In the 1950's very much better, only a couple of bad apples, steady deterioration to present.
An ex-brother-in-law is an SFPD cop. We were close friends as teens before we met our respective wives (sisters). He was a punk, always in trouble with cops. He became a cop, and would tell me stories about cops beating the crap out of people. Later, he mellowed out and no longer wanted to be around the bad apples. As you say, things have gotten worse over the decades. A neighbor of mine is the widow of a cop killed a decade ago. Either side getting killed hurts the families who are left behind. Not good.