What Happened to Elias Koteas’ Character Alvin Olinsky on Chicago P.D.?
This officer’s death in Season 5 was one of the biggest turning points in Chicago P.D. history.
Chicago P.D.’s Intelligence Unit has featured several powerhouse detectives over the years, but none have left their mark as indelibly as Alvin Olinksy, played by Elias Koteas.
As one of Sergeant Hank Voight’s (Jason Beghe) dearest friends and right-hand man for years, there’s no denying that Olinksy was a force within the squad. From Seasons 1 through 5, his sardonic humor and unique style of policing stole the spotlight time and time again as he assisted in dozens of high-stakes cases.
Olinksy was a force to be reckoned with until his tragic end, and remains a One Chicago fan favorite.
Who was Alvin Olinksy on Chicago P.D.?
Chi-Hards first met the hat-loving (and balding) Olinksky in the series premiere of Chicago P.D., when Voight sent his long-time colleague out to recruit officers and detectives for the freshly-minted Intelligence Unit.
Before his time in the CPD, Olinksy had served in the U.S. Army’s Special Response Team, during which he saw significant action before joining the CPD along with Voight and Trudy Platt (Amy Morton).
Throughout his tenure, Olinsky established himself as one of the most tenacious and capable detectives within the unit, which is likely why Voight trusted him with recruitment.
In Season 2, Episode 19 (“The Three Gs”), it was revealed the hardened detective had already accrued his full pension, but didn’t want to retire yet.
Olinsky’s policing was occasionally morally grey — his emotions would occasionally cloud his better judgment, especially around heinous perps — but his actions were always motivated by his desire to keep Chicago civilians and his loved ones safe. That loyalty would follow Olinsky to his final days.
What was Alvin Olinsky’s relationship with Hank Voight on Chicago P.D.?
Olinsky and Voight’s friendship was a beloved One Chicago relationship. The two excelled at leveling each other out: If Olinsky was seconds away from committing a felony, Voight would step in to help him settle down, and vice versa.
Conversely, Voight and Olinsky often landed on the same side of morally gray policing, like in Season 1 when Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) was critically wounded and they both wanted to kill the perp responsible. Olinky ultimately backtracked and helped Voight simmer down as well, but they got each other on a level that some other Intelligence members could never understand.
When Voight was kidnapped by two perps in Season 2, Episode 5 (“An Honest Woman,” Olinsky was the one to take control of the Intelligence Unit and launch a manhunt for their sergeant, successfully getting Voight home. When Olinsky’s daughter Lexi (Alina Jenine Taber) was murdered in Season 4 (more on that below), Voight was his main support as he grieved the horrific loss.
And when Voight’s son was horrifically murdered by Kevin Bingham in the Season 3 finale (“Keep Digging”), Olinsky was one of the first people to help Voight track down the killer. Voight, blind with fury, ended up killing Bingham after forcing him to dig his own grave.
Olinsky knew that Internal Affairs would suspect Voight for Bingham’s murder, so he helped with the cover-up job in Season 4. After Voight’s car was tracked to the location of Bingham’s murder, Olinsky moved the body to erase the sergeant’s trail.
His efforts proved to be disastrous, however, after a strand of Olinsky’s hair landed on Bingham’s body during the reburial.
How did Alvin Olinksy die on Chicago P.D.?
In Season 5, Olinsky was called into the office where he learned his DNA was found on Bingham’s recently-exhumed body.
At the time, Voight was being targeted by a crooked cop named Denny Woods (Mykelti Williamson), who was dead-set on proving that Voight had killed Bingham and tried to get Olinsky to admit that his best friend was responsible. Olinksy didn’t budge.
In an effort to then coax a confession from Voight, Denny bribed a civilian to claim that they’d seen Olinsky abducting Bingham, and he was ultimately indicted for the murder and sent to jail. Still, he refused to rat out his best friend — even when his then-estranged wife, Meredith (Melissa Carlson), begged him to tell the truth.
Olinsky instead opted to wait for the Intelligence Unit to figure out a solution, knowing that he had not, in fact, abducted Bingham.
Sadly, that day he would be released never came. While in prison, Olinsky was stabbed by a gang member from the Latin Scorpions who had been paid for the violent act. After being whisked to the hospital in Season 5, Episode 21 (“Homecoming”), Olinsky succumbed to his injuries.
Voight avenged his fallen friend’s death, ultimately shooting and killing the man responsible for ordering the hit, Carlos DeLeon (Jason Martinez), during a high-stakes chase.
But Voight was told to not attend Olinsky’s funeral by Meredith, who blamed him for her husband’s end. He chose to attend in secret, silently grieving his longtime friend from the sidelines of the cemetery.
In Season 6, Episode 3 (“Bad Boys”), Voight got a letter from the department finally clearing his friend’s name.
At the start of the series, Olinsky was in tumultuous marriage with his wife Meredith (Melissa Carlson), with whom he was parenting their teenage daughter Lexi.
In Season 1, Episode 4 (” Now Is Always Temporary”), he explained that he was living in the couple’s garage, but said that they were still in love. In Season 1, Episode 14 (“The Docks”), a case inspired him to ask her for a new start to their marriage.
The couple was doing great when, in Season 2, Episode 9 (“Called in Dead”), Meredith was kidnapped by gangsters. The Intelligence Unit tracked her down and saved her, and Olinsky briefly pondered whether or not he should kill the gang members — but she talked him out of it.
Their marriage however ended after it was revealed at the end of Season 2 that Olinsky had an affair while on an undercover assignment because the woman had conceived a child from the affair — another teenage daughter named Michelle (Madison McLaughlin). Olinsky confessed the affair and surprise child to Meredith and Lexi in Season 3, Episode 3 (“Actual Physical Evidence”).
Meredith told him to leave but later suggested that he get a DNA test to make sure Michelle was really his child before it tore their family apart. He did get the test but ultimately decided to secretly trash the unread results after bonding with Michelle and becoming a support system to her. In Season 3, Episode 7 (“A Dead Kid, a Notebook and a Lot of Maybes”), Olinsky signed papers naming him as Michelle’s legal guardian, a development that enraged his wife.
Though she visited him in prison after his Season 5 arrest, they never actually reconciled. Viewers last saw her attending his funeral in Season 5, Episode 21 (“Allegiance”).
