Lieutenant Frank Bullitt Bullitt (1968)
The Crazy Cop: Lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen), who’s charged with guarding witness Johnny Ross (Pat Renella) before he appears in court with information about gangster Pete Ross (Vic Tayback).
Most Lunatic Moment: Only one of the greatest movie car chases ever, as Bullitt jumps into his 1968 Ford Mustang GT and is pursued by Ross’ hitmen.
Except Bullitt takes no prisoners on the road, and turns the entire thing round to his benefit .
There's a fine line between madness and genius...
Jack Slater Last Action Hero (1993)
The Crazy Cop: Fictional LAPD Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the star of his own series of ridiculously violent action films.
His catchphrase? “Big mistake!”
Most Lunatic Moment: Slater shows no regard for his own safety when he gatecrashes a rooftop funeral and ends up almost plunging to his death as he attempts to steal the nerve-gas-filled cadaver.
Nicholas Angel and Danny Butterman Hot Fuzz (2007)
The Crazy Cop: Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is so good at his job that he’s accused of making his colleagues look bad and reassigned to a pokey village in Gloucestershire.
There, he’s paired with well-meaning but useless PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost).
Most Lunatic Moment: Angel rides into the town square on the back of a white horse, armed to the hilt and ready to take on anything.
Yes, that does mean the entire flippin’ village.
Inspector Yuen Hard Boiled (1992)
The Crazy Cop: Hong Kong police officer ‘Tequila’ Yuen (Chow Yun-Fat) has guns, and he’s not afraid to use them.
Even in a lovely, peaceful tea house.
He’s also a bit of a boozer, which has earned him that Tequila nickname.
Most Lunatic Moment: This completely mental takedown , which has Yuen facing off against hordes of gangster goons.
How he comes out of this alive is beyond us.
Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz The Other Guys (2010)
The Crazy Cops: These two really deserve each other.
If Chris Danson (Dwayne Johnson) and P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) are cocky to the point of suicidal, Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) are just plain useless.
Most Lunatic Moment: Gamble puts the pedal to the metal and ends up crashing right into a crime scene , even running over a dead body…
Jimmy Popeye Doyle The French Connection (1971)
The Crazy Cop: Alongside his NYPD partner Buddy ‘Cloudy’ Russo (Roy Scheider), James ‘Popeye’ Doyle (Gene Hackman) takes a rather unforgiving standpoint on law-giving.
He doesn’t mind beating a suspect senseless if they act up, for one…
Most Lunatic Moment: After chasing druggie Charnier into a warehouse, Doyle accidentally kills federal agent Mulderig (Bill Hickman), but doesn’t seem too fussed.
What a guy.
Frank Drebin The Naked Gun (1988)
The Crazy Cop: Well-meaning but often bumbling and idiotic, Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) generally has no idea about the chaos he creates around him as he goes about trying to solve cases.
Think of him as an American counterpart to Inspector Clouseau.
Most Lunatic Moment: The bit where he insists on having safe sex and wears a human-sized condom has got to be one of his nuttiest ideas…
Lou Ford The Killer Inside Me (2010)
The Crazy Cop: Despite his veneer of respectability, Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) is a sociopath who once raped a five-year-old girl when he was a teenager.
His penchant for sexual violence has continued right into his adult life…
Most Lunatic Moment: After plotting with prostitute Joyce Lakeland (Jessica Alba) to steal $10,000, Lou viciously beats her until she looks all but dead…
Officer Dave Brown Rampart (2011)
The Crazy Cop: As well as being a singularly violent cop, Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) also has zero respect for anybody in his personal life, having cheated on both his wives.
Most Lunatic Moment: Brown beats a guy almost to death, unaware that he’s being recorded – and that the footage is going to be looping on TV for the foreseeable future…
Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala End Of Watch (2012)
The Crazy Cops: LAPD cops who’re partners and best friends, Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) would have to be crazy to want to deal with the sick stuff they encounter on a daily basis.
Most Lunatic Moment: Apart from deciding to film everything they do for no apparent reason?
Well, there’s a bit towards the end of the film involving an apartment complex, but we won’t spoil it for you here…
