'Law & Order' criticized by fans for 'disrespectful' portrayal of service member with uniform mistake
A character's military uniform was supposed to be ranked as a sergeant major during a recent episode of the legal show
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Law & Order" fans have been trained to follow the clues, and they caught a glaring mistake on a character's military uniform during Thursday's episode of the popular crime show.
In the episode "Chain of Command," Michael Bakkensen portrayed Sgt. Brice Crawford, with Hugh Dancy as Executive District Attorney Nolan Price and Odelya Halevi as Assistant District Attorney Samantha Maroun.
Social media users noticed the uniform was not aligned with the storyline as his character was supposed to be a sergeant major.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"How do you have a guy in an army uniform that shows he's a sergeant first class and have him say he's a sergeant major," one user tweeted. "Really? You want me to ignore that?"
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"Law and Order" fans blasted the show for the wrong portrayal of a military service member. (Getty Images)
Social media users noticed the uniform was not aligned with the storyline as his character was supposed to be a sergeant major. (David Giesbrecht/NBC via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One Twitter fan wrote, "I just retired after 28 years of service. I served in Iraq at the exact time as the characters on Camp Victory. It was a disgrace when the NCO wearing Sergeant First Class stripes introduced himself as a Sergeant Major. Get the rank right. If you paid a military expert fire them."
Another devoted follower wrote, "Uhhh they messed up on the Sargent major, his stripes weren't right...do better."
"Law and Order" episode "Chain Of Command" featured the wrong military uniform, according to viewers. (NBCUniversal)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I love these shows, but y’all have got to do better when portraying members of the military," another Twitter user commented.
"The latest episode of Law & Order had a ‘sergeant major’ who was wearing the rank of a sergeant first class. It completely ruined the entire episode and really makes it unbelievable."
Some fans weren't bothered by the uniform though and praised the program on Twitter, "Excellent relevant heartbreaking episode, exuded empathy and understanding."
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Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have worked together for decades on "Law and Order." (Will Hart/NBC)
Fox News Digital has reached out to NBC for comment.
Dick Wolf created the "Law & Order" franchise in 1990, which has since spawned several spinoffs and more than 1,000 episodes of television.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}John Oliver recently blasted the show for pushing a "fantasy" version of what real law enforcement entails, with fictional characters being openly "pro-law enforcement."
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"For as much as Dick Wolf brags about how the show is written in shades of gray or how it’ll show both sides of an issue, there is one side that it is always on and that’s the police," Oliver said.