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| Anita Van Buren | |
|---|---|
| Law & Order character | |
| First appearance | "Sweeps" |
| Last appearance | "Rubber Room" |
| Portrayed by | S. Epatha Merkerson |
| In-universe information | |
| Family | Donald Van Buren (ex-husband) Ric Van Buren (son) Stefan Van Buren (son) Frank Gibson (fiancée) Unnamed sister |
| Seasons | 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 |
Anita Van Buren is a fictional character onNBC's long-runningpolice procedural andlegal dramatelevision seriesLaw & Order, portrayed byS. Epatha Merkerson. The character of Van Buren was an "authoritative lieutenant"[1] in theNew York Police Department, who supervised teams of detectives who worked out in the field, and originally served as "commander of the 27th Precinct Detective Squad."[2] The fictional Van Buren achieved the rank of NYPD lieutenant before any actual policewoman in New York did so, creating a "dissonance" with reality.[3] Van Buren appeared in 390 episodes ofLaw & Order. When she crossed the 300-episode mark in 2008, Lt. Van Buren became the longest-running African-American character in television history.[4]
In 1997, it was noted that "Van Buren was one of the first and is still one of the few female African-American characters in network television to hold a position of power standing over the desks of white professional men telling them how to do their jobs."[5] TheAssociated Press once described Van Buren as a character with typically "limited screen time...whose practical function is to point her detectives in the story's next direction."[6] After many years on theprocedural drama, Merkerson was "rewarded with a personal crisis for her character—a life-threatening bout with cervical cancer—that gave her some fine, if fleeting, opportunities to show Van Buren's rarely glimpsed vulnerability."[7] Van Buren's role in the franchise is considered a precursor toOlivia Benson's centrality in theSVU series.[8]
By episode count, she was the longest-running character on the original show during its original run;Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) surpassed her during its revival. Van Buren appeared in 392 episodes within the franchise (390 ofLaw & Order, theLaw & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Badge" and theLaw & Order: Trial by Jury episode "Skeleton") andExiled: A Law & Order Movie, and is the fifth longest-running regular character in theLaw & Order franchise, behind Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay),Fin Tutuola (Ice-T), McCoy, andDonald Cragen (Dann Florek), and the sixth longest-running character in theLaw & Order universe, behind Benson (478 episodes inLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit), Tutuola (456 episodes inSVU), McCoy (408 episodes in the universe, including two inHomicide: Life on the Street), Cragen (400 episodes in the franchise), andJohn Munch (Richard Belzer) (452 episodes in the universe, including 122 inHomicide: Life on the Street).
TV criticsAlan Sepinwall andMatt Zoller Seitz called the season-fiveLaw & Order character lineup (featuring Van Buren, McCoy,Mike Logan,Lennie Briscoe,Claire Kincaid andAdam Schiff) the single-best character combination in theLaw & Order universe, dubbing them "the'27 Yankees ofL&O casts, featuring not only Hall of Famers at every position but the very best example of each respective role in the franchise's history."[9] A textbook on management of state and municipal police departments described Anita Van Buren as a "good example of an operational supervisor as a strong leader...Nothing seems to get by her. When [detectives] cross the line of legality, she steps in to put them in their place. The operational supervisor must know their subordinates well; they must be present not only in spirit but in body and mind."[10]
Van Buren joins the cast in the 1993 episode "Sweeps", succeedingCapt. Don Cragen (Dann Florek) as commander of the 27th Precinct Detective Squad after Cragen transfers to the Anti-Corruption Task Force. Throughout her run on the show, she oversees the work of detectives such asLennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach),Mike Logan (Chris Noth), Tony Profaci (John Fiero),Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), Sammy Kurtz (Paul Guilfoyle), Morris LaMotte (Larry Clarke), Joe Cormack (Joe Forbrich),Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin),Joe Fontana (Dennis Farina), Nick Falco (Michael Imperioli), Nina Cassady (Milena Govich),Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto), andKevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson).
For almost the entire duration of the series, Van Buren carries aSmith & Wesson Model 36 revolver as her duty weapon.[11] In the 20th season episode "Fed" she is seen carrying a Glock 19.
Van Buren is known for her toughness, but she often pays a price for it. In one episode she shoots and wounds a would-be mugger (Omar Scroggins) who attacks her at anATM, and kills the mugger's partner, who turned out to be a mentally handicapped teenager. She is investigated, and absolved, by the Internal Affairs Bureau. The District Attorney brings her case to the grand jury, but they choose to not indict her. Later, the mugger is charged with the murder and Van Buren testifies at the trial. Due to this, Lennie Briscoe later tells Rey Curtis that “she hates the hell out of going to court.”[11] In another, she nearly loses her job when shesues theNYPD for promoting a white woman with less seniority ahead of her.[12] Her lawsuit becomes such an issue of contention within the department that the Chief of Detectives tells her she will have to resign to get her squad the resources it needs to apprehend a childrapist.[13] A judge eventually dismisses herdiscrimination suit.
During a murder case, Van Buren learns that the case that led to her promotion to lieutenant was tainted by a dishonest fingerprint examiner's report. The expert, a friend of Van Buren's, had been falsifying various other reports and is tried for her actions, saying that she was just doing what Van Buren wanted. No action is taken against Van Buren, but the scandal continues to haunt her.[14]
In season 17, she is forced to accept Nina Cassady as the replacement for Det.Joe Fontana upon his retirement. Van Buren believes that Cassady is too inexperienced to be a homicide detective, creating a risk to her partner, Ed Green. Van Buren had a "hand-picked" replacement for Fontana who was much more experienced than Cassady. She eventually learns to tolerate (and perhaps accept) Cassady as a member of her squad. However, this acceptance does not seem to last long; in the seventeenth season finale "The Family Hour", Van Buren berates the detective for her inability to keep her temper in check and suggests that Cassady has no future in the 27th Squad.
She was succeeded as lieutenant of the 27th Precinct by Kate Dixon, when Season 21 premiered in 2022.[15]
Van Buren was born at some point after 1952.[16] A graduate ofJohn Jay College, Van Buren was married to Donald (Charles Dumas), who owns a hardware store.[17] They divorce after he cheated on her.[18] They have two sons, Stefan, who is the elder,[19] and Ric, who was diagnosed withscoliosis at the age of six.[20] It is revealed that she spent five years as a patrol officer and three years in undercover narcotics.[21][11] Further revelations are that she enjoys the poetLangston Hughes, and that she is left-handed.[22] She had a sister who was greatly upset by the fact that she could not have children.[23] She is opposed to theIraq War[24] and disapproves ofhunting.[25]
Her father was wounded in Wasu,Korea, during theKorean War in 1952. He spent time atTulsaVA Hospital inOklahoma and his wife later claimed that he would have died if it had not been for the excellent care that he received from the medical staff. He had died by 2007.[16] Her detectives have affectionately addressed her by two shortened versions of her rank: "L.T." (used byRey Curtis,Cyrus Lupo, andKevin Bernard) and "Lieu" (used byLennie Briscoe,Ed Green, and alsoCyrus Lupo).
In season 20, Van Buren sees anOB/GYN and is diagnosed withStage IIcervical cancer, caused by the sexually transmittedhuman papillomavirus (HPV)—which she contracted from Donald, who had been cheating on her. She had not been married to him for at least 5 years.[26] Just before her diagnosis, she began dating a man named Frank (Ernie Hudson).[27] Due to thechemotherapy, she loses her hair and begins wearing a wig. She is so dedicated to her job that she refuses to usemedical marijuana because, at the time, it is illegal; however, she starts using it after the Chief of Detectives, atesticular cancer survivor, says he will look the other way if she keeps it discreet.[28] As the season goes on, her treatment is apparently not progressing well and she is becoming increasingly worried about her chances of survival. However, in the final episode of the season (and ultimately the series, at the time), "Rubber Room", her health appears to have improved: she receives a call from her doctor, looks back at her colleagues and whispers "Thank you...Thank you" to herself. The series ends with a fundraising party that her colleagues organized in order to help her pay for the expensive treatment. On the same occasion, it is revealed that she and Frank are engaged.[29]
| Time period | Senior Detective | Junior Detective |
|---|---|---|
| 1993–1995 | Lennie Briscoe | Mike Logan |
| 1995–1999 | Rey Curtis | |
| 1999–2004 | Ed Green | |
| 2004–2006 | Joe Fontana | |
| 2005 | ||
| Nick Falco | ||
| Ed Green | ||
| 2006–2007 | Ed Green | Nina Cassady |
| 2008 | Cyrus Lupo | |
| 2008–2010 | Cyrus Lupo | Kevin Bernard |
The following are the medals and service awards worn by Lieutenant Van Buren, as seen in "Gunplay" (season 15, episode 5).
 | American Flag Breast Bar |
 | World Trade Center Breast Bar |
 | NYPD Meritorious Police Duty |
 | NYPD Excellent Police Duty |
| Seasons | Years | Episodes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | ||
| 4 | 1993–94 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 1994–95 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 1995–96 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 1996–97 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 1997–98 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 1998–99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 1999-2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 2000–01 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 2001–02 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 2002–03 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 2003–04 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 2004–05 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | 2005–06 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | 2006–07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | 2008–09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | 2009-10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | Years | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
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