Chester Lake (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) facts for kids

Chester Lake
Law & Order character
First appearance	"Outsider" (season 8)
Last appearance	"Cold" (season 9)
Portrayed by	Adam Beach
Information
Title	NYPD Detective
Partner	Fin Tutuola
Seasons	8, 9

Detective Chester Lake is a character from the TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is played by actor Adam Beach. Lake is special because he was the first detective of Native American background on a Law & Order series.

He first appeared in the eighth season. At that time, he worked with the NYPD's Special Victims Unit in Brooklyn. Later, he moved to the Manhattan SVU team. There, he became partners with Detective Fin Tutuola, played by Ice-T.

Chester Lake was part of the show for two seasons. He was written out of the show at the end of the ninth season. This happened because the show felt it had too many detectives.

About Chester Lake

Chester Lake comes from a Native American family. His family is part of the Mohawk nation. They have lived in New York City for many generations. For three generations, all the men in his family worked as ironworkers. When he was younger, Lake was also a foster child.

Before becoming a detective, Lake used to be an amateur mixed martial artist. His fight name was "Naptime." He stopped this career after hurting his knee.

Lake's Work as a Detective

Lake first appeared in the episode "Outsider" during the eighth season. He was a Brooklyn SVU detective. He helped Fin Tutuola with a case involving an incident at Fin's son's college.

In the season finale, "Screwed," Captain Donald Cragen brought Lake to the Manhattan SVU. This was to help with many cases. Lake then became Fin Tutuola's partner.

Lake became a main character in Season 9. In one episode called "Avatar," we learn that Lake collects rare books. He also helped solve a kidnapping case involving a bookstore owner.

Lake's Unique Habits

In the episode "Harm," it was shown that Lake often had trouble sleeping. He would take walks around the city at night to help with this. During these walks, he learned many small details about the city. He knew the sounds of different factories. He also knew which restaurants were popular with different groups of people. Sometimes, these small details helped the team solve their cases.

In "Svengali," Lake got a head injury when a hidden bomb exploded. Even though he didn't want to go, he was taken to the hospital. He later helped find the person who caused the explosion.

In the episode "Fight," Lake used his own experience as a foster child. He helped two brothers who were accused of a crime. After they were found innocent, Lake helped them stay in college. He also tried to reunite them with their mother. Sadly, their mother was found to have passed away. Lake then took the brothers out to eat, just like their mother had planned.

Lake's Final Case

In the season 9 finale, "Cold," Lake was involved in a complex situation. He was part of a group called the Vidocq Society in Philadelphia. This group shares information about unsolved cases.

Later, Lake was involved in a serious incident. He was suspected of being involved in the death of another police officer. This officer was connected to an old case. Lake was taken into custody. However, new facts came to light. It seemed Lake might have acted to protect himself. This led to another suspect being found. This second suspect was also a police officer.

After a trial for the second suspect, the jury could not agree. Lake was then found near the suspect. He was taken into custody again.

Why Chester Lake Left the Show

Adam Beach met the show's creator, Dick Wolf, while filming another movie. Wolf was very impressed with Beach's acting. He offered Beach a regular role on SVU. Beach was very excited about the role. He felt it was a "dream role" and would help other Native American actors.

However, the show's producers soon realized something. They felt there were too many detectives on the show. This meant that other actors, like Richard Belzer and Ice-T, had less time on screen. So, they decided to write Lake out of the series. This was to bring the focus back to the main cast.

The show's producer, Neal Baer, said that Lake's departure was a friendly decision. Adam Beach also said he enjoyed his time on SVU. He was looking forward to new acting opportunities.