Law Enforcement in the Saw Franchise Explained: Police, FBI, and More

The story in the Saw franchise is complicated. With flashbacks in every movie, and layers upon layers of story added with each installment, keeping track of all of the characters can be difficult. This article is designed to highlight the most notable characters in the Saw movies who are on the side of law enforcement in one way or another. It is meant to be a way to catch up on the Saw saga as quickly as possible by looking at the major events that happened to each character. Some details are left out for the sake of keeping the story as succinct as possible. Major spoilers ahead, naturally.

Members of the Metropolitan Police Department

The Metropolitan Police Department was involved in investigating every known Jigsaw murder in every movie in the Saw franchise. Being a police officer hunting Jigsaw and his accomplices was a dangerous job, and many of the cops seen throughout the film series met a horrible fate. Listed here are all of the members of the Metro police who made large and significant contributions to the ongoing Jigsaw investigations.

Detective David Tapp

Appearances: Saw (2004)

David Tapp was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department. He became involved in the Jigsaw murders early on, investigating two of Jigsaw’s earliest known traps, the Razor Wire Cage and the Flammable Safe Room (as seen in Saw). False evidence planted by Jigsaw at the scene of the Flammable Safe Room trap made Tapp believe that Dr. Lawrence Gordon was the Jigsaw Killer.

Tapp became obsessed with bringing the Jigsaw Killer to justice, and he repeatedly scoured the tapes taken from Jigsaw’s traps. His efforts paid off, and Tapp discovered Jigsaw’s hideout from one of the tapes. Tapp and his partner Detective Sing broke into the hideout and had Jigsaw at gunpoint, but Tapp’s throat was cut, Sing was killed when he activated a booby trap, and Jigsaw escaped. Jigsaw wore a hood that obscured his face, so Tapp still assumed he was Dr. Gordon.

Tapp survived his throat injury, but he was discharged from the police force following a mental breakdown. Still obsessed with Jigsaw, Tapp spied on Gordon. Tapp also hired Adam Stanheight to follow Gordon and take photos. Tapp was observing Gordon’s house when he heard gunshots. Breaking into Gordon’s house, Tapp discovered Zep Hindle attempting to kill Gordon’s wife and daughter. Tapp stopped Zep, but Zep fled. Tapp followed Zep to the location where Dr. Gordon and Adam were having their test, but Tapp was shot and killed in a struggle with Zep.

Detective Steven Sing

Appearances: Saw (2004)

Steven Sing was a detective for the Metropolitan Police Department, and he was the partner of Det. Tapp. Sing did not share Tapp’s obsession with Jigsaw, but he did want to stop the deaths. Sing helped Tapp locate Jigsaw’s hideout, and he accompanied Tapp when they went to check out the location. Sing saved a man’s life at the hideout when Jigsaw activated a trap as a distraction for his escape. Sing ran after Jigsaw, but he accidentally activated a booby trap consisting of shotguns hung from the ceiling. Sing was killed when the shotguns fired.

Detective Allison Kerry

Appearances: Saw, Saw II, Saw III

Allison Kerry was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department. She worked alongside many of the other detectives seen throughout the first three Saw movies, but she was rarely the main focus. Rather, she was largely a supporting character despite being a vital part of the stories of the majority of the other law enforcement personnel who investigated the Jigsaw murders.

At some point in her career, Det. Kerry was partnered with Eric Matthews. They had an affair that contributed to the ending of Matthews’ marriage, and neither their partnership nor their relationship lasted. When the Jigsaw murders began, Kerry was one of the original officers to investigate. Being one of the few detectives present during most of the early Jigsaw investigations, Kerry secretly became a liaison for the FBI who were interested in watching Jigsaw.

By the time of the Gas House traps in Saw II, Kerry was the lead investigator in the Jigsaw murders. She brought Matthews into the raid on Jigsaw’s hideout, and she felt guilty when Matthews was abducted. Kerry searched for Matthews, still caring for him despite the two of them no longer being in a relationship. Kerry started getting too close to Jigsaw, and she was abducted by Amanda Young. Kerry was put in the Rib Cage trap (in Saw III), but it was manipulated by Amanda so it was inescapable. Kerry died in the trap, and her death brought the FBI directly into the hunt for Jigsaw.

Detective Eric Matthews

Appearances: Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV

Eric Matthews was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department. By the time he was introduced in Saw II, Matthews was frustrated with his life. His marriage ended due to his affair with his former partner Det. Allison Kerry, and his relationship with his son Daniel was strained. When one of Matthews’ police informants was targeted by Jigsaw, Matthews was called to the crime scene by Kerry. At the scene of the informant’s trap, the Venus Fly Trap seen in Saw II, there was writing on the wall directed specifically at Matthews.

Despite being called out by Jigsaw, Matthews wanted nothing to do with the investigation. He changed his mind though, and he accompanied Kerry and a SWAT team in a raid of Jigsaw’s hideout. The raid was planned by Jigsaw though, because Matthews was the target of his next test. Matthews had to watch from monitors as his son Daniel and seven people Matthews had previously framed for crimes attempted to escape the Gas House traps (in Saw II). Matthews’ test was simply to talk to and listen to Jigsaw, but Matthews failed. He took Jigsaw away from the hideout to force him to show Matthews where his son was, but it was a trap, and Matthews was abducted.

Amanda Young took Matthews to the bathroom which was previously the scene of Dr. Gordon and Adam’s test in the first Saw, and she left him chained to a pipe. Matthews quickly escaped by smashing the bones in his own foot and lower leg. Eric left the bathroom and found Amanda in the hallway outside. Matthews beat on Amanda, but she escaped by kicking his broken bones. After Amanda left, Mark Hoffman found Matthews and took him away to a hidden cell where he stayed for months.

After six months in captivity, Eric was put in a trap where he was chained by the neck and forced to stand on a block of ice. Mark Hoffman, pretending to be another victim, was beside Matthews in the trap. Jigsaw’s former business partner Art Blank was also in the room, tasked with overseeing Matthews and Hoffman. The whole scenario was set up as the finale of Officer Rigg’s test (in Saw IV). Rigg was supposed to refrain from trying to save Matthews, but he failed which resulted in the death of everyone in the room except for Hoffman. Matthews died when his head was obliterated by two massive blocks of ice that swung down from the ceiling when Rigg entered the room.

Officer Daniel Rigg

Appearances: Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV

Daniel Rigg was an officer and a member of the SWAT team in the Metropolitan Police Department. Rigg had a strong sense of right and wrong. At some time before the Jigsaw murders, Rigg punched a man who he knew was abusing a child but who would go free due to lack of evidence. Rigg was nearly suspended, but Detective Mark Hoffman lied, saying he saw the man attack Rigg first.

Much later, Rigg was a member of the SWAT team that raided Jigsaw’s hideout (in Saw II). Rigg defended Eric Matthews’ aggressive tactics to get information from Jigsaw, and he led the squad of officers who discovered the decoy Gas House where Jigsaw had set up equipment to broadcast the tapes the police had been watching.

After Matthews was abducted, Rigg became even more dedicated to his work as a police officer. When Det. Kerry was found dead, Rigg began investigating Jigsaw on his own. Det. Mark Hoffman, who was secretly working with Jigsaw, told Rigg to take time off. Reluctantly, Rigg complied. When he got home, he found his wife leaving on a trip to her mother’s house, but Rigg declined to go with her. He couldn’t let go of his obsession even for his wife. Rigg was then attacked in his apartment and sedated.

When he awoke, Rigg found himself as the subject of a series of tests designed by Jigsaw (in Saw IV). The purpose of Rigg’s trial was to teach him that he can’t save everyone, and that it is better for people to save themselves. Jigsaw was testing Rigg to see if he could adopt John Kramer’s own philosophy, and he was attempting to recruit Rigg to possibly be one of his successors. Rigg’s results were mixed throughout his various trials, and he failed his final test.

Rigg was meant to not make an attempt to save Eric Matthews, but Rigg couldn’t help himself. Rigg opened the door to the room where Matthews was trapped, and the action of opening the door set off a reaction that killed Matthews. Matthews shot Rigg just prior to dying in an attempt to stop him from opening the door. Rigg presumably died from the gunshot wound.

Detective Mark Hoffman

Appearances: Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI, Saw 3D

Mark Hoffman was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department. He was involved with investigating most of the Jigsaw murders since the beginning, and his work on the case led to him being promoted to Detective Lieutenant after John Kramer was killed. Secretly, Hoffman became an accomplice of Jigsaw’s after he mimicked the style of a Jigsaw trap to kill the man who killed his sister. Since Hoffman was a killer, his entire story can be read in the article “The Killers of the Saw Franchise Explained“.

Officer Matt Gibson

Appearances: Saw 3D

Matt Gibson was an internal affairs officer in the Metropolitan Police Department. By the time of Saw 3D, the seventh movie in the series, all of the police and special agents actively trying to stop the Jigsaw games were dead. Gibson only became involved in the hunt for Jigsaw’s successor when John Kramer’s ex-wife Jill Tuck approached him with information about Mark Hoffman’s involvement in exchange for protection. Jill would only speak to Gibson because she knew Gibson and Hoffman had become enemies within the police department.

Years prior, Hoffman saved Gibson’s life while on duty, but he did so by disarming the suspect and then killing him by shooting him in the back. Gibson reported Hoffman to Internal Affairs, but Hoffman continued his climb within the department while Gibson was shunned. Gibson later joined Internal Affairs, and Hoffman swore revenge on him.

Years later, Mark Hoffman was forced to go into hiding after the events of Saw VI. His identity as the new Jigsaw killer wasn’t public knowledge yet, but he knew Jill would go to the police. Hoffman wanted to make a deal with Gibson: give him Jill Tuck, and in exchange the Jigsaw murders would end. In the end, Gibson was completely manipulated by Hoffman to go to various places which allowed Hoffman to find and kill Jill Tuck. Gibson was killed by an automated machine gun rigged by Hoffman at his temporary hideout in a junkyard.

Detective Brad Halloran

Appearances: Jigsaw

Brad Halloran was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department who is first seen in Jigsaw about ten years after the death of John Kramer. Halloran was a dirty cop who, among other things, tampered with evidence, beat on suspects, and protected known criminals for his own personal agenda. Innocent people died and guilty people went free because of Halloran.

Halloran became the main target of Jigsaw successor Logan Nelson. One of Halloran’s informants, Edgar Munsen, killed Nelson’s wife, but he was allowed to go free because of his connection to Halloran. Nelson, who worked as a medical examiner, recreated a series of traps John Kramer had forced him to participate in more than a decade prior. Three of Nelson’s victims in his recreated games were criminals who had gone free thanks to Halloran.

While investigating the murders, Halloran began to suspect Nelson’s assistant, pathologist Eleanor Bonneville, of being involved in the crimes. To a lesser degree he also suspected Logan Nelson of involvement. Meanwhile, Nelson was manipulating evidence to frame Halloran for the crimes in the eyes of Halloran’s partner, Det. Keith Hunt. Halloran followed Nelson and Bonneville to the site of the traps and was subdued by Nelson.

Halloran woke up with his neck secured in a collar fitted with lasers. Logan Nelson was in the room too, pretending to also be a victim in the trap with his own laser collar. Halloran tried to save himself by forcing Nelson to participate first in a game in which they both had to confess their sins or die. Nelson appeared to die, but it was a trick. After Halloran confessed to being a dirty cop and getting people killed, Nelson stood up, revealing his laser collar was a fake. Nelson explained everything to Halloran, letting him know that he was going to die for contributing to the death of Nelson’s wife. Halloran was given no chance to escape, and he died when multiple lasers cut his head into eight slices. After his death, Halloran was presumably framed for the Jigsaw murders (thanks to Bonneville and Hunt believing he was guilty), allowing Nelson to go free.

Detective Keith Hunt

Appearances: Jigsaw

Keith Hunt was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department. He’d previously served in the Iraq War along with Logan Nelson. Hunt became involved in investigating the new Jigsaw murders when he was on the scene when Edgar Munsen, Det. Halloran’s informant, was killed. Hunt worked with Halloran on the case to find the new Jigsaw Killer, and Hunt was responsible for getting evidence that suggested Eleanor Bonneville and Logan Nelson might be involved.

When Hunt went to arrest Nelson, Nelson was able to convince Hunt to look into Halloran. With the current victims all being tied to Halloran’s old cases, and with Nelson manipulating evidence, Hunt was convinced that Halloran was the new Jigsaw Killer. Keith Hunt was never tested by Nelson. Instead, Hunt was allowed to live since his mistaken determination that Halloran was responsible for the new Jigsaw murders would be the perfect cover for Nelson.

Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks

Appearances: Spiral

Ezekiel Banks was a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department who became the target of Jigsaw copycat William Emmerson well over a decade after the death of John Kramer. Much earlier in his police career (twelve years before Spiral), Zeke’s partner, Officer Peter Dunleavy, murdered a citizen who was willing to expose a dirty cop within the police force. Zeke’s testimony got Dunleavy thrown off the force and sent to prison. Though Zeke was applauded for his actions by the public, he was shunned by his fellow officers. As Zeke rose in the ranks to become a homicide detective, he grew to distrust nearly all of his fellow officers.

Zeke didn’t want a partner, but Captain Garza forced him to take on a new transfer to the department, Detective William Schenk. Zeke and Schenk investigated a new batch of Jigsaw-style killings that solely targeted members of the Metropolitan Police Department. Unknown to Zeke, Schenk was actually the man responsible for the new Jigsaw traps. Schenk was the alias of William Emmerson, and he was the son of the man Zeke’s partner had murdered years ago. Zeke had briefly seen young William Emmerson when Emmerson’s father was killed, and Zeke had urged the boy to stay quiet and out of sight to protect him from Dunleavy.

Emmerson saw Zeke as a one of the only good cops, and he tried to recruit Zeke to join him in continuing to punish the corrupt officers within the force. After explaining himself to Zeke, Emmerson revealed his final trap in which Zeke’s father, Marcus, was slowly bleeding to death. Emmerson gave Zeke a choice: save his father and let Emmerson escape, or shoot Emmerson and condemn his father to death within the trap. Zeke chose to save his father, but Emmerson had a backup plan which resulted in Marcus being gunned down by police entering the room. Zeke watched his father die, and he could do nothing as Emmerson escaped.

Police Chief Marcus Banks

Appearances: Spiral

Marcus Banks was the former Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, and his was Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks’s father. Marcus and his son Zeke sometimes had an antagonist relationship with each other, but Marcus was highly protective of Zeke. Marcus was Chief when a controversial law, Article 8, facilitated police overreach which led to corruption within the force. Marcus knew about the corruption and covered it up, believing it was for the greater good.

Marcus’s role in covering up corruption made him a target of Jigsaw copycat William Emmerson. Emmerson was the son of a man killed by a police officer during Marcus’s reign as Chief. Years later, after Marcus was retired, Emmerson abducted Marcus as part of his final test for Zeke. Marcus was put into a trap where he was suspended in the air with multiple needles slowly draining his blood. Zeke shot a target which dropped Marcus to the ground so the needles could be pulled out. However, Marcus was still in a mechanical rig attached to a trigger on the door of the room. When police arrived and opened the door, the rig forced Marcus to move like a marionette, raising his arm as if he were about to shoot a gun. The police opened fire, killing Marcus Banks.

Captain Angie Garza

Appearances: Spiral

Angie Garza was a captain in the Metropolitan Police Department who oversaw the homicide division. She was a friend of Marcus Banks, and she was the supervisor of Marcus’s son Zeke. Garza was complicit in the coverup of police corruption dating back to the time when Marcus was Chief, and that made her a target of Jigsaw copycat William Emmerson.

Captain Garza did her best to keep peace between Zeke and the other officers and detectives who hated him. Garza tended to side with Zeke not only because they were friends, but because she knew he had a strong sense of justice. During the ongoing investigation of the new Jigsaw murders, Garza was tricked by Emmerson into thinking Marcus texted her and wanted her to get a file from the basement of the police department. When Garza went into the basement, she was knocked out and strapped to a table.

Garza’s trapped involved hot wax dripping onto her face which was covered by a thin cloth. She had to sever her spine with a blade near her neck if she wanted to prevent herself from suffocating and/or being burned to death by the wax. Garza failed to escape, and she died as the hot wax covered her face.

FBI Agents

The FBI had an eye on Jigsaw early on, but they didn’t get actively involved in investigating until their liaison, Detective Allison Kerry, was killed. When they arrived on the scene, they essentially took the Jigsaw investigation out of the hands of the Metro Police, but in the end they didn’t fare much better than the detectives who had been working the case for so long. Listed here are all of the FBI agents who investigated the Jigsaw murders.

FBI Special Agent Peter Strahm

Appearances: Saw IV, Saw V

Peter Strahm was a special agent in the FBI who was partnered with Special Agent Lindsey Perez. Strahm and Perez investigated a case of arson and found five people culpable in the fire and its cover-up, but the case went cold when the only witness Strahm and Perez had disappeared. The five people investigated were later gathered together to become the subjects of the series of traps seen in Saw V.

At an undisclosed amount of time after the investigation of the arson case, Strahm and Perez were brought into the Jigsaw investigation when their liaison in the Metropolitan Police Department, Det. Allison Kerry, was killed. While investigating the scene of Kerry’s death, Strahm correctly deduced that neither Jigsaw nor Amanda Young could have set up the trap without extra help. Det. Mark Hoffman, who was “investigating” Kerry’s death while secretly being Jigsaw and Amanda’s accomplice, became wary of Strahm and Perez.

Once Officer Rigg’s trials began and Hoffman was “abducted” to take part in the finale of the trials (in Saw IV), Strahm and Perez became the lead investigators of the Jigsaw crimes. Evidence at a crime scene led Strahm to interrogate John Kramer’s ex-wife Jill Tuck. Through his questioning of Jill and the discovery of further evidence, Strahm figured out the location where Rigg’s final test would occur. By the time Strahm knew where to go, Perez had been critically injured by a Jigsaw trap. So, Strahm went by himself to find Rigg.

Strahm found the correct building, the Gideon Meatpacking Plant, but when he went inside he didn’t find Rigg. Instead, Strahm came upon Jeff Denlon after Denlon had killed Amanda Young and John Kramer. Strahm shot and killed Denlon who was waving a gun. While looking for a way out, Strahm was taken by Hoffman and placed in a trap (a box placed around his head that filled with water) meant to kill him with no chance of escape. However, Strahm punctured his own throat with a pen so he could breathe, and he survived.

Later, Strahm was taken off the Jigsaw case. Even so, Strahm continued to investigate on his own. He hadn’t seen Hoffman’s face back at the meatpacking plant, but he was strongly suspicious of Hoffman regardless. Strahm pieced together Hoffman’s contributions to past Jigsaw traps, and he began following Hoffman. Hoffman led Strahm to the Gas House that Jigsaw had used months before in Saw II. As Strahm searched the tunnels beneath the house, he found a large casket with clear walls in the center of a small room. Strahm and Hoffman fought, and Strahm locked Hoffman in the casket. Unfortunately for Strahm, the casket was the way out. The room sealed, the casket lowered through the floor, and the metal walls of the room closed in. Peter Strahm was killed when the walls crushed his body into pieces.

FBI Special Agent Lindsey Perez

Appearances: Saw IV, Saw VI

Special Agent Lindsey Perez was partners with Special Agent Peter Strahm in the FBI. They’d been partners for a long time prior to investigating Jigsaw, and together they investigated the five people responsible for a fire who became subjects in the games seen in Saw V. After Det. Allison Kerry was killed in a rigged Jigsaw trap, Perez and Strahm took direct action in the Jigsaw case.

Perez’s story is basically the same as Strahm’s up until late in the investigation of Officer Rigg’s tests. While at the scene of one of the traps involving a married couple bound together with spikes (in Saw IV), Perez and Strahm discovered a Jigsaw puppet. As Perez leaned closer to the puppet to hear it better, the puppet’s face exploded, sending shrapnel into Perez’s face. Perez was taken to the hospital where she remained as Strahm continued to chase down Rigg.

In Saw V, Perez was completely absent as Strahm investigated Mark Hoffman’s involvement in the Jigsaw crimes. Strahm was told that Perez died in the hospital, but in Saw VI it was revealed that her death was faked to protect her since she and Strahm were being targeted. When Strahm went missing (his death at the end of Saw V wasn’t discovered by law enforcement right away), Perez joined FBI Special Agent Dan Erickson in trying to discover who Jigsaw and Amanda’s accomplice was. They realized one of the early Jigsaw murders wasn’t actually done by Jigsaw, and they thought that if they could find out whose voice was on the tape recorder found at the scene of the crime, then they could learn who the unknown accomplice was.

Perez and Erickson told Mark Hoffman they would keep him in the loop of the investigation, but they did hold back some evidence since they were suspicious of him. Hoffman accompanied Perez and Erickson to the lab where the tape recording was being deciphered. Hoffman realized he was about to be exposed, so he killed Perez, Erickson, and the lab technician. Perez had hot coffee thrown in her face, and she was stabbed multiple times. Leaving their bodies in the lab, Hoffman used Strahm’s dismembered hand to place his fingerprints at the scene, and he then burned the room down.

FBI Special Agent Dan Erickson

Appearances: Saw V, Saw VI

Dan Erickson was a special agent in the FBI, and he was the supervisor of agents Strahm and Perez. Erickson joined the Jigsaw case when Perez was injured while searching for Officer Rigg, and when Strahm was nearly killed after entering the Gideon Meatpacking Plant without waiting for backup. Erickson helped Perez fake her death at the hospital, and he took Strahm off the Jigsaw case.

Thanks to Strahm’s erratic behavior, Jill Tuck saying she thought Strahm was following her, and some misleading comments from Mark Hoffman, Erickson became increasingly suspicious of Strahm being an accomplice of Jigsaw. Erickson put a trace on Strahm’s phone after Hoffman used it to call Erickson, and Hoffman used the phone to lure Erickson to the scene of the traps seen in Saw V. Erickson arrived in time to help the two survivors of the tests, Brit and Mallick. At the scene he also discovered Strahm’s phone and photos of himself. Erickson now fully believed Strahm to be Jigsaw’s successor.

In Saw VI, Erickson was joined by Perez in investigating Peter Strahm. Neither Perez nor Erickson knew that Strahm had already been killed by Hoffman. Using evidence from the death of Seth Baxter (the pendulum trap seen in Saw V), Perez and Erickson were on the verge of discovering that Mark Hoffman was the man continuing Jigsaw’s games. Hoffman accompanied Erickson and Perez when they were about to learn that it was his voice on the audio tape found at Baxter’s death, and Hoffman killed Erickson, Perez, and the lab technician working with them. Erickson’s throat was slashed, and he was burned to death in a fire set by Hoffman.

Forensics Personnel

Forensics were always a part of the Jigsaw investigations, but it wasn’t until the movie Jigsaw that they had leading roles. Listed here are the prominent characters who worked in forensics and supported (or worked against) law enforcement.

Medical Examiner Logan Nelson

Appearances: Jigsaw

Logan Nelson was the medical examiner who helped police investigate the Jigsaw murders that occurred about ten years after the death of John Kramer. Nelson was secretly the man responsible for the new Jigsaw games, so he manipulated evidence and misled police. He was also an apprentice of John Kramer’s, claiming to be Jigsaw’s first apprentice. Since he is a killer in the Saw franchise, his entire story can be read over in the article “The Killers of the Saw Franchise Explained“.

Pathologist Eleanor Bonneville

Appearances: Jigsaw

Eleanor Bonneville was a pathologist who worked closely with medical examiner Logan Nelson. Secretly, Bonneville was a Jigsaw superfan. She participated in Jigsaw fan sites, and she built recreations of Jigsaw traps based on plans she found on the dark web. When her interests were discovered, she became a prime suspect for the new Jigsaw murders. However, she was really just being manipulated by Logan Nelson, the real killer, to unknowingly help provide him with an alibi.

Bonneville uncovered the location of the new Jigsaw murders, and she went there with Nelson. Nelson told Bonneville that Halloran was suspected of the murders, but he also feigned suspicion of her as a way to get her to convince herself that Halloran must be the killer. Halloran himself provided the best convincing when he followed Bonneville and Nelson to the site of the new Jigsaw games. Halloran aggressively tried to stop them, and that prompted Nelson to fight Halloran. Bonneville fled the scene firmly believing Halloran was guilty. It can be assumed that her testimony, along with Detective Keith Hunt’s, were enough to convince the world that Halloran was a disciple of Jigsaw.