Benson Faces Rumor About Chief Tynan's Past on SVU

Season 27 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has turned tense as Captain Olivia Benson and Chief of Detectives Kathryn Tynan clash. Tynan assigned Detective Jake Griffin to Benson’s unit, a move rooted in Tynan’s longtime relationship with Griffin’s late father, Jimmy, and her having raised Jake as if he were her own son.

Tynan once offered Benson a promotion into a more administrative Deputy SVU Chief role; Benson refused, choosing to stay on the squad with survivors. That refusal set off a cat-and-mouse game between the two, and during an intense investigation Benson received a visit from Detective John Whalen.

Whalen mentioned a 2001 rumor about an off-duty shooting that was quickly ruled a good shoot after a cursory IAD investigation and suggested the cop’s partner had fixed things. Benson put the pieces together and realized the story pointed to Jimmy Griffin as the cop and Tynan as the partner who absolved him.

olivia benson, kathryn tynan, jake griffin, jimmy griffin, john whalen, svu, season 27, off-duty shooting, iad investigation, deputy chief