The alternative is to have cops that (1) lose that "respect my authority" posture that many seem to have adapted as of late (I had to deal with one just this morning, in fact), and (2) remember that they are civilians, just like the people they're protecting. Too many cops these days think they're bad-ass paramilitary commandos.
I was stopped by the latter type about a month ago, while driving in my truck. My crime? Paying the toll I was required to pay at an exact change tollbooth---fifty cents. I still don't know exactly why I was stopped.
But this punk fit the stereotype to a T---high and tight hard-charger haircut, aviator sunglasses, hell, he even had his blouse tucked properly in the Marine Corps style. He railed at me in his best R. Lee Ermy impression the entire time, and got extremely pissed at me because I answered his questions yes or no---and I told him I was not required to have a full-on conversation with him while his partner checked my credentials in the cruiser. He was a total parade deck Jarhead pining for his days in the Corps, and I was a long-haired blond dude in a pick-up truck.
And then he saw the sticker on my truck: US Naval Academy Alumni Association. All of a sudden I was this a-hole's "brother," and he tried to be all cool with me. Within minutes, my license was back in my hand and I was on my way.
I still have no idea why I was stopped.
My little tale is just one of the million or so you could probably collect in a fortnight if you wanted to. And you wonder why many people of all political persuasions don't really like cops?
That can be a real problem ... cops fresh out of the military, and forgetting that their mission has changed from "search and destroy" to "protect and serve". One might hope that the military folks over in Iraq now, working with the "concerned local citizens" to keep the peace might have an easier transition to being good civilian cops.