Gotham City Police Department

The Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) is a fictional police department appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Led by Commissioner Gordon, the GCPD services Gotham City and is typically depicted in stories featuring the superhero Batman.

Gotham City Police Department
Gotham City Police Department Headquarters in Detective Comics #990 (December 2018). Art by Stephen Segovia.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Created by	Bill Finger (writer) Bob Kane (artist)
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

History of GCPD

Police corruption

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-smuggling 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.

Current status

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. Relations 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.

Divisions and personnel

Homicide Division

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.

Name	Title	Role	Medium	Note(s)
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)
Carlos Alvarez	Police detective (Robbery precinct)		Catwoman comics
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 Howard 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 James Gordon	Gotham Central comics	Civilian employee.

Major Crimes Unit

Major Crimes Unit: Led by Capt. Maggie Sawyer, who previously served in Metropolis in a similar position with that city's police, 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.

Name	Title	Role	Medium	Note(s)
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.
Renee Montoya	Detective, Major Crimes Unit.		Detective Comics	Pre-Flashpoint, partnered with Crispus Allen and resigned after his death and became the Question. Retconned and re-introduced as Harvey Bullock's new partner in the New 52.
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	Detective, Major Crimes Unit		Red Robin comics	Partnered with Marcus Wise. Is corrupt.
Marcus Wise	Detective, Major Crimes Unit		Red Robin comics	Partnered with Roman Cavallo. Is corrupt.

Quick Response Team

Quick Response Team: Led by Lt. Gerard "Jerry" Hennelly, the QRT is the GCPD's SWAT unit.

Former members

The Gotham City Police Department with the Bat-Signal on the cover of Gotham Central #1. Art by Michael Lark.

Note: The following are either deceased or have been dismissed from the Gotham City Police Department.

• Michael Akins - Succeeded Gordon as commissioner, left GCPD during the one-year gap under unknown circumstances. In DC Rebirth, Akin's was reintroduced as Gotham City's new Mayor, officially retconning his history with the GCPD.
• Crispus Allen - Detective, Major Crimes Unit. Partnered with Renee Montoya. Killed by Jim Corrigan, now the Spectre.
• Howard Branden - Former leader of the GCPD's S.W.A.T. team in Year One, underneath the corrupt administration of Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb.
• Jim Corrigan - Corrupt CSI who killed Crispus Allen. Killed by Allen's son. He is not to be confused with the Jim Corrigan that worked as the Spectre.
• Roger DeCarlo - Corrupt officer. Killed by Poison Ivy after accidentally killing one of her orphans and attempting to cover it up.
• Sarah Essen Gordon - Major Crimes Unit commander, wife of Commissioner Gordon. Killed by the Joker during No Man's Land.
• Charlie Fields - Detective, Major Crimes Unit. Partnered with Marcus Driver. Killed by Mr. Freeze.
• Arnold John Flass - Gordon's corrupt partner, Detective, fired. Killed by the Hangman.
• Hugh Foley - Opposed Jim Gordon, killed by Billy Pettit during No Man's Land when he was attempting to seek help from Gordon against the Joker.
• Peter "Petey" Grogan - was formally the Corrupt Deputy Commissioner under Gillian B. Loeb who was appointed as acting commissioner after Loeb's forced exit. He was then made the Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and was described as being more corrupt than his predecessor. He was dismissed and was later replaced with Commissioner James Gordon.
• Jamie Harper - Detective Specialist. Associate of Robin III, grandniece of James Harper,[1] dating Jason Bard. Has since transferred to the Metropolis Science Police.
• Andy Howe - Briefly served as police commissioner after Mayor Krol fired Gordon.
• Andrew "Andy" Kelly - Police Officer, partnered with Don Peak. Transformed into a monster by Doctor Alchemy and killed in self-defense by Peak.
• David King - Police Captain, former ally of Gordon, killed during Year Three.
• Stan Kitch - Former lieutenant, now a defense attorney.
• Gillian B. Loeb - Corrupt commissioner in Year One, dismissed and later murdered by the Hangman. In the New 52, Loeb instead resigns after Black Mask murders several corrupt cops under his command and Loeb feels partly responsible for allowing his department to become corrupt.[2] In Christopher Nolan's films, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Loeb was a legitimate cop who was murdered by Joker when poison was put into his drink.
• Kelvin Mao - Police Officer, Tactical Unit. Became the superhero known as Ballistic, murdered by Superboy-Prime.
• Stan Merkel - Watch Commander/Patrolman, friend of Gordon. Killed by the Hangman during Batman: Dark Victory.
• Timothy Munroe - Corrupt police officer. Killed by Poison Ivy after accidentally killing one of her orphans and attempting to cover it up.
• Miles Clancy O'Hara - Police Chief around the time Gordon had just initially became Commissioner. First victim of the Hangman at the start of Batman: Dark Victory.
• Nate Patton - Detective, Major Crimes Unit. Partnered with Romy Chandler. Killed by the Joker.
• Billy Pettit - Head of SWAT team, went insane. During No Man's Land he and several other officers broke away from Jim Gordon who considered his actions too soft.[3] Pettit later killed a fellow police officer for an imagined betrayal. An enraged Huntress quickly subdued him for this and tried to talk some sense into him, only for the Joker to shoot and kill Pettit from behind.
• Ronald Probson - Major Crimes Unit commander, killed by the Joker.
• Jordan Rich - Corrupt police officer who shot Jim Gordon. Killed indirectly by Harvey Bullock in retaliation.
• Raymond Wills - Detective, Internal Affairs Division. Was taken hostage by the Joker's men. Resigned after his rescue.
• Margaret "Maggie" Sawyer - Transferred back to Metropolis PD during the DC Rebirth event.[4]

Commissioners

(In tenure list)

• Commissioner McKeever — He is mentioned in Batman: The Black Mirror (Detective Comics #875; May 2011). At this time James Gordon is still Lieutenant.
• Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb — The corrupt commissioner of police during the first year of Batman’s operation in Gotham.
• Commissioner Peter Jack Edward "Petey" Grogan - was formally the Corrupt Deputy Commissioner under Gillian B. Loeb who was appointed as acting commissioner after Loeb's forced exit he was then made the Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and was described as being more corrupt than his predecessor. He was dismissed and was later replaced with Commissioner James Gordon. He was mentioned in the last page of Miller's Batman: Year One and has a one panel appearance in the Catwoman Year One Annual and also in Batman: The Man Who Laughs and Batman and the Monster Men #1.
• Commissioner James Worthington Gordon Sr. — Replaced Grogan and worked with Batman in trying to clean up the Gotham police department. When he retired, he handed the GCPD over to Michael Akins, only to take the job back some years later. Gordon is the father of Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl and later Oracle.
• Commissioner Vane - Former Chief Inspector, only served as commissioner briefly when Gordon was demoted to patrolman in Detective Comics #121. During his brief tenure, he oversaw Dr. Hurt's experiments.
• Commissioner Peter Pauling — Another corrupt commissioner, appointed by Mayor Hamilton Hill. Like Hill, he was working for Rupert Thorne. Pauling issued a shoot-to-kill order for any police officer who spotted Batman, and secretly tried to have Gordon, who was working as a private detective, killed. Pauling eventually died at Thorne's hands and a desperate Mayor Hill re-instated Commissioner Gordon. Pauling may not have existed in the Post-Crisis DC universe.
• Commissioner Sarah Essen Gordon — The wife of James Gordon, appointed Commissioner by Mayor Krol while her husband was demoted. This put a great strain on her relationship with her husband and they split up for a while. Although she had previously been a critic of the Batman, she agreed to Mayor Krol's instructions that she use him. Mayor Krol sacked her after he lost his re-election bid against Marion Grange, replacing her with Andy Howe.
• Commissioner Andy Howe — A lawyer who served briefly as Commissioner during the lame-duck Mayoralty of Armand Krol (Detective Comics #693, January 1996). When the "Clench" virus was released in Gotham and the city descended into anarchy, most police officers ignored Howe and took orders from James Gordon, at that point a private citizen. Howe lost his job when Marion Grange became Mayor and immediately re-instated James Gordon (Robin #28, April 1996).
• Commissioner Michael Akins — Took over from James Gordon. After the events of the War Games arc, Akins declared all vigilante actions as illegal and issued a shoot-to-kill order for any sight of Batman or his associates. He left the position under unspecified circumstance.
• Interim Commissioner Jack Forbes - Took over after James Gordon was arrested for the death of 162 people due to a train crash in Batman Eternal #1. He was appointed by Mayor Hady at the behest of Carmine Falcone and devoted the GCPD to stopping Batman. He even went as far as releasing criminals apprehended by Batman. Forbes was exposed by Jason Bard and arrested for his connections to Falcone.
• Commissioner Jason Bard - Cop from Detroit whose partner was killed during an incident botched by a Batman impostor who transferred to Gotham under James Gordon's behest just before his arrest. He masterminded the downfall of Forbes and took over as Commissioner. However, Bard was actually working with Hush and as a result, destroyed evidence of Gordon's innocence, put Gotham into martial law, used the press of girlfriend Vicki Vale and created an uneasy relationship with the Bat Family. After failing to take down Batman, Bard realized the error of his ways and attempted to liberate Gordon.
• Commissioner Maggie Sawyer: After Bard leaves the position, Maggie Sawyer took over the job. However, she missed the Major Crimes Squad and following the return of Batman, she stepped down to return to Major Crimes and handed the job back to Gordon.

Non-canon

• Commissioner Ellen Yindel - Replaces Gordon in the non-canon Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In the sequel, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, she resigns.

Alternate Universe

• Commissioner Tolliver - Police commissioner in the alternate 1889 of Gotham by Gaslight. He is mayor when Batman first emerges and defeats Jack the Ripper. Claiming the victory as his own, Tolliver is then elected mayor in the sequel, Master of the Future.

Gotham City FBI

The Gotham City Federal Bureau of Investigation field office is also featured in the fictitious Gotham City. The Gotham City FBI personnel are shown using black vehicles with red emergency lights.

In other media

Film

Serial

The 1940s Batman and Robin serial has actor Lyle Talbot in the role of Commissioner Gordon. No other members of the force are shown. However, his appearance of Gordon having a feather-duster mustache was later adapted to the comics.

Batman Anthology (1989-1997)

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.

The Dark Knight trilogy

In the Nolan films, the City of Gotham Police Department (abbreviated only as GPD) acts as both an ally and an opponent to Batman. In this incarnation they play a much greater pivotal role than other depictions of the force.

Batman Begins

In Batman Begins, the GPD plays a pivotal role throughout the course of the film, as one of the forces against Batman under the direction of the staunchly vigilante-opposed Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb (played by Colin McFarlane). While other members of the GPD are also present, two well-known detectives among them are featured; James Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) and his partner Arnold Flass (played by Mark Boone, Jr.). While Gordon is portrayed as one of the few honest police officers in the department, Flass is portrayed as being corrupt and dealing extensively with the local mafia and 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 rank and file 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 the cops' morality, leading to Gordon being promoted to Lieutenant.

The Dark Knight

In The Dark Knight, Gordon is reassigned as commanding officer of the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), a newly formed division of the GPD created to combat the Gotham crime syndicates and thwart terrorist attacks. 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.

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 rank and file; and even within Gordon's unit, being a key source of this conflict in The Dark Knight, with Dent suspecting that Ramirez and Wuertz are corrupt (based on his investigations while working in Internal Affairs, immediately before his election to District Attorney). In response to Dent's "attacks" on the police department and the actions of the League of Shadows from the first film, Loeb set up the Major Crimes Unit within the GPD to counter possible terrorist attacks as well as rid the city of its organized crime. In the Major Crimes Unit, acceptance of the Batman, though reluctant, is growing. By the end of the film, Batman is framed for the violent actions of Harvey Dent and the police force turns against him.

The Dark Knight Rises

In The Dark Knight Rises, the GPD has successfully eradicated the city's organized crime under "The Dent Act", as most remain oblivious to Harvey Dent's crimes. Gordon remains in guilt over letting Batman taking the fall for Dent, and waiting for a chance to admit the truth to the city. Rookie MCU detective John Blake (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes aware of the truth, and also has deduced Batman's identity beforehand. He 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 (played by Matthew Modine), though not corrupt, is determined to capture Batman, to the point that when Batman crashes the police chase of Bane and some of his henchmen following Bane's robbery of the stock exchange, Foley issues orders for the police participating in the chase to pursue Batman instead. As a result, Bane ends up escaping while his henchmen are captured.

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 GPD and the rest of the city, thus ending the manhunt against Batman. However, this also is used by Bane to break the criminals imprisoned under the Dent Act out of prison and wreak havoc around Gotham, much to both the police and the citizens' misfortune. Eventually, the police department are instrumental of the League of Shadows' defeat, though Foley and many officers are killed in action. The GPD, 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 and after receiving a set of coordinates left by the Dark Knight, the young detective discovers the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor.

Uniforms and Emblem

The GPD in the Nolan films is heavily modeled on the New York City Police Department. Patrol cars are painted in a modified version of a paint job used by the NYPD in the 1980s and 1990s. In a flashback scene shortly after the deaths of Bruce's parents in Batman Begins, Gordon and other officers are shown wearing sky blue uniforms, similar to those worn by the NYPD from the 1970s through the mid-1990s. In all present-day scenes, patrol officers wear black uniforms. The text on patrol officers' shoulder patches, as well as various modified versions of the logo such as the seal used on SWAT trucks, establish the force as being first established in 1820.[5]

DC Extended Universe

The GCPD appears briefly in the extended cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and reappears for Suicide Squad, Justice League and Birds of Prey.

The GCPD would make a major appearance in The Batman and would also have a television spin-off series from HBO Max, Matt Reeves and Terence Winter.[6]

DC Black

In the film Joker, set outside of the DCEU, Bill Camp and Shea Whigham play officers in the Gotham City Police Department.[7]

Batman: Year One

The GCPD appear as an opponent to Batman. During the events of Year One, Batman wasn't trusted, he doesn't have a relationship with GCPD and Gotham City doesn't consider him a hero. Although many of the GCPD officers are revealed to be corrupt, Lt. James Gordon builds a partnership with Batman.

Justice League: War

In Justice League: War, some GCPD helicopters chase Batman, Green Lantern and a Parademon but are unable to catch up with the trio.

Son of Batman

The GCPD appear in Son of Batman.

Batman: Bad Blood

The GCPD make a brief appearance in Batman: Bad Blood.

Television

Main article: Batman (TV series)

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.

Birds of Prey (2002 series)

Detective Jesse Reese - played by Shemar Moore. Jesse is an honest cop in New Gotham who learns of the Birds of Prey and begins to help them. He later enters into a relationship with Huntress. It is later revealed that Reese's birthname was Jesse Hawke, son of crime boss Al Hawke, who became a police officer to atone for his family's sins. This version of the GCPD does have a corruption problem (though it is unclear how bad since a few other honest officers have cameos) and appears to no longer have Jim Gordon at its head.

Gotham (2014 series)

Main article: List of Gotham characters

In the series, most of the department is corrupt, with very few honest GCPD officers, including James Gordon, Sarah Essen, Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, and Nathaniel Barnes.[8] A detective referred to as “Alvarez” appears in 30 episodes portrayed by J. W. Cortez; this is most likely Carlos Alvarez from the comics.

James Gordon, one of the few honest police officers of the GCPD, is the central character of the series and one of his intentions is to purge corruption from the ranks, including his partner, Harvey Bullock. Overtime, many police officers grow distant from Gordon as he attempts to uphold the law rather than break it, much to the frustration of Bullock. After capturing Jack Buchinsky following his attack on the GCPD, Gordon investigated a conspiracy involving Commissioner Loeb and Arnold Flass, leading to the former assigning him to the case of the Ogre, who targets the loved ones of police officers, leading to Gordon killing the serial killer and then enlisting the help of Oswald Cobblepot to force Loeb to resign.

After the Maniax's attack on the GCPD left Sarah Essen dead,[9] Nathaniel Barnes was assigned to the position of Captain and he and Gordon worked together to rid the department of corruption whilst assembling a Strike Force too.[10] After a chain of events lead to Gordon being targeted by a resurrected and delusional Theo Galavan, who became the ancient warrior called Azrael,[11] the GCPD was once again attacked by the latter and Barnes was seriously wounded, leading to Bullock becoming acting-Captain.

Barnes briefly returned but was infected with the Alice Tetch Virus, which was then released all over the city by the Court of Owls,[12] forcing the GCPD to contain the situation whilst a cure was procured and Bullock became the new Captain. However, Cobblepot collaborated with the reluctant GCPD under "Pax Penguina" as criminals were issued licenses to enable them to commit crimes, much to Gordon's chagrin.[13] Bullock, who had the department's best interests at heart, began to take money from Cobblepot and issued releases for detained criminals with licenses. Soon after, Professor Pyg began to terrorize Gotham and abducted numerous police officers who were Cobblepot's bagmen and murdered them. The GCPD teamed up with Cobblepot to capture the Pyg, who took advantage of Bullock's reckless actions to ambush them and slaughter dozens of police officers whilst the former accidentally shot a police officer disguised as Pyg himself. Gordon rescued them and his bravery earned him praise from the department, who rejected the licenses and Gordon was promoted to Captain, causing Bullock to resign from the GCPD in disgrace. However, Sofia Falcone had intended for Gordon to become the Captain to actually control him otherwise there will be chaos instead, forcing Gordon to reluctantly take the blame and become a hero for the city.

After Sofia is placed into a coma, Gordon is forced to live with his debt by Bullock, who believed that the department needed someone to look up to. When Gotham City is declared a no man's land due to the plot of Jeremiah Valeska and Ra's al Ghul, Gordon and the remaining police officers work with Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox to maintain the peace.

Arrowverse

The Gotham City Police Department appears in the Arrowverse crossover "Elseworlds". It is seen in Part 2 where its police officers arrest Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, and Kara Danvers when they get into a scuffle with some thugs that were also arrested. The three of them are bailed out by a man working for Kate Kane.

The Gotham City Police Department appears in Batwoman. Jack Forbes is depicted as the police commissioner.

Animated

DC Animated Universe

Batman: The Animated Series

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.

Batman Beyond

In this animated series Batman Beyond, James Gordon's daughter Barbara Gordon (former Batgirl in Batman: The Animated Series) serves as the new commissioner.

Batman: Gotham Knight

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.

The Batman

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. They served as recurrent antagonists in the first two seasons under Chief Rojas' leadership. 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.

Beware the Batman

The GCPD 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 Phosphorus 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.

Members in other media

Each of the different media appearances introduce a member of the Gotham City Police Department that is exclusive to the project:

In films

Batman (1989 film)

• Max Eckhardt (portrayed by William Hootkins) - A corrupt police lieutenant echoing some of the Pre-Crisis aspects of Harvey Bullock. He is killed by Jack Napier at Ace Chemicals (called Axis Chemicals in the film).

The Dark Knight Trilogy

The Dark Knight (2008 film)

• Detective Anna Ramirez (portrayed by Monique Curnen) - A corrupt police detective - although she only gave in to the mob's demands to pay her sick mother's hospital bills rather than out of more selfish motives - involved in the scarring of Harvey Dent and the death of Rachel Dawes by the Joker and the mob. She also appeared in Batman: Gotham Knight, voiced by Ana Ortiz. The commentary on the Batman: Gotham Knight DVD, indicates she might be loosely inspired by Renee Montoya. She received a head injury from Dent after he cracked her head with the bottom of his revolver. Her fate is unknown, but it's implied from Gordon that she didn't survive her trauma, though she might not have regained consciousness yet.
• Detective Mike Wuertz (portrayed by Ron Dean) - A corrupt police detective involved in the scarring of Harvey Dent and the death of Rachel Dawes by the Joker and the mob. He is later killed when Dent shoots him in the head with a revolver as one of his first actions as Two-Face.
• Detective Gerard Stephens (portrayed by Keith Szarabajka) - An honest police detective, if not aversed in the field of police brutality. He assists in faking Gordon's death and is later seen guarding the Joker in an interrogation room, informing the Joker that he has been a cop long enough to distinguish between punks who commit crimes for kicks and the sick animals like the Joker who enjoy it, although he's tricked into attacking the Joker, who holds him hostage temporarily during his escape from custody.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012 film)

• Officer/Detective John Blake (portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - An earnest beat cop who was promoted by James Gordon after being attacked by Bane's forces. Originally an orphan, he had deduced Batman's true identity as Bruce Wayne and befriended him before the attack on Gotham. After Batman "sacrifices himself" to destroy a neutron bomb, John Blake (whose real first name is Robin), is seen entering the Batcave.
• Deputy Commissioner Peter Foley (portrayed by Matthew Modine) - Second-in-command and close friend to Gordon. Foley is shown as being quite ambitious and initially doesn't believe an injured Gordon's assertions about Bane raising an army underneath the streets of Gotham. He is eager to capture Batman, something he believes Gordon was never capable of, even when Bane is the more immediate and obvious target, to the point that he inadvertently lets Bane escape when Batman crashes the police pursuit following Bane's robbery of the stock exchange. He is one of the few officers who was not trapped underground after Bane triggered multiple explosions in the tunnels. Though initially aiding Gordon and other members of the resistance, Foley later refuses to take part in the final push against Bane's forces, fearing for his own safety after what Bane did to those special forces members. However, he relents and joins in the riot between the cops and Bane's army. Foley manages to kill Bane's lieutenant, Barsad, with a submachine gun, but is then killed by automatic fire from Talia's escaping Tumbler.
• Officer Tyler Ross (portrayed by Reggie Lee) - Blake's patrol partner who is trapped underground after the explosion in the sewers, and communicates with Blake during the revolution by passing notes through a sewer grate. He is shot dead by a League of Shadows mercenary when Blake is trying to pull him out of a sewer manhole cover.

In television

Batman (1966 series)

• Chief O'Hara (portrayed by Stafford Repp) - The chief of police.

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003 film)

• Detective Sonia Alcana (voiced by Elisa Gabrielli) - She is Harvey Bullock's partner in the film. While investigating the identity of the new vigilante Batwoman, Alcana is one of Batman's suspects. Batman rescued Alcana once from a fire set by Rupert Thorne's men nine years prior of the film. Sonia was actually one of the three women that operated at Batwoman alongside Dr. Roxanne Ballantine (whose fiancé was framed for a crime by Penguin) and Kathleen Duquesne (who wanted to end the criminal career of her father Carlton Duquesne). She later resigns upon claiming to be the only one that worked as Batwoman in order to protect the reputation of the Gotham City Police department.

The Batman (2004 series)

• Chief Angel Rojas (voiced by Edward James Olmos in the first appearance, Jesse Corti in later appearances) — The Chief of Police. For Chief Rojas, The Batman is nothing less than a black eye to his police force. Believing there is no room for vigilante justice in Gotham, Rojas has made capturing the Dark Knight a top priority.
• Detective Ellen Yin (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) — Given her name and the events of the episode, "Artifacts", she could be a loose adaptation of Ellen Yindel from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. She was Batman's first ally in the Gotham City Police Department before James Gordon came into view.
• Detective Ethan Bennett (voiced by Steve Harris) — He is a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's. Due to a chemical created by the Joker, he becomes the first Clayface for this series and is later cured in "Clayfaces" during the fight with Basil Karlo.
• Detective Cash Tankinson (voiced by Patrick Warburton) - He is a bumbling detective who was Yin's partner for the episode "JTV." Cash later returned in the episode "Cash for Toys" where he was assigned by Commissioner Gordon to be Bruce Wayne's personal bodyguard after he was targeted by Cosmo Krank.

Beware the Batman (2013 series)

• Commissioner Correa (voiced by Carlos Ferro) - He was the police commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department until he was killed by two ninjas of the League of Assassins upon not giving in to Ra's al Ghul's demands. Due to his death, James Gordon was sworn in as the new police commissioner.
• Officer Dombrowski (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) - A police officer that worked for the Gotham City Police Department.
• Officer O'Brien (voiced by Michael Patrick McGill) - A police officer that worked for the Gotham City Police Department.
• Officer Rodriguez (voiced by Carlos Ferro) - A police officer that worked for the Gotham City Police Department.
• Detective Marcie Brown (voiced by Tara Strong) - A police detective that worked for the Gotham City Police Department.

Gotham (2014 TV series)

• Andrew Dove (portrayed by James Mount) - A police officer who later became an informant to the Cult of Jerome.
• Ben Mueller (portrayed by Laurence Mason) - A detective that once investigated the Ogre.
• Bill Cranston (portrayed by James Colby) - A corrupt police lieutenant. He was killed by Balloonman.
• Campos (portrayed by Flora Diaz) - A detective.
• Derek Delaware (portrayed by Niko Nicotera) - A detective in the GCPD's Narcotics Department.
• Franks (portrayed by Michael Barra) - A member of the Gotham City Police Department. He once showed up late to stop Zaardon and is later among the police officers that were temporarily mind-controlled by Ivy Pepper.
• Nathaniel Barnes (portrayed by Michael Chiklis) - A former Marine who became the Captain of the Gotham City Police Department days after Sarah Essen was killed by Jerome Valeska. He later falls victim to the Alice Tetch Virus that causes him to target the guilty under the name of Executioner.
• Reynolds (portrayed by Harry Sutton Jr.) - The police commissioner who succeeded Sarah Essen. He and Archbishop McGregor were killed by Jerome Valeska's neck bombs during his ransom demand of Bruce Wayne and Jeremiah Valeska.
• Strike Force - A group of trained police officers that were assembled by Nathaniel Barnes.
  • Carl Pinkney (portrayed by Ian Quinlan) – One of the several young police trainees to join Captain Nathaniel Barnes' strike force. He is killed by Edward Nygma using a crowbar on him to frame Gordon for the murder.
  • Josie Mac (portrayed by Paulina Singer) - A member of the GCPD's Strike Force.
  • Luke Garrett (portrayed by Lenny Platt) – One of the several young police trainees to join Captain Nathaniel Barnes' strike force. He gets burned by Firefly during her fight with Gordon and Bullock where he later died in the hospital.
  • Sal Martinez (portrayed by Lucas Salvagno) – One of the several young police trainees to join Captain Nathaniel Barnes' strike force. He is later killed by Tabitha Galavan when he tried to arrest her during the fight between Oswald Cobblepot's gang and the Gotham City Police Department.
• Vanessa Harper (portrayed by Kelcy Griffin) - A detective who transferred to the main precinct from the 3-5.

Batwoman

• Stu Donnelly (portrayed by Phillip Mitchell) - A GCPD detective who is one of the Executioner's victims. It was discovered that he, Judge Raymond Calverick, and assistant district attorney Angus Stanton worked together to send innocent men to Blackgate Penitentiary's death row which led to Executioner's vendetta on them.

See also

• New York City Police Department
• Chicago Police Department
• San Francisco Police Department
• Batman: GCPD - Gotham City Police Department
• Gotham Central

References

1. Detective Comics #819
2. Detective Comics (vol. 2) #25
3. Batman: Shadow of the Bat #88
4. Action Comics (vol. 1) #957
5. Dark Knight Rises GCPD Vehicles Reference pics
6. "'The Batman' TV Spinoff From Matt Reeves, Terence Winter Set at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
7. Chitwood, Adam (October 22, 2018). "Exclusive: 'Joker' Actor Shea Whigham Reveals Who He Plays, Teases Unique Filming Experience". Collider.
8. Debra Birnbaum. "Michael Chiklis Joins Cast of 'Gotham'". variety.com.
9. Woodruff, Ken (writer) & Bailey, Rob (director) (September 28, 2015). "Rise of the Villains: Knock, Knock". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 2. FOX.
10. Cannon, Danny (writer) & Scott, T.J. (director) (October 12, 2015). "Rise of the Villains: Strike Force". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 4. FOX.
11. Barnes, Jim & Woodruff, Ken (writers) & Kondracki, Larysa (director) (May 2, 2016). "Wrath of the Villains: Azrael". Gotham. Season 2. Episode 19. FOX.
12. Hull, Robert (writer) & Bailey, Rob (director) (June 5, 2017) "Heroes Rise: Heavydirtysoul" Gotham. Season 3. Episode 22. FOX.
13. Stephens, John (writer) & Cannon, Danny (director) (September 21, 2017). "A Dark Knight: Pax Penguina". Gotham. Season 4. Episode 1. FOX.

← The story "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" was debuted. See The Case of the Chemical Syndicate for more info and the previous timeline.

Timeline of DC Comics (1930s) May 1939 (See also: Batman, James Gordon (character), Batsuit and Batmobile)

The character Ma Hunkel (Who later becomes Red Tornado) was debuted by Sheldon Mayer. See Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel) for more info and next timeline. →