Richard Walsh

Richard Walsh was the Regional District Manager of CTU prior to and during Day 1. He informed CTU Los Angeles of the threat against Senator David Palmer of Day 1, but was killed for his knowledge about it.

Before Day 1

 * Main article: Richard Walsh before Day 1

Richard Walsh was born forty-nine years before Day 1. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, followed by two master's degrees: Psychology from Brown University and Criminology and Law from Stanford University. Walsh became an officer in the United States Army, serving in both the Rangers and the Special Forces, and also worked as an Assistant to the Director for the Special Forces' SPARTAN Program.

Following his military service, Walsh was an instructor at the John F. Kennedy School of Special Warfare and a chief advisor to the Council for the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. He eventually joined the Central Intelligence Agency as its Deputy Director of Psychological Operations, and later became the Administrative Director at the Company's new Counter Terrorist Unit.

In its critical early years, Walsh oversaw many of CTU's anti-terrorist missions: Operation Farmhouse (1997), the Hotel Los Angeles attack (1998), Operation Jump Rope (1999), Operation Proteus (2000, special commendation), Operation Toreador (2000), and Operation Pinstripe (2001) being just a few. On one occasion, he saved the life of fellow CTU agent Jack Bauer, who would eventually become his protege and closest friend.

Walsh and his wife Madeline had two daughters together, Victoria and Veronica. He was active in the community, working as a youth counselor for the Los Angeles County Department of Juvenile Justice and mentoring gifted inner-city kids. Walsh first met Jamey Farrell in one of these counseling sessions, and helped her enter college at age sixteen.

Shortly before Day 1, Walsh suspected the presence of a mole inside CTU Los Angeles and issued an order to collect all staff members' access key cards for replacement. He passed these to Scott Baylor, ordering him to scan them for any suspicious data.

Day 1


After being alerted to an attempt on the life of Senator David Palmer, Walsh called a meeting at CTU Los Angeles. Walsh briefed everyone on the threat, then pulled Jack Bauer aside to tell him of a suspected mole within the agency aiding the assassination. Jack wasn't comfortable being the only one to know this since he had previously "blown the whistle" on other fellow CTU agents so he felt he should be the last one looking for dirty agents. Despite this, Walsh told him that he was the only person who could be trusted with the task. Jack agreed to look into it and Walsh warned Jack to trust no one, not even his own people.



Walsh later met with Scott Baylor at 2350 Dunlop Plaza, where he was given a key card and told he found it to be filled with references to David Palmer. Someone had been using the card to smuggle information in and out of restricted areas without scrutiny. Baylor was afraid for his life, having put his wife and child on a plane as soon as he stumbled upon the conspiracy. Walsh was able to convince him to stay and help for another twenty-four hours, yet as soon as he agreed, Baylor immediately was shot and killed by an unseen assassin. Walsh was shot in the arm, but managed to hide and call Jack for back-up, telling him to meet him on the roof.



Jack arrived on the roof about fifteen minutes later and the two headed into the stairwell. Jack bandaged Walsh's wound, then the two of them found and killed the two shooters in the building. Jack cut off one of the men's thumbs to later use as identification, then they both headed out of the building. Outside, Walsh was shot twice in the back by a sniper and lay dying on the pavement. Using his remaining energy, Walsh threw the key card to Jack, telling him to have Jamey Farrell match it to a computer and reveal the mole. Having exposed himself, Walsh was shot again, fatally.