James "Jimmy" McNulty is the main protagonist in the HBO series The Wire. McNulty is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department. On many occasions he has proven himself to be a talented and determined detective, however, he is disliked by many of his superiors because of his arrogant demeanour, disdain for authority, and disrespect for the chain of command. When off the job, he has frequent problems involving alimony, alcoholism, child support, and womanizing. McNulty is nonetheless a clever, resourceful police officer, and is central to many of the successful high-end drug investigations that take place within the series.
He is portrayed by English actor Dominic West.