Bedford P.D.
Background Report
Subject: Valerie Benchik
Detective Valerie Benchik has served for more than ten years with the Bedford Police Department. Upon completion of her probationary training with Frank Shannon, she partnered with J. T. Pritchard for three years on uniformed patrol before being promoted to detective. While assigned to the Robbery division, she broke the case against a brutal crew responsible for a rash of home invasion robberies, which earned her a transfer to the Homicide squad. Her current partner is Detective Greg Payton.
Val was born in Chicago but moved to Bedford with her parents and younger sister, Kelly, when she was five. At the age of ten, Val’s best friend, Annie Fiorello, was abducted and murdered, and this loss left Val reluctant to get close to people out of fear of losing them. When she does open her heart, she is fiercely devoted to the people she loves. A cool professional on the job, Val is not always as emotionally detached as she should be. She often cares too much because it’s in her nature to look for the best in people, but her job has led her to expect the worst.
To perpetuate her parents’ hope that she’d pursue a “safe” career, Val earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts, but she took the police academy entrance exam her senior year and joined the force after graduation.
Val was still in uniform when she met Pritchard’s best friend, David Lukas, and she and Dave married several years later. Tragically, Dave was shot and killed while overseeing the construction of a new branch of Lakeview Bank, where he was director of operations.
Val relies on her best friend, Connie Warren, to keep her grounded, which is not always easy duty. They were roommates in college, and Val is godmother to Connie’s daughter, Emily.
Val and Connie strive to do a weekly girls’ night to catch up, eat pizza, and enjoy their favorite shows, which include Blue Bloods, Castle, and Gilmore Girls. Like her creator, E. V., Val is a confirmed chocoholic.