Who is Frank Sheehan in Bosch Legacy? What Happened to Him?

In the third season of ‘Bosch: Legacy,‘ Honey Chandler’s election campaign as DA is put on slight handbrakes when a mysterious figure from the past emerges in her life – Frank Sheehan. With Honey preparing to make a mark on Los Angeles’s politics, Sheehan offers new and unexpected opposition that derails her efforts. However, we later learn that he has a deeper connection with Honey that stretches back years into the past, including a longstanding history with Bosch. It complicates matters for our main characters as they try to ensure Honey’s safety while also keeping the rest of LA safe from Sheehan’s designs. More importantly, it begs the question regarding his relationship with Bosch and Honey and why he is after them in the first place. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Frank Sheehan Was a Former Partner of Harry Bosch

For fans of ‘Bosch,’ Frank Sheehan is a familiar figure who crossed paths with Harry Bosch in season 4 of the original series. He was a former partner of Bosch’s in the LAPD and a detective within the Hollywood Division. When a man named Howard Elias was murdered, Sheehan, alongside some other detectives, was suspected of being involved in the conspiracy somehow. Elias, who was an attorney, represented a variety of clients in Los Angeles, California. One of his clients was a man named Michael Harris, who had filed a civil suit against the LAPD for allegedly torturing him. We later learn that Sheehan was one of the prominent officers involved in abusing Harris, which was a gross misconduct of his power and led to an inquisition into the LAPD.

Sheehan actually orchestrated the murder of Elias because he did not want the truth to ever come out. Additionally, the attorney had already gathered enough evidence against Harris’ perpetrators to bring the hammer down on those responsible. Afraid that it may damage his reputation and kill his career, Sheehan took out Elias. He also tried to cover up the death as a racially motivated murder to throw off the leads investigating the crime, including his colleague Bosch. However, despite his best efforts to keep everything hidden, the titular protagonist pieced together the mystery and found out what Sheehan did. Eventually, the latter confessed to his crimes, and Bosch engaged him in a standoff where Sheehan tried to kill himself to escape the law. Bosch successfully talked him out of the plan.

Honey Chandler Dismantled Frank Sheehan’s Career and Reputation

As alluded to in ‘Bosch: Legacy’ season 3, Honey Chandler also stepped in to take down Frank Sheehan. She was Michael Harris’ representative following the death of his attorney, Howard Elias. True to form, she kept pressuring the LAPD to be as transparent with their investigation and not cover up anything regarding the blatant corruption hiding within their ranks. Once Bosch resolves the case and pins the blame on Sheehan, Honey takes over the rest and takes him down legally in front of the court. Thus, it all connects back to how Sheehan perceives Honey in the third season of ‘Bosch: Legacy’ and why he has such a hatred towards her. Since she brought the hammer down on him earlier, he has been unable to make anything of his life and wants revenge against her.

Bosch also tries to reconnect with Sheehan but to no avail. A need for vengeance completely consumes the latter, and his whole family life has fallen apart. Intriguingly, the protagonist and Sheehan have a standoff at the end of their journey which mirrors their final encounter in season 4 of ‘Bosch.’ It is clearly a callback by the creators to the specific moment Bosch helped talk Sheehan out of any thoughts of suicide. Tragically, he is unable to achieve the same in their renewed clash, with Sheehan taking himself out. However, Bosch manages to save Honey’s life in the process, even though he is devastated to lose Sheehan in such a brutal manner. Despite their differences, they were comrade in arms for an extended period in the LAPD.