Law & Order: SVU star Dann Floreck leaving the show

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The 16th precinct is getting a shakeup.

Law & Order: SVU star Dann Florek, who plays Captain Donald Cragen, will be leaving the show sometime later this season, SVU's 15th.

Fortunately, all involved say Florek's departure isn't the result of some bad blood, but rather an attempt for the long-running crime drama to stay realistic.

"In the real world, which we try to very hard to simulate, NYPD has mandatory retirement before your 63rd birthday. And we were trying to figure out how to deal with it," said showrunner Warren Leight, when Richard Belzer left the show a few weeks ago. "The reason NYPD does it is because you can't have 65-year-old guys running after guys. It is a hard and fast rule."

Florek, who first appeared on the original Law and Order and has been with SVU since its beginnings, tweeted his goodbyes from the set, but reminded fans that he wouldn't really be gone.

[Zap2It]