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What Happened to Jackson West on ‘The Rookie’? Character’s Departure From the Series Explained
Beginning in The Rookie’s first season, Titus Makin Jr. portrayed Jackson West, a rookie police officer who was the son of Commander Percy West. After three seasons as a full-time cast member, Jackson’s character arc came to an end during the season 4 premiere of the ABC series. Find out what happened to the fan-favorite character and why he left the show.
What Happened to Jackson West on ‘The Rookie’?
At the start of season 1, Jackson began his rookie training under his training officer Angela Lopez. After she was promoted, he got assigned to a new training officer, Doug Stanton. Season 3 of The Rookie saw Jackson take down Doug after his harsh treatment of his team, leading him to eventually be fired from the LAPD. Jackson’s future seemed promising after he was promoted to Police Officer II during season 3.
Ahead of the season 4 premiere of The Rookie, Jackson was missing from most of the trailers and clips shared with the public. During the first episode of the season in September 2021, the character met his devastating fate after he was kidnapped during Angela and Wesley Evers’ wedding. While fighting back against his attackers, he was shot in the back and killed but not before scratching his assailant.
After the DNA left on his fingers was processed, Sergeant Wade Grey was able to pin down Jackson’s killer and arrest him. Angela visited her fallen officer’s grave at the end of the episode in a final homage to one of the show’s original cast members.
Why Did Titus Makin Jr. Leave ‘The Rookie’?
Titus decided to leave The Rookie on his own terms, approaching showrunner Alexi Hawley about departing the show.
“A lot of people are finding a voice, and I found that for myself, where I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’ve been complacent,'” Titus told Entertainment Weekly ahead of his departure. “I woke up one morning and I was watching the news, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t go play a cop on a show and not talk about the fact that I’m a Black cop.’ My character hadn’t addressed any of that.”
Initially, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to appear in season 3 at all but was glad ABC and producers listened to his concerns.
“I had that conversation with Alexi, our showrunner, and he was extremely gracious, and he totally understood everything I was saying. I did come to that point where I was like, ‘If you want to write me out, I politely receive that,’” he said. “I would rather be written out than ignore the reality and not be able to tell the story.”
Since leaving The Rookie, the Hawaii-born actor appeared in an episode of NCIS: Hawai’i and acted in the shorts Aliens on Halloween and Pool Service, Inc.
