> most of them are very decent people and don’t do nasty things.

That's not really the bar though. Police officers have exemplary powers, being the manifestation of the violence of the state. They must be held to a standard above "decent people".

And being personable and friendly is not the mark of a good cop. A good cop needs to be willing to stand up for the right thing even if their peers are doing something wrong. That has been documented to be exceptionally rare in the police.

Friendly, approachable police officers are still involved in systematic injustices too -- as long as the justice system punishes the poor and minorities more than others, the police are part of the problem. The police intake people into the justice system, and knowing this if they are targeting poor or minority people they are engaged in systematic problems.

So a friendly "nice guy" cop can still be a problem.

1) Let me ask you, should I have respect for a cop because of the uniform, allowance to carry a gun, has a badge etc? I'm asking, because I really don't know how high the vetting standards are for cops. Are they that high?

2) Also, do cops respect other cops because they also wear a uniform, carry a badge, etc? In my second-hand experience, no. Some cops think other cops are a piece of shit, regardless of them being cops.

3) Here's a way to piss a cop off and get a ticket: say, "If you wanted to serve your community, you could have been a fireman."

Being a cop is a shitty job that many cops I've met end up hating and they obsess over all the retirement mechanisms all the time - they talk about it incessantly. They also talk about how much people piss them off, how much other cops in their dept piss them off, etc. They hate the world to some degree, are very self-righteous as if they have some respect narcissism complex, and act like the only thing that keeps them from shooting or beating somebody is one more day closer to a full retirement and buying dogecoin to get rich.

Ok, so to circle back around, anybody still believe in this cop respect sacred cow? Do you really feel completely safe from a cop when you're pulled over and you tell the cop you aren't rolling the window down all the way?

It is all cops. What are the chances that the “decent people you know” would actually report on their fellow police officers if they saw then doing something illegal?