This movie's controversy; I'll spell it out for you..

The FICTIONAL scenario pretty much railroads us into the conclusion that Harry was correct in that PARTICULAR and SPECIFIC situation to do what he did because he was trying to save a life. The problem is, in the REAL WORLD how often do cops have access to perfect information, and how often does this specific ticking timebomb scenario with a countdown clock time limit actual occur? There is no way that torture should ever been legally sanctioned because the very situations (such as in this film) that made it justifiable in the first place would likely not be known by the officers involved before hand, and there is the highest likelihood that police would abuse it in the future. Harry did what he did knowing it would likely cost him his career. If he felt that strongly that it was the only course of action he has the choice of quitting or throwing himself at the mercy of a jury. This is one reason why I kind of wish there were no sequels, because it makes the meaning of Harry throwing away his badge at the end much more interesting and ambiguous, because it leaves it up the audience to decide what Harry's intentions are and what happens next.