Tough, no nonsense and hard working, but compassionate, Lt. Van Buren has had to fight discrimation both as a woman and as a person of color. In one episode, we find out that the case that led directly to one of her promotions, involved convicting the wrong person. It turns out that someone else was responsible for the error, but Van Buren still finds herself in a very uncomfortable position. Her character is very complex, with her constantly having to balance being a wife and a mother with supervising a highly over burdened homicide squad. All in all S. Epatha Merkerson, has brought a well rounded, warmth to this character that we can all identify with in at least some small way.