History Main / TheBadGuysAreCops

* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': The episode "The Brotherhood," where a trio of rouge cops from a small town believe that killing suspects, no questions asked, without allowing due process is the perfect way to be tough on crime and deal with a legal system that had gone against them once too often. Things come to a tipping point when the son of one of one of Walker's friends, who had been falsely accused of rape, is killed by the police chief. Walker eventually defeats the bad guy cops.

** An early episode, "False Arrest," which saw Carl arrest popular TV star Buddy Goodrich for attempted assault. (This, after he was asked – ''nicely'', mind you – to move his car from a no-parking zone.) Goodrich, who turns out to be a conceited, narcissistic asshole to the nth degree, portrays himself as the victim of an overzealous police officer out to cause trouble. Carl is quickly able to expose Goodrich to his family for who he is and quickly averts this trope.
** The landmark episode "Good Cop, Bad Cop," where Eddie is the victim of racial profiling by a veteran police sergeant (who reveals his racism) and a rookie officer. Carl, who is definitely a good cop and a good father, confronts the veteran officer and, after exposing him to his rookie partner, asks a frank question to the rookie: "Why did you become a police officer?" After the rookie answers that he wanted to make a difference and protect the public from the bad guys, Carl points out that his partner is one of those bad guys.

* In the ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'' episode "Nothing to See," the CharacterNarrator learns the hard way that she'll get no help with her search for her missing wife Alice or against her HumanoidAbomination pursuer, The Thistle Man. Not only does a DirtyCop ignore her complaints and treat her as a nuisance, [[spoiler: he does so due to open familiarity with the Thistle Man, and chides her to do as he says.]] Later, she realizes the scope of the corruption and TheConspiracy as she endures an IncrediblyObviousTail by police car.

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. The ActionPrologue of "In the Public Interest" has a gang of vigilantes in stocking masks beating up a member of a gay support group and torching his office. The next scene has the leader of the vigilantes, a Deputy Inspector, reporting to his boss the Chief Constable on another successful operation.

* In ''Film/FightClub'' the {{Narrator}} tries going to the cops when he finds out that Fight Club (now called Project Mayhem) is involved in serious terrorist activities. Except it turns out several police officers are members of Project Mayhem, and have orders to castrate anyone who betrays the group [[spoiler:(even if that someone is the ''leader'' of Project Mayhem)]]. Cue the {{Narrator}} trying to take matters into his own hands.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'' episode "Nothing to See," the {{Narrator}} learns the hard way that she'll get no help with her search for her missing wife Alice or against her HumanoidAbomination pursuer, The Thistle Man. Not only does a DirtyCop ignore her complaints and treat her as a nuisance, [[spoiler: he does so due to open familiarity with the Thistle Man, and chides her to do as he says.]] Later, she realizes the scope of the corruption and TheConspiracy as she endures an IncrediblyObviousTail by police car.

* In ''Film/{{CopLand}}'' corrupt cops from New York City have gone so far as to set up their own town in New Jersey.

* Episode 3 of ''Fanfic/SherlockSeason4'' ends with several police officers capturing the Joker. You find out soon afterward that the police are "acutllay corupt cops who were working with Joker and are going 2 come back in next episode".

* Episode 3 of ''Fanfic/SherlockSeason4'' ends with several police officers capturing the Joker. You find out soon afterward that the police are "actually corrupt cops who were working with Joker and are going 2 come back in next episode".

* Episode 3 of ''Fanfic/SherlockSeason4'' ends with several police officers capturing the Joker. You find out soon afterward that the police are "acutllay corupt cops who were working with Joker and are going 2 come back in next episode".

* Frequently comes up in ''ComicBook/XMen'' stories. Technically, the Sentinels are often this taken to a sci-fi level extreme, as they're often commissioned ''by'' the US Government as a means of providing a means to police mutants. More mundane versions still show up though, such as during Creator/BrianBendis' ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'' and ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2015'' runs, where half the new mutant cast is composed of young adults who just narrowly avoid being [[PoliceBrutality brutally arrested]] [[FantasticRacism for the crime of being mutants]], if not straight up murdered.

If the bad guys are only pretending to be cops, that's ImpersonatingAnOfficer. Compare SecretPolice, who are similarly bad guys but usually a step above the cops. Unfortunately, too often TruthInTelevision [[CrapsackWorld in a lot of countries]], so '''NoRealLifeExamplesPlease'''

If the bad guys are only pretending to be cops, that's ImpersonatingAnOfficer. Compare SecretPolice, who are similarly bad guys but usually a step above the cops. Unfortunately too often TruthInTelevision [[CrapsackWorld in a lot of countries]].

Often involves at least one DirtyCop by necessity, may include a RabidCop, and will certainly occur if there's a case of BadCopIncompetentCop. Can result in a HaveYouToldAnyoneElse from the bad cops if someone comes to them in search of a HopeSpot. PoliceBrutality may also transpire.

* ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'':

* ''Film/{{Serpico}}'' is about one of the few clean cops in New York going undercover in the NYPD to gather evidence on the extent of police corruption in the force. [[spoiler:He gets set up by his fellow officers to die in a shootout during a drug bust. Serpico barely survives and after delivering his testimony relocates to Switzerland.]] This one is, rather scarily, also BasedOnATrueStory and TruthInTelevision.

* ''Literature/JPbEaumont'': In ''Taking the Fifth'', [[spoiler:Wainwright, the agent-in-charge of the DEA Seattle office, is the head of a cocaine smuggling ring]].