It means only the father was well-regarded by the police. It can mean that the cops KNOW the dad will deal his son, as likely as any other speculation. I’ve seen both, and usually the respect is based on the cop knowing the family, rather than fearing it.
Ok - put it this way. If Obama has this connection to this Judge through his friend it might have helped him and his mother in the filing of birth certifications or what have you.
The Judge might not necessarily had been directly involved but they could have name dropped when needed etc.
Or not. There is a lot of speculation in this thread. This is just one other angle.
And regardless of whether the police knew he would "deal with his son" fact is - the son used the connection to the Judge to bend (actually break) the law.