Frank Tenpenny

Frank Tenpenny
Grand Theft Auto character
First appearance	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Introduction
First game	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Created by	Sam Houser Dan Houser James Worrall DJ Pooh
Voiced by	Samuel L. Jackson

Officer Frank Tenpenny is the main antagonist in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, part of the Grand Theft Auto series. He was voiced by Samuel L. Jackson.^[1] Tenpenny is a corrupt police officer of the Los Santos Police Department (LSPD) and a member of C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums).

Appearances

Prior to the events of the game, as seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Introduction, Tenpenny and his associate, Eddie Pulaski force their new recruit, Jimmy Hernandez to murder their colleague, Officer Ralph Pendelbury, after Pendelbury tries to expose their corruption.^[2] Tenpenny also forms an alliance with The Ballas and he convinces Big Smoke to betray the Grove Street Families.

Tenpenny and his associates confront Carl "CJ" Johnson shortly after his return to Los Santos. They tell him that they intend to frame him for murdering Officer Pendelbury and force him to work for them by threatening his safety and the safety of his loved ones. When CJ and his brother Sweet are arrested by the police following a gunfight with The Ballas, Tenpenny and Pulaski kidnap CJ to ensure that he can keep working for them. They leave him in the countryside with orders to kill an FBI witness. In the aftermath of these events, Tenpenny and Pulaski continue to use CJ to kill or discredit people who threaten to expose the true nature of C.R.A.S.H. Whilst in Las Venturas, CJ is contacted by Tenpenny and asked to meet him in the desert. During this meeting, Tenpenny hits Hernandez in the back of the head with a shovel for reporting C.R.A.S.H. to Internal Affairs and leaves CJ with the task of digging Hernandez's grave whilst being held at gunpoint by Pulaski. Hernandez is then later killed by Pulaski, who in turn is then killed by CJ.

Sometime later, Tenpenny is charged for racketeering, corruption, possession and use of narcotics, and numerous sexual assaults. However due to a lack of evidence, all charges are dropped, resulting in a city-wide riot in Los Santos. After CJ kills Big Smoke, Tenpenny shows up with a shotgun and a suitcase full of drug money. He has plans to flee the city by plane with the help of some new recruits in the force who are ready for him to "open their eyes" to his way of thinking. Tenpenny then leads CJ and Sweet on a chase through the city which ultimately ends with Tenpenny crashing his vehicle in front of the Johnson House. A broken Tenpenny crawls out calling for backup. Realizing no one is coming, he curses everyone, including the police force.^[3] Dying from his injuries, CJ and the rest of his crew examine the body, and CJ moves in with his pistol to "make sure it's over". Sweet stops him, saying that there's no need to leave any evidence, stating that he's "just a cop killed in a traffic accident. As the others walk away from Tenpenny, Carl approaches him slowly, taps his dead body with his foot, points his fingers in his face, and says sarcastically, "See you around... officer". According to an in-game talk radio station, Tenpenny's body is later found brutally mutilated and stripped by the homeless.

Reception

Tenpenny's character was received with positive opinions following the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. IGN placed him 87th on their list of the top 100 video game villains, saying that "there's just something truly sinister about San Andreas' Officer Frank Tenpenny."^[4] GamePro ranks Frank Tenpenny 35th on their list of most diabolical video game villains of all time, saying "You gotta respect a guy who takes a stand and says, "No, man. We can't all just get along.""^[5]

References

• Rockstar North (26 October 2004). Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. PlayStation 2. Rockstar Games. 

External links

• Frank Tenpenny article on Grand Theft Wiki