Maniac Cop

In New York City, a waitress on her way home is assaulted by two muggers and seeks help from a police officer. The officer breaks her neck, revealing the Maniac Cop's brutal mark on the city. This opening murder establishes the killer's police disguise and its deadly reach.

Over the next two nights, the Maniac Cop commits more murders across the city. Lieutenant McCrae is instructed by his superiors to suppress eyewitness accounts that the killer wears a police uniform. He informs a journalist to protect civilians, sparking tension with the department.

Panic and dissent spread throughout the city as the killer's identity remains uncertain. Innocent patrolmen are shot by terrified civilians or avoided on the streets by people afraid of encounters with the Maniac Cop.

Ellen Forrest follows her husband Jack to a motel and discovers him in bed with Mallory. Distressed by the betrayal, she is killed by the Maniac Cop, escalating the personal stakes of the investigation.

Jack is arrested on suspicion of the motel murder, but McCrae believes he has been framed. He grows convinced that the real killer is exploiting police authority.

Mallory is attacked by the Maniac Cop while under protective watch and is defended by McCrae; the killer's unnatural coldness and lack of breath while wearing gloves shocks them. The confrontation reinforces that the killer's identity is tied to Cordell.

Mallory hides out in McCrae's apartment while he investigates Sally Noland, the only person Mallory confided to about the affair. The investigation hints at a deeper corruption connected to a former officer.

McCrae follows Sally Noland to a warehouse where she meets the Maniac Cop and refers to him as 'Matt,' confirming a personal identity behind the killer. The warehouse scene marks a crucial reveal linking the killer to Cordell.

Back at the precinct, McCrae and Mallory tell Jack they suspect Matthew Cordell, an officer who was framed; they plan to consult Sing Sing's medical examiner for answers. Tensions rise as they race to verify the killer's identity.

Sally is beaten to death by Cordell during the interrogation sequence, prompting Jack and Mallory to discover corpses scattered in the halls. Cordell then disappears from view after a confrontation in which his presence is felt but not seen.

Cordell unexpectedly appears and throws McCrae out of a window, killing him. Jack and Mallory escape from the interrogation room and flee the station, now hunted by the killer.

The medical examiner at Sing Sing admits that Cordell showed faint signs of life during autopsy, and was secretly released into Sally's care, suggesting a chilling manipulation of the justice system.

During the 50th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, Mallory warns Commissioner Pike and Captain Ripley about Cordell, but they refuse to believe her and have her arrested. Cordell then appears and fatally stabs Pike and Ripley, targeting Mallory.

Mallory and another officer chase Cordell to his warehouse hideout; he kills another officer and tries to escape in a van. Jack clings to the van, they fight, a suspended pipe impales Cordell, and the vehicle crashes into the river, where Cordell's hand surfaces as a final taunt.

In the extended version, Cordell silently reappears behind a curtain in the mayor's office and kills the mayor as revenge for his framing.