the police officer is your friend

Here are two stories recently about police abuse. One involves a man in a wheelchair, trying to get a police officer reported for parking in a handicap spot and ending up abused and arrested. The second involves an elderly man who broke some traffic laws and ended up suffering a micro-Waco standoff because of a a missed court date. A commenter to one of the stories says:

You really should do what you can to bring some justice crashing down on their heads. but, you shouldn't lessen your respect for cops in general. Not only do they have one of the harder jobs you can have, they keep society intact.

This is a lie. Police forces, as we know them, didn't really exist prior to the 19th century and they were created to deal with vice problems, not to keep society intact.