[jamroom]

I think there is more to this as well - it seems like policing is seen more as a source of revenue for cities than it is about protecting or serving the citizens of the city. I used to live in Lynnwood, WA and they added ~20 new officers in 2015 or so - by far the bulk were on "traffic". They had just spent 25+ million on a new rec center and updated library and needed to get that money from somewhere. Around that time my house was broken in to and the police saw it 100% as an insurance issue. I think A LOT of people don't see local police as anything other than another form of tax on the local citizens, and I believe it has changed the TYPE of person that wants to BECOME a police officer - from someone that is interested in helping their fellow citizen to someone that likes the feeling of power they get over others.