Summary
- Detective Antonio Dawson’s departure from Chicago P.D. was triggered by a chain of events related to his pill addiction and the murder of a criminal who kidnapped his daughter.
- Dawson’s addiction to painkillers escalated after his colleague Adam took the blame for his crime, leading to his arrest and Dawson hitting rock bottom.
- In an off-screen resignation, Dawson moved to Puerto Rico to seek help from his family and eventually found a positive conclusion working in the crisis response team in the Bahamas.
Since Jon Seda’s Detective Antonio Dawson suddenly departed from Chicago P.D. in season 7, it is hard not to wonder what happened to him. Chicago P.D. first introduced Dawson in its first season’s second episode, following his son Diego’s abduction by a group of gangsters. Hired by Hank Voight, Antonio gradually became one of the most prominent characters in the series and held the second-highest rank in the CPD Intelligence Unit. During Voight’s absence, he even served as a leading force for the Intelligence team.
In Chicago P.D., Dawson further progressed in his career by becoming the lead investigator for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. However, when his new job’s monotony took a toll on him, he decided to return to the CPD Intelligence Unit. Unfortunately, with what followed, his life took a grim turn, triggering a chain reaction of events that led to his departure from Chicago P.D.
Antonio’s Pill Addiction Caused Problems For Intelligence
In Chicago P.D. season 6’s episode 3, Dawson severely injured his shoulder while trying to break a door. Although his shoulder eventually got better, the show later revealed that he was taking painkilling medicines to ease the pain from his injury. Nothing initially came out of Dawson’s reliance on painkilling pills in Chicago P.D.‘s season 6. However, towards episode 9, Dawson’s addiction to the painkillers peaked when, in an outburst of rage, he murdered a criminal who kidnapped his daughter. Since Voight and Adam were the only ones who found him at the crime scene, they decided to keep his actions a secret.
Following the incident, Voight even tried convincing him to go to rehab, while Adam took the blame for his crime. After feeling guilty about Adam getting into trouble because of him, Dawson tried upending his wrongs. However, realizing they had already broken some rules, Hank Voight encouraged him to stay quiet because it was too late for anyone to reveal the truth surrounding the incident. Dawson’s addiction to painkiller medicines only escalated after Adam got arrested for covering for his crime. In Chicago P.D. season 7’s opening episode, Dawson hit rock bottom and suddenly disappeared from the CPD Intelligence Unit, leaving his whereabouts shrouded in mystery.
Antonio Resigned Off-Screen And Moved To Puerto Rico
Since Voight was the only one aware of what happened between him and Adam, he took the responsibility of admitting him to a rehab facility. Although Antonio Dawson never appeared in Chicago P.D. after that point, the show mentioned that he resigned from the CPD Intelligence Unit off-screen and moved to Puerto Rico to seek help from his family. Antonio’s sister, Gabriela Dawson, also made a brief appearance in Chicago P.D. season 8’s episode 9 and confirmed that her brother was working in the crisis response team in the Bahamas, affirming that his storyline reached a positive conclusion.