Stabler tends to take his cases personally, fearing that the sexual assaults and other crimes he witnesses may one day happen to his daughters. Where his partner Olivia Benson takes this same tendency to personalize their work and uses it to empathize with victims, Stabler runs in the opposite direction: He lashes out at suspects. It's impossible to keep count of the times he's used excessive force, but here are a few notable examples.
In season eight's "Annihilated," he nearly chokes a man to death in the interrogation room, following the man's admittance to killing his own family. The only thing that stops Stabler is the realization that he'd be leaving his children without a father. Later, in season four's "Pandora," Stabler nearly beats a suspect to death in Europe while working on a child pornography case. The camera hones in on Stabler, and we see his decision to ultimately keep himself from killing the man play out across his face. In season six's "Rage," Stabler encounters his nemesis, Gordon Rickett, a depraved serial murderer who targets young girls. Stabler yet again contemplates killing a suspect — but luckily, Benson intervenes before he can. Stabler takes his rage out on a nearby locker.
