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Nick Amaro

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Nicholas "Nick" Amaro is a former police detective who transferred to the Special Victims Unit from narcotics and warrants in 2011. He replaced Detective Elliot Stabler as the lead male of the SVU. He is currently a geneticist with a company called FORYM.

Family

Amaro is divorced with two children, a daughter named Zara with his ex-wife, and a son with his wife named Gilberto. His ex-wife Maria was in Iraq and returned on Valentine's Day. (SVU: "Personal Fouls")

He has a cousin who serves as a cop. (SVU: "Beautiful Frame")

Nick is of Cuban and Italian heritage.(SVU: "Strange Beauty")

He is a Catholic, fluent in Spanish, and also apparently has good connections with the community. Amaro's father beat his mother when he was younger, and later fled to Miami, Florida; he attributes his firm belief in divorce to this.(SVU: "Padre Sandunguero")

He and his wife have recently split up, Maria having moved to L.A. to take a job taking Zara with her. Nick was at first against the move, but with his recent antics and violent behavior he was advised, "don't fight this" by Maria. After returning to New York City, Maria walked in the park with Nick and Zara. During a walk in the park, Marie tells him that she has been offered a job in L.A.. She also gives Nick a chance to reconcile if he moves to California with her and Zara, leaving him to consider her offer. He ultimately refuses and they separate.(SVU: "Thought Criminal")

While undercover on a narcotics bust, Amaro had a relationship with the sister of a major drug dealer. (SVU: "Undercover Blue") Nine years later, the relationship is brought back to light, when a court case involving rape accusations against Brian Cassidy throws Amaro under the bus. The woman, Cynthia Mancheno, claims that she had a son by Amaro during that relationship, named Gilberto. When a paternity test confirms this, Amaro attempts to spend more time with his son, who believes that he is Amaro's nephew. Cynthia later gives Amaro permission to reveal his identity to Gilberto. (SVU: "Born Psychopath") Afterwards, Nick is seen bonding with Gilberto. (SVU: "Her Negotiation") Due to a series of gang violence, Gilberto moved to San Diego with his mother. (SVU: "Granting Immunity") While catching up with Rollins after six years, Amaro claims that Zara is 15 now but he is married to Cynthia now. (SVU: "The Five Hundredth Episode")

Personal life

He has no sympathy for people who rape the mentally ill or children. He seems to be protective of Amanda Rollins and is suspicious of his wife dating other men while in the Army and afterwards, assaulting a friend of hers he believed she was having an affair with after she lied to him about where she was. She denies having an affair and finally reveals to him that she is seeing a psychiatrist and didn't want him to know.

Later on, it was discovered that his wife Maria Grazie took a job in Washington, D.C., claiming that they needed a break from each other. When she returned, she announced she was going to L.A. and hinted she still loved him. Nick even considered reconciling with her for a better start but turned it down.

NickandAmanda.jpg

It has also been hinted that Nick and Amanda have been in a relationship for quite some time since he emerges from her bathroom and comfortably sits on her couch. (SVU: "Reasonable Doubt") Aside from his protectiveness of Amanda, his attraction to her has been previously hinted at. (SVU: "Gambler's Fallacy") He's usually the one to realize when something is wrong with her. The nature of their relationship and whether both Olivia and Fin know has not been revealed yet. It is implied that they are sleeping together, as Holden questioned their relationship. (SVU: "Holden's Manifesto") Though they never answered his question, Holden is certain they are in a relationship. Their relationship is still discreet in the squad room.

Job

Amaro reveals that he served in the army, being placed in interrogations in Iraq. (SVU: "Official Story")

He says his rank is Detective Second Grade. (SVU: "True Believers") He worked in vertical patrol in housing projects for six years. (SVU: "Educated Guess")

At the end of season 15, he assaulted an alleged pedophile (with a torture chamber and horrific fantasies) who was photographing young boys. (SVU: "Thought Criminal", "Spring Awakening") He was transferred to Traffic and took anger management classes (SVU: "Girls Disappeared"), but was later promoted back to Special Victims after he was accused of being inappropriate with a woman whilst arresting her. He was later cleared by IAB due to a video recording on the dashboard of his car that showed the arrest was by the book.

Amaro wanted to be promoted to sergeant, however, he was told by Olivia that the department wouldn't promote him even if he aced the sergeant's exam, due to his history on the job. Later on, the squad is involved in a shootout in the courthouse, committed by Johnny Drake. Nick is shot by Drake and sustains non-life threatening injuries, but needs months of rehab. He mentions to Benson that he was going nowhere in the department, and decided that it would be best to retire and start over again in California, where his son and daughter reside. Benson says to Nick, "Whatever happens, Nick Amaro, friends for life." Amaro appreciated her saying this and was grateful for everything she has done for him throughout his time on SVU, and they made a promise to each other to stay friends forever. (SVU: "Surrendering Noah")

Rollins revealed that Amaro became a part of the United States Park Police after he moved to California.

Later on, Amaro reunites with his old SVU squad, having gone to graduate school for degrees in genetics and forensic science. He is currently a geneticist with a company called FORYM, who tests DNA samples that are considered too small or too degraded, and is also working on a doctorate in biophysics. (SVU: "The Five Hundredth Episode")

Officer-involved shootings

Trivia

  • Amaro is the only main character on SVU to be credited in an episode he does not appear in before appearing for the first time.
  • Amaro has been in trouble with the law more times than any other police officer in the franchise.
  • Amaro has a strong hatred for pedophiles and rapists and sometimes physically assaults them, similarly to Elliot Stabler.
  • Amaro has been referenced and mentioned on the series more than any other past main character in the franchise, mostly in the twenty-second season.
  • The only person from the original squad that he has not met yet is Stabler.
  • There are two deleted scenes that occur in his returning episode, "The Five Hundredth Episode".
    • The first deleted scene shows Amaro and Rollins having a catchup conversation about their lives while looking for the evidence in Haley West's murder (the episode only shows the end when they find the evidence). Amaro mentions that his daughter, Zara, is 15 (he mentions that later to Benson in the episode proper), he is now married to Cynthia Mancheno, and that with Zara, he, Cynthia, and Gilberto Mancheno make up a blended family. Rollins tells him about her two kids, Jesse and Billie, and raising them on her own.[1]
    • The other deleted scene shows Amaro going over his testimony with Dominick Carisi, Jr. and talking about how they moved on from being detectives in the Special Victims Unit. Amaro then asks about Amanda Rollins and if she's seeing someone, to which Carisi says "not [someone] that she talks about", alluding to his continuing to date Rollins in secret.[2]

Appearances

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Just a quick little catch up between old pals. Here's a deleted scene from #SVU's 500th" - From @lawandordertv on Twitter
  2. ↑ "This moment was too good not to share. Watch an exclusive deleted scene from #SVU's 500th now!"- From @lawandordertv on Twitter


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