"for me, the show makes me care less and less about whether the officers follow every single letter of the law."
Why are you participating in a conservative discussion board?
Sorry if my comment sounded flippant. I was originally responding to someone who said that constitutional violations are rapant on "Cops." I find that hard to believe -- I'm not expert but I have only very seldom seen anything on "Cops" that looks to me like a constiutional violation. If there are those violations going on, then it seems to me they must be so technical or so non-substantive that they pale in comparison with the good being done by the police officers on ths show.
I'm not worried about the cops who are on "Cops" -- I'm worried about the cops who don't have a TV camera following them around. There are a few real bad apples in that bunch, and I do indeed care if they are bending or breaking the law. As I've said many times before, an out-of-control government or government agent is thousands of times more dangerous and scary than any street criminal. The worst individual criminals have killed a handfull of people, while the worst criminals in government have killed tens of millions -- that shows where our real worries should be.