Jason Clark Battle

“	The best minds in the FBI, and you can't even stop me.	”
	— Battle's last words in "Penelope"

Jason Clark Battle was a narcissistic and psychopathic killer cop, one-time cop killer, and serial-turned-budding spree killer who appeared in Season Three of Criminal Minds.

Background[]

What is revealed about Battle's past is that he did military service from 1992 to 1996, took a job with the Prince William County Sheriff's Office on December 29, 1997, and has a BA in Administration of Justice. In July 2002, he earned a Meritorious Award for Bravery in the Line of Duty, and in October 2005, he earned an Award of Valor. He had enough legal knowledge to use legal terms, but he apparently either dropped out of law school or didn't qualify for higher education. Despite Battle's achievements, he had not been further promoted since his superiors noticed that there was something wrong with him, not knowing that he had taken up serial killing as a way to get himself fame, having shot and killed three prior victims and making their murders appear to have been done by another perpetrator.

Season Three[]

Lucky (Part 1)[]

Thinkin about this all night — Battle moments before shooting Garcia.

Garcia meets Battle by accident in the café she goes to every morning. His computer glitches, but Garcia uses her computer knowledge to fix it. Referring to himself as James Colby Baylor, he then asks her out, recognizing her name as one of the people involved in investigating his murders. After a date at a restaurant, when they are walking together towards Garcia's home, they start talking about coincidences and how lucky it was that his computer glitched when she was around. Garcia replies that she believes everything happens for a reason. Thinking that she is on to him, Battle becomes nervous and shoots her in the chest outside her house, saying before opening fire, "I've been thinking about doing this all night."

Penelope (Part 2)[]

Five days later, Battle returns to the scene to learn that Garcia has survived and begins stalking her after her release from the hospital. Battle also purchased another revolver, to replace the one he disposed of after shooting Garcia. He attempts to break into her home, killing Officer Mike Flemming in the process but is chased away by Morgan, who had been staying at Garcia's apartment for her protection, after engaging in a brief shootout with the agent. Meanwhile, at the BAU headquarters, JJ is heading to her office as Agent Adam Fuchs is escorting a uniformed Battle into the bullpen area, Battle having approached him to discuss FBI interference with his cases. Fuchs introduces him to Kevin Lynch, who is brought in to fill in for the wounded Garcia. Kevin hesitates, looking right into Battle's eyes for a moment and recognizing him as Garcia's attacker^[1] before he escorts the two into the bullpen. There, Battle asks for his files to be removed from the FBI's computers until Fuchs' investigation of Garcia is completed. Kevin agrees to do it but instead takes the opportunity to warn Garcia, who then warns the rest of the BAU team.

As the scene progresses, Hotch comes out of his office and heads toward Rossi's to meet up with him. Both of them know that he will start shooting the moment he feels that his bluff has been called. Hotch and Rossi then make their way down to the main floor, pretending to discuss a file, but Battle is still watching them carefully. Kevin then turns to Battle to tell him that all of his files are now erased from the FBI computers. Fuchs, the only man who doesn't know what is going on, moves to lead Battle out of the office. Reid, Prentiss, and Morgan know that it will culminate into a shootout, and they head out to get back to the BAU offices. As expected, Battle grabs Fuchs from behind and pulls a gun out. Holding him at gunpoint, Rossi tells Battle that he doesn't want his decorated career to end like this, but Battle arrogantly taunts that even the best minds in the FBI cannot stop him. He doesn't notice JJ as she is making her way carefully towards him, her own gun drawn. However, Rossi and Hotch, standing directly across from him, see her clearly. These motions prompt Battle to turn his head in order to look behind him. At that moment, JJ instantly shoots him right between the eyes, killing him.

Season Thirteen[]

Lucky Strikes[]

Battle is mentioned via his alias of James Colby Baylor. He reappeared in this episode via flashbacks.

Profile[]

No official profile of Battle was given. It is known that he is a paranoid narcissist with Hero Syndrome (described as being related to Angel of Death Syndrome) and thus has a great need for praise and respect. He would gun people down and call for help, making him appear to be a hero who saved their lives. Even if they died, Battle would still become a hero, being the first one to arrive on the scene. He also displays a great amount of confidence, remaining so even as things begin to go wrong for him. His attempts to cover his tracks became increasingly bolder, and if he failed, it would be his intention to die in a blaze of glory.

Modus Operandi[]

Battle Gun — Battle threatening Adam Fuchs.

Battle typically targeted random victims and used a .38 Smith & Wesson Model 36 in his shootings, at least three of which were drive-by's (which may be to prevent any shell casings from being found at the scene). After shooting his victims, presumably in an area that wouldn't be immediately fatal, he would call for backup in order to make himself a hero by saving their lives. It can be assumed from the deaths of three victims that Battle may have been inexperienced in hitting them in non-fatal areas, at least initially.

When he shot Garcia, he used the same revolver that he later disposed of. During the shootout at Garcia's apartment, he used a newly-purchased Smith & Wesson Model 67 revolver. During the standoff at the BAU headquarters, he held Agent Fuchs at gunpoint with a 9mm Beretta 92FS handgun.

Real-Life Comparison[]

Battle appears to be partly inspired by Richard Angelo - Both were narcissistic serial killers with jobs in public service (a Sherriff's deputy in Battle's case, a firefighter and later a medical technician and nurse in Angelo's), suffered from Hero Syndrome, were the first responders on the scenes where their victims were dying, waited until their victims were near death before trying to resuscitate them, and were stopped when a surviving victim gave a description of them to the authorities.

Battle is similar to Gerard Schaefer - Both were serial killers (suspected in Schaefer's case) with jobs as Sheriff's Deputies, and abused this position to commit murders of innocent people.

Known Victims[]

Unspecified dates and locations:
- Mr. Marshall (first name unrevealed)
- Ms. DeMao (first name unrevealed)
- Mr. Marcus (first name unrevealed)
- Presumably injured numerous unnamed others
2007, Quantico, Virginia:
- November 12: Penelope Garcia (attempted, but barely survived; was shot in the chest; later stalked)
- November 18: The shooting at Garcia's apartment:
  - Penelope Garcia (intended to kill)
  - Officer Mike Fleming (shot twice in the chest)
  - Derek Morgan (attempted to shoot)
- November 18-19: The standoff at the BAU headquarters:
  - IA Agent Adam Fuchs (held at gunpoint and intended to kill)
  - Intended to kill the following in a shootout:
    - Aaron Hotchner
    - David Rossi
    - Kevin Lynch
    - Several unnamed agents and office workers

Notes[]

Bailey Chase, the actor who portrayed Battle, would go on to play Bryan McKenzie, a murderer on the comedy-drama television series White Collar in 2012.
Battle has numerous similarities to Phillip Dowd ("L.D.S.K.") - Both were paranoid narcissistic killers who worked as police officers (although Dowd was fired from his job), suffered from Hero Syndrome, non-fatally shot their victims from their vehicles and attempted to save them in some way (Battle would call for backup to help the victims he shot; Dowd would help his victims once they were transported to the hospital), killed a police officer, tried to kill a BAU agent, and were killed by being shot in the head by another.
Battle is the first of only four unsubs in the show's history to have successfully breached the BAU headquarters. The next two are:
- Season Seven
  - Luke Dolan ("Dorado Falls")
- Season Eight
  - John Curtis ("The Replicator")
- Seasons Thirteen and Fourteen
  - Benjamin David Merva and Mary Meadows ("Believer" and "300")