"What the Police are REALLY supposed to do:  Protect and serve the community (including doing nothing if people actually behave civilized)."
 
That rule holds down here too. Some of them need to read the side of their car more often but I can imagine it must be a damned stressful occupation.

Well, it IS (usually) a thankless job.  When they're doing their job nobody seems to notice, but if they do anything a bit off, everyone blows up.

Just to get some perspective of what kind of institutional idiocy we're dealing with when it comes to the NYPD, today we had Commissioner Bratten come out and blame marijuana for the "vast majority of drug related violence" in the city, and he actually had the bare faced audacity to use this entirely unsubstantiated "fact" as an argument against legalization, as if the prohibition of weed has nothing to do with the crime surrounding it in he first place. You can't fake stupidity like that.

http://dailym.ai/1Tz3pBn

I remember when squad cars had brooms/dust pans in the trunk to clean up glass and debris after traffic accidents.  When was the last time you saw a cop car stop and remove hazards from a roadway?
 
 

The NYPD doesn't even investigate traffic accidents properly, let alone clean up after them. You can come tearing around a corner in your SUV whilst chatting on your cellphone, fail to yield to and kill a toddler on the crosswalk, and the NYPD will issue its standard "no criminality was suspected" statement within minutes. It infuriates most New Yorkers.

craigb
Well, it IS (usually) a thankless job.  When they're doing their job nobody seems to notice, but if they do anything a bit off, everyone blows up.

That's our entire culture..a culture of critique.  The quote (attributed to Voltaire) that *to see who rules over you, know who you cannot criticize* has been turned into *to  have power over someone, criticize them*. 

BobF
I remember when squad cars had brooms/dust pans in the trunk to clean up glass and debris after traffic accidents.  When was the last time you saw a cop car stop and remove hazards from a roadway?
 
 

You can blame the ACLU for suing departments for the mess not getting cleaned up. Police have been sued for everything from "stealing evidence" to causing wrecks because they missed a piece somewhere. It's usually the official duty of the fire department or a city organization to clean up the mess. There are so many wrecks here in Austin that there are piles of broken parts that the city comes by and occasionally cleans up. Austin actually holds the world record for accidents. We averaged 750 accidents per hour for a 24 hour period when we had an ice storm a few years ago.
 
And yeah, unless someone is getting hurt, it's best to leave people alone and let EMS handle it. If they hurt EMS, or a bystander, then they get involved. Fighting with the crazy homeless isn't fun. In Austin, 70% of the homeless population tests positive for MRSA, and a lot also test positive for hepatitis and AIDS. Homeless people like to bite.
 
I have a friend who works at the local emergency room as armed security, and he has problems all the time, especially with the homeless. He got married, and two weeks later started at the emergency room. He was escorting a trans homeless person, who only weighed maybe 100 lbs. from the hospital because the person wouldn't leave after being treated and was harassing people for money including threats. They person had actually made it via the elevator to the heart ward and was threatening the families and messing with the equipment that people were hooked up to that kept them alive. As they were going out the door, the subject grabbed my friends arm and sank his teeth into his forearm. He was bit so deep that the teeth actually went into his muscle. Austin Police are also on duty, and could only get the person to let go after they knocked him unconscious. The person had already tested positive for AIDS and Hepatitis C. My friend was ordered by his doctor to undergo testing every two weeks to see if either disease shows up. This isn't paid for by the hospital or insurance, it comes out of his pocket. He was also ordered by his doctor to not have sex for two years in case he infects someone else, which has put a huge strain on his marriage. They were planning to have kids as soon as possible, and now that can't happen for a while. He hasn't shown any signs of disease transference, but it could take years for AIDS to show up.
 
I have at least 200 stories of this type of thing happening, and know people, both cops and security, who have contracted MRSA, Hepatitis and AIDS after being attacked which amounts to a death sentence in a lot of cases. On just 6th street, the local bar district, police average an assault against them every 32 hours. And before anyone states, "it's just a slap" or some other nonsense, I'll introduce you to my ex-cop friend who had to have 170 stitches in his face after he was repeatedly slapped while wrestling with a woman who had a razor blade between her fingers. A lot of what goes on in American cities, especially the tourist areas, is suppressed by city governments for tourist dollars. Two years ago there was a fight involving 52 people downtown. 13 people stabbed, 2 shot, 6 run over, and not a word about it on the news. When I asked a local reporter that worked next to my building a couple of days later, she said that her supervisor wouldn't allow her to run the story because the city didn't want to advertise "black violence" in Austin because it would bring down the credit rating for the city. 
 
I'm not a cop, but I am level III security licensed under DPS, which means I get to carry a gun and tell people what to do. I've had more than my fair share of scrapes and fights. We actually have more freedom than the police when it comes to confronting or even shooting people. Police will often allow ride-alongs, so I suggest that everyone do it. It'll open you eyes as to what's actually going on in your neighborhood.

Resonant Serpent
Police will often allow ride-alongs, so I suggest that everyone do it. It'll open you eyes as to what's actually going on in your neighborhood.

I haven't done ride alongs, but I have done several months of civic duty that brought me up close and personal with what police have to deal with every day.  I came away from that experience realizing that police interaction is mostly with [insert favorite epithet for the less than responsible members of our society].  All day.  Every day.
 
I agree about litigation.  IMO, litigation has all but destroyed many aspects of our society.