The Badge is a 2002 mystery-thriller film directed by Robby Henson and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Patricia Arquette and William Devane.

[3] La Salle Parish, Louisiana Sheriff Darl Hardwick investigates the controversial local murder of a transgender woman,[4] with the highly sensitive matter being concealed as much as possible by the parish's most influential figures, such figures even going so far as to frame Hardwick for statutory rape involving a local waitress.

With his career as sheriff at an end, Hardwick takes a personal stake in the investigation after becoming acquainted with Scarlett, the victim's widow.

Hardwick heads down a somewhat reckless path to understanding the victim's world, reconciliation for past sins, and a series of dark truths within the parish itself.

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