Story of my dad and a cop : Bad_Cop_No_Donut

Story of my dad and a cop : Bad_Cop_No_Donut
You know, I can remember seeing ads and short sequences in children's books when I was growing up in the mid-20th century that pictured kind-faced, helpful police officers.
Growing up in a rural town in the northeastern US, I was taught by my family, schools, and the television shows of the day that police officers were all about protecting people from criminals and serving the public. I remember seeing police cars with the motto "Protect and Serve" on them.
All of those things agreed that if you were lost, needed help, or something were seriously wrong, the best thing to do was find the nearest police officer, who would help.
I believed it. I bought into it all. Why wouldn't I?
I can't remember when it changed for me. I remember the first few instances where I ran across an apathetic, corrupt or abusive police officer, and thinking that they were an exception. Somewhere along the line I realized the exception was the rule.
Several of the people I work with of similar age report having similar experiences. For those who are black, it happened earlier.
I know our parents and everyone else tried to give us a good opinion of the police. They really did. It is the police themselves that changed that. Reality is quite the eye-opener.
I talk to the people I work with now who are parents, and they all tell me the same thing: they're teaching their children to fear and avoid the police at all costs. That's not an exaggeration. Not a single parent has told me they are teaching their children the things they were and I was taught as a child. The parents have their kids' best interests at heart, and they know the police are a danger to their children.
Its a little scary to think about what those children will teach theirs.
As an adult, I know the things I was taught as a child were never the reality.