Characters of Police Quest 1: In Pursuit of the Death Angel
Lytton Police Department:
Sonny Bonds
Played by: Chris Barnes
The protagonist of the first three games. A policeman who does his best to keep Lytton's streets safe. According to Jim Walls, he's based on his son Sonny.
- The Ace: He excels at everything he does, be it Traffic, Narcotics, Homicide, or working for SWAT. In SWAT 2, his stats reflect this with him being a strong Jack of All Stats who immediately meets the requirements for Element Leader training. The second game establishes that he also qualified as a diver between games.
- Character Development: Sonny went from a well known By-the-Book Cop, to a Cowboy Cop who still manages to do things by the book, to a SWAT officer, to a SWAT team leader, to commanding a SWAT team.
- Chick Magnet: In the first game, several women flirt with him in a not-too-subtle manner; Both Laura Watts and the unnamed female patrol officer make suggestive comments to him, Marie becomes his Love Interest, and one traffic stop attempts to seduce him in order to get out of a ticket. That last one turns out to be Schmuck Bait.
- Dye Hard: Invoked. He starts with black hair, but bleaches his hair blond for an undercover operation.
- Experienced Protagonist: In the first game, he's already been on the force for fifteen years.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Sonny is issued a different sidearm for each game in which he appears; a .357 Magnum revolver in the original game, a 10mm 1911 based pistol in 2, and a 9mm Beretta in 3. In his appearances in the SWAT spinoffs, he uses a 1911 in SWAT 2, which is also the default sidearm in SWAT 3.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo: He turns up in SWAT 2 as a selectable officer and in SWAT 4 as the player's commanding officer.
- Rank Up: Becomes a Detective during the first game and is promoted to Sergeant at the beginning of the third. And given that he's stated to be training to establish a SWAT team in SWAT 2, he's likely further up the ladder. SWAT 4 has him as a Lieutenant in New York state, having transferred from Lytton.
Jonathan Dooley
- Da Chief: He's a no-nonsense watch commander in the first game, although he does end up as the victim of several pranks by The Gremlin.
- Rank Up: He's a patrol Sergeant in the first game and moves up to Detective Lieutenant in the second.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Not as much as Dennis Walker in Open Season, but he still has a higher swear quota than most characters.
Civilians:
Marie Wilkins
Played by: Cheri Loyd
Sonny's friend from high school and wife later on.
- The Cameo: She appears as a hostage in SWAT 3, explicitly identifying herself as Marie Bonds and asks the Player Character if they know Sonny, who is working in LA's Harbour Division by this point.
- Character Development: Marie went from a simple-minded hooker with a heart of gold, to an honest-working middle-class woman, to a considerably more intelligent and loving wife of Officer Sonny Bonds. The remake of the first game made her much less simple.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: She's introduced as an old school friend of Sonny's who has an interest in him. She helps him bust Bains and gives it up, becoming his Love Interest in the process.
- Ms. Fanservice: As expected of a (reformed) hooker. She wears a maid outfit in the VGA remake of the first game and a bikini pic of her is displayed in Sonny's locker in the second. That said, accepting her offer of spending fun time with her in the first game's VGA remake brings disastrous results.
Suspects:
Jesse Bains
The Death Angel. A dangerous drug lord, who is responsible for several murders.
- Big Bad: He's the titular Death Angel. The plot of the first and second game revolves around stopping him.
- Cop Killer: In the second game, Jesse escapes from jail and abducts a corrections officer, who he later kills.
- Cutscene Boss: The final shootout with him in the first game is done without the player's input, with Sonny firing off two shots at him with his Derringer and wounding him with the second shot. Averted in the second game, where Sonny this time shoots him with the player's input with a much bigger gun.
- Gender-Blender Name: He had the name "Jessie" in the first three games, which is typically used by women. Likely the reason why the VGA remake of the first game uses "Jesse".
- Inconsistent Spelling: His name is spelled as "Jessie" in the first three games and as "Jesse" in the VGA remake of the first.
