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For policemen to be honest about the fact that they may be fearful when they come into a certain situation, not understanding what's going to happen. The only way things will change and things will get better is if people are able to be honest without feeling like they're going to be offended, or they're going to offend someone else.

If the word gets out, if the perception exists that by speaking to a CBS journalist you are, therefore, inevitably, immediately speaking to the police, I don't think there's any doubt but that people won't talk. And, therefore, the public won't learn.

Not only are police officers often taken for granted, many people are highly vocal about their dislike for cops.

Understand, our police officers put their lives on the line for us every single day. They've got a tough job to do to maintain public safety and hold accountable those who break the law.

It is important for us to be able to meet and greet the people that we serve. And if we start having police presence everywhere we go, it's going to create a chilling effect on discourse, and it creates an incredible assault on the democratic process.

Our officers are on the front lines - the first to show up on the scene of a crime. They should be respected; not ridiculed. They and their families protected; not put at risk.

Most cops are not looking for understanding. They work in a world filled with a sense - real or imagined - of danger lurking around each corner and every hallway. Most cops are merely looking for respect.

I think that the dialogue between police officers and the black community has to get better, but not better in a way where, 'Oh, let's talk about it when something horrible happens.' The dialogue has to be going on consistently, every day.

In almost all cases now the police are as much an enemy as the others.