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Comic Books
"It's not as bad as it looks. Especially if you're a cop. Cops got it made in Gotham."
— Arnold Flass, Batman: Year One
Film — Live-Action
Ryan: You know, it does me no good to hand over the video tape and then you guys turn around and take us out.
Greer: I swore I wouldn't do that.
Ryan: Like you swore "to protect and serve"?
Greer: I swore I wouldn't do that.
Ryan: Like you swore "to protect and serve"?
— Cellular
Dredd: What's the price of a Judge these days?
Lex: Million. Split four ways.
Dredd: Three ways now.
Lex: Suits me.
Dredd: Doesn't sound like much to betray the law. To betray the city.
Lex: Save that shit for the rookies. Twenty years I've been on the streets. You know what Mega City One is, Dredd: it's a fuckin' meat grinder. People go in one end and meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle.
Lex: Million. Split four ways.
Dredd: Three ways now.
Lex: Suits me.
Dredd: Doesn't sound like much to betray the law. To betray the city.
Lex: Save that shit for the rookies. Twenty years I've been on the streets. You know what Mega City One is, Dredd: it's a fuckin' meat grinder. People go in one end and meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle.
— Dredd
"In this city, every cop must make a choice. He either grows corrupt, leaves out, or goes to war."
— Cpt. Nascimento, The Elite Squad
Constable "Happy Jack" Mulraney: But my allegiance is to the law. I'm paid to uphold the law.
William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting: What in Heaven's name are you talking about? You may have misgivings, but don't go believing that, Jack. That way lies damnation.
Jack: I'm in no danger of damnation, Bill.
Bill: Here's the thing: I don't give a tuppenny fuck about your moral conundrum, you meat-headed shit-sack.
William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting: What in Heaven's name are you talking about? You may have misgivings, but don't go believing that, Jack. That way lies damnation.
Jack: I'm in no danger of damnation, Bill.
Bill: Here's the thing: I don't give a tuppenny fuck about your moral conundrum, you meat-headed shit-sack.
"I'm talking about a crooked cop, a dishonest cop, who got mixed up in drug rackets and got what was coming to him."
— Michael Corleone, The Godfather
Sue Barlow: You're a disgrace, Marshal Poole. You always have been.
Poole: I know it. That's just the way it is.
Poole: I know it. That's just the way it is.
"We're supposed to call them cops. But everyone knows who they work for and what it takes to keep them happy. Somebody paid good money for this frame."
— Marv, Sin City: The Hard Goodbye
Rookie Cop: At least he's only shooting the dirty cops!
Dirty Cop: We're all dirty cops!
Dirty Cop: We're all dirty cops!
"Samurai, wanna make some dough as a bodyguard? The going rate has hit the roof. My commission's one ryo. Which side will you take? Seibei Manome runs a brothel. All the women you want. But he's going downhill. I'd bet on Ushitora Shinden. The inn at the corner. That's his place. Tell him Constable Hansuke sent you. I'd take you myself, but I'm the law around here. Don't forget, now. I get one ryo."
— Constable Hansuke, Yojimbo
Literature
When he learnt that the man had the post of a bailiff, he was not content with rejecting him but crushed him with abuse: he disregarded all honourable duties and made jeering language his business, tarnishing the whole course of his life with an evil reputation. His idea of profit was to ruin the poor, he was prepared to allow no one's innocence but launched wrongful charges against all, and was at the height of happiness when something lamentable occurred in another's fortunes. He toiled most of all to find out everyone's doings by clever, underhand investigations and lashed out at harmless characters whenever he could find some treacherous opportunity.
— Gesta Danorum, book VI
Live-Action TV
"The corruption in this city is so thick, the police dogs are taking chew toys as bribes."
— Gunter, Bullet in the Face
"In some neighborhoods, posing as a dirty cop is a great way to confiscate information. It gives you the authority that comes with a badge and invokes the fear that comes with being a criminal."
— Michael Westen, Burn Notice
"There are no laws on Ceres, just cops."
— Miller, The Expanse
"You know, I really don't know how that badge stays on, because it's pinned to slime."
— Carl Winslow, Family Matters
Kojak: It's the badge. You used it, Nick. And that's not what it's there for. It's not a credit card.
Ferro: It was personal. What's the matter, a cop can't be human? He can't be like other people?
Kojak: You tried it. What's your answer?
Ferro: It was personal. What's the matter, a cop can't be human? He can't be like other people?
Kojak: You tried it. What's your answer?
— Kojak, "Web of Death"
"Savage, you're a bigot. It's officers like you that give the police a bad name. The press loves to jump on instances like that, and the reputation of our force can be permanently tarnished. Your whole time on duty is dominated by racial hatred and petty personal vendettas. Do you get some kind of perverted gratification from going around stirring up trouble?"
— Chief Inspector, dressing down Constable Savage, Not the Nine O'Clock News
"No one loves a bent copper."
— Doyle, The Professionals
Podcasts
"It's times like this, when you're approaching a mortuary late at night, covering up a series of murders committed by your niece because you're sexually attracted to her that you have to stop and ask yourself: 'Am I a good cop?'"
— Mike, RiffTrax, on Kiss of the Tarantula
Tabletop Games
You came to know your power intimately, just as you came to know the preening women in stilettos and fishnets who would kneel before you in alleyways, servicing you free of charge lest you drag them kicking and screaming before the duty sergeant to face a charge of soliciting. You came to savor the kick of crack as you inhaled, lighter-flame dancing before your bloodshot eyes. You came to depend upon the money you took in return for looking the other way.
You never thought of yourself as the bad guy, much less "evil." Hell, you never even thought of yourself as corrupt. From the talk around the station, you knew that sooner or later, every cop bent a little in the wind — bent or broke.
You never thought of yourself as the bad guy, much less "evil." Hell, you never even thought of yourself as corrupt. From the talk around the station, you knew that sooner or later, every cop bent a little in the wind — bent or broke.
— Vampire: The Masquerade — Clanbook: Setites
Video Games
"I swear, the Arl's men are worse than the criminals we occasionally arrest. Some of them are the criminals we arrest."
— Sergeant Kylon, Dragon Age: Origins
"You must be stupid to accuse me of corruption to my face. In fact, I'm pretty sure you just attacked me."
— Watch Captain Audens Avidius, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Bribe the Constable
London's Constables are famously impossible to bribe. Unless they are bored, grumpy, hungry, or thirsty. This fellow looks to score at least three out of four.
London's Constables are famously impossible to bribe. Unless they are bored, grumpy, hungry, or thirsty. This fellow looks to score at least three out of four.
— Fallen London, "Stripes of Wrath"
"You got the money? Is it all here? I know what you're thinking. Another bent cop! Well, it's a bent world. Just 'cause I lost a few partners, those suckers from Internal Affairs have started sniffing around. Reckon they can smell me! Well, this city is just one big open sewer."
— Ray Machowski, Grand Theft Auto III
Leon McAffrey: You greaseballs wanna put holes in each other, I don't give a shit. All I care about is my cut.
Toni Cipriani: Oh, I love a man of principle.
McAffrey: Well, me too. I go to all the memorial services in fast cars with hot broads. My CUT! Where is it?!
Toni Cipriani: Oh, I love a man of principle.
McAffrey: Well, me too. I go to all the memorial services in fast cars with hot broads. My CUT! Where is it?!
Frank Tenpenny: This is a weapon, Officer Pulaski, that was used to gun down a police officer not 10 minutes ago. Officer Pendelbury. A fine man, I might add. You work fast, nigga!
Carl "C.J." Johnson: You know I just got off the plane.
Eddie Pulaski: It's a good thing we found you and retrieved the murder weapon.
Carl "C.J." Johnson: You know I just got off the plane.
Eddie Pulaski: It's a good thing we found you and retrieved the murder weapon.
Michael: So tell me, Davey, who are these Bureau men trying to kill me?
Dave: They're a corrupt division - gone rogue or on the IAA payroll.
Michael: I thought you were the corrupt division.
Dave: Corrupt? Only a little. Definitely below the average.
Dave: They're a corrupt division - gone rogue or on the IAA payroll.
Michael: I thought you were the corrupt division.
Dave: Corrupt? Only a little. Definitely below the average.
"The truth is everyone wants the license to get a little dirty now and then. Our job is to keep it manageable."
— Roy Earle, L.A. Noire
"Don't make me laugh. Just because someone joins the police force doesn't make them some kinda 'agent of justice'. Know why I applied? So I could legally carry a gun. That's all. You'd be surprised how many are like that."
— Det. Tohru Adachi, Persona 4
"No one's playing games with you, Mr. Marston. But if we were to play some games, it would be some interesting ones we could play: like hanging you for murder, or confiscating all your property — like that little farm of yours — or! Or! Having you put in an electric chair! Those are the sort of games we could play."
— Federal Agent Edgar Ross, Red Dead Redemption
The Patriarch's Marshalls keep the peace in Colorado Springs. Sometimes they keep a piece for themselves, too.
— Loading screen tip, Wasteland 3
"Well, a criminal resists and they get shot! Just another day in paradise."
— Det. Trapp, Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 2
Web Originals
The cops don't know or care that there are gay people who are tops, bottoms, versatile, or something in between. They know and care even less about consent. They believe that if you're gay, it means you enjoy sucking any dick you stumble upon. And the actions of terrified people under duress seem to confirm their biases. If the choice is 'Give a hopefully intentionally terrible blow job' or 'have drugs planted on you and go to prison forever,' you tend toward the former.
"He's a corrupt police officer who tried to kill us. His version of Hell is a room full of people doing the right thing."
— Terry Lesler, Scott The Woz
The biggest street gang in America.
Western Animation
Roger: Takin' what I want, when I want! Plus, I'm a sociopath, so, you know, all this fits me like a slipper.
Stan: Oh my God, Roger's a dirty cop! And he's only been on the force for 3 hours!
Stan: Oh my God, Roger's a dirty cop! And he's only been on the force for 3 hours!
"Do you seriously think the police would accept a bribe? If we wanted that necklace, we'd just steal it from the evidence locker!"
— Chief Wiggum, The Simpsons
Smithers: Shouldn't we call the police?
Mr. Burns: Every last one is on the take! And I should know — I'm the one on the give.
Mr. Burns: Every last one is on the take! And I should know — I'm the one on the give.
Springfield cops are on the take,
But what do you expect for the money we make?
Whether in a car or on a horse,
We don't mind using excessive force
But what do you expect for the money we make?
Whether in a car or on a horse,
We don't mind using excessive force
Real Life
If ultimately one sides with the police against the gangsters, it is merely because they are better organized and more powerful, because, in fact, the law is a bigger racket than crime.
— George Orwell, "Raffles and Miss Blandish"
"In a moral system, they could have become good officers, but in our system, well, they became the guys they became. It's a shame the system breaks people like this."
— Alexei Kondaurov, former K.G.B. member turned Vladimir Putin critic
