Christina Alonso

**Christina "Chris" Alonso** was the first female officer the LAPD's S.W.A.T. Before joining SW.A.T., she was a member of the K-9 Platoon. She officially resigned from the LAPD S.W.A.T. in Season Five in order to be with her new duty of helping and housing illegal immigrant girls seeking asylum. Her position was taken over by Zoe Powell in Season Six.

The character is portrayed by Lina Esco.

## Biography

Chris grew up with an alcoholic mother, who would often cause her grief. In 1992, her mother gave her a CD player that Chris discovered was stolen when her mother looted it from a store, during Los Angeles riots.

When Chris was 13 years old, her mother got drunk and died in a car crash. While Chris sits in a police station waiting for news two police officers walk past her and joke inappropriately about her mother's body's state, not realizing that Chris is the victim's daughter. This incident makes Chris resolve that she wants to become a police officer and aims to treat victims and their next of kin respectfully. Later, as a police officer, she often volunteers to deliver bad news to victims' families to make sure it's done properly.

At 14, Chris was kidnapped by a local gang in her neighborhood. The gang keeps her for hours before realizing that she is not who they thought she is and subsequently release her. This is revealed when Chris talks to Desiree in Season 1, Episode 5: Imposters. She mentions that she learned to box as a way to cope with what had happened to her. It is later revealed that she had also been raped by the gang several times, which Chris did not report or even tell her family until many years later.

Before joining S.W.A.T., Chris works at the "K-9" Platoon with her dog partner, "Champ". Later, she is the first woman to be accepted into the LAPD: Metro S.W.A.T. division and has been known to let her actions prove her worth to the S.W.A.T. team, rather than use words to argue about whether or not she can keep up with the men around her.

She is the only 20 David squad officer to carry a H&K MP5

## Season 1

In season one Chris remains a background character for the most part until Episode 5: Imposters when she is able to connect with a young woman named Desiree over the fact that they had experienced very similar traumas.

## Relationships

#### James “Jim” Street

Chris is initially not very impressed by Street and his attitude. He keeps hitting on her, which she asks him to stop. However, upon finding out about his background, she develops understanding for him. A key point, where their new friendship gets visible, is when Chris tells Street to address the symbolic letter to a loved one, that every S.W.A.T. officer keeps in his locker, to her, after Street tells her that apart from his mother there is no one who cares about him enough. Over time after that, the two become very close and often refer to one another as their best friend, falling out and reconciling several times during the series. Often they are teamed up together at S.W.A.T. missions and save each others lives on multiple occasions. They develop feelings for each other and even kiss on one occasion (season 2, ep. 20) but, mostly due to Chris' discipline, they ignore them for a long time, legitimately fearing consequences at their jobs. After multiple years of denying their feelings for each other, during the season four finale, Chris faces Street's decision to donate part of his liver to his emotionally abusive mother and admits her feelings for him. They part ways after kissing, their feelings out in the open.

Despite her departure from the team, they are still together and still strong, even moving in together.

#### Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson Jr.

Hondo and Chris have a relationship that relies on mutual respect, though she does have to remind him sometimes that she does not need him to confront the men who don't always give her a fair shot.

#### Dominique Luca

Until Season 4, Chris and Luca don't seem to have a much closer relationship than Chris and her other teammates (excluding Street). Luca has been transferred to Germany for a few months and after Erika's death in Season 4, Chris struggles with her grief. Directly after Erika's death at the scene, the teammates are separated from each other for a short time and Luca calls Chris by chance, only to find her devastated and in tears. In the following days, Chris calls Luca several times on tough moments (for example before entering her and Erika's shared apartment for the first time after the incident) and Luca supports her during that time. After returning from Germany, he tells Street about his worries about Chris' mental situation, after which Street keeps a closer eye on Chris until she's recovered.

#### Kira and Ty

Chris meets Kira through online dating in Season 2. They hit it off, and Kira offers for Chris to be the "third" in a polyamorous relationship with her fiancé, Tyler ("Ty"). After some hesitation, Chris accepts, but this arrangement is fraught with difficulties. Nonetheless, Chris moves in with Kira and Ty, but after some time she realizes that she only feels in a romantic way for Kira and not for Ty (Season 3, Ep. 7, "Track").. Their relationship dissolves in Season 3.

#### Erika Rogers

Erika was the second woman to make SWAT, because of these she formed a close relationship with Chris. While in the SWAT academy she approached Chris for advice and mentorship, but Chris turned her down tell her that because it would make her look weak. She helped Chris train for the TLI competition (to determine which officers got to join Luca in Germany to train local police departments). They decided to move in together after Erika learned that Chris was staying in her uncle's garage and she was staying with her sister. After Erika's death Chris went on a downward spiral of alcohol, until her teammates, especially Luca, Tan and Street, help her to cope.

## Personality

Chris pushes herself to near perfection on her S.W.A.T. skills to earn respect among her male teammates. She is very aware of the fact that she is one of the very few female S.W.A.T. members and is committed to motivate girls and women to join the LAPD S.W.A.T. She can't stand when her teammates act protective of her and makes sure that everyone knows that she can take care of herself. Being bisexual, Chris feels very strongly about rights and discrimination of queer people and stands up for her opinion.

Behind her tough, dedicated, ambitious and sometimes hard traits, Chris is very loyal and caring. She loves her friends deeply and can't bear to watch one of them hurting. She is empathic and sensitive to other people's feelings. Whenever someone on the team seems to have issues or worries, Chris checks up on them. When she sees it necessary, Chris goes the extra mile to protect her loved ones, even without their consent. For example, this gets visible when she goes to the hospital in Season 4 to talk to Street's mother, confronting her with her manipulative behavior towards Street. Chris is very kind and compassionate, which is why Hondo usually asks her to take care of frightened victims and/or their relatives.

When it comes to grieving, Chris tends towards self-destructive behavior. After Erika's death, for a short time she drowns her pain in alcohol, until her teammates, especially Luca, Tan and Street, help her to cope. Her usual way to let off steam is boxing. She tends to be afraid of her feelings and closing up instead. This is visible on her relationship with Street.

## Trivia

* She is Latina (like Lina Esco, who is of Colombian descent).
* in Season 1 episode 7 "Homecoming" it is revealed that he is bisexual, dating Jilly and telling Street "I love men, and I also love women", although it was subtly implied in the Pilot episode.
* Chris was a member of the K-9 Platoon before joining S.W.A.T.
* Her canine was named "Champ" and was trained in German.
* She donated bone marrow to her cousin, Tomas, when Tomas was 12.
* She loves boxing, believing it to be therapeutic. When the team is not out on a call or working a case, she can usually be found in the ring at HQ, hitting the mitts, or hitting the heavy bag.
* She loves cheese puffs.
* She is the godmother to Deacon's daughter, Victoria Josie Kay.
* Alonso was originally going to be named Sanchez, the same name as Michelle Rodriguez's character in the 2003 film.
* Lina Esco is the founder of Free The Nipple Movement, which is an organization which aims to bring men and women to end gender inequality.