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Hillvalleypolicecar2015

One of the Hill Valley Police Department's hover converted squad cars in 2015.

Police Department

Marty McFly standing outside the Police Department in 1931.

Hill Valley policeman

The Hill Valley policeman asks about Dr.Emmett Brown's 'weather equipment' in 1955.

Reesefoleypromo

Officers Reese and Foley (right) in 2015, with electronic readouts on their caps.

Malibu

Marty McFly, using his skateboard, hitches a ride on the back of H.V.P.D. car #5253.

Burned-out High School

A Hill Valley Police Department NO TRESPASSING sign adorns the barbwire-topped chain-link fence around the burnt-out Hill Valley High School in 1985A, while what is possibly an H.V.P.D helicopter (top right, partly obscured by the top of the fence) patrols the area.

Bttf21989-1517

A military tank is used by the corrupt Hill Valley Police Department in 1985A.

" He [Doc] came down from the ladder, his work completed, and smiled genially at the officer. / "You got a permit for this?" the cop asked, not returning the smile. / "Of course I do," Doc Brown replied. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his wallet and withdrew a fifty-dollar bill. "A permit straight from Washington," he added. / "You're not gonna set anything on fire this time, are you, Dr. Brown?" the cop asked, looking around nervously as he allowed the bill to slide from Brown's palm to his. / "No, sir," Doc Brown replied. This experiment is child's play." / "In that case," the cop said, "good luck." / "Thank you, officer." / The cop nodded, crossed back over the street and continued testing the doors of the shops along 2nd Street. "
—From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, pages 197 and 198)

The Hill Valley Police Department was the primary police force in Hill Valley throughout its later years.

Before the department's creation, Marshal James Strickland handled matters of law enforcement.

History[]

1931[]

In 1931, the police station was located adjacent to the Sisters of Mercy Soup Kitchen, ironically a cover for an illegal Hill Valley speakeasy.[1]

1955[]

In 1955, a Hill Valley policeman was seen walking a beat around Courthouse Square on Saturday morning, November 5. On the night of Saturday, November 12, the officer investigated Dr. Emmett Brown's "weather experiment" and asked whether he had a permit.

According to a deleted scene, one of the cars used by the department was a 1950 Ford De Luxe four-door sedan painted white and had a red beacon light on the roof.

1985[]

In 1985, Marty McFly, using his skateboard, hitched a ride on the back of Hill Valley Police car #5253, a Chevrolet Malibu, as he left Courthouse Square to go home.

1985A[]

In 1985A, the Hill Valley Police Department, was corrupt and had their hands on a military tank after BiffCo took over the whole town. In 1968, BiffCo had gained control of the police department through unknown means (possibly by purchase).

A wrecked police car — with the license plate number 766825 — was abandoned in the streets of Lyon Estates.

Three police cars, with strobe lights flashing and sirens sounding, sped past the entrance to the neighborhood where the Strickland residence was located as Marty ran from Lyon Estates towards Courthouse Square.

A NO TRESPASSING sign from the Hill Valley Police Department was also attached to the barbwire-topped chain-link fence surrounding the burnt-out remains of Hill Valley High School, while what was possibly an H.V.P.D. helicopter patrolled the area.

2015[]

In 2015, the force included units that were comprised of females. Three police officers on motorcycles responded to the destruction of the foyer of the Courthouse Mall, and the female officers arrested Griff's gang.

Officers Foley and Reese of Unit N11-11 took an unconscious Jennifer Jane Parker McFly back to her home in Hilldale in their hover converted squad car, after having used an identa-pad (a standard item of equipment on their duty belts) to verify her identity and where she lived. They wore peaked caps which featured an electronic readout on the hatband — where the police badge would be normally — displaying messages such as Do you know where your children are?, Look before you gleek!, Do not covet thy neighbor's thumb! (no doubt a warning to potential thumb bandits), and Have you bought your tickets to the policeman's ball?[2]

H.V.P.D. detective Dana Mitchell was a police expert in hydration accidents and, according to a news story titled 3 injured when mom re-hydrates pizza slices on the front page of the October 22, 2015 issue of USA Today,[3] was involved in the investigation of a Hyperion hydrator owned by Ruby Lee Dontanovich exploding.

2035[]

In 2035, Griff Tannen had been given a sage implant and a level one personality rewiring after he was released from prison. As he was deemed rehabilitated, he became an officer of the Hill Valley Police Department. However, the new personality implant didn't work, and Griff retained his violent tendencies. He was known to disobey orders, to use excessive force, and to use equipment that he was not authorized to use, such as a flame thrower. He was also reprimanded in the past for taking bribes.

The police were after Doc as the biological scan of Doc's age did not match that of the false identity he set up in 2015. Doc had intended to travel back to 2015, to pick up the parts he needed, at a time that his false identity would still be valid. However, Griff shot an electrical surge at Doc as he was about to head back to 1893 in the steam time car. This surge was meant to disable his bionic implants, but since Doc didn't have any, he suffered amnesia due to the jolt.

Behind the scenes[]

  • One of the scenes filmed for Back to the Future, but edited out of the finished version of the movie, explained that the "permit" that Doc found in his wallet was actually a $50 bill, which the police officer took in return for "looking the other way". The explanation (that there never was a permit) clears up a mystery for some viewers of the film, since, if Doc had obtained permission for setting electrical wire downtown, he could be blamed for the damage to the clock (and possibly even forced to pay, from his wealth, for its repair, which would then create a paradox). George Gipe reinstated the scene for the novelization (see Quote above).
  • Hill Valley's law enforcement seems to vary in effectiveness. In 1885, Doc is not linked to the theft or destruction of Locomotive 131. In 1931, Officer Danny Parker becomes corrupt and frequently intoxicated.[1] In 1955, the police are not present when Biff drives his car recklessly through Courthouse Square, nor when Marty drives at 88 miles per hour toward the square, nor does Doc have any further problem in taking down the wiring for his experiment. In 1985, the police officer does seem to notice Marty skateboarding on the back of his car. In 2015, the police arrest Griff's gang after they crash into the Hill Valley Courthouse. Two officers also identify Jennifer through her thumbprint “assuming she was her future version but with a good facelift” and drive her back to the Mcfly residence.
  • The department is at its nadir, however, on the weekend of October 26, 1985. Not only were Doc and Marty able to drive away from the Lone Pine Mall (with a van full of stolen plutonium) only minutes after gunfire, a high speed chase, and the crash of a van into a Fox Photo kiosk, they were also able to drive away the DeLorean time machine, which had been left by Marty at Courthouse Square, several yards away from the destroyed front entrance of the Assembly of Christ building. The destruction of the DeLorean on the railroad tracks went uninvestigated on Sunday morning (although in Timeline 2, Marty was apparently prosecuted after his collision with a Rolls-Royce). The novelization does include mention of sirens approaching as Doc and Marty slip away from the mall.
  • The scene where Marty comes across the burnt-out remains of Hill Valley High School in 1985A appeared only in a deleted scene from Back to the Future Part II, which was reinstated for the novelization.

Appearances[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Back to the Future: The Game
  2. Back to the Future: The Official Book of the Complete Movie Trilogy
  3. Special "front page wrap" for real life October 22, 2015 issue of USA Today (see 'External links' below)

External links[]

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