MovieChat Forums > Dirty Harry (1971) Discussion > Why does he heave his badge at the end?

Why does he heave his badge at the end?

posted 9 years ago by shufflethedeck
10 replies | jump to latest

After blasting Scorpio, is he just declaring he is fed up with the system?

[–] ck1-5 9 years ago

...because he was quitting. Of course, the movie then proved to be so popular that a sequel was in order, so.....

[–] nutsberryfarm 8 years ago

hope he had to pay for a new one.

"Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life!" - Cannonball Adderley

[–] montrossboc-1 8 years ago

Because his superiors ordered him to NOT interfere with the school bus.

Short Cut, Draw Blood

[–] dumdummcelravy 7 years ago

He was fed up with the entire system.

[–] JohnnyUtahx (161) 7 years ago

Who cares! He wasted the bad guy with 0 pedestrian casualties and he saved the city $200K

[–] Tank-McQuade 7 years ago

He gave up his badge because he enjoyed killing bad guys so much he would come in his pants

Couldn't do it anymore I reckon

[–] duckofprey (1557) 7 years ago

Simply, he figured it was now worthless as he quite likely thought his days of working for San Fran Law Enforcement were over.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (73528) 7 years ago

Yup...exactly this
Then he returned for 3 or 4 more films...
I think it would have been great if he tossed away his badge at the end of every one of them ;)

[–] fishrock (53) 7 years ago

I always took it as he realized he stopped being a law enforcement officer and went vigilante at the end, and thus no longer deserved to wear the badge. That seemed to me to be part of his character, being a good cop. But, yeah disgust with the system works equally well.

[–] slimone (7996) 4 years ago

I think you are right! He was just sick and tired of being a cop.