Police officers choose their vocation for a variety of reasons, and most are aware of the risks involved. They serve an important role in our society, but let's not inflate their position more than necessary. Police officers, for the most part, enforce laws, but it's not feasable for them to prevent most crimes from happening.

cops are not your friends. i say this all the time. cops are just guys who want to commit crimes, but are smart enough to jump on the 'right' side, so they can cover it all up. they are also the mindless soldiers of a government that seeks to impose religiously based law on the populace.
these statements are based mostly on my own opinion, but i'm sure i can find factual basis for them if you really need it.
cops are the ones who come to throw you in a jail with murderous psychos and rapists when you assault or kill someone while in the process of trying to defend your life, loved ones, home, or property. up theirs. when they come for me, you can be sure they'll be staring down a shotgun. they can't protect you in the first place, and when you protect yourself, you become a suspect.

the threat of the 'douchebags' is enough for universal distrust in my eyes. they rightly assume any armed person is dangerous. to do otherwise would be folly. i rightly assume any cop is either looking to lock me up or abuse his power in some way.
note: in the 'burbs, sure, good cops might outnumber the bad, but i live in the city. here, they wait til the shooting's done, and then come rolling in to clean up the bodies and collect a nice, safe paycheck. maybe they're right to do so, the ones who don't, get shot (Skerski, Faulkner, the one at 2nd and south a few months back). but from my standpoint, if that's the way they're gonna do things, i'd rather they not be there at all.