Sergeant Ayanna Bell is the commanding officer of a squad in the Organized Crime Control Bureau. She is partners with Elliot Stabler.
History
Bell and Stabler clashed when they first partnered together, with Bell concerned about Stabler threatening a witness. Stabler then accused Bell of profiling him, which resulted in Bell telling him that he does not know what it is like to be profiled. (OC: "What Happens in Puglia")
Bell welcomed Detectives Washburn and Morales to the Organized Crime Control Bureau. She later investigated a doctor who was illegally administering COVID-19 vaccines to his rich patients. Both her and Stabler also confronted Richard Wheatley about the case, where Bekher attempted to assault her but was stopped by Richard. (OC: "Not Your Father's Organized Crime")
After her nephew-in-law Damon King was physically assaulted by police detectives after being wrongfully arrested which could possibly result in lifelong injuries, Bell's wife Denise Bullock told her that she was suing the NYPD. Bell was deeply upset and angry that Damon was assaulted and wrongfully arrested. (OC: "I Got This Rat")
After Bell survived being targeted by a group of men trying to murder Richard, both Stabler and her went to the hospital where Benson found Morales with a gun after poisoning Angela and tying up a doctor. As Morales put the gun to his head, Bell shouted at him that he was not to commit suicide. Morales lowered his gun but then attempted to shoot Bell, who shot him in self defence. Bell was shocked and upset by this and rushed to help Angela with Benson and Stabler. (OC: "Forget It Jake; It's Chinatown")
Bell's squad and the Special Victims Unit teamed up to investigate a sex trafficker named Gabe Navarro. After Stabler shot Navarro when he drew a gun, Navarro was supposedly transferred to hospital, but was not there, with Carisi believing that Stabler lied to the SVU. A furious Benson visited Bell, but Bell told her that Stabler had continued his undercover operation and that Popkov was going to prison for life. However, Benson became angry that Bell was shrugging off Navarro not being in hospital, but told her that she knew she was busy, to which Bell walked away, frowning at Benson, which put them in a tense relationship. (SVU: "I Thought You Were On My Side")
In the process of arresting all the members of the Kosta Organization, Bell and Stabler turned up to a building and saw Louis Chinasky coming out. The building then blew up after being bombed from the inside, almost killing Bell and Stabler. (OC: "High Planes Grifter")
Bell, Stabler and several other officers were shot at by snipers on the top of the dilapidated building before storming in and making several arrests. Bell then led the arrests of Jon Kosta, Reggie Bogdani, Flutura Briscu and other members of the Kosta Organization. She showed no sympathy to Flutura, who was genuinely hurt that Stabler had lied to her about his identity nor did she care about her hurt feelings. (OC: "Ashes To Ashes")
Officer-involved shootings
- Detective Diego Morales (OC: "Forget It Jake; It's Chinatown")
Personality
Bell is very abrupt and by-the-book who initially showed concerns about Stabler being in her taskforce due to his past history as a detective. Due to her abrupt personality, she sometimes comes across as rude, particularly to Benson. Despite this, she is extremely caring especially towards Stabler and victims and showed sympathy for Angela Wheatley after Richard's treatment towards her, encouraging her to testify against him. She tends to try and not take her work life home to keep professional but sometimes talks about Stabler or cases with her girlfriend after she asks her about it when she shows signs of being bothered.
Trivia
- Bell is the first main character in Law & Order: Organized Crime and the third in the Law & Order franchise who is both a member of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as person of color after Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters George Huang and Katriona Tamin; she would be the fourth LGBTQIA+ main character after Law & Order character Serena Southerlyn with Carmen Riley being the fifth.
- Both Bell and Gina Cappelletti were very close friends, with Bell being deeply upset about Gina's death, struggling to come to terms with her death.
Appearances
- Law & Order: Organized Crime (2 seasons, 29 episodes):
- Season 1: "What Happens in Puglia" • "Not Your Father's Organized Crime" • "Say Hello To My Little Friends" • "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" • "An Inferior Product" • "I Got This Rat" • "Everybody Takes a Beating Sometime" • "Forget It Jake; It's Chinatown"
- Season 2: "The Man With No Identity" • "New World Order" • "The Outlaw Eddie Wagner" • "For A Few Leke More" • "The Good, The Bad And The Lovely" • "Unforgivable" • "High Planes Grifter" • "Ashes To Ashes" • "The Christmas Episode" • "Nemesis" • "As Nottingham Was To Robin Hood" • "As Iago Is To Othello" • "As Hubris Is To Oedipus" • "...Wheatley Is To Stabler" • "Takeover" • "Guns & Roses" • "Can't Knock The Hustle" • "Change The Game" • "Dead Presidents" • "Lost One" • "Streets Is Watching"
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1 season, 3 episodes):
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Squad Supervisors: Ayanna Bell Senior Detectives: Elliot Stabler Junior Detectives: Jet Slootmaekers • Carmen Riley Crime Family: Richard Wheatley • Angela Wheatley |