The only problem with that is that it's not the truth...
When a cop screws up, typically, his career is over. Defense attorneys would have a field day with any cop who has screwed up and at some later date has to testify against someone. In situations where an officer fouls up, the Department usually starts looking for his replacement.
I've seen it take as little as not filling out paperwork about two kids calling each other names and being told to go home. That officer lost a career over a non-incident. Real situations usually involve law suits.
In your job if you make a mistake, you probably won't get fired, sued, or arrested (not to mention the opportunity to get shot or stabbed if you really mess up).
I suspect that I know a helluva lot more cops than most here on FR. I know of only two with the "king's men" complex you're talking about. I don't subscribe to that thinking, but I understand it.
If you had to deal with hostile criminals, a non-supportive agency, and people who automatically blame the cops when anything goes wrong, you might understand that mentality a bit better. It might help to not paint with such a broad brush too...
If ya cannot stand the heat, get out of the effing kitchen. Nobody MAKES them be a cop, if they cannot do it legally and with professionalism, they have no business in the profession. Claiming that cops, and other public officials, do not get off lighter than the general puplic does for the same offense demonstrates a complete disconnect from reality on your part.
Yeah, tell that to the rape victims in N/W arkansas, some 2 dozen or so, who were raped by an officer, and when it was reported, each time, the officer was quitely given the opportunity to resign, keep his record clean, and even given a good job recommendation so he could get work at a different police department. He was shuffled around more than a half dozen times in that manner, because the police departments did not want scandal, and the good recommendations were so he could get a job elsewhere and thus expedite him leaving. Meanwhile, he was passed along to someone else, other small towns who were not informed about his activities, and more women were victimized as a result.
Typical of your occupation, you have that "knowitall" attitude. You "assume" that you are in an elite club and us "outsiders" just don't get it.
You should always be aware that some of us are more in-tune with your job than you would "assume".
Which is why the "kings men" attitude charge has more validity than not.
Often they just move to another state (or even another county) and get a new law enforcement job. This behavior has been a big scandal in both New Mexico and Texas.