Why Didn't Harry Join Forces With the 'Bad Cops'?

Just like them? You're the one fooling yourself if you think that.

Yeah Harry sees nothing wrong with the death squad killing the criminals, but what about the unarmed people who weren't? And Charlie? They were all killed just because they were there. Harry wouldn't have killed them.

This film is meant to show how Harry, while not caring about criminal rights and how while he'd rather blow a hole through the guy holding the guns chest, but how he's also not a moral-less vigilante who kills when he doesn't necessarily have to.

Take the very first guy he shoots in the first film for example, if he was "just like them." he'd have simply reloaded his gun and blew the guys head off, but he didn't because he's not a vigilante who kills criminals even if they're unarmed and injured just because they're criminals.

And then take the end of the first film as another example, had Scorpio not went for his gun and surrendered, he wouldn't have blown him into the river.

Harry may be a cop who plays by his own rules where criminals with guns should be shot on sight, but he's not a vigilante who believes they he should put a .44 magnum sized hole in their heads just for the sake of doing it.

I see the point some people are making but honestly Briggs and the rogue motorcycle cops took things way too far. While them killing the bad guys who escaped punishment by the system such as the guy who got off on a technicality it didn't bother me as much but was still murder. However they went overboard when they murdered Early, McCoy, and tried to murder Harry. I think Harry didn't have much of a problem with them until they felt the need to kill innocent cops and witnesses who would expose them. Harry was wrong and hypocritical when he murdered Briggs with the bomb. I think he should've let the system take its course into that matter. Briggs threatened to railroad him but it would be impossible to do that as there were witnesses who saw Harry removing a bomb from his mailbox. Also the guys were guilty of murdering the pimp who had no arrest or trial. Murder is murder, whether it be the murder of an honest cop, a mobster, or an innocent civilian. Also Harry was wrong in the Enforcer when he shot an unarmed man in the back and also let a serial killer get away with murder in Sudden Impact.

Harry was not just like them. In "Dirty Harry," Callahan is put in Catch-22 position when he has no time to get the location of the 14YO girl to keep her from suffocating to death. This is not a typical cop/suspect situation. Callahan knows he has to get the information because time is running out for the kidnapped girl; he has no time to follow procedure.

Callahan also never shoots someone who is not initially shooting at him.

He's nothing like the vigilante cops in this picture.

Who ever posted "Harry does not believe in killing innocents to exact justice. He was *not* like them. He pretty much explains his reasoning right in the movie." is 100% right. This is basically what he tells Hal Holbrooks' character in the car near the end of the movie.