I think that your view on police officers is misaligned. They certainly are people, but they are only people. They have to make tough decisions, sure, but that doesn’t mean they should get the level of leniency that they do when events like Eric Gardner’s occur. The problem with the police is not with individuals, it’s with the institutional environment within the police that leads to the idea that police officers are above the law, and that officers that rat them out will be punished.