There are few more intimidating notions in all crime than 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 and television shows have sought to highlight and simultaneously take advantage of through an array of fictional corrupt cops. Whether they’re framing you for their own participation in an elaborate jewel heist, pᴀssing 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.

10

Melanie Hawkins

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2021)

On the surface, everything about Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Melanie 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 huge Die Hard fan 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 tricks Jake and Rosa into 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.

9

Ian Buckells

Line Of Duty (2012-Present)

While the jury remains out on whether Season 7 of Line of Duty will ever happen, the discussion over the idenтιтy 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 that Line of Duty was 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.

8

Vin Makazian

The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Portrayed by the late John Heard, Vin Makazian was an amoral New Jersey police officer on Tony Soprano’s payroll, appearing in five episodes of The Sopranos. Heard’s charge only features briefly on the acclaimed 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 Vin under the impression that she is a girlfriend cheating on Tony.

Underlining his seedy reputation by also taking ɴuᴅᴇ 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.

7

Dudley Smith

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Police corruption is the central premise of 1993’s standout L.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’s a 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.

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 for L.A. Confidential’s notorious “Rollo Tomᴀssi” 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.

6

Norman Stansfield

Léon: The Professional (1994)

The primary antagonist of Léon: The Professional, Norman Stansfield has surprisingly 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.

Brought to life by a relentlessly over-the-top performance from Oldman, this walking, talking, pill-popping time-bomb is 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.

5

Colin Sullivan

The Departed (2006)

A remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, 2006’s The Departed is widely touted as one of legendary director Martin 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.

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.

4

June Stahl

Sons Of Anarchy (2008-2014)

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 arguably Sons of Anarchy’s most 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.

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 compᴀss 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 from Sons of Anarchy when it comes to corrupt cops, but Stahl’s sheer wickedness pips Dayton Callie’s series mainstay to the top spot.

3

The Lieutenant

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Brought to life in a criminally underrated turn from Harvey Keitel, the unnamed cop who forms the central premise of 1992’s Bad Lieutenant is the literal anтιтhesis of everything the police should represent. Participating in virtually every vice under the sun, the lieutenant’s existence is a blurry haze of drugs, prosтιтutes, 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.

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 Sєxual ᴀssault on a nun. However, make no mistake; this is one of popular culture’s preeminent unscrupulous police officers.

2

Alonzo Harris

Training Day (2001)

Portrayed in an Oscar-winning turn from Denzel Washington, Alonzo Harris is virtually synonymous with 2001’s iconic crime-thriller Training Day. A highly respected narcotics detective within the LAPD, the manipulative Harris is soon revealed to be a 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.

1

Vic Mackey

The Shield (2002-2008)

Popular culture’s gold standard for fictional amoral police officers, The Shield’s Vic Mackey remains the quintessential example of a 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 throughout The Shield’s seven-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.