There are few more intimidating notions in allcrimethan that of a dirty cop. On paper, police officers are chosen to uphold the law, meaning that they are bestowed with formidable powers to do so. Accordingly, the bad apples who abuse their power and position through malfeasance and corruption present a notably unsettling prospect; purported servants of justice who have impunity to bend or even break the law to advance their nefarious agendas.
It’s a disturbing premise, one that several movies andtelevision showshave sought to highlight and simultaneously take advantage of through an array offictional corrupt cops. Whether they’re framing you for their own participation in an elaborate jewel heist, passing insider information to criminal gangs, or straight-up murdering you to secure your silence, popular culture has played host to a number of unscrupulous police officers that we would never want working our cases.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Cast
From the creative minds of Dan Goor and Michael Schur comes Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police comedy series set in the NYPD’s fictional 99th precinct. Headed by the comedically serious Captain Raymond Holt and protagonist Jake Peralta, the detectives of the 99 deal with burglaries, drug deals, and oddities in New York City, occasionally steering into real-world issues surrounding police perception and social concerns in the 2010s and earlier. Each detective has their own unique personality that makes them stand out, creating endearing dynamics that helped the show thrive for eight seasons.
On the surface, everything aboutBrooklyn Nine-Nine’sMelanie Hawkins would indicate that you’d want her to work your case. A highly-decorated lieutenant in the NYPD brought to life by Gina Gershon, Hawkins' reputation is the stuff of legend. Unsurprisingly for a hugeDie Hardfan and motorcycle enthusiast, who has also been buried alive three times and has a bullet permanently lodged in her jaw, Hawkins is initially idolized by Jake and Rosa.
Regrettably, it all turns out to be an elaborate subterfuge, as Gershon’s charge and her task force are duly revealed to be none other than the Golden Gang,a notorious group of bank robbers terrorizing New York.It gets worse from there, as she tricksJake and Rosainto getting framed for their latest robbery, leading to their incarceration at the beginning of Season 5. Holt and Co. eventually clear the pair’s name and send Hawkins down for her wicked ways, but Gershon’s Machiavellian cop remains one of the acclaimed police procedural’s most prevalent bad apples.
Line of Duty
The story in each season deals with a conflict within a police department between the regular forces and the internal affairs or “anti-corruption” unit. Thematically, it is concerned with the moral ambiguities that arise when policemen investigate their own.
While the jury remains out on whetherSeason 7 of Line of Dutywill ever happen, the discussion over the identity of the police mole known as “H” ignited one of the fiercest debates in British television history. While “H” was ultimately revealed to represent four individuals rather than one, popular culture has latched onto Nigel Boyle’s Ian Buckells, the fourth and final person unveiled as a high-ranking corrupt member of the Central Police in the show’s sixth and most recent installment to date.
While some argue that his personality is proof thatLine of Dutywas intentionally misleading its viewers into who “H” actually is, Buckells' bumbling and incompetent nature takes on a truly sinister aura if he really is the show’s notorious mole. An individual capable of rising to the top of the police force without arousing a shred of suspicion is a chilling prospect, a state of affairs that is only amplified in light of his previous reputation as a bit of a buffoon.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges of managing his family and criminal enterprise. He seeks guidance from psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi while dealing with complex dynamics involving his wife Carmela, cousin Christopher Moltisanti, and other Mafia associates. Released in 1999, this series delves into organized crime and personal struggles.
Portrayed by the late John Heard, Vin Makazian was an amoral New Jersey police officer on Tony Soprano’s payroll, appearing in five episodes ofThe Sopranos. Heard’s charge only features briefly on theacclaimed crime-drama, but still manages to make an impression as a cop that you decidedly wouldn’t want pulling you over in the middle of nowhere.Just ask Jennifer Melfi’s unfortunate date, who finds himself dragged from the car and beaten by Vinunder the impression that she is a girlfriend cheating on Tony.
John Heard was also known for his role as Kevin’s father in 1990’s Christmas classic,Home Alone.
Underlining his seedy reputation by also taking nude pictures of Lorraine Bracco’s charge from outside her home, Heard’s charge eventually disappeared after attempting to frame Salvator Bonpensiero as an informant. It was later revealed that the morally devoid police officer had committed suicide after he was kicked off the force, arrested for various crimes after being caught with both his literal and metaphorical pants down in a brothel.
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential is a film adaptation of James Ellroy’s novel, directed by Curtis Hanson. Set in 1950s Los Angeles, it follows three detectives played by Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey, as they investigate a series of murders linked to corruption within the police force. The film explores themes of morality, power, and the seedy underbelly of the city. Kim Basinger and Danny DeVito also star.
Police corruption is the central premise of 1993’s standoutL.A. Confidential, with James Cromwell’s Captain Dudley Smith serving as the living embodiment of that notion. On paper, Smith is the perfect police officer, a universally admired and respected high-ranking officer in the LAPD, but there’sa sinister secret lurking behind his polished smile.The captain is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a ruthless killer wiling to stop at nothing to take over Mickey Cohen’s heroin racket following the latter’s arrest.
Best Sound
Nominated
Murdering Kevin Spacey’s Jack Vincennes to ensure his silence, the vast majority of the murder, bloodshed, and general wickedness depicted within the classic movie can ultimately be traced back to the insidious Smith. He would have had the last laugh too, were it not forL.A. Confidential’snotorious “Rollo Tomassi” twist: Vincennes' dying words were known only to Guy Pearce’s Exley, initially arousing his suspicions when Dudley casually asks him what the name means to him.
Léon: The Professional
Directed by Luc Besson, the 1994 thriller Leon: The Professional tells the story of professional hitman Leon (Jean Reno), who forms a bond with young girl Mathilda (Natalie Portman) after taking her as a protégée after corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman) kills her family.
The primary antagonist ofLéon: The Professional, Norman Stansfield hassurprisingly little screentime in his own movie, speaking volumes to the depraved brilliance of Gary Oldman’s turn in the 1994 action thriller that his charge is frequently cited as one of cinema’s most iconic villains. The last person you would want anywhere near any outstanding matters you may or may not have with the DEA, Stansfield is an unhinged senior agent who abuses his position of power and authority ruthlessly.
…there are few movie characters in cinematic history who embody the hypocritical and terrifying nature of a corrupt police officer to such a sinister extent.
Brought to life by a relentlessly over-the-top performance from Oldman,this walking, talking, pill-popping time-bombis essentially the living embodiment of police corruption. Making a profit off the very industry he purports to combat while murdering anybody who gets in his way, there are few movie characters in cinematic history who embody the hypocritical and terrifying nature of a corrupt police officer to such a sinister extent.
The Departed
The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese, depicts the tense interplay between the police and the Irish Mafia in South Boston. As an undercover officer infiltrates the criminal underworld, a syndicate informant rises within the police force, culminating in a high-stakes struggle to uncover the dual moles within their ranks.
A remake of the Hong Kong filmInfernal Affairs, 2006’sThe Departedis widely touted as one of legendary directorMartin Scorsese’s finest movies. With police corruption forming an integral thread of the acclaimed crime drama’s narrative, it’s also notorious for featuring one of the dirtiest cops in cinematic history, an individual who takes the form of Matt Damon’s Colin Sullivan. A high-flying detective in the South Boston Police Department,Sullivan is actually a lifelong informant for Jack Nicholson’s nefarious mob boss, Frank Costello.
Best Supporting Actor
Sullivan’s character is arguably one of cinema’s most unnerving examples of a corrupt police officer because he’s actually based on a real-life individual. John Conolly, the inspiration for Damon’s charge, was an FBI agent convicted of various serious charges due to his relationship with the notorious Winter Hill Gang, sinisterly highlighting that these morally devoid individuals are far from mere figments of an overly imaginative filmmaker’s imagination.
Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy is centered around the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO), exploring the tensions between President Clay and Vice President Jax in the town of Charming. The narrative focuses on their differing visions for the club’s operations, blending legal and illegal enterprises.
Featured on a show renowned for playing host to a veritable rogues gallery of excellent villains across seven seasons, it speaks volumes to the memorable nature of Ally Walker’s June Stahl that she’s arguablySons of Anarchy’smost hated supporting character. A ferociously ambitious agent in the ATF who served as the show’s overarching villain for the first three seasons, the ruthless Stahl was happy to twist, bend, or even break the law if it gave her any advantage.
Stahl was killed by Ryan Hurst’s Opie Winston inSons of Anarchy’s third season finale.
A woman who was willing to murder her own lover just to advance her own agenda,the actions of Walker’s charge led to the deaths of Donna and Half-Sack, as well as Abel’s kidnapping in the second season. The ATF agent’s complete lack of a moral compass was on display throughout her run on the show as she shamelessly attempted to blackmail and incriminate her way through life. Wayne Unser is another worthy mention fromSons of Anarchywhen it comes to corrupt cops, but Stahl’s sheer wickedness pips Dayton Callie’s series mainstay to the top spot.
3The Lieutenant
Brought to life in a criminallyunderrated turn from Harvey Keitel, the unnamed cop who forms the central premise of 1992’sBad Lieutenantis the literal antithesis of everything the police should represent.Participating in virtually every vice under the sun,the lieutenant’s existence is a blurry haze of drugs, prostitutes, and gambling, to the point that it’s remarkable he can even recall the fact that he’s actually a police officer on a day-to-day basis.
…the lieutenant’s existence is a blurry haze of drugs, prostitutes, and gambling…
However, while it’s hard to ignore his rampant substance abuse and gambling addiction, there’s an ironic argument to be made that Keitel’s supremely corrupt lieutenant is the best of a bad bunch when it comes to his peers, considering he tries to somewhat make amends for his ways by attempting to find the perpetrators behind a sexual assault on a nun. However, make no mistake; this is one of popular culture’s preeminent unscrupulous police officers.
Training Day
Denzel Washington and Alonzo Harris star in Training Day, an action thriller that follows the two stars as Los Angeles narcotics officers. Jake Hoyt is prepping on his first major training day for a promotion as he spends spend a tense twenty-four hours across several L.A. crime-ridden neighborhoods as Jake sees the danger and horrors of the job.
Portrayed in an Oscar-winning turn from Denzel Washington, Alonzo Harris is virtually synonymous with 2001’siconic crime-thrillerTraining Day. A highly respected narcotics detective within the LAPD, the manipulative Harris is soon revealed to bea paragon of corruption,willing to resort to blackmail and murder to advance his own unscrupulous agenda as he uses Ethan Hawke’s rookie cop, Jake Hoyt, to cover up his despicable acts.
Simply put, if you found yourself getting arrested by Harris, you were likely in for a thoroughly miserable day. While this sinister blend of charm and utter ruthlessness is eventually dispatched by Russian mobsters by the time the movie’s thrilling conclusion rolls around, Washington’s charismatic detective still arguably stands as cinema’s most famous and celebrated example of a corrupt police officer to this day.
The Shield
The Shield is a crime drama series set in an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct, exploring the complex moral landscape where officers sometimes resort to bending rules and engaging in unscrupulous activities to maintain order and protect their own interests.
Popular culture’s gold standard for fictional amoral police officers,The Shield’sVic Mackey remains the quintessential example ofa corrupt cop we would never want working our case.Spearheading the long-running and critically acclaimed crime drama series, Mackey’s antics put most hardened criminals to shame, with the detective committing crimes including, but not limited to, extortion, torture, and murder throughoutThe Shield’sseven-season run.
Played in an exemplary performance from Michael Chiklis, this poster boy for police brutality is even more terrifying than his reputation might suggest. Mackey demonstrates that he believes his savage means justify the ends on multiple occasions, a legitimately chilling prospect considering the lengths that he is willing to go to. One of the most irredeemably evil characters that television has ever seen, just getting arrested by Vic could prove to be a death sentence.
