POLICE Readers Pick 'Dirty Harry' As Best Cop Movie Ever

Ballots were counted. Voted were tallied. POLICE Magazine's readers picked their favorite cop movies in our "Best Cop Movie Ever" survey, and the results are in.

During the past week, we asked our law enforcement readers to list the three best cop movies ever made.

"Dirty Harry" (1971) was marked on almost one third of ballots (31.5 percent), making the tale of a San Francisco cop who plays by his own rules (with the help of a Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver and punchy one-liners) the clear winner.

"Heat" (1995) was the runner-up, appearing on 27.1 percent of ballots. Bill Daughters, a corporal with Anne Arundel County (Md.) Police Department, enjoyed the movie's cat-and-mouse game between Al Pacino's LAPD detective and Robert De Niro's bank robber.

"To watch the two of them lay out their characters through the early stages of the movie, culminating in the meeting in the diner – wow, what a mix. Plus I love the scene with Pacino in Las Vegas, 'Ferocious, aren't I?' Love that scene too."

Close behind was "Colors" (1988), which appeared on 25.6 percent of ballots. Officer Phil Dinan of Beacon, N.Y., enjoyed the movie's authenticity and the central relationship between the two officers.

"I picked 'Colors' for the hard edge that the movie portrated, the life of gangs in L.A. and the changing of the guard of (Sean) Penn and (Robert) Duvall," he said.

Rounding out the top five were "The Untouchables" (1987) and "The Departed" (2006). The survey had 332 responses.

Editor's Note: Read "Celluloid Coppers" for Sgt. Dean Scoville's picks of the most memorable cop movies ever.