Chicago PD spoilers: Who is Ricky Halstead?

Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) went through the ringer on Chicago PD. The normally private officer was forced to dig into his military past during a sting operation, and the information that was revealed surprised the rest of the team.

One of the most notable revelations is that Jay went by the name “Ricky Halstead” instead of his birth name. This baffles Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Burgess (Marina Squerciati), especially when taken in consideration with Jay’s past as a sniper. Who is Ricky Halstead? What does the name represent for Jay?

Here’s a rundown of the “Ricky Halstead” persona and why the detective went to great lengths to bury it.

Ricky Halstead is Jay’s military nickname

The audience first hears the name “Ricky Halstead” when Jay goes undercover at a military support group. Jay’s old military buddy Knox (Jon Beavers) introduces him to the rest of the group by singling out his sniper skills and likening his coolness to that of a cold-blooded reptile. Jay is visibly discomforted by all the “Ricky” talk, and he grimaces his way through the meeting.

Eventually, it’s revealed that “Ricky” is short for “Ricochet”, which is a nickname Jay earned during his Afghanistan tours. As a sniper, he had an uncanny ability to ricochet bullets off different surfaces to nail his targets.

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Fans catch a few glimpses of the “Ricky Halstead” persona when Jay goes undercover with Knox and the men responsible for a string of robberies. He not only sports different attire than normal, but he adopts a more stoic body language when he’s asked to prove his sniper skills to the thieves.

‘Ricky’ is a play on Halstead’s ability to ricochet bullets

In the end, Jay gets a chance to share his past with Upton and put his “Ricky” days behind him for good. He refers to his Afghanistan tours as being a lifetime ago, and asserts that the violent, awful behavior of people like Knox (who was his commander) left him emotionally reeling.

So who is “Ricky Halstead” ultimately? He’s a piece of Jay’s past, a chapter that was formative to who he is today but a difficult one that he won’t be eager to revisit anytime soon.

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