Detective Burke is a Gotham City Police Department officer in the 2019 film Joker. He is portrayed by Shea Whigham.
Biography
Detective Burke and his partner, Detective Garrity, investigated the murders of three Wayne Enterprises executives who were killed on a subway train. They suspected Arthur Fleck of the crime, and attempted to apprehend him. After catching up to him, they chased him onto a train full of clown protestors. Arthur provokes a riot by stealing a protester's clown mask to blend him, but Burke sees him through and pulls out a gun to get the people out of his way. During the confrontation, a bystander grabs his arm and Burke shoots him, which infuriates all the protesters that gang up on him and Garrity, allowing Arthur to escape.
Behind the Scenes
While Garrity may not be based on any detective from DC comics, Detective Burke could be based on the character Tommy Burke from the Gotham Central comic series.