[kragen]

> I wouldn't be too quick to write all cops off as bad. There are definitely a good number of "good" cops.

"Good" and "bad" are very complicated. Nobody is purely good or purely bad. But police corruption was universal in US police departments until 1971, when http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Serpico became the first US policeman to testify against his colleagues, for which he got shot in the head. Up to that point, every US policeman was engaged in a cover-up operation to protect other corrupt policemen. Since then, there are a few exceptions; now, it's only nearly every US policeman who engages in such cover-ups.

But it's important to understand that the people who do this believe that what they are doing is good. The Blue Code of Silence is not merely enforced by intimidation and threats of violence. It's a matter of honor.