Lt. Neil Briggs

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Lieutenant Neil Briggs is a fictional San Francisco police officer in the film Magnum Force, played by Hal Holbrook.

In the film, his character is Inspector Harry Callahan's superior officer, in his late forties. But because of Callahan's unorthodox ways, he and Callahan have a stilted relationship. It is believed that right after the ending to the first film, Callahan was later transferred to Briggs, who transferred Callahan from homicide to stakeout, as somewhat explained on film.

Secretly in the film, he is the mastermind who set out his plans to a group of police traffic cops that went around San Francisco, and executed criminals who have avoided conviction in the courts. The police officers he hired to do his bidding were recently hired rookie traffic police officers; John Davis (David Soul), Phil Sweet (Tim Matheson), Red Astrachan (Kip Niven), and Mike Grimes (Robert Urich).

Eventually, by the end of the film Briggs revealed to Callahan that he was the one who set up the killings by the officers by giving his reasons. Initially, Callahan was forced to take out each of the officers (except Sweet, who was sacrificed during a set-up arrest which was meant for Callahan and his partner). By the end of the film, Callahan ends up killing Briggs by setting off a bomb in his car which he took out of his own mailbox earlier after being confronted by the three remaining officers. Before dying in the explosion, Briggs threatened to recruit more for his organization and to frame Callahan as well for all the killings. To quote what his last words,

“ "It'll be my words against yours. And who's going to believe you? You're a killer Harry, a maniac." ”


[edit] See also

v • d • e
Dirty Harry series
Harry Callahan
The Films
Villains
Other
Preceded by
Scorpio Killer		 Dirty Harry villain
Magnum Force		 Succeeded by
The People's Revolutionary Strike Force