<P> Jocelyn `` Joss '' Carter ( played by Taraji P. Henson ) is a detective in the New York City Police Department ( NYPD ) 8th Precinct Homicide Task Force . She is a single mother of one son , Taylor , whom she is close to . Formerly a Warrant Officer and an interrogator in the U.S. Army , she did two tours of duty , one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan . She passed the bar examination in 2004 , but gave up practicing law to become a police officer . In 2005 , she had graduated from the police academy and started working in the NYPD as a patrol officer . In 2008 she was promoted to a detective and since 2010 she has worked in the Homicide Task Force at the 8th Precint . Carter crossed paths with homeless John Reese ( `` Pilot '' ) following his encounter with a group of young men on a New York City subway , but she later reconnects with him as the mysterious man in a suit . Carter is initially determined to apprehend Reese as a person of interest ( a person not formally accused of a crime ) even after Reese saves her and her son on separate occasions . However , when the CIA tries to assassinate Reese without due process , she gradually revises her views and starts helping Reese and Finch instead . </P>
<P> Jocelyn `` Joss '' Carter ( played by Taraji P. Henson ) is a detective in the New York City Police Department ( NYPD ) 8th Precinct Homicide Task Force . She is a single mother of one son , Taylor , whom she is close to . Formerly a Warrant Officer and an interrogator in the U.S. Army , she did two tours of duty , one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan . She passed the bar examination in 2004 , but gave up practicing law to become a police officer . In 2005 , she had graduated from the police academy and started working in the NYPD as a patrol officer . In 2008 she was promoted to a detective and since 2010 she has worked in the Homicide Task Force at the 8th Precint . Carter crossed paths with homeless John Reese ( `` Pilot '' ) following his encounter with a group of young men on a New York City subway , but she later reconnects with him as the mysterious man in a suit . Carter is initially determined to apprehend Reese as a person of interest ( a person not formally accused of a crime ) even after Reese saves her and her son on separate occasions . However , when the CIA tries to assassinate Reese without due process , she gradually revises her views and starts helping Reese and Finch instead . </P>
who plays the female detective in person of interest
who plays the female detective in person of interest
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson