As played by the iconic Tom Selleck, NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan functions as the dependable, gruff patriarch of the Irish-American Reagan family in “Blue Bloods,” several generations of which serve the New York area as police officers and law enforcement officials. The Reagans sometimes have their differences but the family always gets together for Sunday night dinners regardless, usually hosted by Frank in his house.
A third-generation police officer, Frank Reagan began his career in the 1970s and slowly made his way up the ranks to police commissioner. He loves his job but is often unsure of how to navigate political boondoggles and the pressures of the work. Still, Frank is depicted as having the trust of both the department and the public.
But like other characters on the series, Frank has also dirtied his hands and is an imperfect human being. Here’s the one Frank Reagan scene that arguably went too far for some fans.
Frank’s retaliation to some people harassing police officers may be too much
In the Season 9 episode “Handcuffs,” Officer Eddie Janko-Reagan (Vanessa Ray) and Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) choose not to arrest some people at a housing complex who are trying to provoke them. Eddie figures that the smart thing to do is to ignore them and not take the bait. Frank, however, disagrees, and when video of the scene is released, he orders a raid on the complex. The ensuing incident even involves air support and tactical squads.
This results in a wanted killer getting arrested, but the overwhelming show of force by Frank is too much for both Jamie and Garrett (Gregory Jbara). TV Source Magazine wrote in a review of the episode that while it was understandable to show force in such a situation, the raid was “a little much.” Similarly, a fan in a discussion on the r/bluebloods subreddit concluded that “the police can’t (or shouldn’t be able to) go arresting people just because they’ve been insulted or have had shade thrown their way.”
One Redditor claimed that “[my father] is a police officer, but we agreed that Frank didn’t handle the situation correctly and the ‘shock and awe’ campaign was the worst way to handle it.” Ultimately “Handcuffs” is one “Blue Bloods” episode where Frank’s actions may not have been the right call.
