re: So most of my 8th grade students think cops are mostly bad and the enemy

I've come across thousands of cops. And your right. I've met some great ones and I've met some pieces of shite. You know what, the pieces of shite tend to to be thugs.

But, don't be fooled that police aren't supposed to be violent. They have every right to be violent when the situation calls for it. The point is not to be excessive and use good fricking judgement. Excessive use of force is shite. But too many local cops don't have the training or the ability to know what is excessive to be useful in those situations.