History Characters / FargoSeriesLawEnforcement

* JerkassHasAPoint: While he wants to use the Blumquists as bait, his reasons for not having them taken in do make sense. The Kansas City Mob has friends in high places, and it's very likely that wherever they're taken won't be safe. A few episodes ago, the Gerhardts were willing to storm a police station and kill everyone; the much larger and better-armed Kansas City boys could do a lot worse damage.

* SerendipitousSurvival: Avoids the motel massacre because he was sent to escort Lou out of town.

* BaitTheDog: Inverted. Bill is set up throughout the first season as a possibly sexist ObstructiveBureaucrat, but it's eventually revealed he's simply a kind albeit dimwitted man who doesn't want to admit his friend is a murderer.

** For one, his insistence on the drifter angle is somewhat correct, as Malvo was indeed passing through Bemidji on the way to another job. [[spoiler: It's also his suggestion that Molly phone neighboring departments about similar crimes, leading her to Gus Grimley in Duluth.]]
** His idea that [[spoiler: Sam Hess's murder]] was related to the shady underground world involved in his trucking business is somewhat correct [[spoiler: once the arrival of Mr. Wrench and Mr. Numbers from Fargo complicates the Nygaard/Malvo investigation.]]

** It becomes fairly evident later on that the reason he doesn't want to believe Lester is a murderer is because he just wants [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore everything to be normal again]], and doesn't want to admit that an old friend is capable of anything so horrible. He honestly seems to be taking the current situation worse than anyone else involved. It's telling that in the finale, [[spoiler:he gives up the position of chief for Molly]].

->'''Lou:''' You associated with Ben Schmidt? Think he's a lieutenant now.
->'''Gus:''' Yes, sir. He's my boss.
->'''Lou:''' Kind of a prick.
->'''Gus:''' That's the one.

Gus's superior officer, who was also involved in the Waffle Hut massacre investigation in 1979.

* SavedByCanon: Like Lou, Ben was in season 1, so he makes it out of the chaos in season 2.

!!Trooper Whitley "Witt" Farr

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: When Dot shows up at her house with Scotty in tow, Indira agrees to effectively aid and abet a kidnapping by taking Scotty for a few days, because her home is somewhere that Roy Tillman would not think to look. She also reluctantly lies to the FBI about seeing Dot, because they want to use her as a witness in their investigation against Roy, and don't care if that puts her in danger.

* Sellout: Albeit a very sympathetic one. After spending a day evicting poor elderly people from their homes, Indira realizes she will have to ignore her moral convictions at work whether it’s the police department or private security. She decides to take a high-paying job with Lorraine, so at least she can pay her debts and build a better financial future.

!South Dakota State Police

[[folder:Jeb Cheney]]
!!Capt. Jeb Cheney
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s02e09_284.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[GloryHound You Minnesota boys don't got much in the way of backbone, now, do ya?]]"'']]
!!!'''Played By:''' Wayne Duvall

A Captain in the South Dakota State Police, his intransigence proves instrumental in setting up the Sioux Falls Massacre.

!North Dakota Patrolmen

[[folder:Witt Farr]]
!!Trooper Whitley "Witt" Farr
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fargo_s5_witt_farr.png]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LamorneMorris

A state trooper for the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

* ArchEnemy: As the story goes on he keeps coming with Gator, with every interaction more tense than the last steadily building to this trope. Ultimately subverted when his [[spoiler: final confrontation with a Tillman is with Roy, not Gator, and it ends up costing Witt his life.]]
* IOweYouMyLife: He’s genuinely grateful to Dot for making him an improvised bandage after he was shot in the leg.
** Later inverted when Witt [[spoiler: shields Dot during the firefight at the Tillman Ranch. After the shooting stops, Dot wants to find Witt and thank him, but he was fatally stabbed by Roy after chasing him down. A year later, Dot hasn't forgotten Witt and visits his grave to leave flowers.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm:
** After his partner is killed by the side of the road, he retreats to the gas station after realizing he is vastly out-armed by Ole Munch and Donald Ireland.
** When he sees Roy and his men abducting Dot from the hospital, he reluctantly backs down knowing that he's outnumbered by them, and instead withdraws to send word to Dot's other allies about the situation.
* OutOfFocus: Witt disappears from the story for most of the second act being entirely absent from episodes 5-7, although he has a larger role in the last three episodes.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: No one would know if he simply let Dot's case go, yet he still wants to find and help her.
[[/folder]]

!Local Police Departments, Minnesota

!!!Bemidji

[[folder:Vern Thurman]]
!!Sheriff Vernon "Vern" Thurman
[[quoteright:199:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3493584d_ca53_4d09_bf8c_2737d0406193.jpeg]]
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ShawnDoyle

The Police Chief of Bemidji.
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