Nor are they there to protect or serve. Every cop probably knows that it has been held in court, including SCOTUS time and again, police are under no duty to protect citizens.
Even if they know a crime is being committed against a citizen. So the only duty most respect is holding on to their government jobs.
The police are the enforcement arm of the law. Laws are powerless without that enforcement capability. Superior firepower, voice of authority, all that goes into enforcement.
It would be nice if they also have time to help old ladies across the street, and sometimes they do. I have seen officers do amazingly nice things for people, if they have the opportunity.
But I have no illusions that that's their job.
> Even if they know a crime is being committed against a citizen. So the only duty most respect is holding on to their government jobs.
I wouldn't go that far -- if a cop knows a crime is being committed against a citizen I would expect they would try to do something about it. That -is- their job.
Cops that are merely there for the power-glory, or to harass people, or to get to wield firearms without question, are not the shining examples of enforcement that I'd like to think are the standard. I don't personally know any cops that fall into that unfortunate category, but I agree, they certainly do exist.