Years ago as a professional I stepped in and stopped two cops who were beating a drunk before dropping him off at the local shelter.
Within the week I was stopped by FOUR police cars on a busy road in town for having an expired sticker. They called a tow truck. I looked at the eight of them, with the two cops who assaulted the drunk in the forefront and asked, is this the payback for stopping you from beating up drunks? Slowly the other cars melted away and the abusers called off the tow truck.
I have watched police carefully since then.
I have seen remarkable police work, people who I have written letters about to their superiors.
I have seen mentally ill people who have been cared for and treated with respect and those who have been tazed so much into submission that they are catatonic or unable to move for days. Those who have been beaten (and believe me I know the difference between resistance wounds and bruises and beating wounds and bruises.
On the whole, I like the police despite the jerks.
Same here. I worked with the police department for a couple decades. Older guys are mostly mellow. But some of the newbie younger ones can be jerks. A brother-in-law cop would tell me stories of beatings inflicted on civilians. One time it was the wrong guy in a similar car, that they chased. Oops. He got disgusted after some years on the beat and switched to being a motorcycle cop. Another brother-in-law cop quit the force because he couldn't stomach others trying to make him join in on shady stuff. The bad ones make it tough for the others.