Bullcrap. How much does Lois Lerner make? How about Eric Holder?
Most police are being trained:
a) that all citizens are potential perps, and should be treated accordingly
b) that they must "take charge" of the situation immediately in order to minimize risk to themselves, so an attack on their authority or ignoring their commands is a direct threat to them
c) they are "highly trained" and civies are not, so that they should naturally be in charge and civies don't know what they are talking about, by default.
These attitudes are intentional and prevalent (and taught in the academy... I know this for a FACT). Add to this the massive affirmative action most police forces implement so that they can get the "right" number of women, et al., on the force, and you have the recipe for police misconduct. It's about the kind of people you look for (morally) and how you train them. Police have never made large salaries... but they weren't the same kind of people in the past.
It has literally nothing to do with salaries.
Never talk to a cop. Get an attorney. Most cops will attempt to screw you. Avoid them, if possible. It is a sad state of affairs.