Here is a thing that I often hear police (usually some police union spokesperson) say that is really tiresome and makes no sense: "We are struggling with people not giving us respect because our mayor/city hall/city leaders have turned people against us." 1/
This is a representative democracy. Politicians reflect popular opinion, they do not create it (they can influence it, but not create it out of whole cloth). 2/
In the city where I live, the police are a respected institution. If the mayor came out tomorrow and said the police were terrible and not to be listened to, a) no one would listen and b) he would promptly get voted out of office. 3/
Here's the reality: the average person who doesn't live in New York City and maybe Chicago probably can't even name their mayor. Probably 98% of people cannot name their city councilperson. 4/
If a city's population does not respect the police, it ain't because city hall is out there calling for police reform, as convenient a scapegoat as they might be (and, for all I know, they may be of absolutely no help). 5/
Suggesting that city hall can turn a population against it's police is like suggesting that a housefly could swing a sledgehammer. Respect for authority is an instinctual human behavior. If it has been lost, the ones wielding the authority should look inward. The end. 6/
