Jon Kavanaugh

Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh is a fictional Internal Affairs Lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department on the FX television show The Shield. He was portrayed by method actor Forest Whitaker.

Kavanaugh's career before the investigation

Kavanaugh was an Internal Affairs Department (IAD) Lieutenant determined to take down Detective Vic Mackey and his Strike Team using any means at his disposal. He has been described as the toughest adversary the Team ever faced, and his investigation led to their ultimate downfall. Before being promoted to Lieutenant, Kavanaugh took a spot in IAD after breaking the blue code of silence on his former partner. He has degrees in both criminology and psychology, and frequently played mind games with people under surveillance to find out whether they'd "crack under pressure".

Kavanaugh showed little or no sympathy for the sufferings his investigation caused to Vic's ex-wife Corrine. Kavanaugh treated her with self-righteous contempt, froze her assets, and mocked her genuine grief over Vic's crimes. When a heartbroken Corrine demanded to know why he was treating her like a criminal, Kavanaugh said coldly, "You married the wrong man, Corrine."