Law & Order sixteen-year veteran, S. Epatha Merkerson, has announced that she will be exiting stage left and turning in her badge at the end of the current season.

In an exclusive interview with “Entertainment Weekly”, Merkerson noted that upon realization that her contract was up at the end of the season, she decided it was time to focus on other projects. After sixteen-years as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the series, Merkerson realized that she was fortunate, as not too many actors can claim such a long-running career with a single series.

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During that sixteen years, Merkerson has appeared in more then 375 episodes of Law & Order. She also played the regular role of Reba the Mail Lady on PeeWee’s Playhouse, and won an Emmy for the HBO adaptation of Lackawanna Blues. She’s appeared in three episodes of The Closer, and was on the 1990s series Here and Now as a regular.

At this time, Merkerson has not signed on for any other roles, but be on the lookout for her, as she plans to expand her acting horizons in the near future.

Though there has been some word that Law & Order will not return after its current season, this has not yet been confirmed by the network. When asked about this, Merkerson said, “They say that every other year and the show always comes back.”