There is only ONE road back to a respected police force.

[tularetom]

42. Actually we should have a police force that is respectFUL

In my experience (father and father in law of cops) most have little respect for those they are supposed to protect and serve. They view themselves as the centurions at the gates protecting civilization from the evil and chaos that lurks without but they have mostly scorn for those they serve, referring to just about any citizen by some ugly personal term and laughing at the misfortune of minorities, women, seniors and kids.

I blame the media for this because of the endless parade of cop shows on TV, most of which portray the police in just the way they see themselves, some sort of supermen who can ridicule their clients among themselves.

My kid thought it was bullshit and he told them so. Needless to say he got himself on the shitlist, and he bailed after about five years on the force. My son in law thought he could be one of the tough guys, but he was really kind of a softie inside and he left after a dozen years. I think the stress of keeping up the badass macho persona was stressing him out.

What these cops really need is to remember that they are serving us, they aren't prison guards and they need to show a little respect before they start demanding it for themselves.