So was delahunt
A cop?
shareno
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MovieChat Forums > The Departed (2006) Discussion > So was delahunt
Definitely not.
Can.You.Hear.Me?
Hell yes!
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Yeah, I think he was. And I think he knew Costigan was, as well. He gave Billy the wrong address to keep him out of the attack on Queenan, and then, as he lay dying, he used that clue to prove that he was also a mole in Costello's organization. That's what I always figured, anyway. Steve V.
shareAbsolutely, YES. That's why he called Billy over to him before he passed. Queenam and Dignum made it clear to Billy when they signed him up, "You have no idea what it is we do here. " They already had one in place.
However, Leo made it known Costello was going paranoid and losing it. So no matter what, just as Sullivan wasnt the only rat on SIU inside - Billy Costigan was not the only UC in Costello Crew
I thought so too, since just before he died he said ask me why I didn't tell
But then Costello made the point, they're saying he's a cop so I'll stop looking for the cop
It is really too ambiguous to know for certain but here are a list of reasons why I do not believe he was a UC. Some are from the movie while others are just standard policy.
1. When they showed his picture on the news, it appeared to be a mug shot. If he was a(n) UC, they would have displayed a picture of him in his police uniform or a picture of him in his suit that would have been taken before the operation began. It would have been a picture similar to Costigan from his funeral.
2. Delahunt would have been given a full funeral with honors.
3. A(n) UC would have never taken part in the murder of another police officer. He wouldn't have taken the only form of protection (firearm) away from that officer. He wouldn't have assisted in throwing a police officer through a window to his death. He was not thrown from the roof.
Some posters have stated that maybe Delahunt did not help push him through the window but instead went looking for the informant. A(n) UC would not have left that police officer while he was in danger. He may let him catch a beating, but as soon as it got to the point where the officer's life was in danger, the UC would have broken cover and attempted to save the officer.
4. When Delahunt was on his "deathbed" and called Billy over, maybe he knew he was going to die and didn't want to see anyone else die.
Just my thoughts
Like what you did with the N in parentheses - nuff r solution to a problem I've faced many times, but I've never seen it before - is that a real grammatical thing, or did you come up with that
shareTyping on phone, so pardon the jumble
shareThat's a real thing. Maybe there is a sentence in a set of bylaws that says something like:
"Any player(s) caught with PED use will be suspended indefinitely."
Something like that, just making something up. It substitutes for "player or players." In this case, when he says, "A(n) UC," he's saying, "A UC or an undercover cop," depending on how somebody reads the abbreviation to themselves.
** Rest in peace, Timothy Volkert (1988 - 2003) **share
Not that you're wrong but:
1. If he wasn't undercover why would they say he was a cop. I have never ever heard of a police department declaring a criminal to be cop when they knew in fact he wasn't.
2. We don't know what king of funeral he had - at least I don't recall.
3. If he thought that if the captain would have gotten shot as soon as he took out his gun - he might have tried to defuse the situation. If the captain didn't try to kill them - they might not shoot him. Fitzy said later that they went to far (refering to killing the captain) so it's possible they didn't intend on killing him - so Delahunt might have been trying to keep things cool without breaking cover. If he breaks cover there - they both would have been killed. He could have been buying time and before he knew it - they threw him out the window which was not the plan to begin with if Fitzy's comment meant that.
The movie does take some other liberties IMO - Billy beats the crap of two men - unprovoked. He beats them with a coat rack until they were unconscious (if not dead). No police department would allow this - even if they were dirt bags. The liability would be nightmare. Especially with a witness. They would not tell him to do it and if he did it on his own - he would have been out of police force. Yet it did happen - so having Delahunt involved (we don't see him do the actual killing) wouldn't be a stretch either. Especially if he didn't think they were going to kill him and/or if he broke cover they would both be killed.
4. True
I'm not saying you're wrong - I go back and forth with this one myself and probably are leaning toward not a cop - but just some things to think about.
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If he wasn't undercover why would they say he was a cop.
For the sake of an operation, a department would be more inclined to lie about about certain aspects of the operation. What would be highly unlikely is if an officer was killed and they said he was part of the mob.
I have never ever heard of a police department declaring a criminal to be cop when they knew in fact he wasn't.
Probably only a very select few would have any knowledge of this.
We don't know what king of funeral he had - at least I don't recall.
They showed Billy's funeral but did not show Delahunts. Although they didn't show the funeral of Brown, Barrigan or Queenan either so this is a toss up.
If he thought that if the captain would have gotten shot as soon as he took out his gun - he might have tried to defuse the situation. If the captain didn't try to kill them - they might not shoot him. Fitzy said later that they went to far (refering to killing the captain) so it's possible they didn't intend on killing him - so Delahunt might have been trying to keep things cool without breaking cover. If he breaks cover there - they both would have been killed. He could have been buying time and before he knew it - they threw him out the window which was not the plan to begin with if Fitzy's comment meant that
no idea, too many what ifs.
The movie does take some other liberties IMO - Billy beats the crap of two men - unprovoked. He beats them with a coat rack until they were unconscious (if not dead). No police department would allow this - even if they were dirt bags. The liability would be nightmare. Especially with a witness. They would not tell him to do it and if he did it on his own - he would have been out of police force. Yet it did happen - so having Delahunt involved (we don't see him do the actual killing) wouldn't be a stretch either. Especially if he didn't think they were going to kill him and/or if he broke cover they would both be killed.
Good point. Also, don't forget that Billy shot that fellow in the knee. share
Like what you did with the N in parentheses - nuff r solution to a problem I've faced many times, but I've never seen it before - is that a real grammatical thing, or did you come up with that
LOL, I have no idea. It just seemed weird typing it w/out the (n) and I didn't know another way to do it without spelling out undercover. Not sure if it is real or not. Maybe an English major can tell us. share
Probably only a very select few would have any knowledge of this.
As for not knowing about it - it just isn't done. There is liability involved and journalists would be able to investigate it (freedom of information act). What would happen if one of Delahunt's family is killed in revenge because he was a rat cop. Then the family finds out he was't a cop and the cops lied about it. They would sue the balls off the department. A police department would not publicly declare a criminal to be cop.
Also they knew Costello had a rat in the police department - who could find out if Delahunt was a cop or not. If he was a cop and not undercover anymore (since he is dead) - Sullivan could have easily checked it out - it wouldn't be a secret anymore since they gave the information out to the public. If he was a cop Sullivan (just about any cop) would have access to his academy records, police records, etc. So if he wasn't a cop - that would be non-existent. They would know Costello could easily find that out.
no idea, too many what ifs.
Yeah - I did go on a bit. To simplify - he simply took the gun to defuse the situation so the captain didn't get shot thinking they weren't going to kill him.
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As for not knowing about it - it just isn't done. There is liability involved and journalists would be able to investigate it (freedom of information act). What would happen if one of Delahunt's family is killed in revenge because he was a rat cop. Then the family finds out he was't a cop and the cops lied about it. They would sue the balls off the department. A police department would not publicly declare a criminal to be cop.
Also they knew Costello had a rat in the police department - who could find out if Delahunt was a cop or not. If he was a cop and not undercover anymore (since he is dead) - Sullivan could have easily checked it out - it wouldn't be a secret anymore since they gave the information out to the public. If he was a cop Sullivan (just about any cop) would have access to his academy records, police records, etc. So if he wasn't a cop - that would be non-existent. They would know Costello could easily find that out.
Good points with the exception of just about any cop being able to access records. I didn't know everyone on my department and I would not have been able to access their records early on in my career.
Yeah - I did go on a bit. To simplify - he simply took the gun to defuse the situation so the captain didn't get shot thinking they weren't going to kill him.
Assuming for a moment Delahunt was a(n) UC and he did remove Queenan's firearm in an effort to defuse the situation...at some point during the scuffle/altercation, Delahunt would/should have realized that the situation was going South and he should have broken cover to save the life of a fellow officer.
Once again though. There are just too many unknowns to be sure.
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More like *beep*
shareNo. Delahunt was one of them, but he knew Billy may have been a cop, that is why he gave him the wrong address. He didn't tell anybody because he was dying anyway.
shareI always believed Delaying was a cop. You all have some great points. Here are mine and yes some of them have already been said.
1. If delahunt wasn't a cop he would have had just as much cause to try and flush a rat out, if he was a cop, yes he might have been trying to keep Costigan out of harms way. This wasn't definitive either way.
2. The photo used on the news was a "mugshot" and therefore he couldn't have been a cop. If you'll remember the picture used on Costigan's electronic file wasnt a snappy one but a "plainclothes" one much like the one used on the news.
3. According to the news report, Delahunt was with the city police, Costigan was with the state police. It's more than a little possible that one did not know about the other and no one would have access to the other departments files.
4. The fact that we don't see his funeral is irrelevant, we didn't see the funerals of Brown, or Queenan.
5. Why would they say he's a cop if he's not? While its summed up by Costello that it's done so they would stop looking for the cop, again this would not have worked. Remember, city police and state police would not have intermingled. If the state cops had called and said please put about that he was a state cop, it would have been stated that he was a state cop. The state cops knew Costello had a rat in their department (Sullivan), he would have known and been able to explain that the informant they are looking for is a state cop not a city cop. Therefore stating he is a cop if he wasn't would not have served any purpose whatsoever. Ergo he was a cop.
4. If he wasn't a cop he would have wasted no time in turning Costigan in to the gang. He didn't have some big epiphany and wanted to spare Billy. He was a cop. A bad guy at this level, willing to die in the service of his gang/boss would have turned Billy in and made his final act in service of that gang.
5. Queenan. Everyone points out that a cop would not have allowed Queenan to die but would have broken cover. We are not shown the events leading to Queenans's death so we really cannot say who was involved in that death. Delahunt may have been sent off to comb the building we just don't know. It is stated "we took it to far", which could have been a subtle slight about what was done.
6. Fitzy dragged him through the marsh all night into 3 feet of mud. Delahunt was found so fast because he was a cop and his whereabouts to the city police were being watched. The state police would not have done that as they wouldn't have been aware of Delahunt being a cop in the first place. Even a sex escapade would not entice people into 3 feet of mud as Costello believes. Ergo, Delahunt was a city cop watched by his own who found him where no one else would have.
Its been a while since i contemplated that question, so i forgot which theory was the one i subscribed to, but i do remember it was the one that most other people thought otherwise. Hope that helps.
shareThere 're reasonable arguments to be made for both sides... and I can basically see how Delahunt, looking death in the eye and worrying about his soul, may have wanted to redeem himself even just a little bit by sparing Costigan. However, the clincher still remains the insistent way he addresses Costigan - "tell me why I didn't tell nobody, huh?! Tell me why!". Clearly, the answer to that is presumed to be immediately obvious to him. And I'm sorry, but a hardened criminal suddenly reaching out for redemption most certainly is NOT that immediately obvious answer that would automatically occur to Billy. Delahunt being a fellow cop, on the other hand, most definitely would be that. And that's where the buck stops as far as I'm concerned.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
If the filmmakers intended Delahunt to NOT be a cop, there are a few things they either ignored, or just failed to consider.
His funeral has already been mentioned here, but not in full scope.
We as the audience don't need to see what kind of funeral Delahunt had. Realistically, it would have to have been a police funeral. Because it's already a news story that an undercover cop was killed. Therefore, the news media would also cover the funeral. Therefore, he would have to have been given a proper police funeral.
So either he was actually an undercover cop - or - he wasn't, and the filmmakers failed at treating this aspect of the film realistically.
Unless they expect it to be believable that a police department would go through the trouble and blatant disrespect to give an honorable police funeral to a known violent criminal.
And about his photo that is used in the news piece, its too ambiguous to either be a mugshot or any other type of picture.
And about his photo that is used in the news piece, its too ambiguous to either be a mugshot or any other type of picture.
It was a mug shot as it is the same photo used prior in the movie when they were going over the members of the gang. They had that photo along with the typical mug profile. With that said -I don't think that makes a difference because it was a good photo. Nobody would know it was a mug shot so they could have used it. (Maybe that's what you meant and I didn't understand). Since he was undercover for so long - it might have been the only recent one. If he was as deep as Costigan (apparently deeper) than a good police photo of him might have been hard to find if they even had one.
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I had forgotten that they use the same photo, along with a profile, of Delahunt earlier in the film. They also show French and Costello in virtually the same types of pics in that scene.
The fact that all 3 of those characters are displayed in the same manner is highly suggestive (but not proof) that they are all mug shots.
However, if Delahunt were an undercover, such a photo would of course eventually have been easily manufactured during his time as an undercover, to help sell the illusion.
So, the photo is really nothing significant in determining whether or not Delahunt was undercover, which is why I made the photo comment at the end of my previous post.
The most significant aspect, again, is the funeral, and that since the story of Delahunt's death, and him being a cop, was told through the news media, the natural course of events would be for the news media to then cover his funeral. And again, are we really to believe that a police department would go through the charade of an honorable police funeral for an organized crime thug? Just in the hopes that it might disrupt Costello's gang?
But they would have to, to keep up the false story of him being a cop. Journalists would then wonder why an undercover cop wasn't given an honorable funeral. That in itself would become an intriguing news story.
I agree with you about the funeral. I have written it previously - almost exactly what you are saying. Agencies across the country would be coming to this officers funeral, inquiring about the funeral arrangements, sending flowers/condolences to the department and/or his family/funeral home. There is no way they would pretend to have a police funeral for this gangster. They wouldn't tell that to the press, they wouldn't give them authorization to say that, it just wouldn't happen.
With that said - I think the photo is obviously his mug shot. They showed it in the beginning, it was attached to a profile photo and that is almost exclusively for mug shots. Now, it could have been a mug shot that was set up - similar to that of Costigan. He was obviously given a back story of a criminal background and a fake arrest is likely to go along with that.
Many people here feel that if he was a cop - they should have used his cop / academy photo. My response is it might not be readily available just like Costigan's wasn't. The mug shot (when cropped with just the front photo - looks like any other photo. In fact, I posted news stories with real life police deaths showing their photos look just like Delahunt's. So there was no reason not to use it. It was a good photo, he was clean shaven, well groomed, collared shirt, etc.
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However, if Delahunt were an undercover, such a photo would of course eventually have been easily manufactured during his time as an undercover, to help sell the illusion.
It wouldn't even necessarily need to be manufactured. UCs do go undercover at prisons on occasion, to better form connections with criminals. share