I look at police this way-
They are where the rubber meets the road in our Constitutionally guaranteed rights. The engine is up there (politicians), but that engine can sit and spin all day if the rubber don't meet the road.
Cops should be the disconnect between a tyrannical government and the citizenry, but sadly they are not. They have demonstrated that they do the will of the higher ups regardless of the what the law says. This is my beef with cops. They need to say no to tyrannical government that seeks only to trample and enslave.
In fact, they could do a 180 and arrest those above them for breaking the law when unscrupulous power hungry politiicians and activist governmental employees seek to subvert our Constitution. But, they don't, and won't, and are therefore agents of the state, not guardians of the law.
It's why they no longer hire anyone with an IQ over 105, and actively promote the 'less capables'...as they cannot have intelligent officers refusing their obviously illegal policies, and calling them out for their willful disobedience to the Law of the Land.
I almost wanted to be a LEO at one time to ensure my community was policed decently, but after dealing with them in my teens/twenties I realized that my Moral code is elevated beyond their 'normal' capacity, and to rub shoulders with them would be extremely grating to my Soul. Years later I found that they actively deny a candidate based on his higher than allowed intelligence. Suffice to say I'd be turned away from my HS scores alone I'm sure, and I never completed sophomore year. Let that sink in.