Gotham City Police Department | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Created by | Bob Kane |
In-story information | |
Type of organization | Law enforcement agency |
Base(s) | Gotham City |
Leader(s) | James Gordon (Police Commissioner) Maggie Sawyer |
Agent(s) | Harvey Bullock Major Crimes Unit |
The Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) is a fictional police department servicing Gotham City, as depicted in comic books published by DC Comics, in particular those tied into the Batman books.
Acting as both ally and opponent of Batman, the superhero long-established in Gotham, the GCPD has long been steeped in corruption, with numerous officers both high-and-low ranking involved in bribery and even more serious offenses such as drug-trafficking and murder.
The strongest blow against police corruption came when an increasing amount of conspiracy charges against Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb forced him to resign his position, replaced by Peter Grogan. The Falcone crime family, which has had a stranglehold on Gotham's underground for generations, finally crumbled when a series of killings shook the structure of the mafia organization. After the death of Carmine Falcone, the mob lashed out in sloppy, retaliatory crimes which, in combination with rising gang violence, severely crippled organized crime in Gotham City. Simultaneously, the ebbing presence of corrupt police officers allowed James Gordon to become the new commissioner, a man determined to eradicate crime wherever it existed.
The GCPD has had a long love-hate relationship with the city's vigilante known as Batman. Commissioner Gordon went along with him because Batman got the job done. His successor, Commissioner Michael Akins ordered the arrest of Batman and had the Bat-signal removed from the roof of Gotham Central. Corruption and rot within the police department also rose during Akins' tenure as Commissioner.
As of DC's One Year Later, James Gordon has been reinstated as Commissioner, along with Harvey Bullock. Harvey came back on disciplinary probation after helping expose a criminal drug ring. Relation with Batman, including the Bat-Signal, have been established once more. Other characters from Gotham Central have appeared in the recent Tales of the Unexpected miniseries, featuring Crispus Allen as the Spectre. Thus far, Detective Driver has appeared in a speaking role. It is unknown what has happened to Commissioner Akins, but it is implied that, following revelations of massive corruption within the department, there has been a drastic cleaning-of-house within the department.
Kate Kane referred to Akins as police commissioner in the weekly 52 series, which reveals the events of the missing year. A later issue, however, showed a brief snapshot of Commissioner Gordon's welcome back party. The circumstances of Akins's departure and Gordon's reinstatement have yet to be explained. Maggie Sawyer is still the commander of the MCU department, and has ended her relationship with former lover Toby Raines.[citation needed]
Name | Title | Role | Medium | Note(s) |
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James Gordon | Police Commissioner | Highest-ranking official in the G.C.P.D. |
Detective Comics | Formerly a Police Detective, Lieutenant then Captain. |
Mackenzie "Hardback" Bock | Chief of Police | Former head of O.C.C.B. (Organized Crime Control Bureau) |
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Lieutenant Bilbao | Police Lieutenant | Batman and Robin comics | ||
Gerard "Jerry" Hennelly | Police Lieutenant | Head of the Quick Response Team (G.C.P.D.'s renamed S.W.A.T. team) |
Took over the role from Branden. | |
Donald Peak | Police Officer | Gotham Central comics | Former partner of Andy Kelly. | |
Rebecca Mulcahey | Police Officer (Corrupt) | Gotham Central comics | Lover of Jim Corrigan. | |
Officer Xue | Police Officer | Red Robin comics | ||
Nora Fields | Supervisor of Gotham City's Coroner's Office | Gotham Central comics | Widow of Charlie Fields. | |
Stacy | Secretary | Administrative Secretary to Commissioner Gordon |
Gotham Central comics | Civilian employee. |
Name | Title | Role | Medium | Note(s) |
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Margaret "Maggie" Sawyer | Captain, Major Crimes Unit | Head of the Major Crimes Unit |
Gotham Central comics | Commander of the first (day) shift. |
David Cornwell | Police Lieutenant, Major Crimes Unit | Second in command of the Major Crimes Unit |
Gotham Central comics | Commander of the second (night) shift, successor of deceased Lt. Probson. |
Josh Azeveda | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Trey Hartley. | |
Joely "Joe" Bartlett | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Vincent Del Arrazzio. | |
Harvey Bullock | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Detective Comics | Restored to duty under severe scrutiny. | |
Thomas "Tommy" Burke | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Dagmar Procjnow. | |
Romy Chandler | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Takahata. | |
Eric Cohen | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Andi Kasinsky. | |
Nelson Crowe | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Jackson Davies. | |
Jackson "Sarge" Davies | Detective Sergeant, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Nelson Crowe. | |
Vincent Del Arrazzio | Detective Sergeant, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Joely Bartlett. Associate of the Huntress. | |
Marcus Driver | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Josephine MacDonald. | |
Nicholas "St. Nick" Gage | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham PD's newest recruit who has just transferred from Coast City Police Department. He is a supporting character of Batgirl VI. | ||
Trey Hartley | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Josh Azeveda. | |
Andi Kasinsky | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Eric Cohen. | |
Josephine "Josie Mac" MacDonald | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Marcus Driver. Possesses the psychic ability to find lost people and objects. | |
Dagmar "Dag" Procjnow | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Thomas Burke. | |
Detective Takahata | Detective, Major Crimes Unit | Gotham Central comics | Partnered with Romy Chandler. | |
Roman Cavallo | Corrupt detective, Major Crimes Unit | Red Robin (comic book) comics | Partnered with Marcus Wise. | |
Marcus Wise | Corrupt detective, Major Crimes Unit | Red Robin (comic book) comics | Partnered with Roman Cavallo. |
Note: The following are either deceased or have been dismissed from the Gotham City Police Department.
(In tenure list)
The Gotham City Federal Bureau of Investigation field office is also featured in the fictitious Gotham City [citation needed]. The Gotham City FBI personnel are shown using black vehicles with red emergency lights [citation needed].
All other depictions of Batman have portrayed the Gotham City Police Department in some form or another. The 1940s Batman serials has actor Lyle Talbot in the role of Commissioner Gordon in each one. No other members of the force are shown. However, his appearance of Gordon having a feather-duster mustache was later adapted to the comics.
The 1960s campy Batman featured Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon and Stafford Repp as Chief O'Hara. Both are depicted as being dependent on Batman and Robin to help solve cases. Gordon even keeps a link to the Batcave called "the Batphone" on his desk. In the early episodes it's implied that they only call them in for the so-called "arch-criminals" as the police can handle the more mundane (murder, burglary, arson, etc.). But as the show progressed, they became even more dependent on them to solve problems. This is most greatly shown in one episode, when Batman appears to be missing, Gordon laments that the police will have to solve a case "ourselves." Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara would always be seen with a bunch of police officers when it comes to arresting the arch-criminals upon their defeat.
All the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher series seemed to give little depiction on the GCPD at all. In Batman, Gordon is portrayed by Pat Hingle, while the usually corrupt Harvey Bullock is replaced with William Hootkins' Lt. Max Eckhart (who is killed by Jack Napier prior to his accidental transformation). Hingle also appeared in Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin.
In the acclaimed animated television series, Batman: The Animated Series, the GCPD characters are given more attention such as in "P.O.V", where the major characters of the force in the series participate in a detailed debriefing of an incident. One of the most important contributions from the animated series to the Batman universe is the introduction of Renee Montoya (first as a uniformed officer, then a detective), which would later become a first-grade character in the GCPD comic books. In the printed DC Universe, her presence was so solidly incorporated that she later retired from the Department to assume the identity of the Question.
In this animated series, James Gordon's daughter Barbara Gordon (former Batgirl in Batman: The Animated Series) is the new commissioner.
In the reboot of the Batman film franchise, Batman Begins, the GCPD plays a pivotal role throughout the course of the film, as one of the main antagonizing forces against Batman. Although James "Jim" Gordon (played by Gary Oldman), then sergeant, is given a greater role than in previous adaptations, other members of the GCPD are also present. Mark Boone Junior plays Gordon's partner Detective Flass, a corrupt officer who deals extensively with the local mafia; while Colin McFarlane appears as the staunchly vigilante-opposed Commissioner Loeb. While Gordon's appearance resembles how he was portrayed in Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, Flass and Loeb resemble the Harvey Bullock and Michael Akins characters of the comic books. Furthermore, while Flass is portrayed as being corrupt, a fact consistent with the comics, Loeb, though clearly displeased with the arrival of Batman, does not seem to possess any corrupt tendencies evident in the source material.
Considering that the film captures the early appearances of the Batman, there is much fear and skepticism among the ranks of the PD about whether the Batman exists and if he is even human. Gordon, who had met Batman before he had adopted the Batman motif, not only realizes he is human, but recognizes the necessity of his actions. Gordon continues to work with him through his early weeks in operation. Batman, who trusts Gordon, a good cop he met during his childhood after his parents murder, includes him in his plan to save Gotham from the League of Shadows' fear toxin attack on the Narrows. At the end of the film, Batman's actions have sparked a change in the city and its Police Department, leading to Gordon being promoted to Lieutenant.
In The Dark Knight, the GCPD plays an even greater role than they did in Batman Begins after Lieutenant James Gordon is assigned as commanding officer of the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), a newly formed division of the GCPD. Three detectives of this unit are featured; Gerard Stephens (played by Keith Szarabajka), Michael Wuertz (played by Ron Dean) and Anna Ramirez (played by Monique Curnen), among others. Based on commentary material included in Batman: Gotham Knight, it is possible Ramirez was loosely inspired by Renee Montoya.
Relations between the DA's office and the police, especially between Gordon and Harvey Dent, remains tense throughout most of the film, with corruption in the Police Department; and even within Gordon's unit, being a key source of this conflict in The Dark Knight. At the rooftop scene above the MCU, it is shown that Dent suspects Ramirez and Wuertz are corrupt (based on his investigations while working in Internal Affairs, immediately before his election to District Attorney). According to the viral marketing campaign for the film, Harvey Dent had spearheaded an initiative through his office to rid the police department of corruption. In response to Dent's "attack" on the police department (referenced in the "Gotham Tonight" extras found on the two-disc special edition of The Dark Knight) and the actions of The League of Shadows from the first film, Commissioner Loeb set up the Major Crimes Unit within Gotham PD to counter possible terrorist attacks as well as rid the city of its organized crime.
At least in the Major Crimes Unit, acceptance of the Batman, though reluctant, is growing. At the beginning of the film, Ramirez clears the bank vaults of its officers so Gordan and Batman can carry out a private investigation. While the official position of the PD is to capture the vigilante known as the Batman, Ramirez jokingly asks Wuertz, who is part of the official investigation, about progress on the case, amidst a background of Elvis, Abe Lincoln, and Bigfoot photos posted on the wall of suspects for Batman. Furthermore, members of the MCU are present when the Batman interrogates the Joker later in the film.
When Commissioner Loeb is murdered by the Joker, Gordon fakes his own death during an assassination attempt on the Mayor during Loeb's funeral to try and get the Joker to let down his guard. The Joker plans to kill Harvey Dent but Gordon, with Batman's help, intercepts and arrests him. Dent, relieved that his life has been spared, expresses his appreciation for the Gotham Police. Gordon's plan to capture the Joker appears to be successful, leading to Gordon's promotion to Police Commissioner by Mayor Garcia (who was recently elected on a campaign of change, similar to Dent's). During the Batman's interrogation of the Joker, the location of Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent, who have both been kidnapped immediately after the Joker's attempt on Dent's life had been thwarted, is revealed. While the Batman successfully saves Dent's life, Gordon and police fail to reach Rachel in time. This causes a grievously injured Dent to project his vehement anger toward the GPD, blaming its corruption for Rachel's death. Meanwhile, Detective Stephen's short temper had led to his starting a fight with the Joker in the holding cell; the Joker subdues Stephens and uses him as a hostage to escape from the police station (although Stephens survives the ordeal and continues to serve as a trusted member of Gordon's squad to the end of the film).
Towards the end of the film, it is revealed that it was Wuertz and Ramirez who helped the Joker kidnap Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent. Wuertz is indifferent, but Ramirez is devastated and very regretful by the knowledge that her actions led to the death of Dawes. It is revealed that she had taken bribe money to pay for her mother's hospital fees (as foreshadowed at the beginning of the film when she responds to Gordon's question about her mother's health with "Checked her back in the hospital). Dent, as "Two-Face", confronts both officers and determines their fate with a coin flip at gunpoint. Wuertz is shot when his coin flip landed on the scarred side; on the other hand, Ramirez's life was spared because her coin flip landed on the un-scarred side. Instead, Dent knocked her unconscious with his gun. It remains to be seen whether Gordon or the GCPD has learned about her involvement with the Falcone crime family (led by Sal Maroni).
At the end of the film (after Batman has defeated the Joker), Dent holds Gordon's family at gunpoint and attempts to determine their individual fates with the flip of his coin. To save Gordon's son, Batman charges at Dent and both end up falling out of the building. Dent dies from the fall. Gordon heads down to check on Batman; Batman, while still wounded from the bullet and the fall, convinces Gordon to place the blame for the deaths of Dent's victims on himself so that all the good Harvey did continues to stand. At the conclusion of the film, the GCPD begins its manhunt for Batman.
In The Dark Knight Rises, the GCPD has successfully eradicated the city's organized crime under "The Dent Act," as most remain oblivious to Harvey Dent's crimes as Two-Face. Gordon remains in guilt over letting Batman taking the fall for Dent, and waiting for a chance to admit the truth to the city. A young officer, John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), becomes aware of the truth, and also has deduced Batman's identity beforehand, eventually becomes a friend and ally of Gordon and Batman, as well as serving as their liaison. Blake is also later promoted from patrol cop to detective after Gordon sees his intelligence and dedication, thus allowing him to report directly to the commissioner. Gordon's deputy commissioner Peter Foley (Matthew Modine), though not corrupt, however is arrogant and would seek glory by trying to capture Batman. For instance, when Bane and a group of henchmen hold up the city stock exchange and then flee on motorcycles, the police chase is interrupted by Batman's appearance on the scene. Though Batman is able to stop Bane's three henchmen, Bane himself gets away cleanly when Foley issues orders for the police participating in the chase to pursue Batman instead.
Bane and the League of Shadows later use explosive-laced concrete to trap most of the force underground for months until they are freed by Batman and his allies. Bane also discovers the truth of the circumstances behind Harvey Dent's death and reveals it to the GCPD and the rest of the city, thus ending the manhunt against Batman. However, this also causes all of the criminals that were arrested under the Dent Act to be released and wreak havoc around Gotham, much to both the police and the citizens' discomfort. Eventually, the police department are instrumental of the League of Shadows' defeat, though Foley and many officers are killed in action (almost all of them by Talia in one sitting, including what was left of Gotham's SWAT unit, when she makes her way to the bomb after it had been disabled; in the ending scenes it shows the remaining numbering less than a few dozen looking over the captured mercenaries and criminals). The GCPD, with the aid from Batman and his allies, has successfully captured the surviving League of Shadows members and Gotham's criminals, restoring order back to the city.
Blake resigns himself from the police department following Batman’s apparent death (disgusted at how various external officers outside of Gotham City prevented him from taking a busload of children to safety when trying to adhere to Bane's 'rules') and after receiving a set of coordinates left by the Dark Knight, the young detective discovers the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor.
Gordon, Ramirez, and Crispus Allen all appear in three of the shorts in Batman: Gotham Knight *which bridges the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) consisting of Crossfire, In Darkness Dwells, and Deadshot.
Gordon was voiced by Jim Meskimen, Ramirez was voiced by Ana Ortiz, and Allen was voiced by Gary Dourdan.
On the animated series The Batman, the focus of the GCPD in the first two seasons is on Detectives Ellen Yin (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) and Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steve Harris) prior to his Clayface transformation. The corruption on the force is attributed to Chief Angel Rojas (voiced by Edward James Olmos in the first appearance, Jesse Corti in later appearances), who appeared often in those seasons. However, in the Season 2 finale, Jim Gordon (voiced by Mitch Pileggi), recently appointed Commissioner, calls off the manhunt and forms an alliance with Batman to help keep Gotham safe for his daughter, Barbara. Two episodes of the cartoon series featured another detective of the Gotham City Police Department named Cash Tankinson (voiced by Patrick Warburton). Neither Rojas nor Yin has been seen since then, though one episode that take places in the future implies that sometime between now and then, Yin will replace Gordon as Commissioner and Bennet becomes Chief of Police.
The Gotham City Police Department appears in Beware the Batman. James Gordon worked as a police lieutenant and was distrustful towards Batman until he helped save his daughter from Tobias Whale and Phosphorous Rex. During the part where the League of Assassins had control over the Ion Cortex and shut down Gotham City's power, James Gordon became the police commissioner when Commissioner Correa was killed by the League of Assassins.
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Locations in Gotham City | |||||
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Batman in other media | |||||
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