Gotham City Police Department
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The Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) is a fictional police department servicing the city of Gotham City in the DC Universe. 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 offences 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. The Falcone crime family, which had 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 who came back on disciplinary probation after helping expose a criminal drug ring, rejoining the force and the reinstatement of the Bat-Signal and relations with Batman. 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, and characters resembling Stacy and Romy Chandler were seen in Issue #4 (January, 2007). 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.
As of August 6, 2006, the weekly 52 series, which reveals the events of the missing year, still has Akins as police commissioner, while Gordon still has yet to fight his way back to his old job. Maggie Sawyer is still in the MCU department, but she has broken up with her former lover Tobey Raines. It is expected that Akins' downfall will be explained further in that series.
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[edit] Divisions of GCPD
- Homicide Division
- The division that handles murders and some of the more serious non-metahuman crimes in Gotham. This is the division Gordon was a part of before becoming commissioner. Former private investigator Jason Bard is now working on homicide cases for this division.
- Major Crimes Unit
- Led by Lt. Maggie Sawyer, the MCU deals with the most serious crimes, often involving supervillains or politically sensitive cases. This division is the focus of the comic book series Gotham Central.
- Quick Response Team
- Led by Lt. Gerard "Jerry" Hennelly, the QRT is the GCPD's SWAT unit.
[edit] Current Roster
- James Gordon - Police Commissioner
- Harvey Bullock - Detective
- Maggie Sawyer - Lieutenant and head of Major Crimes Unit
- Jason Bard - Detective
- Dan Foley
- Renee Montoya - Lieutenant
- Gerald "Jerry" Hennelly - Lieutenant and head of the Quick Response Team
- Crispus Allen
- Slam Bradley
- Romy Chandler
- Marcus Driver
- Josie MacDonald
- Mackenzie "Hardback" Bock
- Nate Patton
- Rob Pronson
[edit] Former Members
Note: The following are either deceased or dismissed from the Gotham City Police Department.
- Clancy O'Hara - Police Chief before and after Gordon became Commissioner. First victim of the Hangman at the start of Batman: Dark Victory. (Deceased)
- Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb - Commissioner before Gordon in Year One, dismissed and later murdered by Hangman. (Deceased)
- Detective Flass - Arnold Flass was a corrupt partner of Gordon's before being fired. Also killed by Hangman (Deceased)
- Charlie Fields - Detective and Driver's old partner. Killed by Mr. Freeze. (Deceased)
- Michael Akins - Commissioner during most of 52. (Dismissed)
- Stan Merkel - Watch Commander/Patrolman killed during Dark Victory. (Deceased)
- David King - Police Captain, former ally of Gordon, killed during Year Three. (Deceased)
- Sarah Essen - Former wife and partner of Gordon. (Deceased)
- Jim Corrigan - Corrupt police lieutenant. Killed in Gotham Central. (Deceased)
[edit] In Other Media
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. Interestingly enough, he portayed Lex Luthor in the Kirk Alyn serial Superman.
The 1960s campy Batman featured Neil Hamilton as Gordon and Stafford Repp as Chief O'Hara. Both are depicted as being dependant on Batman and Robin to solve the cases, whereas the clues are easy to discover and interept. Gordon even keeps a link to the Batcave called "the Batphone" on his desk. In one episode, when Batman appears to be missing, Gordon laments that the police will have to solve a case "ourselves."
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.
[edit] See also
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