discussion not too long ago over a beer with an acquaintance of mine who has been a cop and now works on police advocacy issues. He's a good guy, but he got really hot and bothered when I brought up my view that the police often circle the wagons when the taxpayers ask for accountability. He did this even while acknowledging that there are cops on the force who are racists or are hot-headed, but he thought it was best handled internally and without scrutiny, proving the point I thought.

Now, I think he was right about some things, including that the majority of cops are just trying to do their jobs fairly. I also think we put them in a tough position with drug policy, for example. But I don't know why as a society we continue to give the cops a pass on their behavior and why usually police tactics and internal behaviors are able to avoid public accountability. I get that the job is hard. So what? I get that the job can be dangerous, though it isn't as dangerous as the police make it out to be. The bottom line is I think sometimes the police forget who they work for. It's our job to remind them, not enable them.