Dolph is a 6'8" built-like-a-wrestler police officer with very short black hair. He heads up the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team (RPIT -- pronounced "Rip It") in St. Louis. He is a good friend and mentor of Anita Blake, a local animator and legal vampire executioner. He allows her to help RPIT because of her degree in preternatural biology even though she is not a police officer. Anita wonders what Dolph did to get put on the RPIT team because most of the officers who are on the RPIT squad made their superiors angry. Dolph has never said how or why he was put on the squad.

He always seems to be very neat and prim, even at early hour murder scenes. His tie is always tight and straight and he is always dressed in a suit. Dolph likes to take lots of notes and always carries around a little notebook and pencil.

Dolph doesn't much care for monsters (namely vampires and shape shifters) but he never lets his personal feelings get in the way of an investigation.

His known family consists of a wife Lucille and a grown sons Darrin and Paul.