Where are the police?...

[TheNomad]

Okay we've got Military Personnel, and civilians. Somewhere in the middle are the police, and where could they have all gone? You'd figure they'd be there, but maybe they're just civilians now? Just why haven't they shown up at all. I will understand if someone says "Well they tried to help those civilians that didn't look like civilians". Eventually they would have wised up against that. Then there is the Mall that would have guards, but maybe the Mallers got rid of the police like revenge ya' know. I'm just wondering about this..

[Adventureless_Hero]

They're probably fairing about as well as armed civilians, maybe a bit better considering thier training. There are probably pockets of survivors being led by police. I imagine a great number of officers were killed in the chaos of the outbreak. They likely had to be on the front lines of most of the initial attacks. That's my guess.

[TheNomad]

I can understand if they were courageous police officers they probably died when it initially happened. Though what if all of them didn't go. What if some stayed behind at the barracks. I mean no one has ran across any police since this started, no police stations were mentioned or anything. I imagine there might be rations, water, and guns/ammo there. Plus if you need to be held up for the night you could stay in a cell for protection( At least if a behemoth doesn't find you).

Lets just cross out rations from up there, because I forgot it's been months so any food they could have had is not worth anything except to insects, or rodents.

[Teethingbiscuit]

Id likely roast a rat. Once I caught eem
TB

[timberwoof]

Okay in episode 1 they say down town is swarmed with rioters are unable to subdue them. The mention the zombies attacking the police and military. Police were overwhelmed by their tactics because they are trained to shoot for center mass and by the time they figure it out the zombie is already on them. I'm sure there are some but with everything that is going on do you think most of them would reveal they are police for the simple fact they were unable to control the outbreak?

[TheNomad]

I'm sure there are some but with everything that is going on do you think most of them would reveal they are police for the simple fact they were unable to control the outbreak?

I do believe that would reveal it if they weren't alone to try and make survivors feel safe with them if they got away from the initial attack. Kind of like a confidence booster.

[SgtMercy]

Pockets of survivors, much like the tower, exist but with no "modern" communications (CB & Marine radio excluded) we could find them in the mountains or rural areas

[wooly]

Except for maybe one lucky officer here and there I'd say they are likely all dead (or undead if you like)

Given that they would have been the first responders during the initial outbreaks and panic the police would have been swarmed just like the rest of the civilians. No matter how skilled or how well trained it would just be a question of numbers & odds in the end if they tried to maintain order during that hellish beginning period.

Same goes for military, paramedics, security officers, fire crews, hospital staff and many others whose training is to hold the line and persevere when the conditions are bad.

The only people who survived were independent-minded enough to dump their existing mindset (and jobs in many cases) and adapt. You could just as well argue that most of the survivors we have met were unimportant, average folks - lawyer, prisoners, florist, student, etc. No one in the Tower had front-line jobs that put them in danger. They were free to hide. (the soldiers were Reservists, as you may recall, and not on base when it was overrun)

That's an interesting concept. Rambo dies but the flower shop attendant survives?

[Yoyo]

To be quite honest, I think that any police officer that would be likely to still be alive would be SWAT. They are not first responders and they prepare themselves first in dire situations. They would be also the ones best equipped to handle such situations in that they are well armed. Furthermore, I think after they have prepared themselves going to their stations that they would have gotten a better idea of whats happening compared to the first responders after maybe hearing reports that were coming in.

Another fact that may have been overlooked about the police is that the Second tower could be where a lot of those police survivors could have been. Shawn for all we know could have been one and that's why Marcus chose him to be his right hand man. A police officier may not be military trained by it goes a lot further in establishing yourself as a leader than a average joe.

[Cabbage Patch]

the Second tower could be where a lot of those police survivors could have been. Shawn for all we know could have been one and that's why Marcus chose him to be his right hand man. A police officier may not be military trained by it goes a lot further in establishing yourself as a leader than a average joe.

I think that's a good point. We know that the Other Tower got organized extraordinarily fast, that they were well armed, that they ran an aggressive program of exploration and foraging. Maybe they got off to a fast start because they were formed around a cadre of cops, maybe even one with an intact command structure like a SWAT team.

By the way, the main base for LAPD SWAT is the Metropolitan Division station on East 6th Street. Take a look on Google Maps and you'll see that there is a large "tower-type" apartment complex just two blocks away.