Are you sure that 7-11 clerks and cabbies die from flowers and niceness?
From the same page I got the previous stats from: http://www.forbes.com/2002/09/03/0903worksafe.html
The most common cause of death on the job in 2000, however, was the car accident, accounting for 23% of the total. Even police officers were slightly more likely to die behind the wheel than by homicide.
I don't really see a distinction. Cops have a job to do. Though it can occasionally be dangerous, no one makes them do it. I'm sorry, but I've run into too many cops in my life who are nothing more than bullies with badges and guns for me to put them on a pedistal, or in fact, cut them any slack at all when they step over the line. We citizens have rights, and from my, and apparently others posting on this thread's perspectives, we see all too often that stickling up for them, like Darrow did by asking why the cop was questioning him, will result in a cop getting upset and riled up beyond any sense of proportion because they feel like they are being 'dissed'.
It's a sad state of affairs, and one I don't see changing as long as police think of themselves as paramilitary 'law enforcement officers', rather than keepers of the peace. Many of us see cops as nothing but revenue generators for various government bodies. They certainly aren't on our side.
ya know, getting locked-up for literally no reason. cops inventing charges, impounding cars, random beatings.
the fact is that for the normal citizen, police are a necessary part of life, but they are to be ignored and avoided if possible. people don't want to see cops eat, sleep, yawn, laugh, chew gum, smoke. actually, they don't want to see cops at all unless cops are needed. which is fine, i guess.
aside from perhaps a traffic stop once every few years, you would be hard pressed to find people on this board who have routine run-ins with police, let alone truly negative run-ins. unless police interactions are part of their professional life for some reason.
as for 7-11 clerks and cabbies, getting shot is the result of a criminal act perpetrated upon them, not an active part of their job description.