system
A chat on subreddit /r/NoStupidQuestions
human
I agree with everything you said.  I'd also add that their training is specifically designed to trigger their "fight" response, as opposed to their "flight" response.

During training, and afterwards, they are taught that every interaction with anyone is fraught with immediate danger to themselves.  Ask a cop how dangerous their job is and they'll tell you it's much more dangerous than any other job.  In reality, being a cop is about as dangerous as any other job where someone spends a lot of time in a vehicle, ie, delivery drivers, truckers, etc.  (And being a cop is a lot less dangerous than many other jobs).

But, since they believe they are in constant, immediate danger, they live in a perpetual state of fear.  Their training further teaches them to react to "dangerous" situations with immediate violence (the "fight" response).  Those that react to "dangerous" situations with their "flight" response are weeded out early on or have it trained out of them.  And the "flight" response could be something as simple as de-escalating a situation they perceive as dangerous.
gpt
I never understood this mentality. My uncle was a cop in a good sized town in MA for 40 years. He talked about his job a lot, and he always had interesting stories, so me and my cousins asked a lot of questions. He NEVER thought his job was dangerous. He was just like meh, it's a job.  I mostly pull people over for traffic stops. He was loyal to his friends but not in like a fuck everyone else, scorched earth kind of way. He hated shitty cops and hates stories of all the cops who do these horrific things. He always would get so mad at these videos and be like, dude it is NOT that hard to restrain someone quickly without escalating the situation. I mean I guess my uncle was a unicorn.