crooked cop
Badge gone bad
A crooked cop is a police officer who engages in corruption—taking bribes, falsifying evidence, protecting criminals, or abusing their authority for personal gain.
The phrase captures the betrayal of public trust: The crooked cop had been on the cartel's payroll for years.
Also called a dirty cop or bent cop (British).
- dirtyNot clean
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
- on the takeAccepting illicit payments
- badgeWorn symbol of membership
- bribeIllicit payment for favor
dirty money · shakedown · bent · vice · police brutality · graft · payoff · informant · evidence · planted · evidence tampering · internal affairs · snitch · scandal · precinct · rat · kickback · protection racket
- Crooksswindler, fraudster, embezzler, con artist, con man
- noir charactersfemme fatale, private eye, gumshoe, hard-boiled detective, dame
crooked copboy scout
Dismissively naive moralist
white knight · Serpico · Eliot Ness · straight arrow · decorated officer
crooked copcrime fighter
One who combats lawbreaking
law enforcer · crimebuster · protector · public servant · reformer
crook, crooked, crookedly, crookedness, cop, cops, copped, copping