Roger Murtaugh

"I'm too old for this shit!"

- Roger Murtaugh, using one of his most famous catchphrases.

Roger Murtaugh is a Homicide detective with the LAPD and one of the two main protagonists of the Lethal Weapon film series along with his partner Sgt. Martin Riggs.

Murtaugh is portrayed by Danny Glover in all four films of the series and carries a Smith & Wesson Model 19 revolver chambered in .357 Magnum as his main sidearm.

He is well known for his catchphrases: "I'm too old for this shit" and "It's been revoked!" both of which are common staples of both Glover and the character, and have been parodied in numerous other films.

Lethal Weapon (1987)
Murtaugh is a straitlaced veteran homicide detective sergeant and family man. He was a lieutenant of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the U.S. Army, and served in the Vietnam War. He joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1967 and is considering retirement, hence his catchphrase, "I'm too old for this shit". He is partnered with "loose cannon" and fellow Vietnam War veteran Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) to investigate a suspected suicide of the daughter of one of Murtaugh's old friends. Though the two initially cannot stand each other and resent each other's presence, Murtaugh gains respect for Riggs when Riggs saves his life. After Murtaugh discovers that his old friend from the Vietnam War, Michael Hunsaker, has been laundering the profits from a heroin-trafficking cartel, he confronts Hunsaker and learns the details of the organization before Mr. Joshua, the cartel's primary henchman, murders Hunsaker. The cartel kidnaps Murtaugh's older daughter, Rianne, in an attempt to make Murtaugh divulge what Hunsaker told him. Murtaugh and Riggs set an ambush, which fails. The cartel tortures Murtaugh, and threatens to torture Rianne as well, until Riggs rescues them. He manages to kill General McAllister, the head of the cartel, by shooting the driver of his car, causing a bus-versus-car crash and a gigantic explosion. He backs up Riggs as he fights and subdues Mr. Joshua, and then shoots Mr. Joshua when he attempts to shoot Riggs. By the end of the film, he has forgone retirement and accepted Riggs into his family.

Lethal Weapon 2
Murtaugh is targeted by a South African drug cartel fronted by ruthless diplomat Arjen Rudd and his second-in-command Pieter Vorstedt, who has Murtaugh and his wife tied up and gagged in their own home. To assist Riggs' investigation of the South African consulate, Murtaugh portrays a man named Alphonse who wants to emigrate to South Africa to help overthrown apartheid. Following this, Murtaugh fights off two attackers in his home with a nail gun and rescues Federal witness Leo Getz from the cartel. He helps Riggs track down and kill the other members of the cartel when it is revealed that the cartel murdered Riggs' wife Victoria Lynn four years back and later they murdered Rika Van Den Haas. This includes an assault on a cargo ship which ends in the death of the remaining members of the cartel, including Rudd, whom Murtaugh kills after he shoots Riggs, saying the catchphrase "It's been revoked." after Rudd reminds him of diplomatic immunity. Riggs shows his humorous side by pranking Murtaugh repeatedly.

Lethal Weapon 3
Murtaugh and Riggs mishandle a car bomb, which destroys a building. As punishment, both are reduced in rank to patrolman, but regain their previous rank when they foil an armored car robbery and reveal a gun running cartel. While investigating this cartel, Murtaugh kills a fifteen-year-old boy to save his own and Riggs' life; the boy is revealed to be Darryl Smithers, a friend of Murtaugh's son Nick. Murtaugh is overcome by guilt and turns to isolation and alcohol until Riggs helps him forgive himself. Murtaugh helps Riggs and Internal Affairs officer Lorna Cole destroy the cartel. As a comical sidelight, Murtaugh also helps Riggs quit smoking by giving him dog biscuits instead; he does show some anger towards Riggs, however, when he believes that Riggs is becoming romantic with his daughter Rianne, which Riggs tells him he's not, and that he's spoken for by Lorna.

Lethal Weapon 4
Murtaugh and Riggs are both promoted to Captain, particularly because of all the past damage they have done in solving their cases, which caused the Police Department to lose their insurance carrier. They are promoted instead of demoted or fired because they are veteran officers, and since firing them isn't really an option for the department. By becoming captains, it is assumed that they would cause less trouble, but are later returned to the rank of Sergeant after the later events of the film after the city had been self-insured. Murtaugh's oldest daughter Rianne is pregnant with his first grandchild and is secretly married to LAPD Sergeant Lee Butters, but she decides not to tell her father until after the baby is born. However, Riggs unintentionally tells Murtaugh after Lorna tells him the secret. When Murtaugh accidentally kills the brother of a ruthless crime lord, Riggs and Murtaugh engage in a brutal hand-to-hand combat with the crime lord. When Riggs nearly drowns after the struggle between him and the crime lord, Riggs grabs a submerged AK-47 and shoots the crime lord, killing him in the process. Riggs swims back up to the surface, only to be back underwater after being pinned under a broken piece of the pier. Murtaugh dives in and saves his life. In the end, Murtaugh accepts his daughter's marriage to Lee Butters and his baby granddaughter.