Jaxvid,
While there are obviously a lot of honest, well intentioned police officers, I believe the majority are power mad, unconscionable jerks who salivate over the authority the state gives them. How many videos of these guys abusing their power do you have to see? Thank goodness that some of their behavior is now being caught on tape. I think that you and I agree on how screwed up our society is; who do you think oversees this mess on the ground level?
Police used to be called peace officers; their primary function was the keep the peace. That worked pretty well- they were given limited power, tended to walk the beat in their own communities, and were not likely to abuse or harrass their own neighbors and friends. Gradually, they have morphed into law enforcement officers, with the task of enforcing a constantly increasing number of unconstitutional laws. They are also under pressure to bring in revenue, thus the concentration on petty traffic offenses (illegal u-turns, etc.) Because of this emphasis on nabbing upstanding citizens for tiny breaches of "the law" while driving their cars, they are almost completely unequipped to tackle real crime.
I've extensively researched high profile crimes from the JFK assassination to the Lindbergh kidnapping to the D.C. snipers, and one common thread runs through them; the laughable mistakes and ineptitude of law enforcement. When you pressure these guys to write as many tickets as possible, while they hide behind bushes in order to do so, they are bound to be unprepared to investigate real crime and deal with real criminals. This is especially obvious in areas that don't have a lot of violent crime. Look at the D.C. snipers- these were not rocket scientists, but they couldn't get the cops to look their way, despite trying over and over again. They even tacked a sign to a tree at one shooting site, but the keystone kops never saw it. They actually had to call the FBI hotline (several times, because the clueless dispatcher kept hanging up on them) and direct them to this note, which was pretty conspicuous.
This is not just about race. While I sympathize with cops who serve in city areas, who have to deal with the scum of society on a daily basis, that still doesn't excuse their abuse of authority. And what is the excuse for the attitudes of those police officers who serve in quiet, middle class areas, where the people are mostly white and generally solid citizens? Have you seen some of the jerks who've been caught on tape harrassing young white skater kids? See You Tube for many examples. These kids were not bothering anyone, and the cops in each case acted like military police dealing with dangerous enemies.
I am about as far removed from being a troublemaker as possible, but despite my efforts to mind my business, I have been harrassed by the police myself over the years. On one memorable occasion, about 15 years ago, I was about to leave for work one evening, when a cop car turned on his flashing lights and blocked my way. I was parked in front of the townhouse where I was living then, and needless to say I was startled. The cop jumped out of his car and shouted "what the hell do you think you're doing?" My offense- I had placed a bag of trash on top of my car, as I often did, to drive over to the pickup site for our development, which was about 100 yards away. I did this regularly, as most of my neighbors did, in order to save a little time. I then had to listen while this ignorant fool, drunk with his little bit of authority, lectured me for a full 10 minutes over the "danger" inherent in what I was doing. I tried to reason with him, but this is always a mistake with cops. The less you say, the better. This clown wasted his time, and abused his authority, in order to harrass a solid, law abiding citizen, over nothing. Nothing! There are other examples, but that one really stands out. Keep in mind, I lead a nice, middle class existance, and don't consort with street thugs. There would be no reason for me to have anything other than positive experiences with law enforcement. Like many other people, however, that hasn't been the case with me.
If you really think cops are the "good guys," then there is really nothing else I can say.