Paul Bridges

Every police department has one - the "hero cop." This is the guy they modeled Dirty Harry after, the kind of guy that would be played by Schwarzenegger in the movie, if they made one. The kind of guy who gets his partner killed and then goes on a one-man killing spree for vengeance and, if at all possible, justice.

In New York, Paul Bridges was that cop. He had a history of making the tough busts and not taking crap from suspects. So, when a serial killer appeared in the city, it was only natural that Bridges, and his inept partner John Tool, get the case.

Bridges was the public face of the investigation, and everyone loved him, but he was a man of very private passions. He had a short temper with everyone but his partner, and was virulently homophobic. He would often talk about wanting to "organize a cull" and "mow [them] all down."

So it came as a great surprise to everyone that Bridges was secretly involved in a homosexual S&M group. He was discovered first by Jesse Custer, who was led to a certain apartment by the man who was in fact the serial killer, and then by his own partner, who had been given the same information. The plan had been for the real killer, a freelance journalist named Si Coltrane, to frame Jesse for the killings. None of them expected Bridges to be dressed in a leather harness getting whipped by other men.

When the killer was taken down and Jesse left with his girlfriend, Tulip, Bridges broke down and confessed everything to Tool, who thought that his partner might be a little touched in the head.

Bridges quit the force, but stayed in contact with Tool. His current whereabouts and activities are unknown.