the dark knight rises - How did the police department survive, and why were they allowed to? - Movies & TV

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During the course of the film, the
Gotham PD is trapped by Bane underground, and it is up to Blake to keep them informed
via numerous cut scenes of him threading fishing lines down storm
drains.

• How
  long were the cops down there? 5
  months?




• How many cops were there? I
  thought I heard 3000, but that number seems a bit excessive - that said, it was made
  clear that the entire dept was down there on their 'training
  exercise'.




• Never mind the fact they
  all emerged clean-shaven, what did they live on down
  there?




• Also, is there any logical
  explanation why Bane did not just kill them all when they were trapped? They could have
  been crushed, incinerated or gassed - all methods were well within Bane's
  means.

There is
a very good chance that I am not recalling specifics from the film very clearly,
however, this is a huge murky area and I would welcome a little
clarification.

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class="normal">Answer

I do remember several scenes
(quick ones) and off-the cuff explanations that they were receiving supplies through the
man-hole that Blake's partner emerges out of near the climax as well as through the
destroyed football stadium (at one point you see a whole pallet of supplies being
hoisted down from...somewhere).

While vague, the
audience is expected to assume the supplies they were receiving were enough not only for
the citizens of Gotham, but enough to deposit down to the police's prison underground,
allowing them proper sustenance.

The only
logical explanation that Bane kept them alive aside from arrogance that no one would
attempt to free them; is for Bruce or even Gordon to know the full extent of their
failure to the city, having the police suffer down in the confined depths. If memory
serves, however, Bruce doesn't know about the plot to trap the police until he finally
returns to the city, so it is more likely this is Gordon's
punishment.