“The shits of it is you just cant tell about cops anymore. Its like Russian roulette...”
A gun shop owner and former cop told me about a time he was transporting a bunch of guns from one store to his shop. He was stopped for speeding. Fine. The cop asked if there were any guns in the car.
“About 20 of them in the trunk”, the owner replied.
The next thing he knew the cop’s Glock was against his temple while the cop shouted, “You FN with me? You FN with me?” He tried to explain he owned a gun shop, but he ended up face down on the pavement until other cops arrived.
Said he’s been afraid of cops ever since - and he used to be one. Felt he came close to dying for giving an honest answer - one required by law in Arizona.
That is certainly not ALL cops. Not even close to a majority based on my interactions. But like you said, on any given stop, you just don’t know.
There is an us and them mentality. Us being the police fraternity and them being everyone else. Everyone else is treated as the lowest common denominator...scum. The good, bad and ugly all treated in the same faux macho gruff manner. Zero human skills. All the fault of the political structure which is responsible for recruiting, selecting, training and inculcating desired traits. FAIL.
I remember the good old days growing up on south side of Chicago which might as well have been Dublin. As kids we were scared shitless of the officer Paddy O’briens standing on the corner twiring their billy clubs. But they were always smiling, cheerful and helpful...as long as you didnt cross them. The last thing in the world they would do though is shoot someone like they do these days. More like British bobbies.