Jay Halstead

Senior Detective **James Alexander "Jay" Halstead** is a member of Sergeant Hank Voight's CPD Intelligence Unit and is partnered with his girlfriend Detective Katie Morales. Badge number 51163. Jay is the younger brother of Dr. Will Halstead, a main character on *Chicago Med*.

## Early Life

The Halsteads are from Chicago, little is known about their family as neither brother talks much about it. Jay's brother Will, who is a doctor on *Chicago Med,* mentions that they are third-generation residents of the historically Irish-populated South Side neighborhood of Canaryville. They are from a blue-collar Irish Catholic background and both brothers attended Catholic school. It was revealed that their mother has passed away from cancer. It was noted she was dying while Jay was deployed, but he came back to care for her. Neither brother has had a good relationship with their father Pat, as he disapproved of their career choices. Jay also mentions that Pat didn’t even attend his graduation from the Academy. Therefore he has never spoken to Pat in almost 2 years but still loved him. While Will was able to reconcile with him, Jay never did and only discovered after Pat's death that the latter was actually proud of him as well. He later admits to Upton that he found therapy helpful, though it is not until the season 6 episode *Trigger* that Halstead speaks at length about how his time overseas affected him, telling Upton that he had learned to deal with his PTSD and not let the past trauma define him.

## Chicago PD

Jay Halstead had been in the Intelligence Unit for a month when the show premieres. A skilled marksman and a former Ranger, he provides the tactical know-how and is often the designated sniper covering for the team when needed. His interrogation tactics are blunt and tough.

### Chicago Med

In 4x09 of Chicago Fire, Herrmann is stabbed by a paranoid worker - Freddie, also an ex-con, that Herrmann had hired after requests from Joe Cruz. Freddie is offended by a joke made by Herrmann and stabs him and runs off. In 1x04 of Chicago Med, firehouse 51 and the team of Med is there to treat Herrmann. Jay's brother, Will, is the attending with Dr. Rhodes. Things go sideways when Rhodes slightly delays in treating Herrmann, leading to a complication. Severide and the rest of 51 push on getting answers, leading them to ask Jay to ask Will - who has a very strained personal relationship with Rhodes - whether Rhodes made the right call. Jay asks Will, who tells him he *personally* thought that Rhodes delayed treating Herrmann. Jay tells Severide, who calls out Rhodes in front of everyone. Rhodes is upset and figures out it was Will and they argue. Will tells Jay their discussion was confidential, to which Jay replied he never explicitly said this. Will tells him he won't make that mistake again, while Jay replies he also won't be passing on information from crime scenes to him anymore. They later apologize to each other, resolving the argument. Jay makes several other appearances on *Chicago Med*, noticeably when Natalie Manning asks him out on a date and he declines after talking to Will, telling him "man, you really need to get it together". He also assists on several criminal cases, including that of a young rape victim in *"White Butterflies"*.

In Season 6, Jay appeared several times when Will got caught up in a money laundering case he was working on. Jay persuaded Will to work with the CPD and FBI in taking down Ray Burke, who was a family friend and whose sons had asked him to make a house call on their ill father. Will was reluctant in helping because he felt he was betraying his patients trust, but both Jay and Agent Ingrid Lee told him he had no other choice. In the end, Ray and his sons figured out Will was working with police and kidnapped him, forcing him to operate on Ray at gunpoint. Jay tracked him down and took him into Witness Protection until the threat was gone.

## Relationships

### Family

#### **Pat Halstead**

Jay was estranged from his father, as Pat disapproved of his and Will's career choices. Jay mentioned that he hadn't spoken to him in two years. Jay is shown to strongly resent his father and exhibits a significant change in mood and demeanor whenever he is so much as mentioned. When Pat was brought into the hospital after a huge fire, Jay was devastated and stayed by his father side as he was in the hospital but ultimately chose to investigate the cause of the fire and put away the men responsible. While Will was able to reconcile with him, Jay never did and only discovered after Pat's death that the latter was actually proud of him as well. After learning this, Jay broke down and properly mourned his father.

#### **Will Halstead**

Although Jay and Will are on good terms and very close, Jay has expressed some lingering resentment towards Will for not being there when their mother died, during which time Jay was deployed and Will was (in Jay's words) "out partying". While neither of them are close to their father, Jay, unlike Will, had not spoken to him in over two years prior to Will's introduction in season 2 of *Chicago P.D.* When Pat was hospitalized (*Chicago Med* season 2 episode "Generation Gap") Jay was very reluctant to see him even then. Jay is extremely protective of Will and is very quick to jump to his defense. In *The Number of Rats*, the SVU crossover includes Will being called in for questioning by Voight and Olivia Benson without telling Jay the motive behind it. Olivia believes Will is connected to the brutal murders of young women, due to the fact that he works at a hospital and lived in New York where and when one of the victims was murdered and sees him as a suspect. Voight doesn't tell Jay this, who only finds out after Will is ambushed by the string of questions when he is brought in to "help". Jay is furious and demands Will be taken out as soon as he realizes what's going on, never once doubting his innocence. Will tries to say he will help and is ready to answer the questions but Jay won't let him, and forces him to leave and not say anything. In the Chicago Fire episode "I Am The Apocalypse", Chicago Med's backdoor pilot, Will is inside the Emergency Department when a terrorist sets off a bomb. He is not seriously injured, but Jay is shown to be very worried about him, immediately saying "tell me you're not in there" when Will calls him from inside the building. Likewise, Will has expressed his concern about Jay's mental well-being following Erin's sudden departure, his shot wound and the grisly and draining nature of his work in the CPD.

### Romance

#### **Gabriela Dawson**

Jay and Gabriela had a short-lived relationship while he was working as a double agent against a ruthless stake owner of Mda. She was shocked to learn he was a cop who worked with her brother Antonio. Their relationship ended when Halstead expressed his desire to join Intelligence. She remains good friends with him, hanging out at Molly's.

#### **Abby McSweeney**

Abby is Jay's estranged wife possibly ex now.

Abby and Jay met in the Rangers, being good friends. They got married one night whilst they were very drunk in Vegas, after a fellow ranger's funeral. Jay signed divorce papers almost immediately afterward and hadn't seen her since. She returns in *Remember the Devil*, stating she didn't countersign the papers all those years ago and she and Jay are still married. Abby then says she needs them to resign the papers because she's getting married. However, she tells him later on that the story about getting married was a lie, and reveals she's back because she really loves him and wanted a relationship. Jay was surprised but tells her they can't be together and that she deserves someone who'll love her back. It is unknown from there whether or not they officiated a divorce.

#### **Erin Lindsay**

***Main article: Linstead***

Jay developed feelings for Erin after they started working together. After getting to know a little about her background, they both had feelings for each other, but Voight would not let them work together and date at the same time and so they didn't. However, in season 2, they started dating and assured Voight it wouldn't interfere with their work. This was after Lindsay temporarily accepted another job offer. Jay never really disclosed to Erin about his time in the military or opened up to her about the PTSD he had suffered. Only ever getting hints from Will or Mouse. They continued to date on and off but always remained close. However, in Season 2 , Lindsay broke it off after Nadia's death and left Intelligence, spending her nights in clubs and bars in grief. Jay was insistent on bringing her back and calling her everyday but she refused to do so. Voight left her after weeks of waiting, upset at her choice. In *Life is Fluid*, Jay was kidnapped and tortured in an undercover case gone wrong. Erin came back to save him, after which she came back to the unit and got back together with Jay. In *You Wish*, Jay ordered a DNA test to see whether Jimmy, who Bunny claimed was Erin's real father, was her real father. She didn't want to do it but he did it behind her back and gave her the test that showed he wasn't. Jimmy lashed out in anger and Erin was extremely hurt, blaming it on Jay for ordering it in the first place. In *Remember the Devil*, Will told Jay that his ex-wife, Abby, is in town and tracked them both down. Jay brushes it off until he sees her outside the station waiting for him. He tells Erin to go and meets up with Abby, who tells him that he needs to sign the divorce papers. Jay was married to her but he tells her he did sign them, which she says she threw away without filing. He agrees to re-sign. Erin eventually asks him if he's cheating on her. He tells her about Abby and their small marriage that he says was only a joke and it was over quickly. She is upset he didn't tell her about it but he feels guilty for not telling her about it. He meets up with Abby, who says she still loves him. Feeling conflicted, he immediately tells Abby no but goes home and packs. He tells Erin he'll be staying with Will for some time until things are okay. She tells him not to but he says he needs to sort his life out and leaves, that is when they break up. After that, they still have feelings for each other but are not together. Jay later realizes he made a huge mistake by letting Erin go so he asks his brother to give him their mother's engagement ring, so he can propose to her. Unfortunately, by the time he got the ring and tells Erin to meet with him, leave Chicago PD miss she are with she was already at New York for her new job. Erin Lindsay left at the end of season 4 to go to a different job in new York

#### **Brianna Logan**

Jay worked as a guard for her Medical marijuana farm. They first meet in *A Night Owl*, Jay jokingly told Brianna that a month ago he would most likely have arrested her but he needed the extra money. She had liked his joke and got him to work. During *Forty-Caliber Bread Crumb*, she offers Jay a dinner date but he could not answer because of a robbery. He later learned from Jason Logan, her soon to be ex-husband that Brianna is attracted to him something that surprised him. After recovering her money Jay told her that things were good now and Brianna tried to act on her attraction by asking him out but he turned it down because of his relationship with Erin. However it is implied that she has not given up and her offer still stands, something that made him smile.

#### **Katie Morales**

***Main article: Morstead***

Originally Jay and Katie’s relationship was rocky as he believed she got her position in intelligence because her father was the police commissioner and she knew Hank Voight personally, but slowly their relationship began to smooth out; both became good friends and partners with one another as time went on since Lindsay left for New York. Throughout their time as partners, they have relied on each other as confidants and for comfort. After a while, it became clear that they were more than friends, but Katie kept her distance from him because of her responsibilities with Ricky that she has said will always be a priority for her over everything else. It became clear that Halstead was fine with the arrangement and they started seeing each other.

In season 7, after he gets shot, Katie begins the process of moving in with Halstead.

Ricky, Katie and Jay are all officially living together as of the season 8 premiere.

##### **Key "Morstead" Moments**

* They constantly say "I got your back", "I've always got your back".
* After Jay gets put on desk duty after his affair with Camila, Hailey and Katie have a conversation where Hailey says "You’re worried about him because you love him" and Katie responds with "Of course I love him, he's my partner."

### Partners

* Erin Lindsay
* Katie Morales

### Friends

#### Antonio Dawson

Antonio is the one who got Jay on the Intelligence unit by vouching for him to his sergeant. Jay is very appreciative of him, vowing to not let him down for giving him the opportunity. Antonio often tries to keep Jay in line when he tries to question the Sergeant's way of police work. Despite this, the pair's status always stay on friendly ground.

Jay was also shocked to hear that Antonio will be transferred to working to the attorney office but supported him regardless.

#### Alvin Olinsky

One of Jay's superior officers. Although they often don’t see eye-to-eye because of their respective views, Jay was the one to convince him and Voight not to kill Pulpo out of personal vendetta. They get along, especially because they are fellow military veterans in the unit. When Alvin died, Jay was upset by this and joined the unit in arresting those responsible. He later paid respect to Alvin at his funeral.

#### Greg "Mouse" Gerwitz

Greg "Mouse" Gerwitz was Jay's best friend and part of his team when he was deployed to Afghanistan. During Mouse's interview for the IT job in "What Puts You On That Ledge," Platt mentions that Mouse received a medical discharge and asks him about the incident. Mouse tells her that he and Jay were in the lead of a convoy, and although he becomes very uncomfortable and does not continue, it is implied that their convoy was bombed and Mouse and Jay were both seriously injured, resulting in their medical discharge. They helped each other through their difficulties readjusting to civilian life and PTSD; Will tells Erin that Mouse was the one who looked after his brother after their return from war and helped him with "what he was going through", and Jay later reveals that Mouse would call him in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep due to the psychological trauma. Mouse served as Jay's CI for a short period of time (likely due to his felony charge). The following year, Jay helps him get the job at the District, saying of Mouse, "I would trust him with my life. And I have, several times." He advocates for him when Voight is suspicious due to Mouse's criminal record and PTSD symptoms and is extremely concerned when he is held hostage in *Actual Physical Violence*, even telling Voight that he should be the one to kill Mouse's captor. In Season 4, Mouse starts thinking about going back to the Army Rangers. In Made A Wrong Turn, he tells Jay that he's been thinking about returning to the Rangers. Jay is immediately angry and worried about him, asking if he remembers "what it did to you". He tells him that they will discuss it later, and Mouse brings it up again in A War Zone, bringing the argument to a head. Jay also brings up Mouse's criminal record; Mouse then asks Voight for a favor to clean his record or he won't be allowed back, and Voight says he'll consider it. Mouse says he wants action, so Jay tells him to become a police officer like him, but Mouse says he was "born to be a soldier" and would re-enlist even if it meant death. Jay, blinded by his concern, refuses to let him and this angers Mouse, who then shouts back at Voight after ignoring him in front of the whole team, saying that this is the only thing he's ever asked for. Erin, after breaking up an argument between Jay and Mouse, helps Jay to realize that returning to the army is a bad idea - for Jay, and he is projecting that onto Mouse. Jay comes around and has Platt clear his record, telling Mouse at the end of A War Zone that if he wants to re-enlist, he's "behind him 100 percent". In a deleted scene, he says that he considers the Chicago P.D. - especially Jay - family, and he will always carry them with him.

#### Hank Voight

In earlier seasons, Jay was suspicious of Voight's activities and they often came to blows. However, Jay respected Voight for his intent on protecting the people of Chicago and getting the job done. This was best seen in *The Docks*, where Jay stops Voight from killing Pulpo. Although Voight nearly tried, he was talked out of it. At a bar, Voight surprises Halstead with encouragement; he respects the detective's conviction and tells him not to change at all, for the sake of the unit. Voight also seems to care for Jay, as he put him under protection in *The Weigh Station* and didn't want him on assignment, knowing the potential dangers Jay could face. Despite his initially strict policy on relationships in his unit, Voight didn't seem to care for Jay's romance with Erin, as long as they could depend on each other even asking Jay to look out for her. In *Get Back to Even*, Voight later helped Jay protect Will, his brother, from harm when a gunman attacked them while the latter was operating on an off-book patient. When Voight nearly confronted Kelton in *Trust*, Jay had expected this and immediately talked him out of it. In *Reckoning*, Hank shows faith that one day that Jay might be in charge of the unit.

## Notes and Trivia

* Halstead served in the 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment
* Halstead has switched his service weapon three times:
	+ Season 1 showed him using a Glock 17.
	+ In seasons 2-5, Jay used a standard Glock 19.
	+ After *Confidential*, he uses a modified version of the latter with a nickel-finished and serrated slide, called ‘The Spartan’ created by ZEV Technologies.
	+ In season 7, his duty gun becomes an OZ9, also created by ZEV Technologies.
* After "[riding] shotgun since day 1 with no complaint" alongside Erin Lindsay (and occasionally using her Chrysler 300C), he drives a GMC Sierra. In Season 6, this is switched out for a RAM 1500 Laramie Longhorn.
	+ He has mentioned the former as being his "dream rig."
	+ The latter is likely a nod back to the Dodge Ram 1500 previously used by Antonio Dawson, especially with its matte-gray repainting since *Descent*.
	+ He can ride a motorbike, as seen in a crossover with Chicago Fire.
* His radio code is 5021 George.
* His Class A uniform displays the Lifesaving Award, Traffic Stop of the Month Award, Special Service Award, Police Blue Star Award, Superintendent's Award of Merit, and Democratic Convention Service Award.
* According to a doctor, Jay has a large injury list.
	+ He has had six broken fingers.
	+ One broken wrist.
	+ Five broken ribs.
	+ Lacerated skull.
	+ Over 100 stitches.