History Main / CluelessDeputy

* In Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'', the vultures [[CloudCuckoolander Nutsy]] and [[TriggerHappy Trigger]] play this straight and subvert it, respectively; the sheriff himself isn’t exactly incompetent, but he’s complacent; Trigger’s the one to silence Nutsy when he says too much and caution the sheriff against dismissing a blind beggar as a threat (Robin Hood in disguise) or the possibility of a jailbreak the night before Friar Tuck’s execution (as Robin Hood and Little John infiltrate the prison).

* In Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood'', the vultures [[CloudCuckoolander Nutsy]] and [[TriggerHappy Trigger]] play this straight and subvert it, respectively; the sheriff himself isn’t exactly incompetent, but he’s complacent; Trigger’s the one to silence Nutsy when he says too much and caution the sheriff against dismissing a blind beggar as a threat (Robin Hood in disguise) or the possibility of a jailbreak the night before Friar Tuck’s execution.

* Nutsy and Trigger in Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood''. Not that the sheriff was much better.

* Adachi is this to Dojima in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', mostly by saying too much and not really making the connections between the victims. [[spoiler:As with some of the other spoilered examples above, this is because he's really the bad guy, using ObfuscatingStupidity to deliberately throw suspicion and hinder the investigation.]]

* Droop-a-Long Coyote was the deputy to Sheriff ([[CatchPhrase ping-ping-ping]]) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricochet_Rabbit_%26_Droop-a-Long Richochet Rabbit]].

* [[WesternAnimation/TheDeputyDawgShow Deputy Dawg]]. How he ever got sworn in is a mystery, although once in awhile he'll come out ahead of the swamp critters who try to outwit him.

* Junior Justice (son of Buford T. Justice) from the ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'' movies. Seriously, we're talking about a guy who refuses to keep his gun loaded because "it gets too heavy."
* Jake in the western spoof ''Film/SupportYourLocalSheriff'', although he manages his smart moments as well. (It's more a lack of enthusiasm than his being genuinely clueless.)
* Sam Wood, in ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight''.

* Clinton Pell, in ''Film/MississippiBurning'' (in physical appearance, almost an evil Barney Fife).
* Euclid Baker, in ''Film/Tank'', a bullying weasel who also gets slapped around by his boss, Cyrus Buelton.

* Norman Jonas (Creator/JonathanWinters) in ''Film/TheRussiansAreComingTheRussiansAreComing''.
* Officer Jong-goo, the protagonist of ''Film/TheWailing'', starts the movie as a fat, bumbling idiot who constantly shows up late at crime scenes, forgets to take his rain coat when it's clearly pouring outside, can't take any initiative on his own and needs to be told everything, and is so terrified by a lone, frail (though very AxCrazy) woman that he's completely unable to do anything to defend himself, let alone to restrain her and ends up lying on the ground, embarassing himself and all the police force at once. One of the point of the movie is to show [[TakeALevelInBadass how far he's willing to change]] when his family is in danger. He is still better than his own deputy, who is about as cowardly and needs to be told [[BetterManhandleTheMurderWeapon not to manhandle a murder weapon]].

* ''Film/MysteryRoad'': Constable "Robbo" Roberts does a poor job of securing the crime scene, not taping off the footprints while also displaying some general ignorance when asked about some details. Later on, he hovers around and lets Johnno do all the talking during drug arrests. [[spoiler: Of course considering that he’s the DirtyCop, that cluelessness was probably deliberate obstruction]].
* In ''Film/{{Starkweather}}'', Sheriff Karnopp's primary deputy is his brother-in-law Dale, who is not the sharpest tool in the shed. Karnopp has prevent him from trampling all over the first crime scene, and he is keen to write the first murder off as being the work of a drifter, until Karnopp points out all the factors that make that unlikely.

* Deputy Perkins, of ''Series/BJAndTheBear'' and ''Series/TheMisadventuresOfSheriffLobo''.
* On ''Series/BabylonFive'', Garibaldi was occasionally assisted by a security guard named Jack, who came off this way, particularly when going through their investigation in the first season finale. [[spoiler: [[ObfuscatingStupidity This was because Jack was The Mole]] and was willfully hindering Garibaldi's investigation.]]

* Gus Grimly in ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' admits that he isn't a very good cop, and that he mostly deals with stray animals. He is much happier when he becomes a mailman.
* The Ferg in ''Series/{{Longmire}}'' is something of a joke in the sheriff's office, as Walt employed him as a favour to his father. However, while he is not much of a street cop, the later seasons do show him to be a canny investigator.

* Brett Mobley from ''Series/{{Eagleheart}}'' can't read and is more often used as a club than a police officer by Marshal Chris Monsanto. [[spoiler: It's all ObfuscatingStupidity designed to torment Chris, of course: Brett is actually ''{{Satan}}''.]]
* ''The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo''. The eponymous Sheriff is assisted by Deputy Perkins, who is so incompetent he only keeps his job due to {{nepotism}}, and "Birdie" Hawkins, who is quite capable but a NaiveNewcomer who doesn't realise how corrupt Lobo is.
* In ''Series/{{Nichols}}'', the Ketchams install their cousin Mitch Mitchell as Nichols' deputy to serve as their spy and agent. However, Mitch is so dumb that he serves as just as much an impediment to their schemes as he does to Nichols' law enforcement.

* Nutsy and Trigger in Disney's version of ''Disney/RobinHood''. Not that the sheriff was much better.

* ''Film/MysteryRoad'': Constable "Robbo" Roberts does a poor job of securing the crime scene, not taping off the footprints while also displaying some general ignorance when asked about some details. Later on, he hovers around and lets Johnno do all the talking during drug arrests. [[spoiler: Of course considering that he’s the DirtyCop, that cluelessness was probably deliberate obstruction]].[[/folder]]

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* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'': In the episode where Fillmore visits his old partner in Tennessee, the CorruptHick Safety Patrol sheriff has a CluelessDeputy who's among the few non-corrupt members of the Safety Patrol.

* Festus Haggen of ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'' was BookDumb, though otherwise pretty sharp. His predecessor, Chester Goode (called Chester Proudfoot in [[Radio/{{Gunsmoke}} the radio version]]), was a little slower-witted.

* Junior Justice (son of Buford T. Justice) from the ''SmokeyAndTheBandit'' movies. Seriously, we're talking about a guy who refuses to keep his gun loaded because "it gets too heavy."

* Clinton Pell, in ''Film/Mississippi Burning'' (in physical appearance, almost an evil Barney Fife).