Sergeant Al Powell is a LAPD cop that helps John McClane with the terrorist takeover of the Nakatomi Plaza in the first Die Hard film. A desk cop with a love of twinkies, he also makes an appearance in the video games Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza and Die Hard: Vendetta.
It is revealed in the first film that Al accidentaly shot a kid who was carrying a toy gun, which lead to his current position in the police force and his inability to fire his gun at anyone again. This fear is washed away when at the end of the film Al saves John's life from Karl.