In reply to yupididit:
I think you've hit on the major problem I see it. Mind you I'm a middle-class white guy who lives in a rural area but I married a wonderful woman from South America and spent a lot of time as a defense contractor traveling to all the best spots on the planet (yeah right.)
Not all LEO's are bad, in fact there's an impossibly small percentage of them that cause the issues which make national news. The problem is more of a cultural issue where LEO's close ranks in much the same way as you see with the military and the brothers in arms shtick.
The issue is that you cannot have that "brother-in-arms" mentality with a civilian law enforcement group because their mission is different than that of a military. LEOs exist to uphold the law and serve the community in accordance to the guidelines set down by a community. They're accountable to the community they serve, not solely to their chain of command. Use of force by LEOs should always be subject to extreme scrutiny as it is not their primary mission. Those found to be in violation of those practices should not be allowed to continue serving in that capacity, not protected because "you weren't there."
The military is solely accountable to their chain of command. While the military projects the image and influence of a country, in war time the people they are fighting are not granted the same protections as citizens of the US are. Determinations of if a situation warrants use of force are easier to justify because the use of force is sometimes the primary directive of a military unit. E36 M3ty thing to say but that's how war is conducted.
Recentish events have blurred the lines and roles of the LEO vs the soldier which is incredibly dangerous to our society.
I've relayed this story before but it bears repeating again.
I was attending physical therapy after surgery from an injury sustained while overseas that was left for far too long. One of the people I was in therapy with was wearing a hat with the symbol of the local community rugby team. Naturally, since I play when I have time I struck up a conversation asking if he played. At this point, I already knew he was there because he took a spill during training at the police academy.
His answer was no "Because I'm incapable of leaving what happened on the field there." That's pretty much when I ceased to have any interest in continuing the conversation and made mental note that I hoped to never have an interaction with him as a LEO. Unfortunately, that is one type of personality attracted to the benefits of becoming a LEO. That type needs to be weeded out early and with extreme prejudice.
Now that I'm sufficently off topic, the war on drugs is dumb and is what has lead to the concept of civil asset forefiture. The rules need to be revamped in a manner where your level justice isn't limited to the level you can afford. No charge should equate to no justification to seize property.
Also see United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins. Sometimes it sucks that you have to let the bad guys go but if it's not illegal then there's no grey area. If you as a society deem it to be a problem there's a process and it needs to be respected, not avoided in some obscure end run.