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Dirty Harry Was Bad At His Job
An ex-cop on what movies get wrong—really wrong — about real-life law enforcement
Years after becoming a cop, I rewatched a few of the old Dirty Harry films. I couldn’t help but notice the bad police work on display. There are easily half a dozen civil rights violations in every Dirty Harry sequel. Movie cops like Harry Callahan normalize police violence by presenting it as a necessary tool to fight evil, presenting cops as moral heroes who punish the wicked.
I grew up in the early ’80s watching just about every cop show and movie that came out, mainly because it’s what my dad watched. My dad wasn’t a cop; like most red-blooded men in the Regan era, he just loved cop movies. Looking back, that seems odd since he was far from a law-abiding citizen. I first met Clint Eastwood’s career-defining cop with a big gun, “Dirty” Harry Callahan, when my dad took me to see 1983’s Sudden Impact in the theater. It was no Disney film.
Sudden Impact opens with an angry judge dismissing a murder case because Harry found the murder weapon during an illegal search. (Being admonished for an unlawful search is a recurring theme in the Dirty Harry films.) Harry then proceeds to assault the newly freed killer in a courthouse elevator before driving to a diner for coffee where he shoots four armed robbers while uttering one of the most iconic taglines in movie history, “Go ahead, make my day.” All of this takes place within the first 15 minutes of the movie.
The rules don’t apply to Harry. In fact, the restrictions placed on law enforcement by the Constitution hamper characters like him. Who needs to worry about Miranda rights and due process when you can just shoot the bad guy, utter a badass line and go home?
I was a cop in Baltimore City for 18 years. Movies and TV didn’t push me towards police work but they definitely influenced my opinions of what cops can do.
I thought becoming a cop was going to be non-stop action. A foot pursuit or a car chase every night. And while there was plenty of action, there were definitely long dry spells (and maybe the occasional nap) in-between. I also thought I would be protecting the innocent, arresting only the worst criminals and making the city a safer place, but that’s the…
