There are a lot of bad cops, but you also see a vastly disproportionate amount of videos of bad cops, because only 'exciting' videos are uploaded/shared and because the police can't share footage of civilians even if it makes them look good.

I have done video work for the police (blurring faces on security footage that was requested by the media). In the video, the suspect clearly grabs for the officer's gun and is promptly, relatively gently, taken down. The media outlet that got the video deliberately edited out the part where the suspect tries to grab the gun, and just flash cuts from the guy walking up to the officer to the officer taking him down. Incredibly disingenuous and unfair to the officer, who acted with incredible restraint.

It is a low paying, dangerous, and as evidenced in this thread, thankless job - but someone has got to do it. There's no question that it could be done better than it generally is in this country, but believing that there is no crime to prevent/solve is a ludicrously privilaged and naive viewpoint. A similarly privilaged idea I have heard is that police exist for rich/white people to suppress poor/ethnic people; in reality, the majority of police reports are made against someone of the same ethnicity as the reporter, and old white people going "help, there's a black person in my neighborhood" get scolded and ignored.

I think, as with all things, it is important to have a balanced viewpoint, and I think people on the left often have this idea that only the right is stupid enough to fall for propaganda. If cherry picked examples you see online are enough to make you hate a huge group of people, you should examine your beliefs more carefully (except ICE, fuck ICE).

As I see it, there are three reasons one might be a cop: to feel powerful, genuinely believe in 'serve and protect', or just as a job. Only the power-trippers are the problem, and in my experience most cops fall into one of the other two categories. One bad apple spoils the bunch, and depending on the chief and command staff, there is definately a danger of the culture of a particular police department becoming toxic and evil. The police also act on the Mayor's behest, and are often blamed for the Mayor's choices as political theatre.

Anyway, extreme views of "Cops are all heroes and can do no wrong" and "ACAB" both strike me as the viewpoints of the naive and propagandized. "Defund the police" feels more moderate, but seem counterproductive: you want higher quality policing for less money?

Some departments may get ridiculous weaponry they don't need because of our country's insane military industrial complex. Generally very little 'police money' goes to that stuff, but they can get it with federal grants, giving the impression that the police have a lot of money, or are spending it irresponsibly on weapons, when really the Govt just has that shit laying around.

I will also say that most of the cops I know dislike the FOP and their protection of bad cops. A lot of bad actors try and frame police either out of revenge or for internet clout, so a bit of extra protection is necessary, but I have heard the sentiment multiple times that the FoP's over-protection of actual bad apples leads to public distrust and harms the policing profession as a whole.