Sandy Burnne, a corrupt policeman, pushes Terry to the edge, driving him to expose his crimes. In Rebel Ridge, Don Johnson plays Burnne.
When Terry’s cash is seized by the police in Shelby Springs, he tries to cut a deal with Police Chief Sandy Burnne to get the money he needs for his cousin’s bail.
Burnne, an egotistical man, agrees to the terms only to deceive Terry later, ensuring that he does not get to see his cousin before the transfer.
Burnne underestimates Terry, as he assumes that he has no combat experience. He deliberately antagonizes him, even arranging a raid on Terry’s friend’s restaurant.
Terry, who was initially peaceful and respectful, eventually loses his patience and takes Burnne and Steve hostage, forcing them to return some of his money.
Unfortunately, Mike is killed in prison, and Burnne, realizing that Terry taking action against him could lead to an investigation, decides to make amends with Terry.
He does not press charges against Terry for the hostage situation. He returns Terry’s money and even buys him the truck he wanted, but despite his efforts, he fails to keep his corruption buried.
Burnne’s corrupt practices
Two years before Terry’s arrival, Burnne was involved in an illegal search case that escalated into a wrongful death. The settlement nearly bankrupted the town.
The Town Court wanted to disband Burnne’s department and hand over the police contract to the state, so reforms were imposed that the department could not afford.
Burnne, however, found a way to modernize the department through forfeitures. He also cleaned up his act on paper.
In reality, whenever an incident jeopardized his department, he had the victims arrested on misdemeanor charges, which meant that the cases stayed in Town Court.
Their bail was set unusually high, and they were held for ninety days, which is the amount of time dashcam footage from police cars is stored.
After ninety days, the defendants were released by the Town Court judge who, while aware of the police misconduct, did not want to get involved.
Now, two years after the settlement, Burnne has more allies than ever before, so no one dares oppose him, allowing him to continue his corrupt practices unchecked.
Burnne’s downfall
When Burnne targets both Summer and Terry, who returns to town to help Summer, an enraged Terry joins forces with her against Burnne.
They speak to the judge and uncover how Burnne has been funding his department and avoiding legal consequences. They then steal the dashcam footage that proves Mike’s wrongful arrest.
Burnne’s officers kidnap and harm Summer, prompting Terry to storm the station, steal seized weapons, and threaten to expose Burnne to the state police unless Summer is freed.
During the final confrontation with Terry, Marston, Summer’s ally, prevents the officers from illegally killing Terry, resulting in Burnne shooting Marston.
This act makes the other officers realize that Burnne would not hesitate to sacrifice anyone to cover his crimes, so they turn against him.
They report the incident to the state police and escort Terry, Marston, and Summer to the hospital, ensuring that Burnne can no longer harm them.
In the end, Burnne is left defeated, aware that Terry, with Marston’s help, has recorded him shooting at Marston’s car, which is enough evidence to prove his crimes.