As with any public servant the pay is no good, the hours are long, and the appreciation is little to none. An overwhelmingly majority of police officers, firefighters, teachers, etc. are good individuals who genuinely enter their profession with nothing but the best intention.
However, the case of Kelly Thomas shocks the conscious of what police should do and is a picture of exactly the opposite of have nothing but the best intention. (see: video Graphic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ljYNgLnpxM) I was never a police officer and I have no doubt they have one of the toughest jobs, but they have to handle there jobs with a certain discretion. Mr. Thomas was beaten so badly, not by 1 or 2 or 3 police officers, but by a total of 6 according to reports. Six police officers against one man that included beating and tasering. In the end, Mr. Thomas, a 37 year old schizophrenic man, was beaten and tasered to death. ( see article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019225/Police-beat-taser-gentle-mentally-ill-homeless-man-Kelly-Thomas-37-death.html)
No matter what happens in this case the bottom line is a 37 year old was killed. The disgusting part of this is that as Mr. Thomas was slowly being beaten and tasered to death, bystanders could hear him screaming for his father.
Were the police serving and protecting the public as they are sworn to do, or were they under the presumption that they can get away with beating a mentally ill gentlemen without facing any consequences? The police will have to come up with a compelling reason as to why they beat a man to death and why they thought that amount of force was necessary in a six on one battle.