So usually people who have a beef with The Wire, attack the low hanging fruits of the show. Those being some of the more fantastical things, in an otherwise grounded show. But reality is stranger than fiction as it seems. From what I have heard, every outlandish thing that happens in this show, has a real world counterpart. Things in question being:

Omar being way too outlandish for the show. That's a minor criticism, because almost everyone loves Omar. But some people find him too TV for this show. But as we know, there were a couple of stick up boys in Baltimore, who did exactly that, they rob drug dealers. One of them even played a bit part in the show.

Brother Muzone being too cartoony. Well Brother Muzone is based on the nation of islam members. They wore fancy clothes, acted polite, were well read, and really dangerous. Also, the police sketch of the guy who shot Biggie Smalls, kinda looks like Muzone.

Hamsterdam being a dumb concept. I heard that since the concept appeared in the show, there have been at least one or two cases of police turning a blind eye to drug use in designated places.

Omar jumping off the 4th floor. Doesn't seem possible, but it was. Apparently the real Omar jumped off the sixth floor, and lived to tell the tale.

McNulty's fake killer. Now this I heard from someone here, but apparently there has been a case where policemen made up a fake killer, to get funds for some investigation. If someone knows anything about it, please share.

The point of this post is that I want to highlight the fact that reality is sometimes stranger than fiction, and even the most unrealistic parts of The Wire, had or now have basis in reality.