I wish people understood that police are the standing army our founders warned us about. Like the myth of teachers being the best and brightest (they think so anyway), cops are not drawn from the top layer of the gene pool. The founders did NOT envision any sort of a permanent standing armed force controlled and run by the government.
A close relative was in the police academy in SF in 2009. Some of the anecdotes she related about those in the academy was disturbing. And, believe it or not, SF - at that time - was hard to get into, had some of the highest standards in the country.
I don’t know just when it happened. But some time ago police ceased to be “peace officers” and instead became “law enforcement officers”.
The operative word went from “peace” to “enforcement”. That is no small change.
I'm telling you though, its the PENSIONS....
it keeps the incompetent's in place and union rules protect them and the abusive....
but we supposedly have this concept of "leadership".....