Quillford

Quillford is a porcupine who appears in We Can Fix Pawbert as a courier carrying ZCF surveillance photographs. He is arrested during a routine traffic stop but is killed in police custody before he can reveal who hired him, exposing a conspiracy that reaches inside Precinct 1.

Background

Quillford was a petty criminal with outstanding warrants for theft and failure to appear. At some point, he was hired by an unknown mammal to deliver surveillance photographs of ZCF corridors to someone inside Precinct 1. The photographs documented guard stations, break rooms, and hallway layouts—intelligence that would prove useful for anyone planning an operation at the prison.

Personality

During his brief appearance, Quillford demonstrated the nervous demeanor of a mammal who had gotten in over his head. His quills rattled involuntarily with stress throughout his interactions with police, and his fear seemed directed not at the officers themselves but at whoever had hired him. He claimed ignorance about the purpose of the photographs, presenting himself as a simple courier who accepted cash without asking questions.

Series History

Season 3

Quillford's fate is tied to the broader conspiracy leading to the prison breach.

"Fur Your Eyes Only": During the Precinct 7 exchange day, Judy Hopps conducts a routine traffic stop on Quillford after his vehicle's plates trigger warrant alerts. His quills flatten with stress as the officers approach, and he fumbles through producing outdated identification. When cuffed and loaded into the cruiser, his fear is palpable—but not fear of arrest. Something else.

Smitty, processing Quillford's personal effects in evidence, recognizes one of the photographs as the ZCF break room from a recent deposition. Nick Wilde realizes the implications: a petty thief is carrying prison surveillance photos, and the delivery was meant for someone inside Precinct 1.

During interrogation, Quillford cooperates to the extent of his limited knowledge. He describes being hired by a large mammal—possibly a bear—who paid cash and stayed in shadows. The delivery was supposed to go to someone at Precinct 1, though Quillford never learned the recipient's name. He insists he never looked at the photographs, never asked questions, just took the money and did the job.

Bradford suggests letting Quillford stew for an hour to build pressure before resuming the interrogation. When Nick and Judy return, they find Quillford slumped in his chair—dead. A faint chemical trace lingers in the air. The camera feed shows a two-minute gap. Someone walked into a secure interrogation room in the middle of a precinct, killed the only witness, and walked out undetected.

The discovery confirms an inside job at Precinct 1 and triggers the investigation that eventually leads to Officer Paddock.

Key Relationships

The Conspiracy

Quillford was an unwitting pawn in Lionheart's prison breach conspiracy. He carried surveillance intelligence without understanding its purpose, hired by intermediaries who ensured he knew nothing useful. His death was ordered to prevent any trail leading back to the mastermind.

Officer Paddock

Though Quillford never knew Paddock's name, the weasel officer was his intended recipient at Precinct 1 and ultimately his killer. Paddock's municipal maintenance background gave him knowledge of building systems, including how to create the camera gap that allowed him to eliminate the courier undetected.

Cause of Death

Quillford was killed by a fast-acting chemical agent during a two-minute gap in the interrogation room's camera feed. The method was professional and left minimal evidence—the work of someone who understood how to commit murder inside a police station without being caught. Officer Paddock is later identified as the killer, having used his knowledge of building systems to disable cameras and access the holding area.

Trivia

• Quillford's quills rattle involuntarily when stressed, a detail mentioned multiple times during his interrogation.
• His death marks the first confirmed fatality of the Season 3 Lionheart conspiracy.
• The photographs he carried showed various ZCF locations including guard stations, hallways, and the break room—intelligence that would have been useful for planning the prison breach in E05.
• His name follows the common Zootopia convention of species-related naming (quills for a porcupine).