It goes without saying that police have a difficult job that is, at times dangerous. Sometimes life threatening, even on the shoulder of the road writing a ticket.
But it also goes without saying that they are entrusted with tremendous power and authority, also to the point of lethality.
It's on that basis that I think the public has to be able to trust in their judgement, common sense and even their humanity. That IS a lot of responsibility, but if you have such power, including state sanctioned violence as an option then so be it.
To deserve that trust I think police officers must walk a very narrow line, with hard and immovable guardrails on both sides. Any hint of illegality should be dealt with quickly, not dragged out for months or years. Criminal cases involving police should take precedent ahead of others, if only to engender trust by the general public.
Too often we've heard of officers who've been involved in or committed criminal acts, yet are on paid leave for months or years, or are just demoted in some cases such as impaired driving. These incidents contribute to our general distrust of authority, along with the occasional stories of the "power trippers".