Why did Gotham City police officers initially pursue Batman?

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Batman Heath Ledger (seated) as the Joker and Christian Bale as Batman in *The Dark Knight* (2008).

In the earliest days of the Batman comic books, Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon ordered his officers to fire upon the hero. This initial hostility stemmed from Batman’s nature as a vigilante who operated outside the law, often employing brutal tactics—such as tossing thugs off rooftops—to combat crime.1

This stance eventually shifted as the character evolved; by 1942, Commissioner Gordon began actively summoning Batman to assist with law enforcement by using the Bat-Signal to illuminate the night sky.1