@Ajja said:

Anyone think the chief cop would be a crooked son of a b**** kinda guy who wouldn't get anything done...? What a hero he turned out to be

One thing I love about Ford is that as a fashion designer he knows how superficial and often incorrectly society views people. The cop looks and behaves like we think a crook would. Similar to how Colin Firrth appears to be one thing but our perception is far off in The Single Man

I thought he was gonna be crooked too

He was crooked. His motivation for an extra judicial killing wasn't so much justice as being annoyed at the DA refusing to go to trial on the back of inadequate evidence (e.g. no fingerprints) combined with a lack of caring about the consequences due to him being terminally ill. He actually killed the guy who was going to go to court and face justice! Denying the other relatives of the victims the chance to witness justice in court.

I know some real US police actions do raise eyebrows around the world and might skew perspectives on what constitutes a crooked cop, but trust me, an extra-judicial killing is crooked by any normal standards!