M THE DAILY INSIGHT
// business and economy

Fans Are Concerned Mehcad Brooks Might Be Leaving Law And Order After Last Episode

By Sarah Scott

No, Mehcad Brooks is not leaving Law and Order. His character detective Jalen Shaw was however suspended for a week.

Law & Order is a popular police procedural drama series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment. The series debuted on September 13, 1990, on NBC.

It completed its 20th series on May 24, 2010, and returned for the 21st series on February 24, 2022 -after an 11-year hiatus. The 22nd season premiered on September 22, 2022.

Brooks is among the new cast joining the long-running crime drama in the 22nd season. He debuted in the “Gimme Shelter” crossover event.

The actor joined the cast to replace Anthony Anderson’s Detective Kevin Bernard. Kevin appears in one season after the revival of the original series, Law & Order.

Is Mehcad Brooks Leaving Law And Order?

No, Mehcad Brooks is not leaving Law & Order SVU in 2023. Mehcad portrays the role of fan-favorite Detective Jalen Shaw.

The recent episode saw Shaw having trouble with the other two cops. He confronts them and even files to open an investigation into them. But at last, he is suspended for a week without pay.

However, there is no official announcement from the show or the actor about him leaving Law & Order.

As mentioned earlier, Brooks debuted at the start of Season 22, so it’s highly unlikely that the actor will leave this soon.

His character is suspended for a week and may return after the suspension ends.

The show opens up exciting storylines with a determined colored detective being the victim of police profiling. Considering the plot, Jalen has to be there for them.

Brooks has also shared his experience with police brutality as a young child. He told Today he had his first introduction to police brutality when he was just 7.

What Happened To Jalen Shaw On Law And Order?

Law & Order Season 22 Episode 15 begins with detective Shaw. In the episode, he becomes the target of retaliation after he files a complaint report against two officers.

As he was rushing toward a crime scene, two officers (Steve Wagner and Tim Farley) in uniform with their guns drawn, approached him.

Steve and Tim are from different precincts and don’t recognize Detective Jalen. They believe he is a murder suspect and command him to get on the ground. Shaw then tries to show them his badge.

And despite his repeated efforts to tell them his identity, the two officers don’t believe him. Instead, they push him against the wall, trying to cuff him.

Meantime, Cosgrove arrives and rescues Shaw from trouble. He shows his badge and also takes pictures of the badges of the other two cops. Jalen is enraged by their action.

He rejects the apology when one officer comes to him with a peace offering. He confronts them and goes to Internal Affairs to file and open an investigation into them.

The two officers also file a report against the detective, accusing him of being disobedient to the department’s procedure.

Both Lieutenant Kate Dixon and Cosgrove say Shaw is in the right and support him on the case.

Unfortunately, at the end of the episode, Shaw learns Internal Affairs has closed his report against the two cops finding his claims to be unsubstantiated.

To his surprise, the allegations against him are upheld, and he is suspended for a week.

Mehcad Brooks Joined Law And Order In 2022

Jalen is the only main character who debuted in the Law & Order franchise in the 2022-23 season. He joined as the replacement for Detective Bernard.

Brooks’s character, Junior Detective Shaw, is associated with the Manhattan North Homicide Squad in the 27th Precinct. Currently, he is partnered with Detective Frank Cosgrove.

He practiced law for three years after he graduated from Law School. Soon, he learns that law is not his true calling and becomes a police officer.

He served in the Narcotics Division for around five years before becoming a Homicide Detective.

With only five months of experience working in homicide, Shaw was assigned to investigate a murder of a young girl named Ava Marchenko.

The girl was murdered by Mark Sirenko in the middle of a street.

This is the first time the Detective is introduced on the show. He attempts to take over the case but finds Detective Cosgrove.

Cosgrove insisted that they both hunt down the killer. Shaw then informs him that he is new to the homicide division. Therefore, he decides to deliver the news of the girl’s murder to her aunt and also witnesses his first autopsy.

After working with him on the case, Shaw officially transfers to the 27th Precinct, becoming his new Detective partner.

During a case, he reveals to his colleagues that his mom and dad both served in the military and that his dad was killed during his service.