Donald Cragen

Donald "Don" Cragen (born April 1, 1947) was a captain in the NYPD who, over the span of 25 years, served as commanding officer of the 27th Precinct and the Special Victims Unit.

History

Cragen served as a Green Beret during the Vietnam War. After the war, he became a police officer. In the 1970s, as a patrolman, he once arrested master thief Frank Hagar.

Cragen eventually was promoted to homicide detective and partnered with Max Greevey, and made the captain of the 27th precinct in 1989. There, he worked with Greevey, Mike Logan, Phil Cerreta, and Lennie Briscoe. He was investigated for being part of money laundering scheme within the department, but was exonerated after he exposed his mentor Peter O'Farrell as the real culprit. (L&O: "The Blue Wall") This incident made him many enemies within the NYPD's bureaucracy, who prevented him from being promoted above the rank of Captain.

He transferred to the Anti-Corruption Task Force in 1993.

His wife, Marge, was a flight attendant. In 1999, she was killed in a plane crash. (SVU: "A Single Life") Shortly afterward, Cragen became the commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit. Over the next 15 years, he worked with Detectives Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, John Munch, Odafin Tutuola, Brian Cassidy, Monique Jeffries, Dani Beck, Chester Lake, Amanda Rollins, and Nick Amaro.

In 2012, he was falsely accused of murdering a prostitute named Carissa Gibson; he was being set up by Delia Wilson, a sex trafficker whom SVU had been investigating. (SVU: "Rhodium Nights") He was eventually exonerated, however, and once again took command of SVU. (SVU: "Above Suspicion")

Cragen was a recovering alcoholic. He quit drinking in the early 1980s after pulling a gun on a cab driver in a drunken rage, and has been sober ever since. (L&O: "Prescription for Death") He once admitted to a department psychiatrist that he was tempted daily to drink to escape the horrors he witnessed in his job. (SVU: "Slaves")

His experiences with addiction led him to have a more understanding attitude when his subordinates made mistakes; when Rollins' gambling addiction began interfering with her work, for example, he got her into a rehab program rather than firing her. (SVU: "Home Invasions")

Captain Cragen officially retired from the Special Victims Unit in 2014, leaving Benson in charge. (SVU: "Amaro's One-Eighty") Shortly before retiring, he began dating a woman named Eileen Switzer. The two of them took a trip around the world together.

Cragen reappeared later to help Benson and Rollins' reinvestigation into a rape that occurred around the time that Cragen ran the 27th precinct. (SVU: "Perverted Justice")

Officer-involved shootings

Bulgarian mobster (SVU: "Ace")

Appearances

Law & Order (6 seasons, 69 episodes):
- Season 1: "Prescription for Death" • "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" • "The Reaper's Helper" • "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die" • "Happily Ever After" • "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" • "Poison Ivy" • "Indifference" • "Prisoner of Love" • "Out of the Half-Light" • "Life Choice" • "A Death in the Family" • "The Violence of Summer" • "The Torrents of Greed (1)" • "The Torrents of Greed (2)" • "Mushrooms" • "The Secret Sharers" • "The Serpent's Tooth" • "The Troubles" • "Sonata for Solo Organ" • "The Blue Wall"
- Season 2: "Confession" • "The Wages of Love" • "Aria" • "Asylum" • "God Bless the Child" • "Misconception" • "In Memory Of..." • "Out of Control" • "Renunciation" • "Heaven" • "His Hour Upon the Stage" • "Star Struck" • "Severance" • "Blood Is Thicker..." • "Trust" • "Vengeance" • "Sisters of Mercy" • "Cradle to Grave" • "The Fertile Fields" • "Intolerance" • "Silence" • "The Working Stiff"
- Season 3: "Skin Deep" • "Conspiracy" • "Forgiveness" • "The Corporate Veil" • "Wedded Bliss" • "Helpless" • "Self Defense" • "Prince of Darkness" • "Point of View" • "Consultation" • "Extended Family" • "Right to Counsel" • "Night and Fog" • "Promises to Keep" • "Mother Love" • "Jurisdiction" • "Conduct Unbecoming" • "Animal Instinct" • "Virus" • "Securitate" • "Manhood" • "Benevolence"
- Season 5: "Bad Faith"
- Season 10: "Entitled"
- Season 15: "Fixed"
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (16 seasons, 307 episodes):
- Season 1: "Payback" • "A Single Life" • "...Or Just Look Like One" • "Hysteria" • "Wanderlust" • "Sophomore Jinx" • "Uncivilized" • "Stalked" •"Stocks & Bondage" • "Closure (Part I)" • "Bad Blood" • "Russian Love Poem" • "Disrobed" • "Limitations" • "Entitled" • "The Third Guy" • "Misleader" • "Chat Room" • "Contact" • "Remorse" • "Nocturne" • "Slaves"
- Season 2: "Wrong Is Right" • "Honor" • "Closure (Part II)" • "Legacy" • "Baby Killer" • "Noncompliance" • "Asunder" • "Taken" • "Pixies" • "Consent" • "Abuse" • "Secrets" • "Victims" • "Paranoia" • "Countdown" • "Runaway" • "Folly" • "Manhunt" • "Parasites" • "Pique" • "Scourge"
- Season 3: "Repression" • "Wrath" • "Stolen" • "Rooftop" • "Tangled" • "Redemption" • "Sacrifice" • "Inheritance" • "Care" • "Ridicule" • "Monogamy" • "Protection" • "Prodigy" • "Counterfeit" • "Execution" • "Popular" • "Surveillance" • "Guilt" • "Justice" • "Greed" • "Denial" • "Competence" • "Silence"
- Season 4: "Chameleon" • "Deception" • "Vulnerable" • "Lust" • "Disappearing Acts" • "Angels" • "Dolls" • "Waste" • "Juvenile" • "Resilience" • "Damaged" • "Risk" • "Rotten" • "Mercy" • "Pandora" • "Tortured" • "Privilege" • "Desperate" • "Appearances" • "Dominance" • "Fallacy" • "Futility" • "Grief" • "Perfect" • "Soulless"
- Season 5: "Tragedy" • "Manic" • "Mother" • "Loss" • "Serendipity" • "Coerced" • "Choice" • "Abomination" • "Control" • "Shaken" • "Escape" • "Brotherhood" • "Hate" • "Ritual" • "Families" • "Home" • "Mean" • "Careless" • "Sick" • "Lowdown" • "Criminal" • "Painless" • "Bound" • "Poison" • "Head"
- Season 6: "Birthright" • "Debt" • "Obscene" • "Scavenger" • "Outcry" • "Conscience" • "Charisma" • "Doubt" • "Weak" • "Haunted" • "Contagious" • "Identity" • "Quarry" • "Game" • "Hooked" • "Ghost" • "Rage" • "Pure" • "Intoxicated" • "Night" • "Blood" • "Parts" • "Goliath"
- Season 7: "Demons" • "Design" • "911" • "Ripped" • "Strain" • "Raw" • "Starved" • "Rockabye" • "Storm" • "Alien" • "Infected" • "Blast" • "Taboo" • "Manipulated" • "Gone" • "Class" • "Venom" • "Fault" • "Fat" • "Web" • "Influence"
- Season 8: "Informed" • "Clock" • "Recall" • "Uncle" • "Infiltrated" • "Underbelly" • "Cage" • "Choreographed" • "Burned" • "Outsider" • "Loophole" • "Dependent" • "Haystack" • "Philadelphia" • "Sin" • "Responsible" • "Florida" • "Annihilated" • "Pretend" • "Screwed"
- Season 9: "Alternate" • "Avatar" • "Impulsive" • "Savant" • "Harm" • "Svengali" • "Blinded" • "Fight" • "Paternity" • "Snitch" • "Streetwise" • "Signature" • "Unorthodox" • "Inconceivable" • "Undercover" • "Closet" • "Authority" • "Trade" • "Cold"
- Season 10: "Trials" • "Confession" • "Swing" • "Lunacy" • "Retro" • "Babes" • "Wildlife" • "Persona" • "PTSD" • "Smut" • "Stranger" • "Hothouse" • "Snatched" • "Transitions" • "Lead" • "Ballerina" • "Hell" • "Baggage" • "Selfish" • "Crush" • "Liberties" • "Zebras"
- Season 11: "Unstable" • "Sugar" • "Solitary" • "Hammered" • "Hardwired" • "Spooked" • "Users" • "Turmoil" • "Perverted" • "Anchor" • "Quickie" • "Shadow" • "P.C." • "Savior" • "Confidential" • "Witness" • "Disabled" • "Bedtime" • "Conned" • "Beef" • "Torch" • "Ace" • "Wannabe" • "Shattered"
- Season 12: "Locum" • "Bullseye" • "Behave" • "Merchandise" • "Wet" • "Branded" • "Trophy" • "Penetration" • "Rescue" • "Pop" • "Mask" • "Dirty" • "Flight" • "Spectacle" • "Pursuit" • "Bombshell" • "Delinquent"
- Season 13: "Scorched Earth" • "Personal Fouls" • "Blood Brothers" • "Double Strands" • "Missing Pieces" • "Russian Brides" • "Lost Traveler" • "Spiraling Down" • "Theatre Tricks" • "Official Story" • "Father's Shadow" • "Home Invasions" • "Hunting Ground" • "Child's Welfare" • "Justice Denied" • "Valentine's Day" • "Street Revenge" • "Strange Beauty" • "Rhodium Nights"
- Season 14: "Lost Reputation" • "Above Suspicion" • "Acceptable Loss" • "Manhattan Vigil" • "Friending Emily" • "Vanity's Bonfire" • "Dreams Deferred" • "Monster's Legacy" • "Secrets Exhumed" • "Deadly Ambition" • "Legitimate Rape" • "Born Psychopath" • "Girl Dishonored" • "Poisoned Motive" • "Brief Interlude" • "Her Negotiation"
- Season 15: "Surrender Benson" • "Imprisoned Lives" • "Internal Affairs • "Wonderland Story" • "Military Justice" • "Rapist Anonymous" • "Psycho/Therapist" • "Amaro's One-Eighty"
- Season 16: "Perverted Justice"

Trivia

At the time of his retirement, Cragen was one of the longest-running Law & Order characters, appearing in both Law & Order and SVU's entire run.
The Law & Order universe is inconsistent on the issue of whether Cragen had any children. He made references to having a son in Law & Order, but in Special Victims Unit he stated that he had no children.
Cragen was suspended three times from SVU. The first was in Season 9's premiere, after the events of the Season 8 finale "Screwed", where it was revealed the many illegal actions of his detectives. The second time was in Season 11, during the Nikki Sherman investigation, as a result of Stabler's actions. The third time was in Season 14, when he was being tried for the death of a prostitute, when it was revealed that he was framed, he was temporarily placed until he returned several episodes later.
Cragen is the first of four Law & Order characters to be moved from the show to another spinoff. The others are Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, and Connie Rubirosa. Cragen was moved from Law & Order to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Upon being cast in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Dann Florek and the show's producers created a backstory for Cragen in which he began drinking again and frequenting prostitutes to numb the pain of Marge's death, and decided to join the Special Victims Unit as a way to escape that downward spiral. This backstory is never explicitly stated in SVU, but Florek used it as subtext for his portrayal of the character.