10 Cops we see in movies with their dark past haunting them

Some movie cops don’t just deal with crime on the streets. They are also dragging around something heavy from their past. It is not just a bad memory they try to forget but something that sticks with them, changing how they see everything. Some are dealing with guilt because they made a mistake they can’t undo. Others have lost people they cared about and never recovered.

These characters aren’t trying to be perfect. Most of the time they are just trying to get through the day without cracking. You can see it in how they talk and how they hesitate before pulling the trigger. These pasts don’t just pop up in flashbacks but shape every choice the character makes.

This list focuses on ten cops who are still on the force and still working cases while something from before won’t let go. These aren’t private detectives or retired officers trying to make peace—they are active duty, and the job keeps pulling them deeper into the mess.

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion. Readers’ discretion is advised.

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Cops we see in movies with their dark past haunting them

1. Vincent Hanna (Heat, 1995)

Vincent Hanna works robbery-homicide in Los Angeles, and nothing else in his life really functions. He has been through three marriages and none of them lasted because he brings the job home every night. He struggles to connect with people unless it is through the lens of a case.

His stepdaughter attempts suicide, but it barely breaks through his emotional barriers. Hanna's obsession with chasing people like Neil McCauley takes everything out of him—he does not rest and he does not let go. What haunts him is not a single moment but a life where he chose the job over everything else.

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2. William Somerset (Se7en, 1995)

William Somerset has worked violent crimes for too long and the job has worn him down. He is a week away from retirement and he wants out because the cases never stop and the world never changes. He walks through scenes without reacting because he has nothing left to feel.

It is not one case that broke him, but the weight of every child lost and every killer who never cared. What haunts him is that he stayed too long and now he cannot even believe in justice. His silence speaks louder than anything and it carries through the entire film.

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3. Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon, 1987)

Martin Riggs wakes up every morning wishing he had not. His wife died in a crash and he cannot prove it was anything more but he cannot stop thinking about it. He lives alone in a trailer and puts a gun to his head to see if he has the nerve to end it.

On the job, he runs toward bullets like he has nothing to lose. What haunts him is that she is gone and he stays behind. That grief lives under every joke and every outburst. He only starts healing when Murtaugh pulls him back from the edge.

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4. Freddy Heflin (Cop Land, 1997)

Freddy Heflin wanted to be a New York City cop but lost his hearing in one ear after jumping into a river to save a life. That injury ended his dream, leaving him stuck as a small-town sheriff surrounded by crooked officers.

They treat him like background and he lets them—because deep down, he still craves their approval. He knows they are corrupt but he stays silent because he believes he missed his shot. What haunts him is the moment he chose comfort over doing what was right. Everything shifts when he finally picks a side and takes control.

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5. John Hartigan (Sin City, 2005)

John Hartigan is days from retirement and his heart is failing but he risks everything to save an eleven-year-old girl from a powerful predator. He shoots the man and survives but gets framed and thrown in prison for it. For eight years he refuses to confess because to protect her.

When he is released and learns she is being hunted again, he goes after the same man who ruined his life. What haunts him is the fear that his silence did not protect her. His pain defines every choice he makes, and it shapes her future too.

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6. Billy Costigan (The Departed, 2006)

Billy Costigan grows up surrounded by criminals but joins the State Police to prove he is different. His past makes him the ideal pick for undercover work—yet also makes him unstable. He is sent deep inside Frank Costello’s crew and is ordered to stay silent.

No one knows what he is doing, and no one can protect him. He lives with the constant fear of exposure and starts to lose track of his identity. What haunts him is that his background gave him this mission and it might also be the reason he does not make it out alive.

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7. Eric Matthews (Saw II, 2005)

Eric Matthews wears a badge, but built his career on brutality—he beat suspects, planting evidence, and he does that for years without remorse. When Jigsaw takes his son and locks him in a house full of victims connected to Matthews he is forced to watch every mistake catch up with him.

The victims talk about how he ruined their lives and Jigsaw makes him sit there—powerless. What haunts Matthews is not just what he did, but the fact he once believed he would never have to answer for any of it. That belief is broken and it completely wrecks him by the end.

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8. Dave Toschi (Zodiac, 2007)

Dave Toschi is assigned to the Zodiac case after the first wave of killings in San Francisco. He interviews suspects, follows leads, and works with journalists, chasing anything that might help. But nothing leads anywhere, and the killer keeps taunting everyone.

Toschi puts years into the case and still has no name to show for it. What haunts him is that he did everything right and it still wasn't enough. His confidence fades and the case becomes a weight that never lifts. The film shows how failure slowly consumes him until he no longer reconizes what closure looks like.

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9. Jim Gordon (The Dark Knight, 2008)

Jim Gordon stays in Gotham and tries to make the system work even though everyone around him is corrupt. He works with Batman because the city needs help, and he believes the rules are already broken. He trusts Harvey Dent to be better, seeing him fall apart in front of him.

Gordon lies to protect Harvey’s image and keeps the truth hidden to avoid more chaos. What haunts him is knowing he helped build a lie that the city believes. That choice weighs on everything he does, shaping how he leads—both as a cop and as a man.

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10. Nick Curran (Basic Instinct, 1992)

Nick Curran is a detective who shot two people in a previous case while under the influence of cocaine. He says it was self-defense, but no one knows for sure. He has been assigned a therapist and is under review by Internal Affairs.

When he meets Catherine Tramell, he gets pulled into a murder case, and his judgment becomes clouded. What haunts him is the possibility that he is still capable of crossing the same line again. His past drug use and his violent history make it hard to trust anything he says. That doubt defines every move he makes.

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