[atombath]

Shown here are two good reasons for why people don't respect the police anymore. They take your assets due to a subtle association to a crime. They spend it without oversight on tools of mass surveillance. Ultimately, both of these things exacerbate crime. Quite an occupying force nowadays.

[simplemath]

There are many police departments that should be brought up on RICO charges.

[prawn]

They're clearly in the wrong on these things, but I wonder how hard it is to resist a strong "us vs those thugs" reaction when you're dealing with criminals day after day. Do they view this as collateral damage? There are innocent lives lost in military action. Does the prevailing attitude and a sense of permitting some collateral damage make it easier for them to excuse this sort of behaviour?