Played by the talented Jon Seda, Antonio Dawson is one of the main characters of Chicago PD. He is the older brother of Chicago Fire’s Gabby Dawson and is a natural leader, showing his bravado in his chosen profession time and time again.
He takes pride in his job and is also involved in many high-profile cases, including drug busts and criminal arrests. Here are 10 things ardent fans might not know about Chicago PD’s Antonio Dawson:
He is a stickler for honesty
Antonio believes in playing by the rules. This is demonstrated time and time again in the show’s narrative, and especially in his dealings with Sergeant Hank Voight.
In the series, Sergeant Voight doesn’t always want to conduct himself in a way that is honorable and Antonio has a problem with this. This behavior demonstrates that he is a character of integrity and honor.
He is a devoted family man
Antonio is not just a sterling official in his chosen profession. The beginning of the series shows that he is also capable of being a devout family man, as he has a close relationship with his wife and children.
His wife is a baker and his children, Eva and Diego, help him out with the family business. This love for his family in the early part of the series makes him a special favorite with viewers, who enjoy the idea of a man who can roll up his sleeves and get involved in professional duties, and still have time for his family.
He has unforgiveness towards Gradishar
At the beginning of his career, Antonio had a partner by the name of Sean Patterson. Sean made a mistake by filing for an excess of overtime pay, resulting in him being fired, and denied pension, at the hands of Gradishar of Internal Affairs.
As a result, he died by suicide, leaving behind a wife and children. This was a huge loss for Antonio who never forgave Gradishar for the cruel treatment towards Sean which caused such shame to him that he eventually took his life.
He Had A Fall from grace
Fans love Antonio’s big heart and desire for honesty in different situations. This is why the news that he is getting a divorce is considered with such disbelief by viewers. It is announced in season 2 that his wife with Laura is not in a good place and they have decided to divorce.
Still, all is not lost for Antonio, who is given joint custody of the children. Fans secretly hope that the couple will get back together. Antonio definitely is a great man to call husband and father, in fans’ eyes especially.
He develops a substance addiction problem
Antonio injures his shoulder in Season 6 and is put onto painkiller medication. Tragically, he gets addicted to the painkillers and develops a host of other problems as a result.
In trying to get off the painkillers and at Voight’s suggestion, he is booked into a rehabilitation center where he begins a difficult road towards recovery. Before being admitted, he leaves his badge at the office. This is then picked up by Adam Ruzek.
A new job was on the cards
Having a big heart can mean Antonio is often too sensitive with pressing issues and deeply affected by the crimes and injustices he witnesses. Throughout Season 4, he can be heard saying that he has had too much of everything going on around him.
He eventually leaves the Intelligence Unit and gets involved with the State Attorney’s office as Chief Investigator as a result. His reason for leaving the Intelligence Unit: More time with the kids and better pay.
He has Inner courage
When it comes to the crunch, Antonio has a natural leaning towards integrity and courage. It is revealed in the storyline that during a skirmish with guns, Antonia (at the time a patrolman), successfully pulled Trudy Platt to safety, rescuing her from the line of fire.
This was a heroic act done on impulse and this ‘knee-jerk’ act of heroism demonstrated the merit of Antonio’s character. During this same encounter, while interrogating the opposition, Antonio also broke his jaw. He left the scene with a broken jaw and a lot of honor.
He is a natural leader
When Sergeant Voight is placed under investigation, Antonio is placed as the head of the entire Intelligence unit. By this stage he has returned to the unit, leaving the State Attorney’s office with ’tedious and long investigations’ given as his reason.
This decision to put him in charge shows that others perceive him as a born leader and that he is highly respected among those in his profession. It won’t be long in the series before his leadership is shaken but at this point in the show, being given the go-ahead to take the reins from Voight is a feather in Antonio’s cap.
He sticks by his principles
When Antonio has to give an answer to the Police Board, concerning Sergeant Voight’s behavior, he answers truthfully. In the process, he does not defend Sergeant Voight nor help to clear his name. This fact is not celebrated by all involved. Ruzek is angered and becomes rebellious towards Antonio’s leadership.
The result is that things escalate and the two eventually end up in a fight, which is so bad, they have to be separated to get the skirmish to stop. Antonio was put in the ‘blame seat’ for Ruzek’s actions, even though he had done the right thing in answering truthfully in the situation with Sergeant Voight.
He is loyal
Antonio is a good friend to those in his team and he shows this loyalty when he helps friend Matthew Casey to speak with the head of the clinic to find more information on suspicious circumstances which resulted in Matthew’s fiancé Hallie’s death.
Hallie was caught up in a fire at the clinic where she worked and died later in hospital due to her severe injuries. Antonio showed his loyalty to his friend in helping him to investigate the circumstances around the fire.
