I have met several police officers who could politely be described as disappointing, but the majority are genuinely good people. One coached me through the correct responses to give after I defended myself against several attackers who were all injured in their attack on me, and I was very grateful for his help. Others have helped me or others who were in need in other situations. Few are the type to strip search young girls for prurient reasons or to punish them. You may not have met many decent police officers, but they are out there in large numbers.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t deny there are good people who happen to be in law enforcement. There are people who won’t steal a pen from work, either.
My point is the practice of law enforcement is very like the craft of journalism. Despite some good people, the current standards and practice of the profession turns its practitioners into a very specific kind of criminal. The problem with police is the average citizen has no defense or recourse against these crimes, committed under color of law, unless the offending officer happens to be so egregiously stupid as to get irrefutably caught.
Just as free speech only needs protecting when its offensive, so cops are only “good” when they are good to those they “can” get away with treating badly.