Captain McCluskey - The Godfather (1972)
The Corrupt Cop: Corrupt police captain in service under the Tattaglia family, a rival crime family to the Corleones, and Virgil Sollozo.
Lowest Moment: After being confronted by Michael for removing the guards outside Vito Corleone’s hospital room, McCluskey responds by breaking Michael’s jaw.
Captain Dudley Smith - L.A. Confidential (1997)
The Corrupt Cop: Police captain who, despite looking distinctly like the lovable farmer who took care of Babe, is actually a corrupt official with a hand in LA organised crime, including drugs, blackmail and murder.
Lowest Moment: Shooting cop Jack Vincennes at point blank range after he made a criminal connection to Smith, and then having the gall to announce to the press that his department will stop at nothing to find Jack’s killer.
Colin Sullivan - The Departed (2006)
The Corrupt Cop: High-achieving policeman who has actually been brought up by mob boss Frank Costello to act as a mole in the police department and is eventually tasked with discovering the identity of the undercover cop in Costello’s own crew.
Lowest Moment: As with Infernal Affairs, having Captain Queenan tailed by Costello’s men who then proceed to kill him in cold blood. The same events seem even worse in this film thanks to Queenan being played by lovely old Martin Sheen.
Dennis Peck - Internal Affairs (1990)
The Corrupt Cop: Role model LAPD cop who actually uses excessive force on suspects, frequently sleeps with his colleagues’ wives and partners and actually ends up killing several people that risk dobbing him in to Internal Affairs.
Lowest Moment: His partner Stretch investigates an abandoned van and gets shot in the chest in the process. It turns out, it was all an arranged hit by Peck, whoc goes on to murder the shooter too.
The Lieutenant - Bad Lieutenant (1992)
The Corrupt Cop: A drug-addicted, gambling, adulterous cop who frequently solicits prostitutes and occasionally dances around the room naked.
Lowest Moment: Pulling over a car for speeding, he lets the two young girls go on the basis that they first take their clothes off and simulate oral sex while he openly masturbates. A speeding ticket would surely have been preferable.
Officer Dave Brown - Rampart (2011)
The Corrupt Cop: Racist, womanising police officer with rage issues, a complicated home situation and an unfortunate nickname of ‘Date Rape Dave’, which he got after supposedly killing a suspected date rapist.
Lowest Moment: Causing the LAPD a lot of embarrassment during a scandalous time when he is caught on camera beating someone almost to death.
Captain Hank Quinlan - Touch Of Evil (1958)
The Corrupt Cop: A decorated police captain who has been planting evidence on his suspects for years. Does it matter when they ARE guilty though?
Lowest Moment: When drug enforcement officer Miguel Vargas starts investigating his practices, Quinlan kidnaps his wife and frames her for murder. That just makes things personal…
Norman Stansfield - Leon: The Professional (1994)
The Corrupt Cop: Wildly unpredictable, drug-addicted DEA agent with a penchant for Beethoven.
Lowest Moment: Our real introduction to him – murdering Mathilda’s entire family one by one as revenge for her dad dipping into the cocaine he had been secretly stashing for Stansfield.
Detective Alonzo Harris - Training Day (2011)
The Corrupt Cop: A celebrated narcotics officer who spends the day showing rookie Jake Hoyt how ‘real’ police work is conducted. This includes taking a hit of PCP-lined marijuana while on duty, and stealing drug money.
Lowest Moment: Leaving Jake alone in the home of gangster Smiley, whom Jake slowly realises has been paid off to kill him.
Terrence McDonagh - Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (2009)
The Corrupt Cop: A drug-addicted New Orleans police lieutenant with a prostitute girlfriend and a stack of gambling debts. Prone to seeing singing iguanas and dancing souls.
Lowest Moment: So many, but surely going to a nursing home and threatening to kill an old lady in order to get information about a witness is the lowest of the low.
