Corrupt police officer Erin Cole
Erin Cole (Hannah Kasulka) was a hidden villainess from "The Q Word," the penultimate episode of The Rookie's second season (airdate May 3, 2020).
Introduction[]
Erin Cole was a rookie police officer who was shown in the episode's opening at a bar as one of many witnessing a friendly competition between fellow officers Jackson West and Chris Rios, before talking to John Nolan regarding her worries about the latter, who she was dating. Regarding Chris, he was later shot shortly after West and fellow officer Angela Lopez, among others, arrived at the scene of a "shots fired" report, and afterwards, Erin expressed sorrow over Chris being shot, only for Nolan to tell Erin that she wasn't to blame.
The shooter was Serj Derian, a member of the notorious Derian crime family, with the family revealed to in possession of police reports regarding Serj, leading to the conclusion that a mole was in the LAPD. The gun used in the shooting was recovered by Nolan, but as he was about to turn over all evidence, he couldn't find the gun. Nolan reported the missing gun to Sgt. Wade Grey, who later provided an update on Chris: he died of his injuries in the hospital.
Reveal & Death[]
Erin during her confrontation with John Nolan
Lopez was made acting detective in the investigation, and she was shown scanning through vest cams of numerous officers, with all of them showing material except for Erin's, which was turned off. Her report to Grey confirmed that Erin was the villainous mole, and after Nolan remembered Erin mentioning that she wanted to travel across country in an RV, the officers located her inside the vehicle and pursued her, which ended with Nolan tracking the escaped villainess to the Rose Bowl.
As the climax revealed, Erin turned heel and became a mole for the Derians after they paid off her debts, and as part of her collusion, the villainess took the files and delivered them to the group. As for the shots fired call, it was due to Serj threatening to kill Erin when she wanted out, and it was after Serj got away that he shot and killed Chris. After the murder, the evil Erin took the gun before it could be turned in as evidence, and the confrontation saw Erin place her gun under her head and reveal her motive for her corruption, adding that she didn't originally want any part of the collusion, while breaking down regarding Chris.
Nolan continued talking to Erin and attempted to convince her to testify and name others involved, only to call out detective Nick Armstrong's name and point her gun at him, leading to Armstrong shooting and killing Erin. In a twist, Nolan noticed at episode's end that Erin uttered Armstrong's name before he appeared, realizing that Armstrong was in league with the Derians and killed Erin (possibly) out of self-preservation.
Gallery[]
