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How Chicago P.D. Newcomer Toya Turner Is Connected to the CPD In Real Life
The actress joined Chicago P.D. as a series regular, playing tactical officer Kiana Cook.
As it turns out, Chicago P.D.'s newest series regular, Toya Turner, was probably tailor made for the job.
Turner made her debut as Officer Kiana Cook in Season 12's second episode. However, she returns in Season 12, Episode 5's "Water and Honey," set to become a member of the Intelligence Unit as she takes over the spot left vacant after Upton's replacement, Martel, was tragically killed.
"Toya's such a bad mama jama. She came in, she settled in right away," Patrick John Flueger (Ruzek) told NBC Insider. "I feel very lucky. I'm really excited about Toya. I'm really excited for the audience to get to know her."
And coincidentally, not only is the actress a Chicago native, but she has another major connection that gives her special intel into the show's universe.
"She doesn't have to play it too hard to make you believe that she knows what the hell she's doing," Flueger says. "I think when we've introduced other characters, maybe they felt more like rookies? They felt maybe less prepared than they needed to be, to be in this kind of elite unit. Toya does not have that for even a second."
Find out more, below.
Toya Turner's connection to the Chicago Police Department
In a twist of events, Turner's father is actually a Chicago police officer in real life. And the department is incredibly excited to see the actress on the series.
"I've been getting calls from other cops saying, you know, look out for her because [her] dad is a great guy," LaRoyce Hawkins (Atwater) tells NBC Insider. "In the way that she pulled up, just so confident and ready and unafraid, that's the type of team member I think we gravitate towards. That's the kind of energy that we appreciate on the team. I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows and continues to gel. But so far extremely good, you really can't complain. I think we lucked out with that one."
Jason Beghe (Voight) also had nothing but praise for Turner.
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"It's a big deal to come in — we've been doing this, we're a family — and, you know, to all of a sudden jump in. People normally are nervous, and I'm sure she was, but it didn't read at all, and it wasn't because she was covering it. It's because she's so damn professional and she has a very strong sense of who she is," the actor says.
He continues, "I truly adore her, and I think that she kinda adores me too. And I think that's probably true of most of the cast."
