Leland Stottlemeyer

Infobox character
name = Leland Stottlemeyer


first = "Mr. Monk and the Candidate"
cause =
alias =
species =
gender = Male
age = 51
occupation = SFPD Detective
title = Captain
family = Karen Stottlemeyer
(ex-wife)
children = Jared Stottlemeyer
(son, with Karen)
Max Stottlemeyer
(son, with Karen)
relatives =
portrayer = Ted Levine
(2002-present)
creator = David Hoberman
imdb_id = 0023003

Captain Leland Stottlemeyer is a fictional police officer played by Ted Levine on the American comedic crime drama television series "Monk". He is a captain in the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and a longtime (even if long-suffering) friend of Adrian Monk from their days on the force together where he served as Monk's fourth partner and later watch commander. His assistant, and source of much strife, is Lieutenant Randy Disher.

Relationship with Adrian Monk and Randy Disher

In the early episodes of the show especially, there is a certain degree of tension between the two. Stottlemeyer is somewhat antagonistic toward Monk, as he resents being forced (frequently by powers higher than he, such as the Mayor or the Police Commissioner) into calling on Monk's assistance, and is frequently exasperated by Monk's many quirks. Also inherent in this hostility is a certain degree of jealousy; Stottlemeyer appears only too aware that he is not nearly the detective that Monk is. He is also skeptical of Monk's ability to perform as a police officer, aware that Monk's psychological problems are a great handicap in the high-stress life of the police department; in the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to the Carnival", he is forced to betray Monk by honestly revealing his misgivings about allowing Monk back into the police department to the panel evaluating Monk's request.

Despite these tensions, however, Stottlemeyer also has a great deal of sympathy and respect for Monk; even Stottlemeyer cannot deny Monk's abilities. Once convinced of the validity of one of Monk's theories, Stottlemeyer always proves a staunch ally in apprehending the culprit. A turning point for the character came in the second season episode "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Wife", when Stottlemeyer's own wife Karen is seriously injured and put in a coma. Though she recovers, Stottlemeyer is left with a taste of the kind of pain Monk bears and becomes far more sympathetic and respectful to him, if still easily exasperated by Monk's more extreme idiosyncrasies.

Another example of Stottlemeyer's loyalty as a friend came in "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan", with the captain assisting in Monk's continuing investigation of Trudy's murder. He goes with Monk to New York City to follow up on a clue, and harshly confronts a New York City police captain for concealing information that was essential to Monk to solving the murder of his "friend's wife," remarking that that was the only thing he cared about at the time. In Mr. Monk is on the Run, Parts I and II Stottlemeyer's loyalty to Monk as a friend is further reinforced and the depth of love he has for Monk is illustrated by his willingness to help Monk fake his own death risking his career and freedom.

His relationship with Lt. Disher borders from amused tolerance to the frustrating. He puts up with his idiosyncrasies and even barely resists laughing at some of his outlandish theories and quirks. It is such that he sometimes prefers to talk to Monk instead of him. However he appreciates Randy's abilities and even harbors some affection for him especially in dangerous situations. He even goes out to help Randy win his money back in "Mr. Monk Goes to Las Vegas". In that same episode he solves a murder while being drunk, proving that when he's "drunk as a skunk" he's as smart as Monk because all of Las Vegas saw the magazine picture, including Monk, that incriminated the murderer but no one, save for a drunk Stottlemeyer, noticed the inconsistencies.

Romantic relationships and family

In "Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage", Stottlemeyer believes that his wife, Karen, is having an extramarital affair. At the end of the episode it is revealed that she is not having an affair, but instead is filing for divorce. The episode ends with Stottlemeyer walking out the door with his suitcases. During this episode he receives a yo-yo in anger management class that he can be seen with in later episodes.

He has two children, Jared and Max. A woman, Linda Fusco, falls in love with him in "Mr. Monk, Private Eye". She returns in "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan" and again in "", where she is arrested by Stottlemeyer, for murder. We learn by the end of the episode that he was going to propose to her during their trip to Hawaii which they would have left for that night, he throws the ring into the ocean saying that it was "nothing, just a rock."

External links

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