact that he was making sure that Juliet did not get hurt. Lassiter has also shown no regard to personal items, as was shown when he simply, and surprisingly, used Shawn's bathrobe without asking him. Over the years, the two of them were able to connect more, as was shown when Lassie spent some time fishing with Henry, and stated that, through those fishing trips, he was able to understand why Shawn was so messed up. He has been known to be somewhat naive, as was shown in "Six Feet Under the Sea", when Shawn wanted the coroner to do an autopsy on a body that was already buried, and spelled out "the sea lion" (Shabby), but Lassie believed it to be French, pronouncing it "thes-a-le-on." In the series finale, Shawn leaves a video message behind for Lassiter, talking of his respect for the man and how he was always the one who suspected the truth about him. Just before Shawn confesses he is not psychic, Lassiter ejects the DVD and breaks it, preferring to remember the good Shawn has done over the truth.
With Barbara Dunlap
In "There Might Be Blood," Carlton became attracted to Chief Vick's sister, Barbara Dunlap, the head of the Coast Guard. He believed her to be strong, which was what made her attractive. At the end of the episode, Barbara revealed that she grew attracted to Carlton. At that point, Chief Vick, Shawn, and Gus all told her not to go out with him. Believing that her sister wanted Carlton all to herself, Barbara quickly proceeded to ask Carlton out to lunch, where he immediately turned around to go off with her, saying, "Aye, aye!" They did not stay together.
Trivia
- He has been divorced.
- He knows that Shawn is not a psychic, he just can't prove it.
- Among the things on or in Lassiter's desk are a list of people he doesn't like (which he calls his "Crap List"), many law and criminal books, a minié ball, a little black book of people he has arrested, and what seems to be a picture of Mariska Hargitay (from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit).
- Lassiter has an Alter Ego: Colonel Muscum Lassiter, making his first appearance in "Weekend Warriors" and later appearing as the chief of police in Shawn's dream in the episode "The Polarizing Express". He is characterized by a Civil War era uniform and a hideous face mustache and beard.
- Lassiter has an unexplained hatred of squirrels.
- Lassiter's childhood nickname was "Binky", a fact revealed by Hank Mendel.
- Tap-dancing helps Lassiter clear his mind.
- Lassiter has an irrational fear of snowglobes based on nightmares about being trapped in glass balls while falling snow burns off his skin.
- Lassiter's allergic to mints.
- According to "Lights, Camera... Homicidio", Lassiter enjoys cheese.
- According to "And Down the Stretch Comes Murder", Lassiter wanted a pony when he was a child.
- His mother called him "Booker" as a child.
- He likes to go fishing. He went on a trip with Henry once. Later he admits to Shawn "the whole time he criticized how I held my rod. Now I can understand why you're so messed up."
- He doesn't believe in global warming.
- In "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He's Dead!" Lassiter hints that he has a master's in criminology.
- Lassiter's mom is a lesbian and in a relationship with a woman named Althea.
- Interestingly, Carlton is also a queer individual. In 2010, he was said to be pansexual. In the course of the series, however, he is only ever seen pursuing women, such as Barbara Dunlap and Marlowe.
- Lassiter's an unswerving Republican, as when Shawn needed him to punch him in the face he said Ronald Reagan was a terrible president.
- Lassiter's ring tone is the theme from Cops.
- He got shot in "Lassie Jerky" and stepped in an animal trap then fell down a hill into a river.
- Lassiter grew fond of the dog that Shawn gave him for his wedding (in the 'what if' portion of "Right Turn or Left for Dead") only because the dog helped him in a police investigation.
Quotes
- "There was an explosion. I've never had a case with an explosion before. I've had assault and burglary cases, once I even had a murder by thermometer, but I've never had an explosion. I mean, come on! Haven't you ever pictured yourself trying to outrun a fireball down a dark tunnel?"
- — Carlton (from If You're So Smart, Then Why Are You Dead?)
- "Unlike everyone else around here, I'm not fooled by the fact that you wear grownup clothes, have mastered the rudimentary levels of communication, and somehow manage to feed yourselves. I see you for what you are: children. So do me a favor and let the grownups do their work."
- — Carlton (from Zero to Murder in Sixty Seconds)
- "Yeah, yeah, we love you. Get back to work."
- — Carlton (from Disco Didn't Die. It Was Murdered!)
- "I would rather shower with a bear."
- — Carlton Lassiter (from Black and Tan: A Crime of Fashion)
- "You put some sunglasses on!"
- — Lassiter (from "Last Night Gus", after Juliet tells him to take his sunglasses off in the autopsy room)
Gallery
The gallery page for Carlton Lassiter can be found here.