Every generation the hands of the cop are tied even more with the the potential of lawsuits and accusations of police brutality. It never fails that one cop that oversteps his bounds ruins it for everybody and causes public backlash. Over time this has lead to many citizens hating cops and consequently cops start viewing the public as their enemy after a few years on the job. Not all cops are evil corruption mongers, but good cops are ignored because of the actions of the few bad links in the chain that are the reason laws like this are praised by certain elements of the general public. In the 1960's, it was perfectly acceptable to beat the shit out of a guy with your baton if he hit his wife, now you have to put him in the prison system where he meets real criminals and becomes one himself. Which is better, teaching a wife beater a lesson with the business end of your baton and never having a problem with him again or putting him in prison where he is trained in the ways of the common criminal and consequently becomes a chronic problem?