"He lives in our hearts forever": Stephanie Beatriz recalls honoring the late Andre Braugher during Brooklyn 99 reunion

At a Hulu on Disney+ launch event, held on April 5, 2024, Stephanie Beatriz opened up about honoring her late Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-star Andre Braugher with her co-stars. Braugher, who played Captain Holt on the show, passed away in December 2023, at the age of 61, after a battle with lung cancer.

The cast and crew of the NBC show reunited on March 14, 2024, to honor the late actor's memory and reflect on their loss. Recalling the night, Stephanie Beatriz who played Rosa Diaz on the show, told PEOPLE:

"And it was also a chance to talk about Andre. It came up immediately, and then we put it away for a while. But at the end of the dinner, by the end, we were all just sharing stories about him and our memories of him. And he lives in our hearts forever and ever."

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Stephanie Beatriz states she and her former co-stars are all "still friends" and "love each other very dearly."

During the Hulu on Disney+ launch event, Stephanie Beatriz explained she and her former co-stars remain present in each other's lives. She stated these co-stars included Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, and Chelsea Peretti. Stephanie Beatriz added they "all love each other very dearly."

"I’ll never let those people go. They can try and get rid of me, but it's not going to happen," the actress joked.

In a joint Instagram post about their night, Crews and Fumero who played Sergeants Terry Jeffords and Amy Santiago, shared a photo of the former cast members. They were seen standing together and smiling after their reunion dinner.

Stephanie Beatriz later shared the same photo in a joint post with the show's official IG account with the caption, "Nine-Nine Forever." Beatriz added that the reunion was a chance for all of them to catch up with each other's lives. The dinner, Stephanie Beatriz explained was a "chance for all of us to get together and make each other laugh."

In a separate interview with PEOPLE Terry Crews fondly recalled the gathering, noting that it was their time to "think about how special" their time together was.

"We laughed, we cried, we missed Andre Braugher, who we lost a few months ago. It was our time to reminisce and just think about how special our time together was. It was wonderful," Crews said.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (or Brooklyn 99) is an American police procedural comedy. It is centered around a team of New York Police Department detectives adjusting to their new commanding officer, Captain Raymond Holt, played by Braugher. The series has received both critical and commercial success, winning several awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

Andre Braugher's work as the serious and stern Holt earned him four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also won two Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Talking about the show that spanned eight seasons, Crews added:

"To have a sitcom go that long - I don't know if it's going to happen again. It's very rare, and we all recognize how fortunate we are and we love each other. We'll always be a family. We'll always be connected."

When the news of Braugher's death spread, Marc Evan Jackson who played his onscreen husband Kevin praised him during an interview with PEOPLE. Jackson called him "a giant, a genius, an artist, a legend and a force." He also took to X to share a picture of himself and Braugher from the Brooklyn 99 set with the caption, "O Captain. My Captain."

Joe Lo Truglio who played Charles Boyle on the show expressed his love for the actor in a lengthy Instagram post. It echoed the sentiments shared by his co-stars and also shared an anecdote of the actor's love of singing.

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Braugher is survived by his wife, Ami Brabson, and three sons.