John Cooper (Southland)
Encyclopedia
Officer John Cooper is a fictional character who appears on the American television series Southland
. A veteran officer with the Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD), Cooper is a Police Officer III+1, which is a Senior Lead Officer, serving as a field training officer in the Hollywood Division in West Bureau. He is played by Michael Cudlitz
.
. He joined the LAPD in 1992 because it was the only job that someone of his educational level could start out earning $30,000 a year at the time. Cooper was previously married to Laurie, a nurse. They are divorced but remain on friendly terms, although Cooper refused her request to donate sperm for her to conceive a child.
Cooper suffers from chronic back pain which he attributes to an on-the-job injury. He wears a back brace and self-medicates with pain pills, which he obtains from his ex-wife, from drug dealers and from the scenes of crimes he assists in investigating. Cooper has refused to "go through channels" to receive treatment, saying that should he do so he would be taken off the streets and that if he could not work on the streets, he would "rather be dead". He has, however, sought relief through alternative medicine
techniques like acupuncture
. After finally beginning to understand he has a problem, Cooper decides to quit self-medicating. He soon begins using again, leading to a negative effect on his job performance and an angry confrontation with Sherman. Following his failure to back Sherman up in pursuit of a rape suspect, Sherman tells Cooper that either he will check himself into rehab or Sherman will advise the watch commander to order Cooper to take a drug test. Season three ends with Ben taking him to a hospital for a medical detox
and back treatment.
to his co-workers. Southland initially dealt with his sexuality obliquely, with the closest he has been shown to coming out being a conversation with his partner/trainee, Officer Ben Sherman. When the two are returning from the funeral of a friend of Cooper's named Clark who committed suicide, Cooper tells Sherman that he and Laurie used to double date Clark and his wife. After Cooper's divorce, he used to see Clark in gay bars and they avoided each other. Other indicators of his sexuality included his frequenting a bar with an all-male clientele (where he picked up another man) and the intimation of an affectionate relationship with a man named Caesar who helped Cooper build a retaining wall in his garden. Caesar was later seen in Cooper's bed.
Cudlitz has expressed his surprise that some viewers denied that Cooper is gay, saying that the show "couldn't be any clearer". Cudlitz recognized the significance of his portrayal to the LGBT
community but was less concerned about playing a gay character than portraying his character with integrity. "If I play this character honestly, and he’s looking for all the things that most humans are looking for, which is human connection and to find love and to be happy, then I think that I am, by extension, doing the right thing for the gay community...But my focus is not to make any type of groundbreaking gay character. My focus is to make an honest, believable character that the audience can get emotionally invested in."
Following the conclusion of season 3, executive producer Christopher Chulack
stated in an interview that future development plans for the character are uncertain. He expressed his hope that Cooper, with the conclusion of his addiction story, will "come back fixed and unencumbered" and return to being an outstanding police officer.
Southland (TV series)
Southland is an American drama series created by writer Ann Biderman and produced by Warner Bros. Television. It premiered on NBC on April 9, 2009...
. A veteran officer with the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
(LAPD), Cooper is a Police Officer III+1, which is a Senior Lead Officer, serving as a field training officer in the Hollywood Division in West Bureau. He is played by Michael Cudlitz
Michael Cudlitz
Michael Cudlitz is an American actor. He can be seen in the TNT drama Southland, starring as John Cooper, and the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers as Sgt. Denver "Bull" Randleman.-Life and career:...
.
Fictional character biography
Little is known of Cooper's background. He has said that his father, who taught him to shoot guns, was in and out of prison during Cooper's childhood. His father has been incarcerated since 1991 for the rape and murder of Cooper's 16 year-old girlfriend. Cooper attended Susan Miller Dorsey High SchoolSusan Miller Dorsey High School
Susan Miller Dorsey High School is a high school located in Los Angeles, California.Dorsey is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Village, Jefferson Park, Leimert Park, and portions of Crenshaw....
. He joined the LAPD in 1992 because it was the only job that someone of his educational level could start out earning $30,000 a year at the time. Cooper was previously married to Laurie, a nurse. They are divorced but remain on friendly terms, although Cooper refused her request to donate sperm for her to conceive a child.
Cooper suffers from chronic back pain which he attributes to an on-the-job injury. He wears a back brace and self-medicates with pain pills, which he obtains from his ex-wife, from drug dealers and from the scenes of crimes he assists in investigating. Cooper has refused to "go through channels" to receive treatment, saying that should he do so he would be taken off the streets and that if he could not work on the streets, he would "rather be dead". He has, however, sought relief through alternative medicine
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
techniques like acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
. After finally beginning to understand he has a problem, Cooper decides to quit self-medicating. He soon begins using again, leading to a negative effect on his job performance and an angry confrontation with Sherman. Following his failure to back Sherman up in pursuit of a rape suspect, Sherman tells Cooper that either he will check himself into rehab or Sherman will advise the watch commander to order Cooper to take a drug test. Season three ends with Ben taking him to a hospital for a medical detox
Drug detoxification
Drug detoxification is a collective of interventions directed at controlling acute drug intoxication and drug withdrawal. It refers to a purging from the body of the substances to which a patient is addicted and acutely under the influence...
and back treatment.
Sexuality and continued development
John Cooper is gay but apparently closetedCloseted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
to his co-workers. Southland initially dealt with his sexuality obliquely, with the closest he has been shown to coming out being a conversation with his partner/trainee, Officer Ben Sherman. When the two are returning from the funeral of a friend of Cooper's named Clark who committed suicide, Cooper tells Sherman that he and Laurie used to double date Clark and his wife. After Cooper's divorce, he used to see Clark in gay bars and they avoided each other. Other indicators of his sexuality included his frequenting a bar with an all-male clientele (where he picked up another man) and the intimation of an affectionate relationship with a man named Caesar who helped Cooper build a retaining wall in his garden. Caesar was later seen in Cooper's bed.
Cudlitz has expressed his surprise that some viewers denied that Cooper is gay, saying that the show "couldn't be any clearer". Cudlitz recognized the significance of his portrayal to the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community but was less concerned about playing a gay character than portraying his character with integrity. "If I play this character honestly, and he’s looking for all the things that most humans are looking for, which is human connection and to find love and to be happy, then I think that I am, by extension, doing the right thing for the gay community...But my focus is not to make any type of groundbreaking gay character. My focus is to make an honest, believable character that the audience can get emotionally invested in."
Following the conclusion of season 3, executive producer Christopher Chulack
Christopher Chulack
Christopher Chulack is an American television producer and director. He has worked extensively on ER and has won several awards.-ER:Chulack began working on the NBC medical drama ER as a director and producer with the first season. He was promoted to co-executive producer midway through the third...
stated in an interview that future development plans for the character are uncertain. He expressed his hope that Cooper, with the conclusion of his addiction story, will "come back fixed and unencumbered" and return to being an outstanding police officer.