Definitive answer to police absence at parade?

[Grissom]

So I'm going through Batman's trivia on imdb and come across something I never saw before. Apparently a scene was written but not filmed where Joker kidnaps the mayor and puts a non lethal drug in the police department's coffee thereby making them I'll. This was the reason no police were at the  parade to stop the Joker. Sounds plausible enough but it never bothered me. Remember Axis Chemicals just blew up so they could have been occupied there as well as the police force was very corrupt so Joker could have easily greased their hands. In fact, I would assume that some of the officers were in plain clothes in the parade maybe hoping to get some of the cash that the Clown was dropping.

That's one of the great things about Batman we can have fun speculating about certain events in the film that doesn't have to be spelt out for us. 

[The Dark Knight]

So I'm going through Batman's trivia on imdb and come across something I never saw before. Apparently a scene was written but not filmed where Joker kidnaps the mayor and puts a non lethal drug in the police department's coffee thereby making them I'll.

The coffee drugging is in the novelisation.

[DocLathropBrown]

Yeah, and in the novel, it's announced that the police are incapacitated at the press conference that cancels the 200th anniversary festival (the one the Joker hijacks in Naiper face).

If only they'd let them say that line in the film, there'd be a lot less people picking on the lack of cops during the parade! 

[Catwoman]

Wow I'd never even thought about them not being there lol.

I'm stupid

[Furstmobile]

"We simply cannot guarantee public safety"

Do they show a lot of cops outside the cathedral? This may be one case where Burton's low number of crowd extras could payoff for fanwank excellence.

[The Dark Knight]

"We simply cannot guarantee public safety"

Do they show a lot of cops outside the cathedral? This may be one case where Burton's low number of crowd extras could payoff for fanwank excellence.

There weren't many police in attendance. Gordon had to make do with the numbers he had. And at that point, a large police presence was irrelevant. Batman had neutralised the goons firing upon the public, as well as the gas balloons. The entry to the cathedral was blocked by the bell, too. The safety of the city was all in Batman's hands.

[Grissom]

Didn't know it was in the novelization. However it was said that it was written in the script, but was never filmed. I love the fact that basically it was all in Batman's hands. He is more than capable.  It brings to me how Batman took out the SWAT team and also saved the hostages in TDK.

[JokerMeThis]

During the Joker's speech on television near the end of the movie, don't we see a uniformed police officer listening to the Joker promising to give all that money away? Maybe the implication from that is that the corrupt police went there to get some money. 

I've always seen Burton's movies as "showing us" rather than "telling us" and I like them that way. A lot seems to be implied visually rather than through spoken dialogue, and other things are left to the imagination. Some people may think Burton is just a bad film maker but I don't think that's the case. I think today many people just don't want to think while watching a movie and expect everything to be explained in the dialogue.

[Grissom]

The comic books main draw is the image. That's why Burton was the perfect director for the job. Other than the sequel Batman Returns,  for me no other superhero film comes close to this film's visual wonder.