I agree with your statements, unfortunately there has been a “brain drain” from law enforcement, much as has occurred in the public schools. People who are seriously interested in good, ethical police work go for elite services such as the FBI, DEA or Secret Service, or go to law school and become district attorneys. So, local departments get more thuggish steroid heads, just as public schools seem to have more than their share of slutty teachers...
I think your post 68 was particularly summative of the general situation.
Like many other Freepers, I have a deep and abiding distrust of many LEOs. Most of the ones that I have encountered over the years tend to be overly aggressive and needlessly so.