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City of South Bend :: Public Notices :: Police Department ci.south-bend.in.us | Knee Pain Relief | Knee Surgeries | Gotham City Orthopedics gothamcityorthopedics.com |
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.
[edit] History of GCPDActing 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 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. [edit] Current status of GCPDAs 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] [edit] Divisions of GCPD
[edit] Current roster
Major Crimes Unit:
[edit] Former membersNote: The following are either deceased or have been dismissed from the Gotham City Police Department.
[edit] Commissioners
[edit] Gotham City FBIThe Gotham City Federal Bureau of Investigation unit is also featured in the fictitious Gotham City. The Gotham City FBI drive black vehicles with red emergency lights. [edit] In other media[edit] SerialsAll 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 portrayed Lex Luthor in the Kirk Alyn serial Superman. [edit] Batman (TV series)The 1960s campy Batman featured Neil Hamilton as Gordon and Stafford Repp as Chief O'Hara. Both are depicted as being dependent on Batman and Robin to solve the cases, whereas the clues are easy to discover and interpret. 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." [edit] 1989-1997 live action filmsAll 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] Batman: The Animated SeriesIn 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 constable, 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. [edit] Batman BeyondIn this animated series, James Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon (former Batgirl in "Batman:The Animated Series") is the new commissioner. [edit] Batman Begins and The Dark KnightThe reboot of the Batman film franchise, Batman Begins, has the GCPD play a pivotal role during the course of the film. Jim Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) is the main focus but others play a role as well. Some are original characters, some are from the comics. Mark Boone Junior plays Detective Flass as dealing with the local mafia, and Colin McFarlane appears as the staunchly vigilante-opposed Commissioner Loeb. Although Flass is shown to be corrupt, Loeb does not seem to be, but he is clearly displeased with the arrival of Batman. This is demonstrated by him calling a SWAT team to capture him; a scene which is lifted from the Year One comic. The film's sequel, The Dark Knight, features the GCPD extensively. According to the viral marketing campaign for the film, Harvey Dent spearheads an initiative through his office to rid the department of corruption. Also, in response of The League of Shadows' attack from the first film, Commissioner Loeb set up the Major Crimes Unit within Gotham PD to counter possible terrorist attacks alongside riding the city's organized crime. James Gordon is put in charge of the unit. The police have also cooled their animosity towards Batman. The official investigation has jokingly placing Elvis, Abe Lincoln, and Bigfoot on their wall of suspects for Batman. Commissioner Loeb is murdered by the Joker, leading to his replacement by Gordon. Also featured are three detectives, Stephens (played by Keith Szarabajka), Wuertz (played by Ron Dean) and Anna Ramirez (played by Monique Curnen). While Stephens is a good and honest cop, he is not without faults: while he deliberately keeps Gordon's fake death a secret, his short temper leads to him starting a fight with the Joker in his cell; the Joker subdues Stephens and uses him as a hostage to escape from prison (although Stephens survives the ordeal). Wuertz and Ramirez, however, are corrupt and involved with the mob. Dent was gathering evidence against Ramirez and Wuertz whom he suspected was corrupt when he was working for Internal Affairs. Wuertz and Ramirez help the Joker kidnap Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent. Dawes dies due to the Joker's plans. Wuertz shows no remorse, but Ramirez, who was taking bribes to help pay for her sick mother, is devastated. Dent, now scarred and going by the name "Two-Face", confronts both. A flip of the coin secures Wuertz's death but leads to Ramirez simply being punched out. Batman and Gordon find Dent, and Batman is forced to kill Dent to save Gordon's (obviously innocent) son. They concoct a plan for Batman himself to accept the blame for the deaths of Dent's victims, so that all the good Harvey did will stand. The police subsequently ignite a manhunt for Batman. [edit] Batman: Gotham KnightGordon, 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; 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. While Gordon resembles how he was portrayed in Batman: Year One and The Long Halloween, both Flass and Loeb resemble, respectively, Harvey Bullock and Michael Akins rather than their comic book counterparts. It's been speculated and comments made on the commentary track of Batman: Gotham Knight seem to hint that Ramirez is loosely inspired by Renee Montoya. [edit] The BatmanOn the animated series The Batman, the focus of the GCPD in the first two seasons is on Detectives Ellen Yin and (prior to his Clayface transformation) Ethan Bennett. The corruption on the force is attributed to Chief Angel Rojas, who appeared often in those seasons. However, in the Season 2 finale, Jim Gordon, recently appointed Commissioner, calls off the manhunt and forms an alliance with Batman to help keep Gotham safe for his daughter, Barbara. Neither Rojas or 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. [edit] Alternate officers of the law
[edit] See also[edit] References
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