- "Did someone say something about him to you? (...) Well, you'll hear stories about him. About me. About what I did. He was my mentor. My friend. I miss him. That's the part the stories leave out. (...) They risk their lives, every time they go out there. Has to be worth it, has to matter. He lost sight of that, so he lost them. Beth, in this job you don't need their love. But you have to have their respect. Otherwise, the day's gonna come when you need backup and you don't have it. And what comes next? Everybody goes down."
- —Dawn to Beth about why she killed her captain, Hanson.[src]
Hanson (first name unknown) is a survivor of the outbreak in AMC's The Walking Dead. He was the police captain at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Pre-Apocalypse
Atlanta, Georgia
Hanson was a captain in the Atlanta Police Department. His second-in-command was Lt. Dawn Lerner who, sometime before the outbreak, presented her an award for her work with the Atlanta Police Department.
Post-Apocalypse
Season 5
"Slabtown"
Hanson was mentioned by Dr. Steven Edwards as the commanding officer who was tasked with evacuating Grady Memorial Hospital with Dawn Lerner and other Atlanta Police Department officers. After the city was firebombed, he eventually spiraled out of control, making bad decisions and was "dealt with" by Dawn. Hanson is later seen in a photograph in Dawn's office along with his nameplate and badge. According to the badge, his rank was Captain.
"Coda"
Hanson is mentioned by Beth Greene when she asked Dawn about his history and what had happened to him. Dawn replies that Hanson was her mentor. Later, Hanson is the topic for a quarrel between Dawn and O'Donnell which ended with the death of the latter.
Death
- Killed By
According to Dr. Edwards, Hanson began to make poor decisions, leading to Dawn killing him and taking charge.
Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Hanson has killed:
- Numerous counts of zombies and unnamed people
Relationships
Dawn Lerner
Hanson was Dawn's superior officer and mentor who was in charge of the hospital first. Hanson eventually became reckless and made bad choices. Dawn noticed his faults as a leader. Dawn took it upon herself to have him "dealt with" so she could take over. She seemed to care about him as she kept a photo of him presenting an award to her in her office, this is further explored when Dawn explains to Beth that he was her friend and that she misses him and those are the parts the stories leave out.
