Editing Lieutenant Dawson

{{Character_Infobox
|Title=Lt. Dawson
|Image=http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/lt-dawson.png
|VoicedBy=Trey Parker
|Gender=Male
|Age=40's-50's
|HairColor=Black
|Occupation=Lieutenant Detective, Park County Police
|Religion=Roman Catholic
Status=Alive (retired)
|FirstAppearance=[[Lil' Crime Stoppers]]
|FirstAppearance=[[Britney's New Look]] (debut)
}}
==About==
Lieutenant Dawson was, for a brief time, the lead detective at the [[Park County Police Station]], a heavy smoker who favored getting everything done by the books, whether it's dealing with common criminals, meth labs or crooked cops. He briefly welcomed [[Eric Cartman]], [[Stan Marsh]], [[Kyle Broflovski]] and [[Kenny McCormick]] to the force as Junior Detectives, quickly growing tired of their maverick streak, but forgiving them once they successfully cleaned up the force. He hasn't been seen in town since, but was present for [[Britney Spears]]' sacrifice.

==Personality and Traits==
''See: [[Harrison Yates]]''

==Close Friends==
Though Dawson never agree with their brutal methods, he came to approve of the South Park Junior Detectives and welcomed them to the force full-time, but they declined.

{{Character list
| Name = Stan Marsh
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/stan-marsh.png
}}
{{Character list
| Name = Kyle Broflovski
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/kyle-broflovski.png
}}
{{Character list
| Name = Eric Cartman
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/eric-cartman.png
}}
{{Character list
| Name = Kenny McCormick
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/kids/kenny-mccormick.png
}}
{{Character list
| Name = Detective Hopkins
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/detective-hopkins.png
}}

==Rivals==
Dawson prefers everything is done by the book, and resents corruption. When Murphy and Jenkins are nearly killed and revealed as corrupt, Dawson is glad that the force is clean.

{{Character list
| Name = Lieutenant Murphy
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/lt-murphy.png
}}
{{Character list
| Name = Detective Jenkins
| Image = http://southparkstudios.mtvnimages.com/shared/characters/adults/detective-jenkins.png
}}

==Featured Episodes==
*[[Lil' Crime Stoppers]] (s07e06)
*[[Britney's New Look]] (s12e02; cameo)

==Behind The Scenes==
Although he only ever made one notably appearance, Lieutenant Dawson played an important part in the transformation of the [[South Park Police]]. 

After expanding the town's police force, series co-creator Trey Parker experimented with introducing a new, competent police chief with the [[Senior Detective]] character in the sixth season. This short-lived character was retooled into Lieutenant Dawson by the airing of "[[Lil' Crime Stoppers]]", now accompanied by a much more expansive [[Park County Police Station]] manned by dozens of detectives and police officers.

The same voice would later be reused by red-haired police officer alongside [[Officer Barbrady]] in "[[Casa Bonita]]", a character who would in the eighth season be shown commanding the Park County Police as lead detective, behaving in a similar manner to Dawson and using the same body shape and voice. [[Harrison Yates|Sergeant Harrison Yates]] made his official debut in "[[The Jeffersons]]" and becoming the show's main police character afterward, where he has remained ever since.

Both Dawson, Yates and [[Detective Murphey]] would make brief cameos in separate shots in "[[Britney's New Look]]", marking Dawson's final appearance in the series to date.