Burt Ryan was a police officer in New York City in the 1950s. He was a racist who was not above threatening civilians and engaging in questionable tactics in the the course of his work.
Ryan and his partner Kevin Mulkahey harassed Benny Russell. Ryan gave Russell a hard time about his suit, wondering how a black man could afford a nice suit. He also took Russell's drawing of Deep Space 9 before giving it back to him and finally allowing him to go.
Ryan and Mulkahey were responsible for the death of Jimmy, a young criminal and acquaintance of Benny Russell. At the time of Jimmy's shooting Russell tried to help him but was forcibly restrained by Ryan and Mulkahey, receiving a severe beating in the process. (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")
- Burt Ryan was played by actor Marc Alaimo. According to an early draft of the script, Burt Ryan was originally called "Burt Dickson".