Further proof that unsound principles yield bad results. The institution of 'police' as a law-enforcement tool is incompatible with Liberty. The Founders abhorred a standing army in peace-time society - the police constitute precisely that.

The original and proper American system of law-enforcement consisted of a locally elected officer - the sheriff - who depended upon temporary deputies enlisted from the community to deal with actual emergencies. This provided local accountability on at least two levels - election day and the potential refusal of the good people of the county to arbitrarily victimize their neighbors by enforcing bad laws or following bad orders from the sheriff (another level missing from today's judicial system is the jury's ability/duty to nullify bad laws). Today, the police are not effectively accountable to anyone. It should surprise no one when this sort of crap becomes 'normal'.