Some of the reactions from the police to the "occupy" protesters have been a little heavy handed. The pepper spraying ay UC Davis seems to me a perfect example. The problem is the supreme courts in the sates and federal level have justified the use of pepper spray and tasers for passive resistance. I personally believe a Taser to be a semi deadly or at least a potentially deadly weapon and I would like to see the use of it limited. The thing is in order to change these practices used by police departments you need to lobby your representatives to change the laws.
Everyone jumps on the police as if they're the bad guys in this but you have to understand they have a job to do and orders. I know the Nazis were only following orders but there's a difference there. Overall the police in this country do a pretty good job, there are some bad apples but thats going to happen it's unfortunate but a fact of life. The blame should fall on the protesters as much as anyone they provoke the government into actions they would rather not take. Do you think the police make these decisions alone? I'm pretty sure that for the most part the cops could care less what the protesters do. The problem is the chief gets a call from the mayor who probably got a call from the governor if it was a big enough issue. If you want someone to blame look to the top of the totem poles not to the police officers they don't call the shots.