Stan Gordinski

"You'll always just be 'Derek' to me."

Detective Stan Gordinski (later Captain Stan Gordinski) is a recurring character who appeared in Criminal Minds, particularly in episodes focusing on SSA Derek Morgan's troubled past.

Background
Little is known about Gordinski's personal life, including how he became a Chicago police officer. At one point during his years as a beat cop, he arrested Derek Morgan when the agent-to-be and some local hoodlums, one of them Rodney Harris, got involved in a fistfight that left Rodney suffering from a lasting head wound. Since then, he had been antagonizing Morgan. Sometime prior to "Profiler Profiled", he became a full-fledged detective.

Profiler, Profiled
Gordinski returns in Morgan's life when the agent comes to visit his mother for her birthday. He arrests Morgan, whom he suspects to be behind the murders of three young boys. Throughout the episode, Gordinski is completely confident that Morgan was behind the murders, pointing out to the BAU that Morgan was very friendly towards young teens, is the only person who ever visits the first victim's grave (doing so whenever he is in Chicago), how he would often call the CPD for updates on the investigation, and his past criminal record, all of which fit the profile Gideon had supplied Gordinski with. When the investigating BAU suspect Carl Buford, the owner of a community center, the detective is quick to defend Carl. However, when Morgan somehow evades him and manages to wrangle an inadvertent confession out of Carl, Gordinski makes the arrest and apologizes to Morgan for the trouble.

Restoration
"People like Buford I let slide. I'm sorry." Sometime prior to Restoration, Gordinski was promoted to the rank of Captain. When two middle-aged men are beaten to death, he calls in the BAU to investigate the case. Gordinski assists in the investigation, and he ultimately oversees the arrest of the unsub, Rodney Harris, who was molested by Carl years ago. Afterwards, the officer approaches Morgan, states that he had made a promise to put away the criminals the moment he became a cop. He then admits that he didn't live up to his promise, always antagonizing innocent victims like Morgan and being acquainted to closet criminals like Carl, and Gordinski then tells Morgan that he is truly sorry. By the end of the episode, he and Morgan hold a live press conference about Rodney's arrest, and the conference ultimately leads to Carl's murder at the hands of several other prison inmates.

Appearances

 * Season Two
 * "Profiler, Profiled"
 * Season Eight
 * "Restoration"