Sam Braddock

Sam Braddock
Constable Sam Braddock, SRU: Team One
Gender:   Male Status: Alive
Occupation Affiliation Rank / Title  ●   Police Officer   Metro Police   Constable             ●     SRU       Team One Badge Number 8302  ●   Armed Forces   Canadian Army               ●     Joint Task Force 2
Portrayed by: David Paetkau
First Appearance:
Scorpio
Last Appearance:
Keep The Peace, Part II

Samuel "Sam" Braddock works as a professional sniper, and is presumably second in command next to Ed Lane, based upon experience with lethal force. He is an ex-special forces officer of Canada's Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) which ultimately gives him the experience he needs in the field.

Biography

Background

Sam's family is not often talked about on the series, due to the fact that Sam rarely gets along with his father, a highly respected and feared military man whom was once referred to as "Colonel Badass". His father holds the rank of General and disapproves of Sam leaving the army to join the SRU. In Season Three, it is revealed that when Sam was 9 years old his younger sister was struck by a speeding car in front of him. The force was so fast and strong that it knocked her right out of her shoes - leaving them beside Sam, while she died upon impact. The memory stops him briefly when he finds a young blonde woman in a pool of blood with no shoes on. Sam, however does have another sister - Natalie, who first appears in Season Three and continues to recur on the series.

Sam Braddock left military service overseas with the JTF 2 (Joint Task Force 2, Canada’s elite Special Operations counter-terrorism force) to join the SRU after serving out two tours. It's revealed that during an operation in Afghanistan, while Sam was serving as a sniper, his unit was clearing out an area and he was told that he was cleared to fire. When the gunfire had died down, and a body count reported in - Sam was devastated to find out that one of the dead was his teammate and friend. He's never kept this fact a secret, nor will he ever hide what he's done in the army - however, it does bring him pain, and guilt whenever it's brought up.

Strategic Response Unit

Initially Team One has trouble accepting Sam as they had no say in his joining of the team. He's viewed as the rookie and outsider for the first few episodes, and is even put on a coffee run for the team while on call. At first, Sam believes that lethal force is always the solution rather than negotiation - causing the rest of the team to become sceptical about his place on Team One. However, as the series goes on Sam becomes another valued member of the team and is considered to be family. His views slowly start to change, and has even lashed out for using lethal force - most viewable in Behind The Blue Line

Sam's loyalty to the team is proven when his father tries to pull some strings and offers Sam the opportunity to rejoin JTF2 where he can "make a real difference". Despite his father's pressuring, Sam tells him that he can make a difference in the SRU, and declines the offer - causing a strained relationship with his father. Sam's cocky confidence and sense of entitlement have matured, and Sam proves himself to be a disciplined and crucially valuable member of the team. His experience as a sniper in JTF2 leads him to be the main sniper in the SRU, and there's rarely a moment where he loses "the solution". However, Sam fights hard to earn back his self confidence in negotiating, which was shaken in "Behind The Blue Line" when he wasn't able to save a troubled ex-soldier with whom he had bonded.

One year after the events of Keep the Peace, Sam was promoted to the leader of Team 3 as the successor to Donna Sabine, who was killed in an explosion caused by one of Marcus Faber's ten bombs.

Relationships

Julianna Callaghan and Sam Braddock

Since his recruitment onto the SRU team, Sam has had feelings for Julianna Callaghan. In Eagle Two, he kisses Jules and offers to drive her home after he realizes that she blames herself for the events of the day. The two begin to date secretly over a period of episodes, as there are rules against team relationships. This includes Jules droping Sam off three blocks from work, and making him walk the rest of the way, so not to be spoted together. When Jules is shot in Between Heartbeats, Sam wants to go in the ambulance with her. Instead, he is told to take the "Sierra One" position. At the same time, Ed is captured by the subject sniper who wounded Jules. Sam has to take a difficult shot while the subject has a gun to Ed's head and succeeds, saving Ed's life. Despite procedure, Sam demands that he goes to the hospital first to see Jules - but Gregory Parker sends him to follow the rules like he's supposed to. He rushes to the hospital afterwards, where he holds Jules' hand and cries for not protecting her. When Jules returns to the team, the couple breaks up because they "can't keep breaking the rules forever", and neither one of them wants to leave Team One, as they both consider the team - family. However, even after the pair split he is still seen flirting with her on various occasions, and is often incredibly protective over her and wants to keep her safe. However, in the Season 3 finale both Sam and Jules are questioned by Dr. Toth about their relationship, which brings them both to the revelation that they love each other. In the Season 4 premiere, Jules shows up at Sam's apartment and he tells her that their love for each other "isn't just going to go away", and they kiss passionately before being interrupted by Sam's sister. At the end of the episode they are informed that they are under strict orders from Dr. Toth to keep their relationship at a professional level. As of Season 4, they are in a secret relationship that they are keeping hidden from Team One. However, it appears as though Greg Parker knows that the two are once again in a relationship, and is worried by it. Later Dr. Toth finds out about their relationship, he threatens to suspend Greg Parker (Boss). He found out about the relationship after Sam and Jules talk about honeymoons and about them together on their honeymoon. Later though, in the episode Priority of Life, Sam proves that, while on the job, professional commands supercede his personal feelings. This leads to official approval for the couple to stay on team 1 while continuing their relationship. In "We Take Care Of Our Own", it was revealed Jules is pregnant with his child. However, the two don't tell the team until five weeks later, after their marriage ceremony in "Keeping the Peace, Part 1".  Later in the episode, Jules and Sam argue about whether Jules will go into a possibly dangerous structure to rescue children from a daycare, showing to the audience that they cannot still serve on the same team.  In "Keeping the Peace, Part 2", Sam has a near-death experience when he cannot defuse a bomb, and Jules is obviously scared and then relieved when he makes contact with the team again.  At the end of the last episode of the series, the viewers meet Sam and Jules's daughter Sadie.  It is assumed that Jules is still serving on Team One, but Sam has been promoted to Team Leader of Team Three, filling a vacancy left by the death of Donna in "Keeping the Peace, Part 1".

Trivia

• Sam is the second main character to terminate a subject on-screen (Who's George). The first main character was Ed Lane in Scorpio.
• Sam is not a confident swimmer and admits to Jules that he's a bit uncomfortable in and around water
• Sam has taken up the position of terminating the subjects since he joined Team One. He has always pulled the trigger on a subject when reason is not an option with the exception of Scorpio, Jumping At Shadows,  Acceptable Risk, Broken Promises, and Keep The Peace, Part II

• Sam's experience as a sniper in JTF 2 where he held the rank of Master Corporal leads him to be the main sniper in SRU

• Sam's experience as a former Special Forces operative makes him the secondary tactics leader behind Ed Lane

• Sam was once referred to as "Badass Jr" due to his father being nicknamed "Colonel Badass"

• Sam is the new leader of SRU Team 3 after Donna Sabine is killed in Keep The Peace, Part I