Christian Garland

Christian Garland is the former Deputy Chief of the Special Victims Unit, replacing William Dodds. Following his resignation from the NYPD, Garland became deputy mayor and was replaced by Tommy McGrath.

History[]

Garland joined the New York City Police Department in May/June 2001 and was four months out of the Academy on 9/11. (SVU: "Tangled Strands of Justice")

By 2019, Garland had been promoted to Deputy Chief; he immediately made an impression on the detectives after going undercover in order to catch a serial rapist targeting black men in gay bars. (SVU: "Down Low In Hell's Kitchen")

Garland witnessed the protests from both pro-life and pro-choice activists after Evangeline Miller wished to get an abortion following her rape at the hands of her stepfather. He stood by Evangeline's choice and helped grant custody for her to get an abortion. (SVU: "The Burden Of Our Choices")

When a young woman was sexually assaulted and drugged, Garland assisted the Special Victims Unit with their case. He referred to Julius Adler as a false prophet and showed anger towards Adler's actions. (SVU: "We Dream Of Machine Elves")

After arresting rapist Steve Getz and his counselor Peter Abrams for blackmail, he was threatened by both Getz and Abrams. However, Garland showed no sign of backing down and firmly told the two men that they will be charged. (SVU: "Must Be Held Accountable")

When an agent with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement was arrested on rape charges, he assisted the SVU in investigating the case alongside Sergeant Hasim Khaldun. (SVU: "I Deserve Some Loving Too")

When his reverend and close friend Delman Chase came under investigation for serial statutory rape and embezzlement charges, Garland was distraught by this news and allowed the squad to look into this for real answers. After the theory looked more real, he told them to treat this like any other case, despite Chase personally making Garland a pariah in front of the media. When Chase was imprisoned for his actions, Garland visited him in prison, but Chase acted psychotic, claiming the Lord was testing him and put him in prison to help his fellow prisoners follow God. After Garland condemned him, Chase told him never to return and left to serve his sentence though Garland said he would pray for him and cried after leaving him. (SVU: "Garland's Baptism By Fire")

Garland met former A.D.A. Barba who was defending a father who murdered his daughter's foster father who had raped her. He told Barba he was pleased to meet him. (SVU: "Sightless in a Savage Land")

Garland was threatened by Judge Charles Gallagher, who was planning to become a politician, about going forward with investigating sexual assault allegations against him as well as corruption allegations. He was at the trial of Gallagher, when he was arrested for rape. Garland was later surprised to see Judge Annette Lewis overrule Gallagher's plea deal and have him imprisoned for a year out of disgust for his abuse of power. (SVU: "The Long Arm Of The Witness")

Garland worked with Benson and Lieutenant Carolyn Barek from the Bronx Special Victims Unit to track down a serial rapist who had struck in both boroughs. When the rapist turned out to be a sergeant from Barek's unit, Garland and Benson comforted Barek, who didn't know if she could continue in her line of work due to the revelations. (SVU: "Hunt, Trap, Rape, and Release")

When Kathy Stabler was severely injured in a car bombing, Garland warned Benson not to allow Elliot to get involved in the case or interrogate any of the suspects involved. He later expressed his annoyance to Benson about allowing Elliot into the interrogation room and told her not to let it happen again. When Kathy died from her injuries, Garland informed Benson that SVU was no longer involved in the case. (SVU: "Return Of The Prodigal Son")

He personally brought the squad in when a case involving his neighbor arose. Garland found himself disturbed when several issues came out at the trial. (SVU: "What Can Happen In The Dark")

Following a highly controversial case, Garland decided to resign from his position to avoid a possible sacking in the future, which was advised to him by his father. He was replaced by Tommy McGrath. (SVU: "Never Turn Your Back On Them")

In the months after resigning, he became the Deputy mayor of administration. Garland saw the remains of a child were found in the bottom of a lake at a park. Realizing this was the last case he worked in 2001, he reunited with his old colleagues at SVU and had them investigate. His suspicions were confirmed after it was revealed that it was indeed the missing girl he was looking for. The case turned out to be more complex than he realized after it was revealed the girl was pregnant, despite being 13 at the time. Further investigation of her now broken family reveals that the main culprit was the grandfather. Garland was disgusted by the grandfather justifying his rape, because she was not his grandchild by blood. He gives condolences to the mother and the sister who now at peace with justice being served properly put Aretha to rest. Deciding that this case was a tragic reminder as to why he stopped being a cop, Garland officially put the past with NYPD behind him and peacefully parted ways with his colleagues. (SVU: "Tangled Strands of Justice")

Trivia[]

Garland is the only Deputy Chief in the Law & Order franchise to star as a main cast member.
Similar to Elliot Stabler, he had a father who served on the NYPD. (SVU: "Guardians and Gladiators")