History Quotes / DirtyCop

!!{{Comic Book}}s

->''It’s a show of power. How dare anybody ignore the authority of Civic Center? How dare a bunch of freaks try to think for themselves? So let’s go out and stomp on [[KillThePoor children, lunatics, and incompetents]], because by damn it makes our balls feel big.''
-->--'''Creator/WarrenEllis''', ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}''

!!{{Film}} -- Live-action
->'''Sue Barlow:''' You're a disgrace, Marshal Poole. You always have been.\\
'''Poole:''' I know it. That's just the way it is.
-->--''Film/OpenRange''

->"We're supposed to call them cops. But everyone knows who they work for and what it takes to keep them happy."
-->--'''Marv''', ''Film/SinCity: The Hard Goodbye''

->'''Ryan''': You know, it does me no good to hand over the video tape and then [[ILied you guys turn around and take us out]].\\
'''Greer''': I swore I wouldn't do that.\\
'''Ryan''': Like you swore "to protect and serve"?

->"We're the police, sweetheart. Your civil liberties are about to be violated."
-->-- ''Film/HeDiedWithAFelafelInHisHand''

->"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''', ''Film/TheGodfather''

->"Oh, I know. 'It's a free country and I ain't got the right.' But I got a badge. What've ''you'' got?"
-->--'''Officer Krupke''', ''Film/WestSideStory1961''

->"In this city, every cop must make a choice. He either grows corrupt, leaves out or go to war."
-->-- '''Cpt. Nascimento''', ''Film/TheEliteSquad''

'''Dredd:''' [[BondOneLiner Three ways now.]]\\

'''Lex:''' [[ShutUpKirk Save that shit for the rookies.]] Twenty years I've been on the streets. You know what Mega City One is, Dredd: [[ViceCity it's a fuckin' meat grinder.]] People go in one end and meat comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle.
-->-- '''Judge Dredd''', ''Film/{{Dredd}}''

'''Jack''': I'm in no danger of damnation, Bill.\\

->"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''', ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}''

!!{{Literature}}
->''[[PoliceBrutality Beating people up in little rooms]]... he knew where that led. And if you did it for a good reason, you'd do it for a bad one. You couldn't say "we're the good guys" and do bad-guy things.''
-->-- '''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Sam Vimes]]''', ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' (a {{Deconstruction}} of the trope)

-->--''Literature/GestaDanorum'', book VI

!!LiveActionTV
->"You know, I really don't know how that badge stays on, because it's pinned to slime."

->'''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?
-->--''{{Series/Kojak}}'', "Web of Death"

->"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 [[TheMobBossIsScarier the fear that comes with being a criminal]]."
-->--'''Michael Westen''', ''Series/BurnNotice''

->"The corruption in this city is so thick, the police dogs are taking chew toys as bribes."
-->--'''Gunter''', ''Series/BulletInTheFace''

->"No-one loves a bent copper."

->"There are no laws on Ceres, just cops."
-->-- '''Miller''', ''Series/TheExpanse''

!!{{Podcast}}
-> '''Mike''': (as Walter walks towards a mortuary) 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 [[CreepyUncle you're sexually attracted to her]] that you HAVE to stop and ask yourself: "Am I a good cop?"
-->-- ''Podcast/RiffTrax'', Film/KissOfTheTarantula

!!StandUpComedy
->''Help, it's the police!''
-->-- Creator/TheFiresignTheatre, "Forward Into The Past"

->"Police got a 'chokehold' they use out here though, man. They choke niggers to death. That mean you be ''dead'' when they're through...'Oh shit, he broke. Can you break a nigger? Is it okay? Let's check the manual. Yep, page 8: You can break a nigger. Right there, see?'"
-->--'''Richard Pryor'''

!!{{Tabletop Game}}s
->''You came to know your power intimately, just as you came to know [[{{Streetwalker}} the preening women in stilettos and fishnets]] who would kneel before you in alleyways, [[SexualExtortion servicing you free of charge lest you drag them kicking and screaming before the duty sergeant to face a charge of soliciting]]. [[HookersAndBlow 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.''
-->--''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade - Clanbook: Setites''

!!{{Video Game}}s
->"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. [[spoiler:Tohru Adachi]]''', ''[[{{VideoGame/Persona4}} Persona 4]]''

->"Well, a criminal resists [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch and they get shot!]] Just another day in paradise."
-->--'''Det. Trapp''', ''VideoGame/ZettaiZetsumeiToshi 2''

->"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 [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch 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''', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''

->'''Leon [=McAffrey=]''': You [[TheMafia 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 [[TheFunInFuneral in fast cars with hot broads.]] ''My CUT! Where is it?!''
-->--''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories''

->'''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 [[{{Frameup}} we found you and retrieved the murder weapon.]]
-->--''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''

->"I swear, the Arl's men are worse than the criminals we occasionally arrest. Some of them are the criminals we arrest."

->"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''', ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption''

->"The truth is everyone wants the license to get a little dirty now and then. Our job is to keep it manageable."

->''The Patriarch’s Marshalls keep the peace in Colorado Springs. Sometimes they keep a piece for themselves, too.''
-->--'''Loading screen tip''', ''VideoGame/Wasteland3''

!!WebOriginal
->''We stare racism right in the face as the camera swings up from Jimmy who has bled to death by gunshot wounds and experience Benny getting a vicious beating at the hands of the police (the authority figures!). It's shockingly graphic and Brooks never shies away from the violence...Very cleverly he films some of this scene from our POV so it is literally the audience that is getting beaten up.''
-->--'''[[http://www.docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/deep-space-nine-season-six.html Joe Ford]]''' on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Far Beyond the Stars"

-->--'''''Website/UrbanDictionary'''''

->''The whole point of having police officers is to maintain law and order, which means they become useless when they decide to arm themselves like [[SpaceMarine a bunch of space soldiers in Halo,]] roam the streets, aim their rifles at everyone they see, and choke out asthmatic black men. This is bad police work! This is not how you police. We'd be better off arming our cops with lollipops.''
-->--'''[[http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201412/least-influential-people-2014 Drew Magary]]''', "The 30 Least Influential People of 2014"

->''Their manner of speech and the act itself felt incredibly adolescent, as if a scene out of high school. They wanted to [[CompensatingForSomething show us their gun]], show us they were in charge and revel in our submission. The worst part? There was nothing I could do. I asked Ty if it was a good idea for me to go after them and get their badge numbers. He said sure, if I wanted to spend a night in jail.''
-->--'''[[http://indefinitelywild.gizmodo.com/a-cop-tried-to-kill-my-dog-last-night-1651037794/+burtreynoldsismyspiritguide1 Wes Siler]]''', "A Cop Tried to Kill My Dog Last Night"

->''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.''
-->--'''''{{Website/Cracked}}''''', [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20389_5-shocking-facts-about-my-life-as-illegal-homosexual.html "5 Realities of Being Gay in a Country Where It's Illegal"]]

->''"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''', ''WebVideo/ScottTheWoz''

!!WesternAnimation
->'''Roger:''' Takin' what I want, ''when'' I want! Plus, I'm a [[HeroicComedicSociopath sociopath]], so, you know, all this fits me like a slipper.\\

->"Do you seriously think the police would accept a bribe? If we wanted that necklace, we'd just steal it from the evidence locker!"

'''Mr. Burns:''' Every last one is on the take! And I should know: I'm the one [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney on the give.]]
-->-- ''The Simpsons''

-->-- ''The Simpsons''

!!RealLife

->''I stood there dumbly wondering what to do. Right in front of me, two men were being knocked about by four men who were, quite simply, enjoying their work. I was also witness to the fact that the victims had ''not'' resisted arrest, which of course [[CutHimselfShaving would be the police explanation for what happened.]] Cravenly, I got back into the cab. I asked my driver if he would be a witness with me. He shook his head sadly. "I don't want no trouble. This is a mighty dirty town."''
-->--'''Creator/GoreVidal''', "Police Brutality"

->''...the above named defendant did then and there unlawfully commit the offense of ‘property damage’ to wit did transfer blood to the uniform.''
-->--'''Ferguson Police Department''' (MI), charge sheet for suspect Henry Davis, 1.20.29

->"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.-turned [[UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin Putin]] critic

--->-- ''Podcast/RiffTrax'', Film/KissOfTheTarantula

-->--'''Officer Krupke''', ''Film/WestSideStory''

->''"He’s a corrupt police officer who tried to kill us. His version of hell is a group of people doing the right thing.”''

'''Ferro''': It was personal. What's the matter, a cop can't be human? he can't be like other people?\\

->"There are no laws on Ceres, only cops."

->'''Havelock:''' Any laws about beating up suspects?\\
'''Miller:''' There are no laws on Ceres, only cops.
-->--''Series/TheExpanse''

->"The truth is everyone wants the license to get a little dirty now and then. Our job [[InherentInTheSystem is to keep it manageable]]."

->''We stare racism right in the face as the camera swings up from Jimmy who has bled to death by gunshot wounds and experience Benny getting a vicious beating at the hands of the police (the authority figures!). It's shockingly graphic and Brooks never shies away from the violence...Very cleverly he films some of this scene from our POV so it is literally [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the audience that is getting beaten up.]]''

'''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.\\

'''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.\\

'''Toni Cipriani''':Oh, I love a man of principle.\\

!!StandUpComedy

->''It’s a show of power. How dare anybody ignore the authority of Civic Center? How dare a bunch of freaks try to think for themselves? So let’s go out and stomp on KillThePoor children, lunatics, and incompetents]], because by damn it makes our balls feel big.''

'''Dredd:''' Doesn't sound like much, to betray the law. To betray the city.\\
'''Lex:''' [[ShutUpKirk 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.

->''Bad cops, bad cops\\
Bad cops, bad cops.\\
Bad cops, bad cops,\\
Bad cops, bad cops.\\
Springfield cops are on the take,\\

We don't mind using excessive force!\\
Bad cops, bad cops,\\
Bad cops, bad cops..''

->''Incredible competition for the title of America’s Worst PD this summer, but by God {{UsefulNotes/Seattle}}, did your infants in blue make a run. They’re not gonna pussy out in the clutch... No sir. When the pressure is at its highest, they’re gonna take a risk and fill your grandma’s oxygen tank with tear gas concentrate. YOU CANNOT WIN UNLESS YOU MAINTAIN AN ATTACKING MENTALITY.''
-->--[[https://defector.com/why-your-team-sucks-2020-seattle-seahawks/ "Why Your Team Sucks 2020: Seattle Seahawks"]]

[[AC:Comic Books]]

->It's not as bad as it looks. Especially if you're a cop. Cops got it made in Gotham.

->They paid a few Transients off to start some trouble, deliberately marring a non-violent demonstration. Spontaneous violence, the only excuse Civic Center would have to send in the riot cops. These people are [[LetNoCrisisGoToWaste bleeding down there for a scam.]]\\\
It’s a show of power. How dare anybody ignore the authority of Civic Center? How dare a bunch of freaks try to think for themselves? So let’s go out and [[PoliceBrutality stomp on]] [[KillThePoor children, lunatics, and incompetents]], because by damn it makes our balls feel big.

[[AC:Film--Live-action]]

->'''Sue Barlow:''' ''([[ArmorPiercingSlap slaps him]])'' You're a disgrace, Marshal Poole. You always have been.\\
'''Sheriff 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.

->We're the police, sweetheart. Your civil liberties are about to be violated.

->I'm talking about a crooked cop, a dishonest cop, who got mixed up in drug rackets and got what was coming to him.

->Oh, I know. "It's a free country and I ain't got the right." But I got a badge. What've ''you'' got?

-> In this city, every cop must make a choice. You either grows corrupt, leaves out or go to war.

->'''Dredd:''' What's the price of a Judge these days?
->'''Lex:''' Million. Split four ways.
->'''Dredd:''' [[BondOneLiner 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' [[{{Dystopia}} meat grinder]]. People go in one end and [[LudicrousGibs meat]] comes out the other. All we do is turn the handle.

->'''Constable Mulraney:''' But... [[BlatantLies my allegiance is to the law]]. I'm paid to uphold the law.\\
''[{{Beat}}]''\\
'''Bill the Butcher:''' What in ''heaven's'' name are you talking about?
-->-- '''Film/GangsOfNewYork''

->''"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."''

[[AC:Literature]]

->[[PoliceBrutality Beating people up in little rooms]]... he knew where that led. And if you did it for a good reason, you'd do it for a bad one. You couldn't say "we're the good guys" and do bad-guy things.

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

-> You know, I really don't know how that badge stays on, because it's pinned to slime.

'''Kojak''': You tried it. What's your answer?

->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 [[TheMobBossIsScarier the fear that comes with being a criminal]].

->The corruption in this city is so thick, the police dogs are taking chew toys as bribes.

->No-one loves a bent copper.

[[AC:Stand-up Comedy]]

->Police got a 'chokehold' they use out here though, man. They choke niggers to death. That mean you be ''dead'' when they're through...'Oh shit, he broke. Can you break a nigger? Is it okay? Let's check the manual. Yep, page 8: You can break a nigger. Right there, see?'

[[AC: Tabletop Games]]

->You came to know your power intimately, just as you came to know [[{{Streetwalker}} the preening women in stilettos and fishnets]] who would kneel before you in alleyways, [[SexualExtortion servicing you free of charge lest you drag them kicking and screaming before the duty sergeant to face a charge of soliciting]]. [[HookersAndBlow 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.

[[AC:Video Games]]

->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.

->Well, a criminal resists [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch and they get shot!]] Just another day in paradise.

->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 [[CopKiller 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.

'''Toni Cipriani''': ''(revolted)'' Oh, I love a man of principle.\\
'''[=McAffrey=]''': Well, me too. I go to all the memorial services [[TheFunInFuneral in fast cars with hot broads.]] My '''''CUT!! Where is it?!'''''

'''Eddie Pulaski''': It's a good thing [[{{Frameup}} we found you and retrieved the murder weapon]].

-> I swear, the Arl's men are worse than the criminals we occasionally arrest. Some of them are the criminals we arrest.

->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.

->The truth is everyone wants the license to get a little dirty now and then. Our job [[InherentInTheSystem is to keep it manageable]].

[[AC:Web Original]]

->We stare racism right in the face as the camera swings up from Jimmy who has bled to death by gunshot wounds and experience Benny getting a vicious beating at the hands of the police (the authority figures!). It's shockingly graphic and ''(Avery)'' Brooks never shies away from the violence...Very cleverly he films some of this scene from our POV so it is literally [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the audience that is getting beaten up.]]

->The biggest street gang in America.

->The whole point of having police officers is to maintain law and order, which means they become useless when they decide to arm themselves like a bunch of space soldiers in Halo, roam the streets, aim their rifles at everyone they see, and choke out asthmatic black men. This is bad police work! This is not how you police. We'd be better off arming our cops with lollipops.

->Their manner of speech and the act itself felt incredibly adolescent, as if a scene out of high school. They wanted to [[CompensatingForSomething show us their gun]], show us they were in charge and revel in our submission.\\\
The worst part? There was nothing I could do. I asked Ty if it was a good idea for me to go after them and get their badge numbers. He said sure, if I wanted to spend a night in jail.

->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 [[{{Frameup}} planted on you]] and go to prison forever,' you tend toward the former.

[[AC:Western Animation]]

->Do you seriously think the police would accept a bribe? If we wanted that necklace, we'd just steal it from the evidence locker!

'''Mr. Burns:''' Every last one is on the take! And I should know, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive I'm the one]] [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney on the give]].
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

[[AC:RealLife]]

->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.

->I stood there dumbly wondering what to do. Right in front of me, two men were being knocked about by four men who were, quite simply, enjoying their work. I was also witness to the fact that the victims had ''not'' resisted arrest, which of course [[CutHimselfShaving would be the police explanation for what happened]]. Cravenly, I got back into the cab. I asked my driver if he would be a witness with me. He shook his head sadly. 'I don't want no trouble. This [[ViceCity is a mighty dirty town]].'

->...the above named defendant did then and there unlawfully commit the offense of ‘property damage’ to wit did [[LawfulEvil transfer blood to the uniform]].

->In a moral system, they could have become good officers, [[InherentInTheSystem but in our system]], well, they became the guys they became. It’s a shame the system breaks people like this.

->'''Kojak''': It's the badge, You used it, Nick. And that's not what it's there for. It's not a credit card.\\

-->-- '''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Sam Vimes]]''', ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'' (a {{Deconstruction}} of the trope)

->You came to know your power intimately, just as you came to know [[{{Streetwalker}} 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. [[HookersAndBlow 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.

->We're supposed to call them cops. But everyone knows who they work for and what it takes to keep them happy.

-> You know, it's a wonder how that badge stays on, when it's pinned to slime.

[[AC:Web animation]]