LaRoyce Hawkins Says Goodbye to Chicago P.D.: The Void Atwater Leaves and What's Next
After 14 years in the 21st District, Kevin Atwater has turned in his badge. LaRoyce Hawkins made his final appearance as a Chicago P.D. series regular in "Don't Blink," the second episode of Season 14, which aired Wednesday, Oct. 14, on NBC. Hawkins was part of the original cast when the show premiered in 2014, after first playing Atwater on Chicago Fire.
How Atwater says goodbye
The exit is built around family. Atwater and Tasha Fox (Karen Obilom) welcomed their son, Malcolm, in the season premiere. In "Don't Blink," Atwater is shot at during a chase, and only his vest saves him. That close call, together with new fatherhood, pushes him to rethink the job. Voight (Jason Beghe) points him toward a teaching position at the police academy in Atlanta, and Atwater and Tasha decide to start over.
"For the past 14 years, the 21st District has been my home," Atwater tells the unit before he goes.
Former cast member Jesse Lee Soffer returned to direct the episode. Showrunner Gwen Sigan said the team "really wanted to give the best sendoff that we could," and that the door is always open for Hawkins to return.
Off-screen, Hawkins thanked fans in an Instagram Stories video: "Thank you. Thank you for being there for me." Obilom called him "a Chicago legend."
NBC announced the exit in July but has not said why Hawkins is leaving.
The void Atwater leaves
Atwater was never just the guy in the background of the raid. Across 14 seasons, he was often the show's conscience: a Black officer from the community he policed, carrying the weight of both the badge and the neighborhood. Chicago P.D. used him to take on stories other procedurals avoided, about what it costs a Black cop to stand inside a system his own family and friends don't always trust.
He was also one of the show's warmest presences. Hawkins brought humor and an easy charm to a series that can be relentlessly dark, and the Atwater and Tasha storyline gave fans a rare thing on network cop dramas: a Black family at the center of the story, growing up on screen.
That's a hard combination to replace. The question now is whether Chicago P.D. will give those stories to someone else, or let them leave with Atwater.
What's next for LaRoyce Hawkins
Hawkins hasn't announced his next project. But anyone who has followed his career knows he has never been only one thing.
The Harvey, Illinois, native was a two-time state speech champion at Thornton High School before studying theater at Illinois State University on a full scholarship. He is also a stand-up comedian, spoken-word artist and mentor. On screen, he has stepped outside the 21st District for South Side, where he played Michael "Shaw" Owens, Marvel's Ironheart and Power Book IV: Force, and he played Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. in The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain.
He has also stayed rooted at home. Through his Be Powerful initiative and Hood Development campaign, part of his clothing proceeds goes back into projects in Harvey.
Fourteen years of steady network television is a rare thing. Now Hawkins has the freedom to choose what comes next, and we'll be watching.
