Sometimes, like anyone else, they get complacent. Also, there are 'good' cops and then there are 'cops', as in any other profession.
I spent a lot of time on the streets with the cops, working 19 years as a Probation officer. We stopped a lot of cars, and we went in a lot of 'nasty' placs and brought out a lot of 'nasty' people. Sometimes, in spite of the best laid plans, that fellow named Murphy makes an appearance and things just don't work out as planned. I learned quickly that surprise works wonders, and stopping 'business' to talk to any one is risky.
But stopping cars on a highway at 0200 in the morning - well there is no 'surprise', and that lone officer can not afford to even hint at being afraid or unsure of anything. That's a sure way to get taken advantage of. Sometimes though the attitude and the circumstances don't work like they are 'supposed' to, and a careless moment results in tragedy. Sometimes, they can do everything 'by the book', and still end up on the short end. It just goes to show that a lot of times we don't appreciate our law enforcement as we should, considering the job they have to do. And, the truth is, for every one of those 'tragic' incidents, hundreds or thousands more were successfully completed with no tragic ending.
It's just a mad, mad world.
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