There have been a ton of anti-police stories running around the Internet as of late, and most of the comments are anti-authority and anti-police. Some people generally attribute this attitude towards to younger group of people (teenagers) who are generally anti-authority; however, I think this is a false premise, because as a man of 25, I have always had a problem with any type of authority.

But, I do think some of the opinions are a bit unfair, and are generally formed around a small set of bad experiences combined with bad media exposure.

Since I've lived all across this country - in New York City, Muskegon Michigan, and Bellevue Washington - I've had a fairly good sample of the stereotypical police officers, here are the trends I've noticed:

New York City - Big City Cops

With such a large force, it's hard to describe the system as a whole, but that won't stop me. As a whole they're generally cool: they know how the city works, they know people are always in a rush to be somewhere or to do something, and they generally seem to support the notion that a large percentage of citizens don't intentionally break the law.

Being a very diverse group dealing with a very diverse city, they generally do not appear to give a crap about religious, racial, or sexual attributes and are good at giving help when asked. They also have a very visible presence in the city.

Overall, they appear to take an attitude of "don't be a dick, and I won't be a dick."

Bellevue - Medium City Cops

I'm limiting this section strictly to the Bellevue cops, rather than Seattle police as a whole, as the Seattle police generally trend closer towards New York City cops. Bellevue officers appear to be generally nice, and somewhat forgiving (depending on the circumstances). Unlike New York City cops, they tend to enforce pedestrian street crossing rules more strictly; for example, if there's a pedestrian in the road, and you drive around them, you're getting a $200 ticket, whereas in New York City driving around pedestrians is a fact of life.
Bellevue officers are also a diverse group, and seem generally tolerant of religion, race, and sex, although their presence isn't as apparent as in New York City, but with the "west coast attitude" it generally isn't needed.

Overall, they appear to take an attitude of "live by the rules, so other people can live too."

Muskegon - Small City Cops

Muskegon is a unique place in that it has been stuck in a depression for the past decade, but at the same time, it's a small city and most of the locals have a small town mindset about them. The police officers of Muskegon are no different, and tend to take a very strict approach to the law. I was ticketed a couple of times for jay-walking on an empty street.

Muskegon officers do not appear to be a diverse group, as they are almost exclusively white males, with the females taking mostly desk or clerical jobs. Their presence in the town is immediately known as they have the second largest building in downtown Muskegon - the first being the courthouse and holding cells.

Laws here are strictly enforced, but also appear to be selectively enforced based on race. I have witnessed, on more than one occasion, an African-American being spoken to as if they were a child (the direct quote, which still stands out in my mind, is "you'll need to shut up now, or I'm leaving."), and I've yet to witness an officer talking down to a white citizen.

Overall, they appear to take the attitude of "we don't enforce the law, we are the law."

When you boil it down, most cops just want to do what they think their jobs are to the best of their abilities. Of course, their job description and how they carry out their duties differ across cultural mentalities.