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I love cops, as long as they do the job they’re paid to do, and don’t morph into some cross between Barney Fife and Robocop, as so many, many cops seem to do today. When I was a kid, even when I was a wild teenager, the cops could tell the difference between criminals and citizens. Now, they assume everybody is a criminal, and if they can’t find any reason to arrest or ticket you they tell you they’re going to “cut you a break” and let you go about your business. The worst run-in I had with bad cops was one night when I got pulled over on a busy street on the pretext of “weaving within my lane” (a standard excuse for harassment), and ended up getting my entire car searched and myself frisked with my hands on the trunk as traffic rolled by. About halfway through this charade, I realized I was being used as a training tool by one cop breaking in a rookie. The “experienced” cop (who I later found out had washed out of Highway Patrol school and had to take a job as night-shift small-town cop) told the rookie, a fat nervous kid, every move to make. After they went through the whole routine, they told me my belt buckle “looked like a weapon”, and that was why they frisked me. Then they told me they were going to “cut me a break” and let me go. I was so fricking mad I was shaking, but I just went home. Next day I complained to the Mayor, and found out a few days later that these punks had been harassing people all over town, to the point that a bunch of PO’d people showed up at the next city council meeting and complained. In the end, the Hypo washout was fired, and the rookie got a good talking-to. now a few years later, the rookie is out county sheriff (unelected). Like I said, I love cops, as long as they do their jobs. When they turn into jackbooted thugs, yeah, I hate ‘em.