Many of the best parts of America's history would have been impossible without police. All the freedoms we enjoy - freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear - sit on a foundation of public safety.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I believe that most police are conscientious and want only to provide safety for us.
I know there are some good American police. But I grew up in a country where we were afraid of the police.
The Nixon administration kept a nasty eye on our show... Cops would come by - often just in time to see the act they wanted to see.
We were like heroes, to stand there and observe the police, and the police were scared to move upon us.
The power to prevent violence is a power that no police force seems to have anywhere in the United States.
American history and the black experience are inextricable. And both are inextricable from policing. Far more often than not, that's been a good thing.
Let's stop pretending we can arrest our way to safety and security. Despite all the fine work that policemen and women do, we have got to find other solutions to deter crime.
Why does America always need to be the world's policeman?
On the one hand, the guns were there to help capture the imagination of the people. But more important, since we knew that you couldn't observe the police without guns, we took our guns with us to let the police know that we have an equalizer.
Cops can deprive people of their freedom. They are sworn to serve and protect. They work for us and they belong to, basically, a service industry, laboring in conditions that are sometimes threatening, often dangerous yet interesting.