In honor of LaRoyce Hawkins’ performance in this week’s Chicago PD episode, we’re counting the Top 5 reasons why we look up to Chicago PD’s Kevin Atwater.
This week’s episode of Chicago PD reminded us how lucky we are to have Kevin Atwater. There’s no doubt that LaRoyce Hawkins‘ character has evolved from a loyal patrol cop into the rock of the Intelligence Unit. He’s a dedicated cop, who’s always there to help out on a case no matter how it gets complicated. He’s a stand-up guy, whom you could trust to watch your house or take care of your cat. And he’s the dude we’d all want to hang out with, because we’d feel cooler just being in his presence.
In honor of LaRoyce Hawkins’ excellent performance in “Captive” we’ve compiled the five reasons why we’re not just Kevin Atwater fans—we look up to him a little bit. He’s not only a character we love, he’s a character we can take a few things away from. Click through this slideshow for the five reasons we admire Kevin Atwater.
5. He can tackle just about anyone
It’s almost a running joke at this point with the number of times Chicago PD has done a scene with Kevin Atwater chasing down and/or tackling a runaway suspect. If there’s someone trying to get away from Intelligence, a good 70 percent of the time it’s going to be Atwater who’s running after them. But that’s one reason we tip our hat to him, because we certainly wouldn’t be capable of a workout like that!
Atwater is most definitely the muscle of Hank Voight’s team, whether it’s nabbing a fleeing bad guy or grabbing somebody by the collar and shaking some sense into them. That’s not all he can do, but it’s something he’s exceptionally good at. And he deserves credit for that, because most of us would be out of breath after the first two blocks (and certainly not as scary to suspects either).
Especially in the Intelligence Unit, getting a bit physical is a practical job requirement, and there’s nobody we think does that better in the entire One Chicago universe than Kevin Atwater.
4. He doesn’t back down
Even when he’s not tackling someone to the ground, make no mistake about it: Kevin Atwater is intimidating. He is not someone to be messed with, and he really doesn’t take grief from anyone. We wish we had his swag.
Atwater has a confident way of carrying himself, which we can only assume is a combination of inherent strength and how hard he’s worked in every aspect of his life. He’s not going to let any person come in and mess that up, or mess up their own lives (but more on that later). Whether he’s just looking at somebody seriously, or he has them on the wrong end of his gun, Atwater can be very scary when he wants to be. Hank Voight will always be Chicago PD‘s toughest character, but Atwater’s a solid second.
Again, that’s not something that’s easy or even something that can be taught. In “Captive” alone, he had a gun pointed at him three times and wound up with a drill in the leg. And yet still, he hung tough. We would’ve been curled up in a ball crying before the opening credits.
3. He’s a good partner
In TV cop shows, one of the most important things is to have a good partner. And while any of the Intelligence Unit’s members would be fine choices for us to ride with, we’d have to say that Kevin Atwater would be near the top of our list.
Everything we’ve seen about Atwater shows us that he’s a fantastic wingman to his partners. He stuck close to Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) when they were riding in the same patrol car near the start of the series, and he’s been a great counter-balance to the more rough around the edges Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) in the more recent seasons.
Even when he was teamed up with Ruzek’s fill-in Kenny Rixton (Nick Wechsler) in Chicago PD season 5, he had his back and the two developed a fun rapport in a relatively short period of time. Whether he’s working with someone for a day or a year, Atwater’s that guy who not only keeps his partner close, but puts them at ease and also isn’t afraid to set them straight. What more does anyone need?
2. He’s who we’d want to be our BFF
Police work aside, we’d absolutely love to be friends with Kevin Atwater. Atwater is that kind of character that you wish you could be more like, because he’s charming and outgoing. Even when he’s a little awkward or a little emotional, he still has a warmth about him. He’s a genuinely good guy in a world where there aren’t a lot of genuinely good guys anymore.
Chicago PD‘s many scenes between Burgess and Atwater show us what a good friend Atwater is (and Burgess is, too, but that’s another slideshow!). He’s always supportive, he’s got a very dry and underrated sense of humor, he gives great hugs, and he’s definitely cool. If he was our BFF, we’d be cool by association. We’d have someone to lean on when things got tough. We’d have a friend who’d do his best to keep us out of trouble, and who’d treat us like part of his family.
Kevin Atwater is pretty much everything that we could want in a friend, and that’s another reason we admire him. He’s the gold standard of what friends should be.
1. Atwater the role model
The most admirable thing about Kevin Atwater is that Chicago PD has made clear police work isn’t just about catching bad guys to him. Atwater cares about his community, especially when it comes to helping children and teenagers in need. He’ll go the extra mile and then some to help people, to a fault. We saw that in “Captive” when he gave his number to Joe Baker’s sister and told her to call if she ever needed anything.
He didn’t have to do that, but he did. He’s not shy about talking about how he feels when it comes to representing his community and being a person of color in the police force. That’s what this last episode drove home, as Atwater poured his heart out about how much it hurt him to have killed a young black man, even though he was completely justified in doing so. He’s got a big conscience, and that’s something that everybody could benefit from.
One of the great messages of the One Chicago franchise is how these heroes care about their city and the people in it. Kevin Atwater is one of the best examples of that. He doesn’t just want to do his job; he wants to set a positive example, and he cares about the consequences of his actions. It is his biggest strength, and the biggest reason why we love him.
Next: What did we learn from this week's Chicago PD?
What do you love about Kevin Atwater on Chicago PD? Tell us your favorite things about Atwater in the comments.
Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.