This story, in light of the tazzering of a student at UCLA Friday, and GW's push for warrantless spying on Americans should scare the bejeezes out of all Americans. This is not the land of jack-booted thugs it is the land of the free. Hopefully we will be brave enough to ensure that it remains that way.

I can take a stab at what's led America's police to lose sight of truth and justice as the American way.
Imagine your father's a cop--and in twenty years on the job he's never been in a fight or been shot at (which the odds are all for)--sure thing you're the one who's going to be all "gung ho" to join the force.
Not to mention the fact that few people know that Santa Clara, CA, Sheriffs, for example, start at $65K, plus there's that million dollar pension.
But at the same time, pop's always ranting and raving about what losers minorities, ect. are...
Now, isn't our "piglet" going to grow up "brainwashed," but the thing is, chances are that his community college has a class where he can learn how to pass the psychological tests used by the police hiring process...
Of course, if your dad is a cop, and you apply for a poisition, well, aren't you a "shoe in." Saving the old man how much in tuition...?
And furthermore, after cops in general have all been painted "black," who's going to want to be one?
Yeah, exactly how funny is it that in the last election the Man went on the air complaining that this certain CA politician didn't vote to ban assault rifles--when, in fact, every citizen has the opportunity to introduce a voter's initiative to ban them. Like really, what kind of support would there be for legalized military weapons--maybe one voter in a thousand?
And how is it that CA's politicians failed to pass the Three Strikes Law (not that it's good the way it's written)--which ended up cutting CA's serious crime in half!
Yeah, thanks Man!!!

I've known a few cops in my life and I've "experienced" a few more in encounters over the years. There's some good, some bad. Some of the guys I've known were coke users, some were drug dealers, some boasted about beating people up. Others I've known were decent, hard-working guys doing a tough job and trying their best to maintain a balanced perspective. But make no mistake, there are bullies on police forces across our Nation and they can go off at almost any time and without any real provocation or reason to do so.

When cops are allowed by their supervisors to cross the line and commit unwarranted violence without penalty, they are given the message that such behavior is acceptable. The problem in our police forces is as rampant as it is in our state and federal governments and in many of our major corporations. We allow greed, vice, and corruption to flourish in institutions where trust and honor are supposed to serve as essential governing philosophies.

The real problem isn't limited to just a few bad cops. There is a sickness in our nation. It pervades all walks of life and every strata of society. It manifests in myriad ways, including abusive police behavior, but also as insurance fraud, as athletes who cheat to win, or children who download the answers to their homework from the Internet rather than study and think their way to the right answers. We're lazy. We don't want to have to work hard for the things we want. We take shortcuts when we can, even if it means putting those around us at risk or disadvantage. We've become a selfish people. Not all of us, there are plenty of good people all acorss America, but a great many of us do bend the legal and/or ethical rules from time-to-time. And yes, I do include myself here among the guilty.

This is not a political problem, it's a social problem. A great many of us, I dare say most of us, are collectively guilty as a nation of looking the other way when faced with illegal, immoral or unethical behavior, of pretending we are not part of the problem. Until we have the courage and the honesty to admit that each of us contributes to this mess in our own way, until we choose to lead by example and strive to better ourselves simply because it's the right thing to do, until we intervene when we see injustice, we will struggle together in the muck of our own creation.

A civilization that degrades its police force is a civilization doomed.

God Bless the police!

Deacon, you have stated the problem perfectly! It is a SOCIAL problem and it starts at the TOP!