Police in movies are almost always good. They follow the letter of the law and hunt down the bad guys. Flicks like Fargo, Serpico, and hell, even Die Hard (all five of them), exemplify good cops in action.
But then, there are the not-so-good cops. I’m talking about the ones who might be viewed as anti-heroes, or maybe even straight up villains. These are the characters who exemplify when the long arm of the law stretches a bit too far. So, with that said, here are 10 movie cops who don’t exactly follow the rules.
Judge Dredd (Dredd)
In this 2012 film (which is not to be confused with the 1995 Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone that I have a soft spot for) starring Karl Urban, Judge Dredd is judge, jury, and executioner, all in one.
One might argue that Dredd is a product of his environment, as Mega-City One is a hell hole. Just one look at the way criminals cower in his presence, however, and it becomes quite evident that he takes things a bit too far sometimes.
What makes Dredd a particular hardass, though, is that he makes it seem like his perpetrators actually have an option in their sentences. For example, he’ll “negotiate” and tell them that they can either spend the rest of their lives in an Iso-cube…or die at his hands.
Yes, the universe Dredd occupies allows him to make such harsh decisions on the job, but that still doesn’t make him a hero. It’s this extremely gray area that makes Dredd, in my mind anyway, the best comic book movie ever.
Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (The French Connection)
Fun fact, but did you know that the restaurant Popeyes is named after “Popeye” Doyle and NOT Popeye the Sailor Man? Well, anyway, Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, played by Gene Hackman (and also Ed O’Neill in the sequel that nobody asked for, but which was actually pretty good) isn’t really a “bad” cop, per se.
I mean, he’s an alcoholic, and the kind of cop who will bust you for picking your feet in Poughkeepsie, but when it comes to hunting down drug dealers, he’s your man.
Which is why “Popeye” Doyle is more of an anti-hero than a dirty cop. He doesn’t respect the higher-ups, and he’ll do things his way if he thinks it will stop the bad guys. But, the mere fact that he doesn’t exactly follow the rules is why he ends up on this very list.
The Lieutenant (Bad Lieutenant)
I mean, it’s right there in the title. Played by Harvey Keitel, the Lieutenant in Bad Lieutenant does coke, smokes crack, gambles, and, in a particularly disturbing scene, takes advantage of two teenage girls who are driving without a license. In every way, the Lieutenant makes “Popeye” Doyle seem like a boy scout.
That said, the movie definitely doesn’t glorify him. It paints him in a very dim light, and at no point do you ever feel sorry for what eventually happens to him. Bad Lieutenant represents the very darkest side of the law, which makes this movie both compelling, but also incredibly terrifying.
Alonzo Harris (Training Day)
Played by Denzel Washington and earning him an Academy Award for his performance, Alonzo Harris is the epitome of a corrupt cop, and one of the best examples of a Black villain done right.
What makes Harris so bad – besides the fact that he terrorizes the criminals, which he deems as “animals,” – is that he’s willing to bring down other cops with him. And not just any cops, but even a fresh new recruit who’s basically on his first ride out. Alonzo Harris is the kind of dirty cop who would force his partner to smoke weed…or else.
Not only that, but you get a sense that he genuinely thinks he’s doing the right thing. You know how you can tell a good villain? When he or she thinks they’re the hero, and that’s Alonzo Harris to a T.
Colin Sullivan (The Departed)
Okay, so maybe this one isn’t fair, since Colin Sullivan, who’s played by Matt Damon, is actually a criminal pretending to be a cop. Or rather, he’s a spy who has infiltrated the police force and is only there to feed information to his boss, “Frank” Costello, played by Jack Nicholson.
On the surface, though, he’s the model police officer, which makes him all the more deceptive. Everything seems to be on the level with him, until his identity seems to be on the line, in which he’ll stab somebody and run, or shoot anybody who might get in his way. As mentioned, he’s a criminal masquerading as a police officer, so why WOULD he follow the rules? Funnily enough, even as a criminal, he’s still probably a better cop than Alonzo Harris in Training Day.
Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)
Harry Callahan, played by the always fascinating Clint Eastwood, is probably the quintessential “Dirty” cop, even though he’s really not all that dirty. He will hold a gun to a criminal and then offer a soliloquy about whether he’s unsure if there’s still a bullet in the chamber, and he might torture somebody for information, but otherwise…well, okay. You’re right. Police officers shouldn’t do stuff like that.
Because it’s Clint Eastwood, and the villain is similar to the Zodiac Killer (at least in the first movie), his actions seem pretty justified. He’s the kind of cop who wouldn’t really cut it on the actual force, but sometimes, the only force that some police officers belong on is (wait for it) the MAGNUM FORCE (that’s the name of the first Dirty Harry sequel, you see).
T-1000 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
Terminator 2, to this day, still has one of the most horrifying introductions to any movie that I’ve ever seen. In it, robots have taken over the world, and it’s pretty much the end of humanity. So, take one of those robots, give it some human skin, and put it in a police uniform, and voila, you basically have the T-1000, played by Robert Patrick.
Yes, the T-1000, much like Colin Sullivan in The Departed, is not really a “cop,” in that he’s just wearing a police uniform. But, the people he kills without mercy don’t know that. To them, they were just iced by the coldest police officer they’ve ever seen, and the T-1000 is definitely not following the rules. Skynet doesn’t have any rules, really. Not unless you count "kill all humans" as a rule. And, that’s more of a directive when you think about it.
William "Little Bill" Dagget Jr. (Unforgiven)
One could argue (and I have) that Unforgiven might be better than The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and I will say this: While I ultimately give the title to the latter, the former has the better antagonist, and that’s William “Little Bill” Dagget Jr., played by Gene Hackman, who makes his second appearance on this list.
Unlike “Popeye” Doyle though, whose actions are questionable, “Little Bill” is a straight up villain, reveling in his power, and willing to flog a guy to get the information he wants. “Little Bill” is the kind of sheriff who only took the job to rule his territory like a king, which makes him evil personified, since his job is not to rule. It's to protect.
Lieutenant Ray Donlan (Cop Land)
Wow. Harvey Keitel has played not one, but at least TWO bad lieutenants, and it’s hard to figure out which one is worse – the one in Bad Lieutenant, or the one in Cop Land. I’d probably go with the latter, because even though he’s a danger mostly to himself and his family in Bad Lieutenant, he’s a danger to the entire force in Cop Land.
This is a man who has ties to the mafia, plants guns to get other guys off, tries to drown his own nephew, and does all manner of terrible things. I don’t know what it is about Harvey Keitel, but he sure knows how to play a real SOB police officer.
Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins (Cop)
Lastly, I want to close with one of the creepiest cops on this list, Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins, played by James Woods. This is the kind of cop who will tell his daughter all about his day, sparing none of the grisly details. He’ll also have sex with anything that moves, and finds nothing wrong with blasting people away. It’s just another night on the job for Lloyd Hopkins.
The story in Cop is a sordid one, and Hopkins doesn’t so much enjoy his job, as he does it because he knows it’s the only job for a man like him, even if he might be just as bad as the people he’s putting away.
How many of these movies have you seen?
