The police make a lot of news, simply because they're in the business of stopping and catching people whose actions make news. But even the most fervent "Back the Blue" supporter has to admit that police do make news with mistakes, sometimes frequently.
Neil Gross worked for a time as a police officer, before going back to school to become a sociologist. He combines past and present occupations in a book, Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture.
The chiefs profiled serve different communities with different circumstances, and took different approaches. But they all bore some progress in changing views of the police, both within and without the departments. Neil Gross adds detail in this interview with the JX.