Detective Eric Matthews.

Eric Matthews was a homicide detective who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department. Due to his aggressive and occasionally violent behavior towards suspects, he once broke a suspect's jaw with a flashlight and also gunned down an unarmed suspect. Eric came into conflict with the Internal Affairs Division several times. Despite these disputes, Eric was still respected by his colleagues, who considered him a fearless officer. However, unbeknownst to them, Eric was actually corrupt and faked the evidence in many of his cases and thereby wrongfully arrested several innocent people. 

Eric is a man teetering on the edge of a total breakdown. He’s a veteran detective who has seen too much and stopped caring about the rules a long time ago. He’s infamous for his "Officer Down" temper and a history of planting evidence to close cases—most notably framing Amanda Young. He is physically imposing but looks perpetually exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and a wardrobe of rumpled suits. His only tether to his humanity is his son, Daniel, though their relationship is strained and filled with shouted arguments.

Eric had a temperamental and focused personality. These traits regularly caused him to lose his temper when things didn't go his way. He often acted aggressively and sometimes even turned violent in such situations, which repeatedly brought him into conflict with the Internal Affairs Department. Additionally, Eric tended to see himself as the victim and had problems admitting his own mistakes. He also didn't care about other people's feelings and had been loyal to no one other than himself and, to a lesser extent, his son and a select few colleagues.

His egoism became apparent when Eric faked evidence in numerous cases and thereby unjustly arrested innocent people who were subsequently convicted. In doing so, he pushed his career at the expense of others. Another example of his dishonesty and lacking loyalty was his affair with Allison Kerry, which ultimately resulted in a messy divorce from his wife and his alienation from Daniel. Despite their strained relationship, Eric deeply loved his son and was willing to go to great lengths to save him when Jigsaw abducted him. However, he didn't ask for his son throughout Daniel Rigg's game, indicating that Eric had given up his hope that he would ever see Daniel again.

Eric also had a smug and sarcastic attitude, when Kerry apologized to him and asked for his help in the Jigsaw case he merely responded that she's the "Jigsaw expert". He also excused himself when Kerry asked him when he stopped being a real cop with his desk work and all his personal issues. When the Metropolitan Police found Jigsaw's hideout and Eric finally got a chance to meet him he approached and teasing him asked him if that's "close enough", refering to the message he left for Eric in the crime scene. He was also quite

Furthermore, his mental condition was negatively affected by his months-long confinement. Due to the trauma caused by Jigsaw's game and Eric's subsequent imprisonment, the latter had lost his will to live, which was evidenced by his attempted suicide and his demands on Art Blank to kill him. However, he asked him to free them shortly before Rigg's game ended, suggesting that Eric briefly regained his desire to survive.

Role: Homicide Detective / Protagonist (Saw II) / Victim .

Misconduct: Fabricated evidence, planted evidence on suspects, assaulted suspects, and shot an unarmed individual.

Key Relationships: Estranged father of Daniel Matthews; strained relationship with ex-wife; affair with Detective Allison Kerry.