Actually a good question! I tell you that while I am a law abiding citizen, I fear that you will break my door down because of false information and put me in jail for days until I prove my innocence. This is something that I never imagined in the past. It happens (in the news) occasionally today.
I do not depend upon the police to protect me, I depend upon the police to find the folks that robbed me or otherwise caused me harm. I can not depend upon you for my own protection - you are too many minutes away. That is a fact. You are the fact finders after the fact in almost all instances.
Yes, I am afraid of you because I am a law abiding citizen and today, that does not seem to matter. Too many times I’ve read about innocent citizens arrested for anything that the officer decides to charge (most often later dropped). That has become a common occurrence these days. And yes, there is the police brotherhood that cares more about their police brothers than they do about the innocent victims.
I still think of the police as a protective force but have begun to think a bit differently, probably due to negative stories in the news. Not always accurate but the cumulative effect is a problem.
I still support you in your car (on duty) but watch you with a suspicious eye.... That was not so a few years ago.
I might add that a lot of that has to do with recording a policeman while he is arresting or stopping someone. The police seem to think that they are not allowed to be recorded while they are doing their thing..(and don’t give me that interfering with the arrest crap). Does not seem to matter that the Supreme Court has decided the matter, they always resist, take the camera, arrest the folks, and otherwise cause problems! Seems that most of the police officers can’ abide by the laws that they support as long as it does not show them in a bad light.
Okay, now that you’ve got me on a roll... The Police are after revenue, not law enforcement! They set traps, use cameras, and other things to catch folks regardless if the citizen is endangering anyone. It’s become a matter of money only! And yes, stop light cameras are for money, usually cause more accidents though but that probably gets more money also. We have lost the idea of policing for safety long ago!