Joseph Stabler

**Detective Joseph 'Joe' Stabler** is the father of Elliot Stabler and the husband of Bernadette Stabler. He is the grandfather of Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie, Elizabeth and Eli.

## History

Joseph was a detective with the NYPD who was well known in the department. Joseph was also abusive towards Stabler both emotionally and physically and never approved of anything that he did. Joseph was also the friend of a fellow NYPD officer who was the father of Frank Donnelly. During Joseph's career, he was awarded the Combat Cross for shielding a police officer named Gus Hanson by taking a bullet for him after he shot a child. When Stabler became a police officer, Joseph gave Stabler the award that he won. Stabler remembered the medal as the first time Joseph was ever proud of him.

When Stabler was in fifth grade, Joseph and Stabler built a shoebox diorama for an assignment. After Stabler moved a tree, Joseph found out and beat Stabler and stomped on his project causing Stabler to fail his assignment for not turning it in. When Stabler got involved in a bar fight, Joseph pulled in a favour to avoid Stabler being arrested, even though it was self-defense. When Joseph and Bernadette got into an argument, Bernadette reached for his service weapon which caused Joseph to send her to a psychiatric facility. While Bernadette was in the facility, Joseph cheated on her with nurses. Joseph then passed away during the early years of Stabler's children but it his cause of death was unknown.

## On OC

### Season 2

After Donnelly revealed to Stabler a story about how Joseph may have been corrupt, Stabler started investigating his father's legacy that he left behind and asked Jet to find out the reason why Joseph was awarded the Combat Cross. Later, Jet confirmed the shooting to Stabler which shocked him. One evening, Stabler reunited with Cragen and spoke with him about Joseph's career. Cragen told Stabler that Joseph was a good cop back in the day. (OC: "Can't Knock The Hustle")

Stabler discovered several video tapes of home movies from when he was younger. Stabler asked Jet to dig deeper into those home movies and thanked her after she agreed to do it. Later that evening, Stabler plugged in the home movies to his computer and relived several memories with Joseph and himself. Bernadette then walked in and hugged Stabler while watching the movies with him. (OC: "Change The Game")

Stabler meets with Gus Hanson to discuss Joseph and shows Hanson the home videos of him and Joseph. Hanson asks Stabler why he is at his residence and Stabler asks him about the Combat Cross. Hanson claims that Donnelly's father, Jack, was bad and Stabler pushes Hanson for more information. Hanson reexplains the entire story about the shooting to Stabler and told him that the perp that he shot had shot your dad. Hanson then becomes defensive. Stabler tells Hanson that he meant no disrespect and leaves. (OC: "Dead Presidents")

Stabler visited the abandoned site where Joseph and Hanson taught Stabler to shoot a gun. Stabler then found the tree that he shot at where Joseph told Stabler that he was proud of him for shooting. Stabler then dug out the bullet that he shot the tree with before being approached by a woman. (OC: “Lost One”)

Stabler visited Hanson and started questioning him about him and Joseph framing an innocent kid several years ago. Hanson told Stabler that if his father would have heard him talking to him like this then he would be enraged. Stabler told Hanson that he would have the same conversation with his father if he were still alive. Later, after being awarded the Combat Cross for taking Donnelly and the Brotherhood down, Stabler met with Hector Serrano who was the father of the child whose kid Joseph and Hanson framed. (OC: "Friend Or Foe")

## Appearances

* Law & Order: Organized Crime
	+ Season 2: "Change The Game" • "Dead Presidents" • “Lost One” • "Friend Or Foe"